The Student Room Group
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>

New maths and further maths A Levels

Scroll to see replies

Original post by rayquaza17
But they said use of large data sets in assessment though?

Hope they don't use Excel! One of my lecturers had very strong opinions on the use of Excel for statistics.


There will be a pre-release where the students can play with the large data sets.

Here's the quote:

AS and A level mathematics specifications must require students to:

become familiar with one or more specific large data set(s) in advance of the final assessment (these data must be real and sufficiently rich to enable the statistical concepts in the specification to be explored)

have used technology such as spreadsheets or specialist statistical packages to explore the data set(s) in advance of the final assessment
Original post by Mr M
I expect it will still go to M4 level in FM. Students will be able to choose to do more statistics or more mechanics. If they choose just one application it will need to have a reasonable depth.


Do these changes mean that students can no longer take S1 & M1 together for single maths, and they must follow onto S2 or M2 depending on the AS module they picked?
Original post by Pectorac
Do these changes mean that students can no longer take S1 & M1 together for single maths, and they must follow onto S2 or M2 depending on the AS module they picked?


No. A Level maths is now 100% prescribed. It will include some statistics topics (more S2 than S1 in some existing specs) and some mechanics topics. Students can also take A Level FM or AS FM. This has 50% prescribed content and the other 50% will be made up of extra mechanics, statistics or pure maths (a choice may be provided).
Reply 23
Avatar for Claree
Claree
17
Original post by Mr M
New maths and further maths A Levels are being introduced for first teaching from September 2016.

Click to read the new content for maths and further maths.

These should be read in conjunction with the report from ALCAB.

Decision maths is dead. Exams are longer and less structured. There is no module choice in A Level. There is little choice in FM. Coursework is gone.


What about additional further maths? Will that still exist? :smile:
Original post by Claree
What about additional further maths? Will that still exist? :smile:


I've already answered this. Additional FM is dead.
No comment about when FM will be studied - there is a clear suggestion that AS will be co-teachable in Y12 (interesting given the DfE stance of it being a 2-year course) - but nothing specific about the single year A level followed by the single year FM

Unless I have missed that
Original post by MathMeister
Wouldn't this deter people from doing maths?


why?
Reply 27
Avatar for davros
davros
16
Original post by Mr M
New maths and further maths A Levels are being introduced for first teaching from September 2016.

Click to read the new content for maths and further maths.

These should be read in conjunction with the report from ALCAB.

Decision maths is dead. Exams are longer and less structured. There is no module choice in A Level. There is little choice in FM. Coursework is gone.


This looks excellent as a starting point. Gove's had some (deserved) stick for some of his more ideological changes, but these recommendations are exactly the sort of reforms we need in the curriculum!

Did the ALCAB report come first as some sort of input into the eventual drafts, or did things work differently? When the ALCAB report says that "100% of the content of A level maths should be prescribed centrally" I presume it means that the contents of Core, Mechanics and Stats are fully defined, but candidates still have a choice whether to do Stats or Mechanics or a mixture - is that correct?

The death of Decision is long overdue - I can't imagine how anyone ever thought it was a good idea in the first place. (Well, actually, I can, knowing how some of the members of the last government seemed to think education should work.) Good to see that the various university departments affected were almost universal in their condemnation of it. Mind you, I can imagine it will present a challenge to some of the "weaker" teachers lurking around - from comments by some students on TSR it appears there are at least some schools where staff can't even teach to M2 or S2 under the current syllabus which is a bit frightening!

Do we know whether Labour have committed to support these reforms - it would be a terrible waste if there were a change of government and everything was back up in the air again?
Original post by TenOfThem
No comment about when FM will be studied - there is a clear suggestion that AS will be co-teachable in Y12 (interesting given the DfE stance of it being a 2-year course) - but nothing specific about the single year A level followed by the single year FM

Unless I have missed that


There's some stuff about this in the ALCAB report. They want FM taught alongside M. Nothing in Year 12 FM will require Year 13 knowledge.
...Because it seems like a bad idea to lots of people...
Original post by davros
This looks excellent as a starting point. Gove's had some (deserved) stick for some of his more ideological changes, but these recommendations are exactly the sort of reforms we need in the curriculum!

