Aussie kids 'bad at Maths'
According to a new global assessment, Australia has dropped to 17th place out of 65 countries, falling below China, Korea, Japan and major European countries.
The Programme for International Student Assessment measures the skills of 28 million 15-year-old students worldwide, which has shown Australia’s fall in basic Maths skills.
Merrylands High School in Sydney's west is one of a fraction of schools teaching Advanced and Extended Maths.
“We need to do a lot more in terms of mathematical literacy and mathematical skills in schools,” Lila Mularczyk, President of the Secondary Principals Council and Principal of Merrylands High School in Sydney, said.
But nationwide, the number of students choosing Advanced Maths is dwindling, despite a desire among Year 12 students to do tertiary science, engineering or medical courses.
“If you get a higher score in General Mathematics compared to a mediocre score in Advanced Mathematics, it will give you a better entry score for University,” General Maths student Ryan Whitton said.
“It's extremely difficult for students if they're going into a course at university and don't have the pre-requisite skills that they need,” Mularczyk said.
Forty per cent of Maths classes in Years 7 to 10 are not taught by teachers who have graduated in Maths, and inadequate Maths has led to a critical shortage of skilled professionals, experts say.
“It is a significant contributor to the problem of shortage of engineers, the ability of students to actually understand and fulfill those studies because they haven't under taken Maths” John Roydhouse, Executive Officer of Public Works, said.
