The DfE are ruining maths education

[noblegiraffe]

I keep reading stories about crappy decisions and am getting more and more pissed off. If anyone has cheery news, or if I've got anything wrong, please let me know!

1. rushed implementation of new maths GCSE leading to damaged confidence and projected reduced A-level take-up, especially with only 3 subjects and linear A-levels www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/exclusive-maths-disaster-schools-report-alarming-decline-post-16-take

2. rushed implementation of new maths A-level meaning teachers haven't had enough time to prepare resources (personal experience)

3. Government ignoring proposals to ditch compulsory GCSE resits as they are causing massive problems and most people fail feweek.co.uk/2017/04/10/decision-to-retain-forced-maths-and-english-gcse-resits-extremely-disappointing/

4. Funding for the Core Maths support programme ended and online resources archived www.core-maths.org (this is a brand new qualification which many schools will only have just started offering)

5. Funding for the Underground Maths online A-level resources ended and resources archived (these have only been online for a year and were widely agreed to be marvellous - now they won't be finished) www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-41013493

6. Further maths GCSE and the FSMQ will no longer count for any bucket in Progress 8 (except for FSMQ if the student hasn't taken maths GCSE which I can't see happening) so disincentivising schools from offering them as they cost money to enter. www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/583857/Progress_8_school_performance_measure_Jan_17.pdf bottom page 28

7. Cuts in funding for 4th subjects at 6th form, so Further Maths and Core Maths which are usually taken as 4th subjects won't be properly funded which, in a time of austerity, will mean schools will be put off offering them. www.theguardian.com/education/2016/oct/27/cutbacks-force-90-of-colleges-to-offer-pupils-only-three-as-levels

The government have said that they will put £16million into maths post-16 next year, but that's no good for this year is it? And god knows what they are actually going to use the funding for, because they clearly can't be trusted to do a good job.

You've forgotten 8) Foundation maths GCSE is not fit for purpose in terms of allowing the students sitting it to demonstrate what they can do instead of leaving them with a lot of stuff they can't do. Which does no-one any good. But in every other way I completely agree with you.

9. The increased difficulty of maths GCSE is going to put less confident students off doing A level maths, even when they are more than capable. This is going to decrease the number of A level maths students, and hence the number of students doing STEM degrees. It is going to take widening participation in STEM in the wrong direction as women and certain under-represented groups are more likely to lose confidence and not take maths further.

I genuinely don't understand the rationale for a lot of these moves - they don't even save much money in the big picture.

We aren't exactly happy about the DfE on this thread, are we?