Did the ALCAB report come first as some sort of input into the eventual drafts, or did things work differently? When the ALCAB report says that "100% of the content of A level maths should be prescribed centrally" I presume it means that the contents of Core, Mechanics and Stats are fully defined, but candidates still have a choice whether to do Stats or Mechanics or a mixture - is that correct?


That is not my reading

For A Level maths the content is 100% the same for all
Original post by Mr M
There's some stuff about this in the ALCAB report. They want FM taught alongside M. Nothing in Year 12 FM will require Year 13 knowledge.


I saw the teaching of AS FM alongside A Level - I perhaps needed to concentrate more :smile:
Original post by MathMeister
...Because it seems like a bad idea to lots of people...


What does

The content will have support from teachers and universities

The introduction of less structured questions certainly has my support and will be welcomed by universities who are unhappy with the lack of actual knowledge/skills that currently exist in undergrads

Who are the "lots of people"
Original post by davros
Did the ALCAB report come first as some sort of input into the eventual drafts, or did things work differently?


Yes but they were published on the same day.

Original post by davros
When the ALCAB report says that "100% of the content of A level maths should be prescribed centrally" I presume it means that the contents of Core, Mechanics and Stats are fully defined, but candidates still have a choice whether to do Stats or Mechanics or a mixture - is that correct?


No they have to do the mixture shown in the programme of study.

Original post by davros
from comments by some students on TSR it appears there are at least some schools where staff can't even teach to M2 or S2 under the current syllabus which is a bit frightening!


I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of maths teachers don't know all the new A Level content but it shouldn't be too hard for them to upskill.

Original post by davros
Do we know whether Labour have committed to support these reforms - it would be a terrible waste if there were a change of government and everything was back up in the air again?


I don't think they have any plans to put a spanner in the works.
Decision - Can't see many people missing it

Less structure and longer exams - maybe it'll encourage people to think a bit harder, can't see it being too different. The set theory seems like a nice addition.

Less choice - So you can't do both Mechanics and Stats, it's one or the other?
Original post by Mr M
Y
I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of maths teachers don't know all the new A Level content but it shouldn't be too hard for them to upskill.



This is my biggest worry.

I am certainly aware of schools local to me that only teach stats or only teach mechanics.

I have to wonder how many Core teachers can prove that root 2 is irrational.


But you know of old my worries regarding the quality of A Level teachers :frown:
Reply 36
Avatar for davros
davros
16
Original post by Mr M


No they have to do the mixture shown in the programme of study.

.


That's interesting - I did the SMP syllabus which was mixed stats and mechanics, roughly to a level of S2 + M2 (but without all the pointless S1 waffle they teach today about stem and leaf diagrams and estimating things from grouped data; also with a heavy emphasis on vector methods in mechanics).

Do you know if there was ever a consideration of going back to the "traditional" A level choice between "Maths with Mechanics" or "Maths with Stats" which is what AEB, Oxford Local etc seemed to do in the past, or why they rejected that possibility?


Original post by Mr M

I don't think they have any plans to put a spanner in the works.


That's a relief - I would hope everyone recognizes the need to get tougher, but you never know :smile:
Original post by TenOfThem
This is my biggest worry.

I am certainly aware of schools local to me that only teach stats or only teach mechanics.

I have to wonder how many Core teachers can prove that root 2 is irrational.


But you know of old my worries regarding the quality of A Level teachers :frown:


It's what it is. Shall we set up as consultants to train them all up and coin it in?
Original post by davros


Do you know if there was ever a consideration of going back to the "traditional" A level choice between "Maths with Mechanics" or "Maths with Stats" which is what AEB, Oxford Local etc seemed to do in the past, or why they rejected that possibility?


I heard people from ALCAB at a conference last week - they were (sensibly) concerned about schools inability to offer both (teachers and money)

So I think it was considered but rejected

There was one very interesting suggestion around A Level being purely Core and Stats as the HE need the stats more than mechanics - with mechanics only being part of the FM

So - in short - I think they considered a wide range of options before they came to this
Original post by Mr M
It's what it is. Shall we set up as consultants to train them all up and coin it in?


Yep - you can do SE I will do Midlands - we need a Northerner and we are set.

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you