The policy, announced as part of Rishi Sunak’s new year address, has come with very little detail or information about the evidence behind the policy leading to criticism that it is just a political gimmick.
During his Conservative leadership campaign, Mr Sunak said he wanted to replace A levels with a new baccalaureate which would include compulsory English and maths study to 18 and fewer exams at 16. However, this policy announcement was unexpected.
Mr Sunak said: “We’re one of the few countries not to require our children to study some form of maths up to the age of 18. Right now, just half of all 16 to 19-year-olds study any maths at all.
“Yet in a world where data is everywhere and statistics underpin every job, letting our children out into that world without those skills, is letting our children down.
“I am now making numeracy a central objective of the education system. That doesn’t have to mean compulsory A level in maths for everyone. But we will work with the sector to move towards all children studying some form of maths to 18.”
Around 85,000 students a year already continue to study maths at A level while around 145,000 continue with maths study because they have failed to achieve a grade 4 or higher at GCSE and are required to take resits. This compares to around 580,000 students who took GCSE maths in England last year.
However, critics were quick to point out that the current shortage of teachers would make the new policy challenging to implement.
Maths has often been among the subjects missing annual initial teacher training recruitment targets. The latest figures published last term show that for 2022/23 1,844 trainees have been recruited against a target of 2,040 (90%). And in 2021/22, the figures show that 2,671 trainees were recruited against a target of 2,800 (95%).
A Department for Education blog last week (DfE, 2022), offered little further detail despite being titled Studying maths to 18 – what you need to know.
It states: “Many other countries – including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Finland, Japan, Norway, and the USA – ensure students take some form of maths until they are 18 and the prime minister has made clear that England will do likewise.
“Further detail will be set out in due course, but we are exploring existing routes, such as the Core Maths qualifications and T levels, as well as more innovative options. This does not mean compulsory A level maths for everyone.”
David Laws, executive chairman at the Education Policy Institute, said there was a “good case” for more maths education in sixth form and colleges, but added that it would “take many years to recruit the necessary teachers”.
He said: “There was no detail on this key issue in the prime minister’s speech. It is likely to take five to 10 years to make a reality of the maths commitment, but there are urgent education issues which need addressing now.”
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the plan was “vague”, “half-baked” and “currently unachievable”.
“The only tangible measure he has announced is a vague idea of extending maths teaching up to the age of 18 for every student without the slightest evidence of what this would achieve or an acknowledgement that we already have a severe shortage of maths teachers.
“The education system doesn’t need more policy gimmicks or random targets, but serious and sustained investment in schools and colleges after a decade of chronic underfunding, and a strategy to address teacher shortages which are at crisis point.
“We would want to hear how such a policy would avoid exacerbating the already-chronic national shortage of maths teachers.”
Professor Becky Francis, chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, said the idea was “well-intentioned” but that there were “more urgent priorities”.
She explained: “We face a shortage of maths teachers, so addressing this recruitment and retention challenge will be crucial to the success of any maths education policy.
“Last year just one in five students retaking their maths GCSE went on to pass, a proportion that has remained stubbornly low since the policy was introduced in 2015. Young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and students with SEND are overrepresented in this group.
“We need to focus on understanding how best to support more young people – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds - to achieve a good grounding in maths by the age of 16.”
- DfE: Studying maths to 18 – what you need to know, DfE Blog, January 2022: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/01/04/studyi...