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Australia’s year 4 mathematics achievement levels have not improved since 2007, results from an international assessment show. Initial findings from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 reveal that Australia’s achievement in year 8 maths and science and year 4 science improved in an absolute sense and relative to other countries since 2015. Six countries performed better than Australia in year 8 maths and science and eight countries performed better in year 4 science, but much of this improvement was due to a lift in results in New South Wales. Meanwhile, year 4 maths results have stagnated, with 22 countries performing significantly higher than Australia, 12 on a similar level and 23 performing at a lower level. Deputy chief executive of the Australian Council for Educational Research Dr Sue Thomson said the lack of improvement in year 4 maths could be because the national curriculum sets a lower standard than other countries. “It could also be reading problems as well causing the maths problems because if you can’t read properly … you can’t always do these sort of tests very well,” Dr Thomson said. Australian Mathematical Sciences interim director Professor Asha Rao said Australia needed more primary school teachers with a mathematics background. “There is research which shows if teachers in primary school are anxious about mathematics, that transfers to their students, especially their female students,” she said. “One thing we need to do in Australia, we tell parents to read to their children, we should also tell them to do mathematics.” READ MORE: Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) chief executive David de Carvalho said mathematics would be a priority in the ongoing Australian Curriculum review. “The results are encouraging but no cause for complacency, especially when you consider the results for Year 4 mathematics. “Ahead of the public consultation next year, ACARA is engaging with classroom teachers and curriculum experts about potential revisions to ensure we have a rigorous mathematics curriculum, one that sets high standards, gives teachers greater clarity about what they are expected to teach, and makes mathematical learning more meaningful to students. “This will help us continue to improve outcomes in mathematics over time.” Students in the ACT outperformed students in other jurisdictions in year 4 maths and science. Dr Thomson said this could be explained by the territory’s larger proportion of students with a higher socioeconomic status. The study shows a large tail of underachieving students in Australia, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, rural students and those with a lower socioeconomic background. Singapore was the highest performing country across all subjects and year levels. Dr Thomson said research showed teachers in Singapore had less administrative work and more time devoted to mentoring and professional development. “Our teachers talk about the issues they have with administrative burden and lack of face-to-face time with students,” she said. “We can look at some of those high performing countries and learn from them about what we can do better.” TIMSS is conducted every four years with a representative sample of year 4 and year 8 students. In 2019, 58 countries participated for year 4 and 39 countries participated for year 8.
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Australia’s year 4 mathematics achievement levels have not improved since 2007, results from an international assessment show.
Initial findings from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 reveal that Australia’s achievement in year 8 maths and science and year 4 science improved in an absolute sense and relative to other countries since 2015.
Six countries performed better than Australia in year 8 maths and science and eight countries performed better in year 4 science, but much of this improvement was due to a lift in results in New South Wales.
Meanwhile, year 4 maths results have stagnated, with 22 countries performing significantly higher than Australia, 12 on a similar level and 23 performing at a lower level.
Deputy chief executive of the Australian Council for Educational Research Dr Sue Thomson said the lack of improvement in year 4 maths could be because the national curriculum sets a lower standard than other countries.
“It could also be reading problems as well causing the maths problems because if you can’t read properly … you can’t always do these sort of tests very well,” Dr Thomson said.
Australian Mathematical Sciences interim director Professor Asha Rao said Australia needed more primary school teachers with a mathematics background.
“There is research which shows if teachers in primary school are anxious about mathematics, that transfers to their students, especially their female students,” she said.
“One thing we need to do in Australia, we tell parents to read to their children, we should also tell them to do mathematics.”
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) chief executive David de Carvalho said mathematics would be a priority in the ongoing Australian Curriculum review.
“The results are encouraging but no cause for complacency, especially when you consider the results for Year 4 mathematics.
“Ahead of the public consultation next year, ACARA is engaging with classroom teachers and curriculum experts about potential revisions to ensure we have a rigorous mathematics curriculum, one that sets high standards, gives teachers greater clarity about what they are expected to teach, and makes mathematical learning more meaningful to students.
“This will help us continue to improve outcomes in mathematics over time.”
Students in the ACT outperformed students in other jurisdictions in year 4 maths and science.
Dr Thomson said this could be explained by the territory’s larger proportion of students with a higher socioeconomic status.
The study shows a large tail of underachieving students in Australia, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, rural students and those with a lower socioeconomic background.
Singapore was the highest performing country across all subjects and year levels. Dr Thomson said research showed teachers in Singapore had less administrative work and more time devoted to mentoring and professional development.
“Our teachers talk about the issues they have with administrative burden and lack of face-to-face time with students,” she said.
“We can look at some of those high performing countries and learn from them about what we can do better.”
TIMSS is conducted every four years with a representative sample of year 4 and year 8 students. In 2019, 58 countries participated for year 4 and 39 countries participated for year 8.
Australia’s TIMSS results improved in all areas except year 4 maths. Picture: Shutterstock
