Education Minister Erica Stanford says a sizeable drop in the percentage of NCEA Level ... and maths. Structured literacy and mathematics will also be taught in primary schools from Term 1.

Half the teens who failed NCEA level 1 did so only because of new literacy ... A further 4892 or 35 percent passed the reading, writing and maths benchmarks, but did not complete enough credits.

New data shows 70% of Level 1 students passed NCEA last year, down from 82% the previous year. It's partly due to the new 20-credit foundational literacy and numeracy requirement. Erica Stanford ...