24th August 2011 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A new report on Mathematics education has pointed towards making the subject compulsory for all students until age 18. Reported on the BBC, the report was commissioned by David Cameron and Michael Gove when they were in opposition in 2009, and has been headed up by TV present Carol Voderman. Voderman’s main criticism was that roughly half of 16 year olds fail to gain at least a C grade in GCSE maths, and the result is that many of the UK workforce are considered to be Mathematically innumerate.
Only 15% of students continue to study Mathematics at A Level, compared to almost all developed countries where it is compulsory. However, the suggestion is that rather than requiring students to study the current curriculum until they are 18, there should be two separate GCSE Maths exams, one for students considering studying Maths at A-level, and one for everyone else. The latter exam would focus on basic arithmetic skills, and wouldn’t involve trigonometry or algebra, which many students complain about because they don’t see a reason to study them. After GCSEs, students wouldn’t have to take a Maths A Level, but would continue to study these basic arithmetic skills for two years.
Another criticism from the report regarded the quality of Maths teaching. It claimed that a large number of primary school teachers don’t have the basic Maths ability themselves to teach the subject, even at a KS1 level. Also highlighted was the fact that many secondary schools resort to using non-specialist Maths teachers due to a lack of adequate staff.
The results were generally agreed with, but NUT general secretary, Christine Blower, was unsure why the report was needed. She pointed out that the conclusions are the same as those announced previously, and a full review of the National Curriculum is currently being carried out. Moreover, the action to be taken is to encourage more Mathematics graduates to become teachers, and provide better training, and this is something that has been called for many times before.