In Australia, about 400,000 students yearly, or 10%, require extra support or fall below the international benchmark in math. Only 20% of these students manage to catch up once they fall behind. Early assessments of math skills in Australian schools are described as inefficient and ineffectual. The author suggests that early math screening should be conducted twice yearly, focusing on “number sense”, including numbers, number relations, and number operations. The goal is to implement screening throughout every year of schooling, as math concepts progress to more advanced levels such as multiplication and algebra. Calls for a universal numeracy screening test were first made in 2017, but little has changed in practice or policy in the past six years.
Mathematics achievement has implications beyond formal schooling, affecting employment, income, homelessness, and health outcomes for adults with poor numeracy skills. A significant portion of adults lack the necessary numeracy levels for daily tasks like reading a petrol gauge or managing a household budget. Early identification of struggling students and providing high-quality assistance can potentially alter patterns of underachievement. The author emphasizes the importance of empowering teachers with reliable tools to intervene and support children’s needs as early as possible to improve numeracy outcomes.
Numeracy performance has remained stagnant over the past decade, with primary school outcomes crucial in raising achievement levels for older students. There is a call for robust universal screening of early numeracy skills to ensure that children in need of intervention are not missed. Without such screening measures, identifying students requiring additional support becomes a hit-or-miss approach. Dr. Katherin Cartwright, Mathematical Association of NSW president, acknowledges the need for greater focus on early intervention but notes that various factors, including access to free preschool, students’ backgrounds, and their sense of belonging at school, influence numeracy proficiency.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare emphasizes the importance of tying funding to reforms that assist children in catching up, keeping up, and completing school. The next National School Reform Agreement is expected to prioritize measures that support struggling students and improve overall numeracy outcomes. Through early identification, high-quality support, and consistency in interventions, there is a potential to address issues of underachievement in numeracy among Australian students. Adopting a nationally consistent numeracy screening check by the end of 2028 is recommended to provide teachers with the necessary tools and strategies to effectively support students in developing math skills.
