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Revisions to the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics

 

When it came to reviewing the Australian Curriculum, Mathematics was one of the learning areas that attracted the most attention.

 

 

When ACARA began the Australian Curriculum Review, we were aware that Mathematics was one of the learning areas that was going to receive considerable attention. We only need to look at Australian students’ performance in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) over recent years to understand the interest in this learning area. 

 

When we released the revised draft Mathematics curriculum for consultation and comment in April 2021, it was one of the learning areas that received the most feedback, especially with respect to when certain concepts were introduced and whether the curriculum was advocating particular pedagogical approaches.  

 

Feedback was used in developing a final, updated Mathematics curriculum, endorsed by all education ministers in April 2022, that has a deep evidence base and lifts the standards expected of Australian students.  

 

The updated Australian Curriculum: Mathematics has a strong focus on students developing mastery in mathematics by becoming proficient with the essential mathematical facts, concepts, skills, procedures and processes.  

 

This focus on mastery supports long-term retention and the ability of students to transfer this understanding to different situations beyond the classroom.  

 

The content descriptions have been re-sequenced, realigned and refined to ensure content is taught at the right time and there is clarity of expectation for teachers as to when key mathematical concepts, procedures and processes should be introduced and mastered. 

 

Key changes from Version 8.4 to Version 9.0  

  • Simplified the organisation of content to 6 strands (Number, Algebra, Measurement, Space, Statistics and Probability) to make it easier for connections to be made across all of the strands. The content was previously organised under 3 paired strands, 13 sub-strands and 4 separate proficiency strands. 
  • Embedded the expectation of mathematical proficiency into the content descriptions and achievement standards, making them more explicit and less confusing for teachers. Previously the proficiency strands of Understanding, Fluency, Reasoning and Problem-solving were described separately from the curriculum content. 
  • Strengthened the importance of students learning how to apply mathematics to authentic real-world contexts by developing their mathematical thinking, reasoning and problem-solving process skills through opportunities to learn and engage in mathematical modelling, computational thinking, statistical investigation, probability experiments and simulations.  
  • Strengthened the links to Numeracy through refining content descriptions and content elaborations in Mathematics to better support the Numeracy general capability progressions and working with other learning areas to ensure the Numeracy demands across the curriculum are aligned. This has resulted in new content being introduced into Mathematics, such as error and approximation, 3D coordinate systems, logarithmic scales, solving exponential functions and interpreting networks, which have applications across the curriculum and support the increasing Numeracy demands of society. 
  • Reduced content by identifying areas of duplication or overlap between other learning areas and content currently over-emphasised in Mathematics, such as the interpretation and use of 2D maps, transformation of shapes and the naming of seasons. There is an 8 per cent reduction in the number of content descriptions from Version 8.4 to Version 9.0.  

The improvements to Mathematics were informed by a strong evidence base:  

  • International curriculum and assessment frameworks, including the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) were reviewed. The Mathematics curriculum was revised to better align with these international standards.  
  • We drew on our international partnerships, such as with Cambridge University, the OECD 2030 Mathematics Curriculum Document Analysis project and the UNESCO Minimum Standards of Proficiency, and our work on the National Learning Progressions, to ensure foundational concepts and skills are introduced at the right time and the progression of learning is based on evidence.  
  • The introduction of essential concepts and topics, such as chance, fractions, operation facts, Pythagoras, solving equations and inequalities, are aligned with the curriculum standards of other OECD countries and are based on the expert advice of researchers and academics in the field.