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Newsletter, Volume 1.2, March 4th 2001

As a teacher of the new AS/A2 specification to Year 12 mathematics students, I am encountering two main problems: there's not enough time to get through the materials, and the students seem ill-prepared for the demands made on them. We were led to understand that AS was to be easier than A2. It does not feel like that to me, or the rest of my department, who are all very experienced in A Level teaching. Surely very few students would have been ready to take the module exam this last January, although apparently it was more feasible in other subject areas. Is this true where you are? Replies

From Dorothy Barker I was very interested in your comment about students not being ready for AS Maths modules in January. Our school has been doing the six-module MEI course for years and has entered our non Further Mathematicians for two modules in the June of their Lower Sixth, two modules in the January of their Upper Sixth and two modules in the June of their Upper Sixth. This is a pattern the department is keen to continue. However, how do we get them an AS in the L6? Just as doing a module in the January of the L6 was thought to be too much for our weaker A level students so we fear that three modules in the summer, resulting in good grades, will be difficult. Similar ability and better ability students at the moment complete their AS in the January of the U6. At the moment at school Mathematics is seen as the 'fly in the ointment' by not wanting to conform to the three modules in the L6 then three in the U6 pattern. Because of our experience of a six modular course we are reluctant to change but need to gather evidence as to what other schools are doing. You seem to be suggesting and we have other evidence from examiner's that the students were simply not ready for an external examination in January. But what do you plan to do in the summer? Strangely enough the Further Mathematicians (students with an Additional Mathematics background) would have been ready to do two modules in January as usual but were not entered so that Maths was not once again out of step with other subjects. We do see to be an odd/special/different subject! From Barbara Edwards, Director of On Track Coaching and The Maths Practice (www.mathstudy.co.uk) I agree with you about Year 12 maths. I am a private tutor and was expected to be flooded out with students doing AS level. I haven't been - yet - and I think they are probably quite overwhelmed at the moment. The one I do have (very bright, doing every maths possible) finds that they rush through everything, haven't got time to explain it and she's only just seen the sample papers, having got them from me. What I want to know is what happens if they don't pass in the summer - as many won't. I'm expecting that my son, who had a disrupted secondary education because of special needs, will either have to redo the year or will decide to change to another subject. From Nick Constantine Yes I know what you mean re A/S A2 I am a HoD and we are also very experienced but have lost 90 minutes of teaching time/module!!!! we are very concerned. However help may be at hand we work with the MEI board they are developing a distance learning approach for Further mathematics but a lot of units are also covered at the A/S level. The fee is yet to be decided but any school can use this package. It is fantastic and will be a real support for us. Dial up MEI.org.uk I think From Roy Bayliss, Head of Maths at Kent College, Pembury Thank you for your comments on the new AS curriculum that I have found in you e-mail from MathsNet. I too am finding it really difficult to get through the course by June. I have been using the OCR modular scheme for some years and the format of 6 modules has become familiar to us already. We have always erred on the side of caution and entered them for modules late, rather than early and I have found that they can then make up time much more easily in the Y13. We also now find that we are extremely rushed. I do not see how we are going to get anywhere near being ready in time. Many of our pupils are in need of time to consolidate but I have to push on to meet the deadline in spite of the fact that they are now doing 4 subjects rather than 3. I do appreciate seeing your comments as it lets me know that others have similar worries. I am also just beginning to appreciate how much good work has gone into your webb site. Thanks again. From Paul Jackson, Head of Mathematics, Island School, Hong Kong My second in department, Chris Stubbs, has recently subscribed to www.mathsnet.net. I would like to also. I share your concerns about the new AS specifications. We were led to believe that would be easier - and shorter, being one third of an AS, instead of a half. A glance at the new D1 book, which is almost exactly the same as the old one (a bit taken out, but bits added, too) shows this not to be the case. We are under unbelievable pressure to get the modules finished in time for the students to be able to revise properly. This means, in effect, being finished by the end of April so that students get May to do practice papers. We used to finish year 12 teaching at the end of June or early July. We have as much to cover but two months less to teach it in, and one period less per week. The whole thing is crazy. From Carol Jones Just to say that we are experiencing exactly the same problems with the AS/A2 syllabus as you are - we are a high-achieving comp., but I hear the local Grammar school is worried too! It does not seem to be exam-board specific - the problem appears to be the same with all Boards. It will be very interesting to see what the AS results are like this year! From Roger May I am a HOD in a 1400 strong comprehensive in Sunningdale. I read your comments about the difficulties of teaching AS mathematics and shared most of your concerns. However we, my eight sixth form teachers and me, all agree that our decision to enter for P1 in January of year 12 has proved to be a good one. We do the MEI scheme. But the January entry helps the students recognise very early on indeed the demands involved in A-level mathematics and we are delighted to see that by and large they respond very positively to it. We are the only department allowed a January y 12 module entry because Senior management has also recognised the benefits it produces for us. So both teachers of the teaching group spend most of the first term sharing the P1 work (we have about 3 weeks to spend on a second module, before a week of revision for P1) in order to prepare them. The January exam does disrupt the teaching schedule somewhat and we are all having to race to finish 3 modules in time for the summer exams but after two years (our second set of results arrived last week) we are all convinced that we have made the right decision. I thought you might be interested to hear this. I don't know how many other schools have tried this, but I would be very interested to hear your reaction to this.