37791 (2024). Hon Jan Tinetti to the Minister of Education

37791 (2024). Hon Jan Tinetti to the Minister of Education: How many learners require additional support when learning to read and write when being taught through a structured literacy approach?

Hon Erica Stanford: It is not possible to give a definite figure. While there may continue to be some students who need additional support when learning to read, schools in New Zealand and overseas that have implemented structured literacy often report a dramatic reduction in the number who need such support. For example, before one school in Palmerston North began using structured literacy, around a third of their students required additional intervention when learning to read. Two years after the school began using structured literacy, the number needing additional intervention had fallen to two percent. Further research about the success of structured literacy can be found at https://www.betterstartapproach.com/our-research.