School exam papers do not often make the headlines, but when they do it is always for the wrong reasons. The recent saga about an unexpectedly difficult NCEA algebra exam may be a case in point.
The Year 11 exam had many students and their teachers ‘in tears’. The questions were reportedly harder than expected and the usual ‘ease-into-it’ questions were not at the beginning of the paper. Many students did not even attempt the questions.
This has generated divided views on the topic.
Many are blaming NZQA for setting an exam beyond the capability of students. NZQA has defended itself, saying that the test was developed by a team of mathematics experts and was reviewed by several secondary school teachers.
Others are blaming teachers for not preparing the students well enough, which allegedly left students high and dry when the questions veered away from what they were expecting.
It is too soon at this stage to tell who is correct. But there is also a third option that has not received much attention, namely what if the way we teach maths is at fault.
The New Zealand Initiative’s report on the topic, Un(ac)countable found that the way we teach maths has moved away from an emphasis on basics, such as multiplication tables, to providing various means and strategies for tackling problems. That suits the brightest students, who can cope with the complexity, but it can leave those with less maths aptitude struggling to cope.
The move away from the basics was made several years ago and student performance in this area has declined. In the latest 2012 international benchmarking test, TIMSS, our nine-year olds came last equal in maths among their peers in developed countries. Almost half could not add 191 and 218.
As the recent NCEA example shows, the problem carries forward into the high school years.
Our report argued that the education system needs to strike a better balance between teaching the basics and equipping students with a mastery of maths. It is not just about the curriculum, but about boosting the skills and abilities of those who teach the subject.
Without such changes, another maths paper making headlines is inevitable.