Collapse in maths hurts economy

The Home Affairs Department’s Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List identifies 44 ​occupations that fill critical skills needed to support the nation’s economic recovery from the pandemic. Most require advanced mathematics. They include eight specialties of engineering, numerous branches of accounting and auditing, general practitioners and medical specialists, veterinarians, construction project managers, and information technology specialists. Maths teachers probably should be added to the list.

The news that the proportion of year 12 students studying the highest level of mathematics has fallen below 10 per cent for the first time is a serious wake-up call for educators, industry and governments, especially the states. Poor subject choices and maths skills limit students’ options for university and careers. On Tuesday, industry groups made the case for boosting the nation’s intake of skilled migrants. Our economy needs them. But in the medium to longer term it also needs the school system and universities to produce graduates able to take their place as demand increases for tech-savvy, well-educated staff. Experience also shows such workers invariably are better paid than many others.

Part of the problem, as Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute director Tim Marchant identified, is teaching quality. As many as 40 per cent of maths teachers are not qualified to teach the subject. In the junior years of high school, years 7 to 10, many maths classes are taught by teachers who are not trained in mathematics. Those are the years when most students, possibly through lack of confidence, decide to drop maths for years 11 and 12. As parents know, many students struggle if the subject is not well taught. Finding a tutor outside school is difficult, even for those who can afford to pay. Until the nation produces enough teachers grounded in the subject at university level, professional development and training for existing teachers must be part of the solution. The shortage of teachers reflects the demand for maths and science graduates in the workforce, with starting salaries rising across the past four years to more than $100,000.

A breakdown of the figures shows some states are doing better than others. In NSW, maths enrolments have remained stable, with 25 per cent of year 12s graduating with an advanced maths subject and about 17 per cent studying a maths extension subject last year. Queensland, by comparison, is floundering. The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority shows the proportion of year 12 students studying specialist maths has dropped from 10 per cent in 2019 to 5.9 per cent last year. In Victoria, only 7.8 per cent of year 12 students completed specialist maths last year.

Given the value of the subject, states should consider a careful use of incentives through the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank system to encourage students to take on the challenge. The gender gap is also concerning. Boys are almost twice as likely to enrol in the highest level of maths, with 6.7 per cent of girls and 11.9 per cent of boys studying the subject last year. Parental, school and community attitudes also matter. Students need to understand how badly they are short-changing their futures by avoiding maths.