Hey, mums and dads, your kids are counting on you to solve this NAPLAN problem

Another year, another NAPLAN, and regular as clockwork my phone is buzzing. “Adam, our kids are going backwards at maths at a rapid rate.”

The year 3 NAPLAN results, released on Wednesday, have been described as “clearly concerning” – and they are. More than a third of NSW year 3 students are behind where they need to be in the crucial early stages of learning to live with numbers.

A third are also not meeting benchmarks in reading, writing, grammar and punctuation. But I’m a maths nerd, and that’s where I can help.

Yes, we need teachers who are more comfortable teaching maths. Yes, the pedagogy practitioners will dissect how maths is taught in our classrooms. And it wouldn’t surprise me if overreliance on iPads as babysitters has diminished our kids’ sense of curiosity and powers of attention. Further, when year 3 students in outer regional NSW fare worse at numeracy benchmarks than kids in the cities, closing that gap takes resourcing, not just enthusiasm.

But parents, it is time to number up. If you have a child aged up to 9, you have a crucial role to play in their mathematical development.

Can I stress: we are talking year 3 maths. All your child needs to be able to do is basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Throw in a simple fraction, some maps and spatial awareness and you’re good to go. There’s no integral calculus. No algebraic fractions. Mum, you’ve got this.

First up, can we discard the “I suck at maths” refrain that so many recite almost as a playful boast? I have never heard an adult admit, “Gee, I can’t spell”, or, “Reading, just not my thing”. Having a chuckle while bemoaning how much you hate maths is a terrible example to set your kids.

Instead, try these five handy tips. You can count them on one hand.

1. Roll the dice. Dice games are perfect for recognising numbers and developing single-digit addition. Why is a three a three? Because it has three dots on it. Roll a three and a four, you move seven. Snakes and Ladders, Yahtzee, Pig … choose a game and roll on!
2. Count those coins. Get your kids counting piles of coins, or buttons. Put a few groups down. In piles, in grids, in circles. Which group has the most? How many? Which two groups together match this third one? And when they get it right, don’t just congratulate them. Certainly do that. But then ask, “How did you work that out?” Keep going until your child can, in the words of RMIT’s Professor Di Siemon, “trust the count”.
3. When in doubt, count. Apples in the fridge, eggs in the carton, shirts in the cupboard. As maths guru and 2018 Australian Local Hero of the Year Eddie Woo says, “There is stuff to count everywhere. Just get them counting.”
4. Marvellous Map-ematics. Print a map of your neighbourhood and get your child to find different ways to reach the park, the shops, the school gate. Spatial awareness rocks.
5. Finally, a quick word in defence of rote learning. It is crucial in early numeracy. At Regina Coeli Catholic Primary in Beverly Hills every maths lesson opens with revision – concepts revisited just as the brain is about to forget them, so they stick. More than 90 per cent of their students met year 5 numeracy benchmarks, up 12 percentage points from last year.

Kids should practise addition and subtraction until they know them cold. You don’t wake up each morning, look at your shoes and think, “There must be some logical way to attach these to my feet. Give me 15 minutes, I’ve got this.” Once you’ve practised it 100 times, you can tie shoelaces for life. It’s the same with adding digits, or your times tables.

In the 21st century an innumerate nation will be a losing nation. Yes, our teachers need more training and support. The curriculum can always evolve. Artificial intelligence will offer exciting new ways to learn.

But parents, when it comes to year 1 screening checks and year 3 NAPLAN maths, your child has to be able to count on you.

Adam Spencer was the University of Sydney’s inaugural Ambassador for Science and Mathematics and is the author of Maths 101 (for dumb dads and terrified mums). He writes at adambspencer.substack.com

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