Fine Gael Dun Laoghaire TD, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, has today (Wednesday) raised serious concerns with the Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn, about the effectiveness of Project Maths. Deputy Mitchell O’Connor was speaking this afternoon during Topical Issues in the Dáil.

“I have serious concerns about the effectiveness of the Project Maths programme, which has been hailed as the answer to the below average performance of our teenagers in a subject that is so important for a wide range of careers in the IT, engineering and high tech sectors.

“Mathematicians have expressed grave misgivings about the radical changes which have been made to the Leaving Certificate maths paper. Most of the subject’s core elements – including calculus, vectors, matrices, sequences and series and difference equations – have been significantly reduced on the new paper. It’s also the first time pupils have to answer all questions on both papers, with no options.

“Third level institutions are acutely aware of these issues. The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies placed a recent advert in the Irish Times outlining that it is holding a calculus prep course for prospective students of maths, science, engineering and economics, due to the reduced amount of calculus being taught on the new curriculum.

“Experts from a number of colleges have expressed the view that Project Maths will have a negative impact on maths education. Their criticisms range from the subject matter of the course, to inadequately trained teachers and the fact that the project was introduced with undue haste. These arguments are difficult to dispute. There are also complaints that there was inadequate consultation before Project Maths was introduced, with claims that the Irish Maths Teachers Association was under represented.

“From my own observation of the paper, I would also like to highlight the fact that it poses particular difficulties for dyslexic students; a view expressed by other academics. I accept Minister Quinn’s comments that the introduction of Project Maths was intended to improve our students’ performance in the subject, but I fear it could be having the opposite effect. I also have concerns about the bonus points being awarded to those sitting the Higher Level Paper; achieving a D grade in Higher Level Maths, with the subsequent bonus points awarded, does not necessarily mean a student will be capable of studying engineering.

“The Minister has acknowledged that we have not found the solution to the maths issue, and that we need to continue to improve the way we tackle the problem. I would urge the Minister to take a fresh look at the Project Maths syllabus and seriously consider whether it is best serving our students, and our future graduates.”