Turner applauds literacy turnaround
United Future deputy leader Judy Turner is applauding a Northland college’s literacy programme that the college
principal says has produced "phenomenal" improvements.
Bream Bay College at Ruakaka used a peer tutoring programme developed by former Auckland University education student
Kerrie Lomas. Senior students worked with juniors to discuss pictures, titles and words and what they meant.
The New Zealand Herald reports that Ms Lomas, while working as part of a team addressing low literacy levels at Bream
Bay, had noticed that "more than half the students aged between 11 and 14 had a reading comprehension age at or below 10
years.
Many of these students were behaving badly in class, not necessarily because they were inherently disobedient but
because they had difficulty reading and understanding.
Mrs Turner said, “Recent analysis of the programme shows only 9 per cent of students are now reading at an age of 10 or
below. Just over half (53 per cent) are reading and comprehending at their chronological age, 33 per cent are performing
above their age at 13 to 16 years and a further 5 per cent are reading above 16 years.
”Ms Lomas and the school’s teachers and students should be applauded for their remarkable achievement and I earnestly
hope they care able to spread their programme across New Zealand.
“A literate population is the key to New Zealand’s social and economic success in the years to come,” she said.