Revised maths syllabus has negligible impact: report

A much-hyped new maths syllabus has not yet led to improved student standards or widespread changes in teaching methods, research has found.

Since its introduction in 2008, Project Maths has been presented as the major initiative to improve student interest and achievement in the subject.

However, the study for the Department of Education and National Council for Curriculum and Assessment suggests, despite considerable progress implementing the revised syllabus, it has not yet had a major impact.

“There are numerous examples of promising practice in the way that mathematics is being delivered in the classroom, and emerging evidence of positive impacts on students’ experiences of, and attitudes towards, mathematics,” says the report of the National Foundation for Educational Research in England.

“However, there is also evidence that more traditional approaches to teaching maths remain widespread and, in many cases, the approaches described by teachers and students are not yet being evidenced in students’ written work.

“Moreover, at this stage of the curriculum’s implementation, the revised mathematics syllabuses taken as a whole do not appear to be associated with any overall deterioration or improvements in students’ achievement,” it said.

Research and innovation minister Seán Sherlock, who is overseeing schools maths and science initiatives, said the research shows Project Maths is having a positive impact on student achievement but that change takes time.

The syllabus taught in all second-level schools since 2010, and piloted in 23 schools since 2008, is being introduced on a staggered basis across five strands: statistics and probability; geometry and trigonometry; number; algebra; and functions.

The researchers assessed achievement of two groups of Junior and Leaving Certificate students in spring and autumn 2012, surveyed their attitudes and did more in-depth studies of teachers’ and students’ experiences of Project Maths in eight pilot schools and eight others.

With older students finding the change in learning approach to maths challenging, as they moved from the old syllabus to Project Maths for Leaving Certificate, Junior Certificate students were more positive about the transition from primary school due partly to greater continuity of learning style.

Girls are less confident in their maths ability across all five strands, they perform as highly as boys at Leaving Certificate.

OECD’s test results to be closely analysed

The publication tomorrow of how Irish 15-year-olds compared mathematically to those in other developed countries will be one of the first true tests of Project Maths.

Results from the OECD’s international testing of teenagers at maths, reading and science will be closely analysed after the last results three years ago showed they had slipped significantly.

The 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment tests saw Ireland ranked 25th out of 33 countries for maths — down from 16th in 2006 — and our ranking for reading fell from fifth to 17th. But science scores saw a rise from 14th to 13th in the results released in late 2010.

Although increasing numbers of international and special needs students were among factors to which the falls were attributed, the figures have dominated education policy debate in the intervening three years. A month ago, Department of Education chief inspector Harold Hislop’s annual report for 2010 to 2012 raised concerns about maths teaching, particularly at second level. More than one-in-four maths classes observed by inspectors had less than satisfactory student learning, but he said weaknesses in maths teaching are being addressed by the introduction of the Project Maths syllabus.