ABSTRACT
New Zealand was one of a number of countries that participated in the 1981 SIMS (Second International Mathematics Study) mathematics survey. In certain areas of mathematics, such as measurement and arithmetic, New Zealand students failed to attain a high international ranking (Department of Education, 1987). Moreover, small but statistically significant gender differences in overall mathematics performance were observed as early as Form 3 (the first year of secondary school) (Wily, 1986). In comparing ethnic groups within New Zealand, marked differences which, in general, increase throughout the Form 3 year (Garden, 1984) were noted between Maori (indigenous New Zealanders) and other students. Data for the next international survey the Third International Mathematics and Science Study is not due to be collected in New Zealand until late 1994. A smaller national study was therefore commissioned by the Ministry of Education and undertaken by the women’s collective, Equity in Mathematics Education, using 1989 data to update some of the SIMS results.
