Children 'over-reliant on calculators' in maths lessons

Children struggle with mental arithmetic after becoming too reliant on calculators at a young age, said Elizabeth Truss.?Photo: ALAMY

Pupils are unable to perform even the most basic sums in their heads because of exposure to hand-held technology at a young age, it was claimed.

Elizabeth Truss, the Conservative MP for South West Norfolk, said the development was leaving English children lagging behind peers in other countries that place strict curbs on the use of calculators in primary schools.

In a Parliamentary debate on Wednesday, she will challenge the Government to introduce a similar policy as part of a forthcoming overhaul of the National Curriculum.

Ministers will also be told to place a greater emphasis on old-fashioned mental arithmetic to make children more “financially literate”.

Speaking before the Westminster Hall debate, Mrs Truss said: “We should ensure that schools equip children with the mathematical basics that allow them to succeed in life.

“We are in danger of producing a ‘Sat-Nav’ generation of students overly reliant on technology.

“With the UK now 28th in the world for maths we need to take steps to produce a future generation that is both financially literate and able to compete in the global market-place.”

Schoolchildren in England are currently encouraged to use calculators in the National Curriculum, which has a section on “calculator methods” for pupils aged seven to 11.

Maths exams sat at the end of primary school also allow children to use calculators.

But it is claimed that the development undermines children’s basic mathematical ability at a young age.

International league tables published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development last year placed UK teenagers 28th in the developed world for maths skills.

By comparison, Singapore, which has virtually no calculator use for 10-year-olds, was placed 2nd.

Some other countries have also raised concerns over the use of calculators in primary schools, Mrs Truss said.

In Massachusetts, the top-performing US state for maths education, the curriculum states that pupils should learn how to perform basic sums without resorting to calculators.

In Alberta, a high-flying Canadian province, there is a focus on mental mathematics and Sweden has a non-calculator paper at senior high school for even its most able pupils.

Backing the proposed changes, Justin Tomlinson, Tory MP for Swindon North and chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Financial Education for Young People, said: “It is vital that children are well practiced in mental arithmetic, and do not become reliant on calculators, so that they are able to routinely calculate sums that arise in everyday situations and can be active consumers.”

Children failed by 'flawed' maths lessons, warns examiner

Mark Dawe, head of the OCR exam board, has criticised the standards of maths lessons.?Photo: ALAMY

Mark Dawe, chief executive of OCR, one of Britain's biggest exam boards, said growing numbers of young people struggled to function in further education or the world of work after failing to “acquire the maths skills that society demands” at school.

He suggested that the existing curriculum was unable to cater for children with different needs, including the very brightest at one end and those that struggle with the basics at the other.

Currently, almost half of 16-year-olds fail to achieve grade C at GCSE, with just 15 per cent studying maths beyond that level.

It is also feared that as many as a quarter of economically active adults are "functionally innumerate".

Speaking ahead of a conference on maths education today, Mr Dawe said lessons "will always be flawed until schools, universities and employers agree on what maths skills they really want from young people".

“Maths means different things to different people," he said. "Some say it’s all about numeracy – the facility to add, subtract, multiply and divide whole numbers, with perhaps, a little bit of percentages thrown in – whereas others equate maths with arithmetic – the art of calculation.

“Some believe ‘real maths’ helps unpick the secrets of the universe. Whichever it is, the system clearly isn’t delivering.”

Speaking before a conference at the Royal Institution in London, he said: “Too many students do not acquire the maths skills that society demands which means they can’t enjoy mathematics or take it into further education, the workplace or use it in everyday life.”

OCR has now set up a new “maths council” to gather views on the future direction of the subject.