In Australia during the years 2010-2011, 66% of migrants were admitted under the Skilled Migration Scheme.
Why is it that technologically advanced countries like Australia, UK and the USA need to import so many highly skilled migrants when many of the people already living in those countries do not have a job?
The answer is simple, the standards of Maths and Science in the schools are so low that not enough of the children in advanced countries have the skills needed to pursue technological careers.
The 2007 TIMSS International Study of Achievement in School Mathematics found that Australian students at Year 8 level (average score 496) are below average (average of all countries was 500) in a group of 49 countries. Australia was marginally behind the United States (av. 508), which was behind the United Kingdom (av. 513), and these three countries and many others were way behind the leaders: Chinese Taipei (av. 598), South Korea (av. 597), Singapore (av. 593), Hong Kong (av. 572), and Japan (av. 570).
Similar results were obtained for Mathematics achievement in Year 4. Results for Science achievement in Australia were similarly disappointing.
The US Government’s National Mathematics Advisory Panel considers mathematics education needs a major overhaul (Australian student performance in Mathematics is below that of the USA)
In 2008, a major study by the US National Mathematics Advisory Panel considered the US results showed that their Mathematics education system ‘is broken and must be fixed’. This is what their report had to say in detail:
This Panel, diverse in experience, expertise, and philosophy, agrees broadly that the delivery system in mathematics education—the system that translates mathematical knowledge into value and ability for the next generation—is broken and must be fixed. This is not a conclusion about any single element of the system. It is about how the many parts do not now work together to achieve a result worthy of this country’s values and ambitions. (Principal Messages, page xiii)
Teaching Methods Are to Blame for Poor Results
Educators have been aware of the problems with Mathematics Education for many decades and so have tried a series of different approaches in the schools:
- New Maths (with a focus on understanding through set theory),
- Back-to-Basics (a return to rote learning of number facts),
- Problem Solving (with an emphasis on application and reasoning),
- Constructivism (where the teacher does less teaching and encourages the students to work the Maths facts out for themselves).
I hear you asking: ‘What is the result of all these experiments?’
The answer is: There has been a steady decline in the number of students studying advanced Maths at Year 12 level, year after year.
High Performance In Mathematics
Year after year, all the students who get Maths tutoring here at High Performance Learning get outstanding results because our curriculum teaches HOW TO LEARN MATHS, as well as teaching the content.
Our programs incorporate the best parts of the four approaches to teaching Maths detailed above, PLUS we teach our students:
- The psychology of thinking and learning (including Game Theory),
- The use of concrete materials to develop abstract concepts,
- A heavy emphasis on learning the language of Mathematics,
- The use of in-depth reading, comprehension and understanding skills to support long-term memory,
- Careful setting out strategies,
- The importance of mastering each level of Mathematics before moving on to the next one.
If you look through your child’s Maths textbook you will see little or no mention of these things. If your child’s Maths teacher is using these techniques effectively then all the children in the class would be getting high marks.
To find out how you can access our Maths Programs and tutoring contact us by email here or phone us in Australia on (08) 8370 0110.
To find out more about Our Mathematics Programs click here.
By Chris Brooks
Principal
High Performance Learning
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