Who saw the Dispatches programme on awful maths teaching in primary schools?

[WilfSell]

I was shocked by how few teachers, supposed to be teaching maths, could do the tests. link here

Fewer than half I think, could pass half of the questions. Only one got them all right.

It seems a bit, um, fundamental really.

This isn't a teacher bashing thread. I love teachers. So what can be done? Specialist teachers across age groups? Abandon SATS in favour of proper skills development?

I just did the test and was pleased to get it all right .

Did wonder about the group for the last question where four people had a mean height of 2m - were they measuring basketball players?

MathsMadMummy, thanks for that very interesting link about Richard Dunne. Good news from Feenie that you will get the same pay as a secondary school teacher. I think you will make a great teacher, your enthusiasm shines through.
In case you missed it, there was another interesting thread about this TV programme at this link
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/telly_addicts/913366-Dispatches-programme-about-children-learning-maths

Are there still shortage subjects with golden hellos?

Swill - I also belonged to the first year of GCSE Maths. And I know the pupils who got a C in my class were not fluent in Maths - far from it and I would not wish them to be teaching my children. There will always be exceptions of course.

Personally, I would like to see the introduction of specialist maths teachers at primary level.

Feenie - don't they get paid more? I'd got the impression from the TDA ads that there was some kind of incentive at least for maths/science... feels like a fool for jumping to conclusions ah well doesn't matter to me anyway!

claig, thanks for the link to the other thread, I'm a newbie to MN so I don't really know my way round yet.

Forgot to say earlier I totally agree with gaelicsheep, SATs should be done without preparation - partly to get a more accurate view of the school standard, partly for the sake of the kids (like my DSDs last year) who are getting put off school because of all the pressure

3m

Also claig, TYVM for the compliment

Have to admit, from a selfish point of view I felt a bit better about my own career prospects after seeing the show - I'd heard that primary teaching is much much harder to get into than secondary, but maybe with a good maths degree (or possibly 'maths and education', depending on what modules I take towards the end) I'll stand out from the crowd! But that's still a few years away.

3m

I looked into the golden hellos (ie incentive payment for people teaching less popular subjects) and can't find anything about them still happening. There definitely were ones of £5,000 for secondary maths (and a variety of other subjects).

I fon't think that secondary teachers get paid more for the actual teaching but getting a golden hello definitely was (and might still be) possible.

Indeed - a golden hello is slightly different to being paid more - there would be uproar!

MathsMadMummy, found this article, sounds like the prospects for primary maths teachers could be rosy . Looks like there is a shortage of maths specialists
www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=2638601

But that article is dated 1998 - I don't think that particular proposal ever came of, though I am happy to be corrected.

sorry I thought it was 2008. But either way, you're probably right, I expect nothing came of it

Sorry, I meant 2008! Not heard anything on ground level, anyway.

in my dd state primary her class are doing very well in maths with 22 of them achieving over the national average - and my daughter thinks maths is fun - it is not a posh school, it is in a very mixed area, so i think the teachers have done an amazing job with a subject that i find very tricky