NZ kids losing joy for reading and maths amid curriculum shifts

Children engaging with books in a New Zealand classroom. Photo: RNZ

A major national study has confirmed a troubling reality for Aotearoa's tamariki: children's enjoyment of reading, writing, and maths is declining, in some cases sharply. The data points to a generation increasingly disengaged from core learning, raising critical questions about how recent curriculum changes and post-pandemic realities are shaping our classrooms.

The Curriculum Insights Study, alongside its predecessor the National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement (NMSSA), tested representative groups of students annually. Conducted for the Education Ministry by the University of Otago and the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER), the findings reveal a stark drop in both enthusiasm and self-confidence.

The numbers behind the disengagement

The decline is particularly pronounced among older primary students. For Year 8s, the percentage who said they did not enjoy reading climbed from 8 percent in 2019 to 16 percent in 2025. Those who did not believe they were good at reading tripled, jumping from 6 percent in 2019 to 13 percent in 2025.

The pattern extends across subjects and age groups:

• Year 8 maths: Students who disliked the subject rose from 9 percent in 2018 to 19 percent last year. Those doubting their own ability increased from 9 percent to 19 percent in the same period.
• Year 6 reading: Dislike nearly tripled, from 4 percent in 2023 to 11 percent in 2025. Self-doubt also surged, with 10 percent feeling they lacked proficiency, up from 2 percent in 2023.
• Year 3 reading: While enjoyment slightly improved, with disliking reading dropping from 13 percent in 2023 to 10 percent in 2025, confidence fell. Only 8 percent believed they were good at reading in 2025, down from 15 percent in 2023.

Compared to 2019 NMSSA data, where just 6 percent of Year 4 students disliked reading and a mere 3 percent doubted their ability, the shift is undeniable.

A global trend with local consequences

Sue McDowall, a researcher from NZCER, noted that some of the drop might be methodological, as children were recently asked about their enjoyment after completing tests rather than during a general survey. However, she stressed the overall downward trajectory is real and aligns with international patterns.

We see internationally and in New Zealand a general overall downward trend in reading motivation over time.

While the exact drivers remain unclear, McDowall pointed to widespread speculation about screen time, though she acknowledged that reading itself is increasingly digital. What is clear is the cyclical danger of this trend: students who enjoy reading achieve more, and high achievers are more motivated to read.

It is really important that teachers not only focus on teaching children how to read texts and to make meaning of them and to critically analyse them. It is also important that teachers provide children with opportunities to engage with texts and to read for pleasure, to read to meet their own interests and needs, to become motivated readers and see reading as something that they want to do in their own time.

Are rigid curriculum shifts squashing curiosity?

AUT associate professor Ruth Boyask noted that Aotearoa had historically bucked the international trend of declining reading enjoyment, but the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) report signaled a shift. Her deep dive into the data revealed a crucial insight: children enjoy reading more when they have agency over what they read and face less rigid direction from teachers.

This finding casts a critical light on the government's current push toward structured literacy. Boyask suggested that top-down approaches might be marginalizing student engagement.

There are differences of approaches that are being promoted within the educational and school environment at the moment that perhaps are moving away from children being more actively involved and engaged in their reading.

Stephen Lethbridge, principal of Point Chevalier School in Auckland, echoed these concerns. While cautious about drawing early conclusions, he criticized strict adherence to structured approaches, noting that rich, thematic discussions about literature are fading in senior primary years.

What we do know as good teachers is that having quality books, talking about what kids are learning, especially at Years 4, 5 and 6 we are getting into talking about themes, talking about what is going on in stories and that may not be happening as much in the senior school anymore.

The pandemic hangover and the cost of rigidity

Auckland University associate professor Fiona Ell urged observers to consider the lingering shadow of Covid-19 lockdowns on students' attitudes toward institutional learning. She also highlighted how the new, more demanding maths curriculum and altered teaching methods could be impacting young learners.

However, Ell argued that difficult work alone does not kill joy; the real issue is the loss of self-expression and exploration within the new English and maths curriculums.

I suspect that students perhaps see less of themselves in these subjects, less opportunity for self-expression, for exploration. Children are naturally curious and interested. They have things to say, they have interests, things they want to read about, things they want to find out about, things that they would like to work out mathematically and we have sort of eliminated the space for that.

As Aotearoa navigates educational reform, the data poses a vital question for policymakers and educators alike: can we raise literacy and numeracy standards without sacrificing the joy, curiosity, and agency that drive lifelong learning?