Monday, March 1, 2010

The Australian National Curriculum and NAPLAN

The draft curriculum for mathematics is now available online at the Australian Curriculum consultation website. www.australiancurriculum.edu.au

Current state and territory mathematics curriculum documents have been taken into account during the development of the K–10 mathematics curriculum.

The draft curriculum broadly aligns with those documents in relation to Number and algebra and Measurement and geometry.

Account was also taken of the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) for 2008 and 2009 in developing the content and achievement standards.

In terms of difference, the draft K–10 Australian Curriculum for mathematics contains a greater emphasis on statistics and probability in recognition of the need for students to be able to interpret data in the 21st century.

The embedded nature of the proficiency strands is in contrast to some state and territory documents where there is a separate process strand often called ‘working mathematically’.

There is a separate strand to ensure that the processes of mathematics are in context with, and linked to, appropriate mathematical concepts.