Teachers are pushing back on suggestions they’re to blame for Australia’s low maths proficiency, after a study questioned “faddish” classroom methods.
A Grattan Institute study found not only were students struggling with maths but many teachers lacked confidence to teach it even at a year six level.
But the teachers’ union said the institute did not understand the reality of classrooms around the nation.
Grattan called for a number of government commitments, including a long-term goal of 90 per cent numeracy proficiency on NAPLAN testing, clearer guidance to schools on teaching methods and more professional development for teachers.
The union said some of the proposals – including “beefing up school and principal reviews” and setting up an independent oversight body to drive the curriculum – were not the answer.
Instead, the focus for all curriculum areas should be on ensuring high-quality teacher education and ongoing professional development, addressing escalating workloads and fully funding public schools.
“It’s time for the Grattan Institute to leave teaching to the highly qualified and trained teaching profession,” Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe said.
Just 13 per cent of Australian year four students excelled on a 2023 international maths test, compared with 22 per cent in England, 16 per cent in Ireland and 32 per cent in Japan.
At year eight level, just 11 per cent of Australians excelled.
Grattan Institute education program director Jordana Hunter said Australia had deprioritised maths for decades.
“Governments have also been too slow to rule out faddish but unproven maths teaching methods,” she said.
“To turn rhetoric into reality, governments need to take seriously the evidence base on how humans, including children, learn maths most effectively.”
The institute’s survey found some teachers lacked the confidence to teach year six maths, while many were concerned about their colleagues’ ability to teach the subject.
Dr Hunter said a 10-year “maths guarantee strategy” would only cost about $67 per primary school student a year.
La Trobe University education expert Joanna Barbousas said the study made it clear action was needed to halt the “numeracy crisis”.
“The lifetime impact for students who fall behind on these core skills is substantial, affecting long-term employment, health and social outcomes and perpetuating cycles of disadvantage,” she said.
“Teachers are telling us they feel unprepared for the classroom … when half of our 15-year-olds fail to achieve national standards in maths, it’s not the students who are failing, it’s our approach to education.”
Education Minister Jason Clare pointed to the government’s funding agreements with states and said the money was tied to practical reforms, including an early years numeracy check.
“We’re also improving teacher training at university to make sure teaching students are taught the fundamentals about how to teach children to read and write and do maths and how to manage disruptive classrooms,” he said.
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