Press Release - Mathematics performance in primary
schools: Getting the best results
19 November 2008
In 2007, pupils in their final year of primary school achieved
the best set of results so far recorded in the national mathematics
tests, yet almost a quarter of pupils are still not reaching the
expected standard. Attainment in mathematics increased
significantly between 1998 and 2000, but improvements in results
since then have been small.
Today’s National Audit Office report found that meeting the 2011
target – that 84.5 per cent of pupils make at least two National
Curriculum levels of progress in mathematics – will be a
considerable challenge. A significant minority of primary school
pupils, including some of the more able, are not making as much
progress as they might in mathematics. In 2007, 66,000 pupils did
not make the nationally expected level of progress which their
earlier attainment suggested they could. In contrast to other
subjects, girls are making less progress than boys, and there is a
20 percentage point gap in attainment at age 11 between pupils from
disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers.
Since 2000, spending by primary schools has increased in real terms
by more than 30 per cent and the NAO estimates that £2.3 billion is
now spent teaching primary school mathematics. Improvement
programmes targeted at lower performing primary schools are having
a positive impact, with nearly 85 per cent of primary schools
achieving the Department’s target for the proportion of their
pupils reaching the expected standard in their final year of
primary school.
A national strategy to improve performance in primary mathematics
was introduced in schools in 1999 and has helped to bring greater
consistency in the planning and delivery of mathematics teaching.
But weaknesses persist in areas such as the assessment of pupil
progress and the use and application of mathematics. Revisions made
to the strategy in 2007 are intended to improve these areas. The
Department is also piloting a programme Every Child Counts
specifically designed to help lower attaining pupils. It is too
early to assess the impact of these changes.
Tim Burr, head of the National Audit Office, said
today:
“Helping children to master basic mathematics is a central part of
their primary education and in 2007 pupils in their final year
achieved the best set of results so far in the national tests. In
recent years, however, the rate of improvement in primary
mathematics has slowed and almost a quarter of pupils are still not
equipped with the understanding of mathematics they need to study
the subject further, or to tackle subjects such as science once
they start secondary school. The Department needs to improve how
teachers assess pupils’ progress throughout the primary years, so
that they can support every child to do their best in
mathematics.”
Notes for Editors
Press Notice 50/08
All enquiries to Mark Anderson,
NAO Press Office: Tel: 020 7798 7558
Mobile: 077796 937 119