High school math quality dire

[Nina~ 431]

The quality of high school maths has declined so much that universities may be forced to lower their standards so students can graduate.

A review commissioned by Australia's prestigious Group of Eight Universities, released yesterday, found the state of mathematical sciences across the nation had "deteriorated to a dangerous level".

"Australia has gone backwards over the last 20 years in terms of the quality and quantity of students completing Year 12 mathematics," it said. Universities could not ignore the decline in maths skills among new students. "In the short term there appear to be only two conceivable responses: the provision of enabling (remedial) programs and the lowering of standards," it said.

Reasons for the decline include a severe shortage of maths teachers and the fact that many primary school teachers have a "maths phobia" which they transfer to students.

The report said demand for maths and statistics graduates was predicted to grow by 3.5 per cent a year until 2013. But between 2001 and 2007 the number of students enrolled in a maths major in Australian universities declined by 15 per cent and the number of students taking advanced maths at high school fell 27 per cent between 1995 and 2007.

The report recommends developing more remedial programs for university students, improving primary school teacher training and raising awareness of the importance of maths and science in the community.

University of WA vice-chancellor and Group of Eight chairman Alan Robson said the decline in maths skills was one of the biggest challenges for Australian education.

If Australia could not produce enough people with maths skills for key jobs such as engineering it would have to import people from elsewhere to provide those skills.

"If you don't provide remedial programs, then you will be producing graduates with lower standards with less mathematical ability than people had 10 years ago," he said.

UWA maths professor Cheryl Praeger, who helped conduct the review, said the problems stemmed from a lack of qualified and confident maths teachers in schools, a wider range of subject choices open to students and increased employer demand for maths graduates.

The WA Curriculum Council said the number of Year 12s studying high-level maths - calculus - had remained about the same at 1800 for the past 10 years.

Those doing intermediate-level applicable maths had dropped from 5000 to 4000 but the number doing discrete maths had increased from 6500 to 8000.

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[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

"Australia has gone backwards over the last 20 years in terms of the quality and quantity of students completing Year 12 mathematics," it said. Universities could not ignore the decline in maths skills among new students.

Someone will be along shortly to blame the Lebanese.

[Nina~ 431]

Someone will be along shortly to blame the Lebanese.

The Lebanese Muslims, Mexicans and Blacks

[The_Dude 1,142]

Someone will be along shortly to blame the Lebanese.

And the Indians

What do you expect from a bunch of ex-cons?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The Lebanese Muslims, Mexicans and Blacks

what mexicans? the australians are smart they dont let mexicans in.

they did kinda screw up with the lebanese though.

[Jenn! 918]

Well, it's not like the U.S. is any better.

[The_Dude 1,142]

what mexicans? the australians are smart they dont let mexicans in.

they did kinda screw up with the lebanese though.

They are brown, do you really think anything else matters to BY?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Well, it's not like the U.S. is any better.

please stay on topic. this is about how much australia sucks.

[Jenn! 918]

[Nina~ 431]

They are brown, do you really think anything else matters to BY?

Only if they have flashy rims on their cars.