The maths education system “leaves too many behind” and is in need of reform across all phases of school, experts have warned.
The government should sponsor an independent task force to plan and implement changes to the current maths curriculum, according to the Royal Society, which advises on policy related to science and maths.
The society’s Mathematical Futures report, published today, details areas for development across the curriculum to help build a stronger understanding of core principles - including reconceptualising maths as “mathematical and data education”.
Currently, many students “achieve a reasonable GCSE grade but lack a secure grasp of foundational mathematics,” the authors state.
The Royal Society envisages the suggested reforms taking 10-15 years to fully implement.
‘Significant risks’ in delaying reform
However, it states: “At the same time, the direction and shape of the long-term changes that are needed are already clear. There are significant risks in delay, and the process should begin as soon as possible.”
Royal Society president Adrian Smith said: “The current mathematical education system serves some well, but it fails too many.
“Around half of adults in the UK are no better with numbers than a child leaving primary school.
“Providing all young people with access to mathematical and data skills is crucial if the government is to achieve its mission of breaking down the barriers to opportunity.”
A national review of the wider school curriculum is currently underway, having formed part of Labour’s manifesto plans.
The curriculum review must “be bold in its ambition”, Mr Smith said, adding: “If we get reform right now, it will stand the test of time.”
The main recommendations from the report are as follows:
1. Introduce ‘mathematical and data education’ framework
First and foremost, the Royal Society recommends changing the scope of current maths education to include a combination of mathematics, statistics and data science, all underpinned by computational tools. This would be called mathematical and data education (MDE).
There are three elements to MDE:
1. Foundational and advanced mathematics - this would be an evolution of maths as it is currently taught, with more emphasis on computing, data and technology.
2. General quantitative literacy - this would teach pupils how to apply maths and data skills to everyday contexts.
3. Domain-specific competencies - this recognises that maths and data skills are also needed in other subjects or specific job contexts that are otherwise non-maths related. This element of MDE would create space in the curriculum for these skills.
The Royal Society recommends bringing these three elements together in a single MDE framework that allows all pupils the ability to study maths to 18.
2. New qualification pathways
Each of the elements of MDE the Royal Society outlines should have its own qualifications pathway, the authors suggest.
Foundational and advanced mathematics would be assessed using a similar structure to existing qualifications.
However, current foundation tier GCSE maths “neglects essential aspects such as financial applications, data handling and the use of spreadsheets”, it says.
The report therefore suggests a second set of qualifications that measure the ability to use maths concepts to address real-world problems. This should be developed from the existing core maths qualification, the experts suggest.
Each year, around 200,000 pupils in England fail to attain the grade 4 they need to pass GCSE maths, meaning they are required to resit. However, many end up stuck in a cycle and never pass - leading to calls to scrap the GCSE resit policy.
While the Royal Society does not make a specific recommendation on the resit policy, its proposed new qualifications are intended to provide a better idea of what students know and can do.
3. New maths assessment at 14
The Royal Society says that currently, there is concern about the “slow progress” pupils make in maths in the early years of secondary school.
“The lack of progress in maths shown by many students during key stage 3 could be addressed by establishing a new assessment around age 14,” it recommends.
The authors envisage this new assessment as low-stakes and not included in accountability measures. It would be designed to assess how competent pupils are in the fundamental concepts of maths.
4. Developing maths in primary and early years
Developing early years and primary education will be key for developing reforms to maths, the report says.
It says early years should focus more on spatial reasoning, which helps with the later development of geometry and measuring skills, as well as how well children understand early maths concepts.
At primary, the Royal Society encourages the use of calculators where appropriate to help children explore maths more widely, and also less of a focus on just learning how to do operations such as adding, taking away and multiplying without an understanding of the relationships between numbers.
5. An independent task force
To properly plan and implement these reforms, the Royal Society recommends the government should sponsor an independent task force.
The task force would include representatives from the Department for Education; the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology; the Department for Business and Trade; and the Treasury.
It should have a “sufficient budget” for exploratory work, and include representatives from key stakeholder bodies.
The task force should start by appointing an expert body to plan the curriculum.
Labour’s curriculum and assessment review announced its expert panel last week and will publish its recommendations in 2025.
6. Funding for ‘major professional development’
To support the implementation of MDE, the government would need to provide funding over several years to fund professional development for teachers - in teacher training and throughout their careers.
As outlined above, one aspect of MDE would be embedding the teaching of maths and statistics skills in other subjects where they are relevant. This will therefore involve teachers outside of maths, who will need continuing professional development (CPD).
In time, the authors envisage some of these teachers may also be able to support with the teaching of its alternative qualification idea - general quantitative literacy - to help address shortages in maths teachers.
7. Providing digital assessment and computational tools
As part of the reforms, online assessment methods should be developed, the authors recommend.
New online assessments would allow the use of tools for MDE such as spreadsheets, data analysis and programming platforms.
The curriculum should also link strongly with computing, and ensure pupils learn how to use computing and programming skills in real-world contexts.
The Royal Society also recommends the DfE carry out research on how artificial intelligence will impact MDE in future, and how it can approach this.
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