Funny maths?

AS a maths teacher, it is heartening to read that failure rates have almost halved among ordinary level students who sat a Project Maths paper.

However, if this is because the papers were noticeably easier, and the marking less rigorous, it represents a step backwards to lower standards all round.

Not enough students are taking higher level maths largely because too many schools lack reasonably good maths teachers, so let’s ‘fix’ the problem by changing the goalposts, making them so wide it will be almost impossible not to score.

The fact is that under the previous situation, any average student could reasonably expect to get an honour at higher level maths, with the proper guidance, and no, it didn’t mean studying maths to the exclusion of all else.

James McGrath

Hollyford Co Tipperary