Compounding matters, the report released on Sunday also found one in four teachers lacked confidence teaching grade 5 and 6 maths, while many teachers expressed concern about their colleagues’ abilities.
“Maths in primary schools is just languishing,” said Grattan Institute education program director and report lead author Dr Jordana Hunter.
“We need to stop accepting maths mediocrity. We need to set higher standards and go after them.”
The Maths Guarantee report surveyed 1745 teachers, with one in five saying they worried about teaching maths, while 94 per cent of school leaders said at least some teachers at their school would be hesitant to teach grade 5 or 6 maths.
A 2023 global maths test found just 13 per cent of Australian grade 4 students excelled in maths, compared to 22 per cent in England and 49 per cent in Singapore.
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Notes and links on Singapore, Disovery and Connected math.
Math forum audio / video.
