Should it come into power after the election, National has pledged to require schools to teach literacy in a way it said is "the most effective method" to ensure strong reading skills.
National's education spokesperson Erica Stanford said under a National government, every child in the country would learn to read using a "structured literacy" approach.
It is a way of teaching literacy where a teacher explicitly explains and models key skills, and children are not expected to develop skills from exposure or incidental learning opportunities.
It's an approach currently taken by some schools, but not all.
Stanford said the approach would turn around declining educational achievement and give kids the best chance of success in life.
The party says it'll turn around declining literacy rates, but some academics aren't convinced.
“New Zealand’s literacy rates have been steadily declining in recent decades. Currently, after eight years of schooling, only 56% of pupils are able to read as well as they should for their age.
“Further, kids in low-decile schools are almost two years behind their peers in high-decile schools."
She said in the Progress in International Reader Literacy Study, that measures reading of children in year 5, New Zealand recorded its lowest score and was the worst performing English speaking nation.
"We also had one of the largest gaps between the highest and lowest-performing learners, with more kids failing to reach the proficiency standard than ever before.
“Rather than being the great equaliser, the education system is right now embedding inequality."
She said that was unacceptable to parents and to National.
“A National Government will not continue to do what isn’t working. Ensuring children learn to read, write and communicate effectively from an early age is critical to their life prospects."
It stood alongside the party's Teaching the Basics Brilliantly policy, which would require students to do an hour of reading, writing and maths every day, she said.
She said the structured literacy approach taught reading in an explicit and systematic way, "starting with the smallest units of sound and building from there", and there was "mountains of evidence" that it was the most effective method to equip children with strong reading skills.
“However, not all schools currently use it. National will not play Russian roulette with our children’s future by leaving the fundamentals of reading to chance."
She said the policy would mean schools would receive funding for a structured literacy provider "to effectively deliver the approach in classrooms under the guarantee".
It would cost $60.5m over four years.
The strategy - called the Literacy Guarantee - would be phased in over several years, starting with Year 1 to 3s in 2025, and for all students up to Year 6 by the 2027 school year.
“A world-class education system is a necessary foundation for long-term economic growth. Without a world-class education system, we will not have world-class incomes and living standards.
"Every child, irrespective of their background or where they attend school, deserves a world-class education that equips them with the basics, and National's Literacy Guarantee is a critical part of our plan to make this a reality.”
National's 'Literacy Guarantee'
According to the party, if elected to power, a National-led government would:
- Teach every child to read using structured literacy by making it a requirement at primary school
- Introduce short phonics checks for year 2 students to inform parents and teachers about each child’s reading progress
- Provide structured literacy intervention for learners who need extra support
- Make knowledge of how to teach structured literacy a requirement of primary teacher certification
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