Assessment

GCSE Maths and Numeracy: They don’t equal the same

Rishi Sunak's announcement that young people will be expected to study some form of maths until 18 sparked a huge debate. Adam Steedman Thake wonders what we are really speaking about when we get into the debate about maths

Date07/01/23

AuthorAdam Steedman Thake

Adam leads policy report development for AQA. He began as a primary school teacher before moving into policy roles in the DfE and the MoJ. Adam studied History at the University of Manchester before completing a Social Research MSc at the University of London

Do Rishi Sunak's Sums Add Up?

Rishi Sunak's announcement: Maths or Numeracy? Is that the question?

With the Prime Minister’s announcement this week that all young people will be expected to study Maths in some form until the age of 18, it’s probably a good time to consider what Maths actually is, and what it gives (or doesn’t give!) young people.

Specifically, the speech and much of the discussion surrounding it linked Maths and Numeracy together as if they were interchangeable, but the reality is more complicated than that...

What do Maths and Numeracy mean in real world terms?

Maths is a statutory component of the national curriculum and taught to all pupils in England until the age of 16.

In the public imagination, numeracy skills are often conflated with maths as an academic subject, reflecting the English tradition of using the teaching and assessment of maths to develop and measure numeracy.

A grade 4 in GCSE Maths – defined by the DfE as a ‘standard pass’ – is the benchmark used by many colleges, universities and employers to determine young peoples’ numeracy.

However, numeracy is not the same as Maths. Numeracy skills include: Counting and conversions; routine calculations; budgeting; and measurement and data analysis.

Maths, however, is more traditionally seen as giving learners access to mathematical ideas and knowledge for example algebra or differentiation, that feature strongly in specific industries such as computing, economic analysis or insurance. So while there is, of course, a link between these things – too often the debate around the PM’s announcement has conflated studying maths with building numeracy skills.

So what’s the problem?

Some argue that the content of GCSE Maths is too theoretical, lacks workplace relevance and fails to equip youngsters with the right skills.

Simultaneously, policymakers struggle to lift the proportion of 16-year-olds who meet or exceed the expected numeracy standards. It is similar for the working-age population. In 2021, an estimated 9 million adults exhibited poor literacy or numeracy skills. A wide range of proposals have been mooted to resolve these problems, including reforming GCSE Maths, using different measures of numeracy at KS4, and most recently the PM’s announcement. Of course, as has been commented on, many include large structural changes to the education system.

Moving the debate forward

Instead, I believe there are a number of things that we can do to help tackle these issues more immediately:

More research into employers’ definition of numeracy skills

Although people frequently point to employers’ concerns around inadequate numeracy levels in the workforce, employers don’t use consistent or rounded definitions of numeracy. Evidence on the precise definitions that they do adopt is underdeveloped. Once we agree that it’s numeracy, rather than Maths, that we’re explicitly focussed on, the next logical step is to define exactly what numeracy skills employers most value.

Support a life-course approach to numeracy

While any assessment – be it a GCSE, a Functional Skills Qualification or a new measure at 18 – provide snapshots of someone’s attainment at a certain point in time, a person’s numeracy may develop or deteriorate during the remainder of their education and working life. There could be clear benefits in supporting a ‘life-course’ approach to numeracy, again, working directly with employers.

Exploit the opportunities of new technology

Advances in technology and the availability of computer equipment are already changing ongoing assessment in numeracy and the way teachers identify students needing support. Regular, on-screen adaptive assessment in numeracy is already commonplace in several counties in the UK, and could be developed further.

So, whether you agree with the PM’s announcement or not, hopefully you’ll be persuaded that there are practical, real world things we can do to help move the debate forward and, ultimately, ensure our young people have some of the best numeracy skills in the developed world.

What can this year’s GCSE entries tell us to look for in tomorrow’s results?

With GCSE Results published on 22nd August, Dr Chinwe Njoku looks into the underlying data on what subjects this year's cohort took and how this has changed from previous years.

Assessment

A-level maths students hit six figures – what’s behind its popularity?

On Thursday, more than 100,000 A-level maths students in England will find out their results – 11.4% more than last year. Why the upturn? Dr Chinwe Njoku, AQA Education Insights Lead and former maths teacher, was heartened by the news and keen to look at the story behind the data.

