As an education academic, I taught the quantitative component of a research methods paper for the Master of Education programme. Most of the students undertaking that qualification were mid-career teachers.

Many had a mild panic response to the very idea of learning even rudimentary statistics. Sometimes, the panic was more serious. Occasionally, there were tears.

Those teachers are not alone. Upwards of 90% of adults experience at least mild anxiety when they have to perform a task that involves maths. Maths anxiety can almost always be traced back to the experience of learning – or trying to learn – maths at school.

Unfortunately, a vicious cycle has developed in maths education. For many primary school teachers, teaching maths activates painful memories of their experience with the subject as children. As a result, they lack the confidence to teach maths well. Frequently, they also lack sufficient knowledge. Their students, some of whom will be the teachers of the future, are thereby put at risk of developing maths anxiety themselves.

This vicious cycle has resulted in a litany of data showing that most students do not keep up with curriculum expectations in maths.

At the National Party conference last weekend, the Prime Minister revealed new data from the Curriculum Insights and Progress Study. Just 22% of the Year 8 students participating in the study met curriculum expectations.

The PM also announced measures to tackle the problem. There will be $20 million to support professional development in maths teaching. People seeking to train as teachers will need 14 credits in maths at NCEA Level 2. Teachers will be provided with guidebooks on how to teach maths.

These are emergency measures. They are necessary, but they will not be enough.

Another component of the Government’s response will be to bring forward the implementation of a new maths curriculum from 2026, to 2025. The current curriculum has exacerbated the problem. It is vague and poorly structured, all too often leaving teachers to figure out for themselves how to teach a subject they don’t like or understand. The new curriculum, with its greater detail and rigorous structure will help drive improvement in the longer term.

To break the vicious cycle of maths anxiety, though, a much greater focus on maths is required in teacher education programmes. We need knowledgeable teachers in front of our primary-aged children, who pass on a love, rather than a fear, of maths.