Post-14 Mathematics Inquiry 2004 and the Society's recommendations

The report of Professor Adrian Smith's inquiry into post-14 Mathematics, Making Maths Count, often referred to as the Smith Report, was published in February 2004. It is available from  this link.

The Smith Report drew attention to many serious problems in school mathematics education in the UK, especially England. The Society strongly agreed with most of the points made by the Report, but was very concerned about a recommendation that much of the statistics content in GCSE Mathematics should be removed and taught instead in various other disciplines. The Society believed that this would essentially destroy the teaching and learning of statistics in schools as it would no longer enjoy intellectual coherence.

As an immediate response, the Society issued a press release emphasising its view that the appropriate place for teaching statistics in an intellectually coherent manner lies for the present within the mathematics curriculum. To highlight the point, Professor Andy Grieve, then the President of the Society, said "Statistics must be taught as a coherent whole and a fragmentary approach alone will be detrimental to the discipline. Application to other subjects is of course vital but the teaching cannot be left solely to non-specialists in the subject". The Society also emphasised that there should be clear provision of statistics within ITT and CPD for all teachers of all subjects which use statistical methods.

The Society went on to set up a working group under Professor Harvey Goldstein to prepare a major report setting out the Society's view of the position of statistics in the curriuclum. This reaffirmed the Society's view that currently the best place for statistics in the 14-19 core curriculum is within mathematics. Statistics and data handling should continue to be taught alongside and as part of mathematics, as they draw heavily on and contribute heavily to core mathematical skills. The report found no evidence to suggest that these topics would fare better if taught as part of other subjects such as biology or geography, as had been recommended in the Post-Mathematics Inquiry.

The Society's report and other documents are available for download using the links below. Please note that the report includes substantial appendices and is 44 pages long. The Executive Summary of the report is available for download on its own.

The Society's report on statistics in the curriculum (PDF 666 KB)
 The Society's report on statistics in the curriculum - executive summary (PDF 14 KB)
Evidence submitted by the Society to the Post-14 Mathematics Inquiry (PDF 100 KB)
The Society's press release on the Smith Report (PDF 92 KB)
The Society's detailed initial response to the Smith Report (PDF  94 KB)

GCSE Mathematics - new specifications from 2010

New specifications for GCSE Mathematics are being introduced for first teaching in 2010.

GCSE Mathematics is a fundamentally important qualification. For many learners, it is the highest-level mathematics qualfication for which they will study. It is deeply regrettable that so many learners do not proceed any further, but the reality of the situation, at least for the present, is that this is so. Therefore it is extremely important that the qualification should be fully fit for purpose. The Society works closely with the rest of the mathematics community to try to ensure this. The Society has, of course, a special interest in the position of statistics within GCSE Mathematics.

A key recommendation in the Report of the Post-14 Mathematics Inquiry (often referred to as the Smith Report as its author was Professor Adrian Smith) was that GCSE Mathematics should be developed as a double-subject award. This recommendation led to a very great deal of debate and discussion over several years. The Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME) issued an important Briefing Note in February 2009. It had previously issued a Press Release in December 2008 welcoming news that piloting of a double-subject version of GCSE Mathematics was to start; this was supported by a separate  Press Release issued by the Society. Further very intense negotiations between the mathematics community, QCDA (formerly QCA) and Ofqual followed.

In the meantime, new criteria for single-subject GCSE Mathematics were being developed, to take effect in 2010. In March 2009, the Society commented formally on these by a  letter from the President to the Chair of Ofqual. While there was general support for parts of the thrust of the new criteria, the Society was concerned that many aspects of the proposals for statistics had not been properly thought out. The letter went into these matters in a constructive way. The Society is deeply disappointed that it appears that no notice whatever was taken of its letter. The published  criteria are identical with those on which the Society had commented.

Eventually arrangements for a pilot of the double-subject version were agreed. This version has become known as the "linked pair". Details are available on the QCDA website. On 22 July 2010, QCDA confirmed that Ministers had agreed that the pilot would go ahead as planned.