Mathematical Skills Gap in Primary Widens

Keeping students engaged with maths is notoriously hard and it seems that the rot sets in early.

In any one classroom the mathematics skills gap among primary students can range from one year to five years or more, depending on the year of school, and as children progress through primary school the gap continues to widen.

That means there are significant challenges for primary school teachers as they look to deliver the best teaching for all students no matter their levels of ability.

To take on the problem teachers need ongoing access to professional development and greater in-class support for teachers, the right assessment techniques and teaching resources and they should have the best instructional differentiated teaching methods available for students with diverse learning needs within one classroom.

It’s been established that as work becomes more STEM focused, younger generations of Australians appear to be lagging behind the rest of the world.

Australia’s results in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) have declined more steeply and consistently than in any other country (other than Finland) and the decline has been greatest in mathematics. (1)

This is especially concerning given the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering claims by 2024, Australia will need 100,000 more digitally skilled workers. By 2025, 40,000 more engineers will be required and by 2030, up to 30% of existing jobs could be displaced by automation. (2)

Overall, the existing knowledge and skills gap is likely to be a negative for students’ ability to relate and enjoy the subject. The majority of primary school teachers (64%) are concerned that the lack of progress in mathematics will further reduce student engagement with the subject, and most (75%) agree.

A number of factors were identified in the research as reasons for the increasing skills gap among primary students. The primary reason is lack of time with 87% of primary teachers citing time constraints as a key issue hindering student progress. Reasons for time pressures included; large class sizes, difficulty catering to different learning levels, needs and abilities and an overcrowded curriculum with too many concepts and not enough depth at each year level.

Limited professional development opportunities and restricted access to support staff were also identified as significant issues for teachers to combat the skills gap. Sixty per cent of teachers claim that more professional development is needed. Greater support is also required to assist teachers with choosing the right approaches for instruction based on the diverse learning needs of their students.

Annie Facchinetti, a Learning and Teaching Leader at Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School in Eltham, Melbourne and lead author of Oxford Maths for Australian Schools and Oxford Maths Ready, says that more needs to be done to enable teachers to cater to the current challenges of the classroom.

“Demands on teacher's time, in and outside the classroom have increased dramatically over the last 10 years. Large class sizes, the fact that many students find maths a stressful activity and having to differentiate to student needs presents a huge challenge for time-poor teachers.

"We need to be providing teachers with more resources and professional development to help them achieve differentiated learning that builds student confidence within the classroom and establishes students as independent learners of maths," says Facchinetti.

Gaps in students’ reading comprehension could be impacting students' progress in mathematics as they struggle to understand how to apply their learning in a mathematical situation.

The findings were published in the The Knowledge and Skills Gap in Australian Primary Mathematics Classrooms report by Oxford University Press Australia.

Lee Walker, Director of Publishing at Oxford University Press says that the results from the recent research are concerning.

“The research reveals that the transition from Year 6 Primary School to Year 7 Secondary School poses a big challenge for both teachers and students. Over a third (36%) of the primary teachers we interviewed observed that many students are attempting Year 7-level mathematics with inadequate knowledge and skills, which could be having serious consequences for students' long-term learning in Australia.

References
1 Fahey, G, O’Sullivan, J. & Bussell, J, 2021, Failing to Teach the Teacher: An Analysis of Mathematics Initial Teacher Education, The Centre for Independent Studies, Analysis Paper, 29 November, https://www.cis.org.au/publication/failing-to-teach-the-teacher-an-analysis-of-mathematics-initial-teacher-e ducation/

2 Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering, Australia’s Digital Future a nation of users or leaders?, September 2021.