The Fall and Fall of Secondary School Mathematics. (June 6, 2006)

    The teaching of mathematics and the enabling sciences in Australia's secondary schools is in some respects rather like the weather: there's an awful lot talked about it and nothing done, well, not much, by our elected representatives.

Now the International Centre of Excellence for Education in Mathematics together with the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute have issued a short report by Frank Barrington, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, Participation in Year 12 Mathematics Across Australia 1995 - 2004 which clearly demonstrates the decline in participation in advanced and intermediate mathematics courses by the nation's secondary school students.

Overall, the proportion of students in Australia studying intermediate or advanced maths subjects steadily fell from 41.3% to 34.3% over the ten year period while those opting for elementary maths rose 9% from 37% to 46%.

According to Professor Garth Gaudry, director of the International Centre of Excellence for Education in Mathematics, fewer students are adequately prepared for tertiary study in engineering, teaching, computing, finance, risk management, biosciences and physical sciences.

And Professor Gaudry told The Sydney Morning Herald, "The nation is at risk of a dire shortage of mathematically trained people. To reverse this trend, students have to be rewarded in university entrance score calculations for tackling the more difficult subjects. Students and parents are very sensitive to these matters. There really needs to be a cap put on the rewards for general maths at the top end, because students know that by taking general maths, rather than 2-unit mathematics, they will boost their [universities admission index] score."

In Professor Gaudry's view universities had softened entrance requirements and dropped prerequisites, underplaying the level of high school mathematics required in preparation for their courses. And university entrance calculations had been skewed in favour of students who took the easier general mathematics course.

Dr Bill Pender, of Sydney Grammar School, told the SMH's Anna Patty that mathematics was no longer a prerequisite for many technical courses at university, despite being "assumed knowledge". This had caused confusion for many students.

Adding to the problem is the reduction in hours over the years allowed for teaching math subjects together with the high percentage of individuals who teach the subjects without being adequately trained.

The problems of falling student numbers and inadequate teaching are hardly unique to Australia, which ought to signal to our state and federal parliamentarians that importation is not an available option, and yet the situation remains unchecked.