17 April 2018
A new report from Australian education start-up Maths Pathway has shown that students in the 186 Maths Pathway partner schools learn mathematics at more than double the rate of students in classrooms that don’t use their model.
Collecting data from over 35,000 students, Maths Pathway reported that students learned an average of 1.25 levels mathematics over the last 12 months. This surpasses the mean 0.54 levels of mathematics that students learned in each prior year of schooling, before using this new model.
This data also shows that Maths Pathway is helping female students close the achievement gap present across gender in Australian maths classrooms, as well as addressing achievement gaps between schools from different socio-economic backgrounds.
The Maths Pathway model aims to address Australia’s stagnating performance in mathematics. Australia has fallen behind international peers in the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) over the past 15 years. Also, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) has shown no significant difference in achievement across most areas and year levels of mathematics since it was introduced in 2008.
Traditional educational models have yet to successfully utilise the potential of technology to measurably impact student learning. However, Maths Pathway leverages technology to deliver highly individualised learning to tens of thousands of students, the outcomes of which are included in the report.
The data from Maths Pathway’s online assessment system has greater detail and more complete coverage than any other widespread Australian mathematics assessment tool. When teachers implement Maths Pathway they can access real time data, to inform their teaching practices and adapt to student learning needs.
“Now I have my finger on the pulse of every student […] we are constantly excited about how much our students are achieving,” said Sue Crick, a teacher at Colo High School, NSW, who has been using Maths Pathway since the beginning of 2017. “We are seeing students who were disengaged now experiencing success. The lowest level student at the start of the year has grown two whole levels.”
Maths Pathway is designed to help teachers focus on strategies with the greatest impact on students, such as more one-on-one time with students, and targeted small group lessons.
Chris Hill, Numeracy Coordinator at Epping Secondary College VIC explains how his teaching has evolved since implementing Maths Pathway at the beginning of 2015
“I have completely shifted from being a teacher-centred classroom to a student-centred classroom […] Students are achieving more in less time and we now have lots of time to concentrate on problem solving.”
Richard Wilson, the CEO of Maths Pathway, emphasised that
“We believe the future of mathematics education in Australia is a bright one. The report shows that Maths Pathway students are better prepared for continued mathematics studies in year 11 and beyond, compared to students in schools that do not use the model.”
The ongoing innovation and refinement of Maths Pathway’s approach to mathematics learning and pedagogy is informed by an Education Advisory Board, consisting of business leaders and education experts. Including; Charles Lovitt – Maths Pedagogy Consultant & Co-Creator of Maths300; Anthony Mackay – CEO, Centre for Strategic Education; Melodie Potts-Rosevear – CEO, Teach for Australia; Roslyn Prinsley – Head, Strategic Research Initiatives, Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research & Innovation, ANU; Lisa Rodgers – CEO, Australian Institute for Teaching & School Leadership; Sonia Sharp – Principal, Nous Group.
