14/06/2023
Maths participation declining in Australian schools
Over the past decade, roughly 71-76% of Year 12 students have been enrolled in one or more Maths subjects. However, according to an AMSI report published last week, this figure dropped to just 66% in 2020.
Participation in higher-level Maths is even lower, reaching an all-time low of 9.2%, compared to 11.6% in 2008. Participation in intermediate Maths has also dropped to 17.6% from 23.3% in 2008.
Enrolment in higher-level Maths for girls has dropped from 7.5% in 2019 to 6.7% in 2020, and for boys, it fell from 12.9% to 11.9% during the same period.
Reference: https://www.teachermagazine.com/ Author-Zoe Kaskamanidis
Further reading
Wienk, M. (2022). Year 12 Mathematics participation report card: Enrolments reach an all-time low. (AMSI national report). Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute. https://amsi.org.au/?publications=year-12-participation-in-calculus-based-mathematics-subjects-takes-a-dive
While during the past decade typically around 71-73% of Year 12 students were enrolled in one or more mathematics subjects, things took a turn for the worse in 2020, with a sudden drop in maths subject enrolments to a mere 66%. In the same year, the number of students studying calculus-based maths a...