Education Policy

What comes after ‘urgent’ for the new Education Secretary?

After the burning issues are addressed, what should come next for the new Education Secretary?

Education Policy

Labour’s oracy plans: They need clear goals

Sir Keir Starmer has said he wants to boost students’ confidence by raising the importance of speaking skills – oracy. In this previously published blog, Reza Schwitzer, AQA’s director of external affairs, applauds the ambition but warns there needs to be clear goals

Education Policy

Through the looking glass: How polling the public can help policymakers learn about themselves

Public attitude data is key to effective policymaking. Proper polling can reveal what people think about existing policies and what they want for the future. But, if looked at from a different angle, it can also help policymakers question themselves and their assumptions about the public. In this blog, AQA’s Policy and Evidence Manager Adam Steedman-Thake, reveals the lessons he learned about himself while reading a recent public attitude survey.

Assessment

Assessing oracy: Is Comparative Judgement the answer?

Oracy skills are vital to success in school and life. And yet, for many children, opportunities to develop them are missed. Educationalists are engaging in a growing debate about where oracy fits into the school system. Labour has put it at the heart of its plans to improve social mobility and an independent commission is looking at how it is taught in the classroom. This renewed focus on oracy means it is more important than ever that teachers have a way to reliably assess and understand their students’ attainment and progression. Amanda Moorghen of oracy education charity Voice 21 explains how Comparative Judgement can help with that and why it may be a game changer.

Education

TV subtitles as an aid to literacy: What does the research say?

Jack Black is probably best known in educational circles for playing a renegade substitute teacher in School of Rock. But the Hollywood star has made a more conventional foray into education by backing the use of TV subtitles to improve child literacy. Stephen Fry and the World Literacy Foundation also want parents to use their TV remotes to get children reading. So, could this simple click of a button be a solution to boost pupils’ reading skills? AQA’s resident expert on language teaching, Dr Katy Finch, casts her eye over the research to see whether it stacks up.

Data Analysis

What is left behind now education’s Data Wave has receded?

Is data the solution to all education’s issues? About a decade ago the prevailing wisdom said it was. Advocates of this Data Wave argued that harvesting internal statistics would help schools solve issues such as teacher accountability and attainment gaps. As with all waves, after crashing onto the beach they recede, leaving space for another to roll in. In this blog, teacher, author and data analyst Richard Selfridge looks at the legacy of the Data Wave to see what schools can take from it.

International Approaches

Finland & PISA – A fall from grace but still a high performer?

Finland was once recognised as one of the most successful educational systems in the world. At the turn of the millennium, it topped the PISA rankings in reading, maths and science. But by 2012, decline set in. The last set of results showed performances in maths, reading and science were at an all-time low. In this blog Dr Jonathan Doherty of Leeds Trinity University outlines some reasons that may account for the slide.

Briefing

PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS: What actually are they and what do they tell us?

According to the latest PISA results, England’s science scores are still on a downward trajectory that started a decade ago. Yet TIMSS, another respected study, has science performances rising. Which of them is right? Is one more valid than the other? In this blog AQi examines three International Large-Scale Assessments and finds that, although they may look the same from a distance, get up close and you’ll find they are very different beasts.

Download a PDF version.

Download a copy of this content to your device as a PDF file. We generate PDF versions for the convenience of offline reading, but we recommend sharing this link if you'd like to send it to someone else.

GCSE Maths and Numeracy: They don’t equal the same

Do Rishi Sunak's Sums Add Up?

What do Maths and Numeracy mean in real world terms?

So what’s the problem?

Moving the debate forward

More research into employers’ definition of numeracy skills

Support a life-course approach to numeracy

Exploit the opportunities of new technology

What can this year’s GCSE entries tell us to look for in tomorrow’s results?

A-level maths students hit six figures – what’s behind its popularity?

What comes after ‘urgent’ for the new Education Secretary?

Labour’s oracy plans: They need clear goals

Through the looking glass: How polling the public can help policymakers learn about themselves

Assessing oracy: Is Comparative Judgement the answer?

TV subtitles as an aid to literacy: What does the research say?

What is left behind now education’s Data Wave has receded?

Finland & PISA – A fall from grace but still a high performer?

PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS: What actually are they and what do they tell us?

Join the conversation on Twitter

Download a PDF version.

Sign up to our newsletter