Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for being in the Chamber.

Project Maths has been hailed as the answer to the below average standing of Irish 15 years olds in the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment rankings of international student performance. However, major questions and doubts have been raised about this new Project Maths subject.

I am concerned that pupils are not being taught basic mathematical concepts. I am concerned that we are giving 25% extra to honours mathematics instead of finding out exactly why our pupils are not doing better.

The results in mid-August will show up in the usual Bell curve form and will not show the fundamental weaknesses in the system. The same number of pupils will fail, the same number will pass and the same number will get As, Bs and Cs. I have been informed by a corrector of the leaving certificate honours mathematics paper that in one of the 75 mark questions, based on the robotic arm, the marking system has been changed drastically because the results are so dismal.

I am very worried about the mathematics programme and I will tell the Minister why. An advertisement in The Irish Times on Wednesday last by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies states:

Due to the recent changes in the Leaving Certificate mathematics curriculum, the amount of calculus taught has been severely reduced. As this subject is essential for preparation to third level courses in Mathematics, Science and Engineering (as well as Economics) and in order to give students with an aptitude for mathematics the opportunity to prepare themselves better for further study, a 10-week course on Mathematical Calculus will be given [in the college].

Sceptics might think this to be a money making ploy, but for that ten-week course a nominal fee of €40 applies.

I have tried to investigate this subject dispassionately, and despite contact from a significant number of students and, indeed, many of my own pass pupils who I know to be bright students and students who worked hard. About 50% of the "good maths", vectors, matrices and transformations, 60% of sequences and series, 40% of differential calculus, 50% integral calculus, and difference equations, have been removed from the mathematical paper. Probability and statistics are now worth 50% of the marks on Paper 2. In comparison with GCE A level, statistics is an optional question. Of note also, this is the first leaving certificate maths exam where there was no choice. Maths students had to complete all nine questions in part 1 and part 2 of the honours and pass papers.

Many of our esteemed maths lecturers have expressed concerns at these radical changes, including Mr. Tony Dorlas in the UCC interim report, in the report from Mr. Ted Hurley and Mr. Stephen O'Brien of NUI Galway and in the report from Ms Cora Stack of IT Tallaght. All of the above maths professionals have expressed the view that Project Maths will have a negative impact on maths education.

Experts from University College, Cork say "exaggerated claims" have been made about the benefits of the new approach to maths teaching. Their criticisms range from the subject matter of the course to inadequately trained teachers. They state that Project Maths was introduced with undue haste, which is hard to deny.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. If the reply I give is not fully complete, I will come back to her in writing subsequently.

Project Maths began as a pilot in 24 schools in 2008 and is being developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA. It was mainstreamed from September 2010 when it became available to all schools. The first mainstream examinations were for this year's leaving certificate students and the first group of students presenting for the junior certificate will be next year, 2013.

The introduction of Project Maths has been accompanied by a national programme of professional development for all maths teachers, not just those in the project schools, and this will continue until at least 2013. The Project Maths development team has provided extensive support to teachers. Provision of approximately €2 million has been made available within my Department for the development of a postgraduate course for what are known as "out of field" teachers who are currently teaching maths. This is based on an intake of 390 teachers.

A key objective of Project Maths is to improve attainment levels in maths and to encourage more students to take the subject at higher level. The participation in higher level maths was down from a high of 18.9% in 2005 to 15.8% in 2011. To encourage more students to present at higher level, there will be 25 bonus points available for all candidates who score grade D3 or above for higher level maths in the leaving certificate from this summer. Higher education institutions have collectively agreed to operate this bonus points scheme for higher level maths for a four year trial period from 2012 to 2015 inclusive, with a review in 2014.

Data from the State Examinations Commission highlight that for the 2011 leaving certificate examinations there were 9,950 candidates entered, with 7917 sitting the examination. This year, there has been an increase to 12,510 candidates entered, an increase of approximately 25%. I look forward to finding out how many of these entrants will present and I hope the majority will do so.

Comments and observations regarding the leaving certificate maths exam papers are an intrinsic part of the feedback the State Examinations Commission would normally expect to receive in any year. The well-tried methodology in place to deal with issues that arise in the course of the examination process is the development of the marking scheme by the chief examiner and his college of examiners in light of the circumstances of that year's examination. Following a tendering process, the National Foundation for Educational Research was awarded the contract to conduct research into the impact of Project Maths on student motivation, learning and achievement. Its work is ongoing.

I emphasise that the skills that are promoted through Project Maths are sought after by employers and the introduction of the revised syllabus has been welcomed by Forfás, the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, Engineers Ireland and industry interests.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his offer to come back to me with further information. Further claims are being made that inadequate consultation occurred before Project Maths was launched. In particular, it is claimed that the Irish Maths Teachers Association was under-represented on the NCCA board. I ask the Minister to check how many fully qualified and probated teachers were on the NCCA curriculum board.

In its interim report on Project Maths, UCC stated: "There is an immediate need for a supply of textbooks to cover the new material." It recommends that the NCCA, as a matter of urgency, should encourage the production of such textbooks, both in print and in electronic form. The Minister might confirm if this is being prioritised.

From my own observation, I would like to highlight that the paper poses particular difficulties to dyslexic students, and other academics have expressed similar concerns. This year, students were forced to flick back and forth between an answer book and a question book, which were attached together, and many dyslexic students found this most difficult to manage. I ask the Minister to examine this issue for future exams.

I look forward to hearing the Minister's response. We have many questions to answer and it is not just a matter of a quick response. We need to think about why our children are not succeeding in maths. Just because we are to give 25 extra points does not mean a student who gets a D3 grade in maths and earns 70 CAO points is capable of studying engineering or science subjects. We need to look seriously at this issue.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy once again for providing me with an opportunity to address the many concerns that have been expressed about the content of the Project Maths programme and the way in which it is being taught at present. Project Maths is designed to transform teaching and learning in maths at both junior and senior cycle. It should enable students to develop an understanding of the hows and whys of maths but also the ability to apply their knowledge and skills in familiar and unfamiliar contexts. I recognise this is a considerable shift from the previous position. The new format should also provide students with analytical and creative powers in maths.

As I outlined earlier, there are many positive initiatives in place which aim to encourage more students to have the confidence, understanding and skills to pursue their studies in maths to higher level in the leaving certificate. That was the primary motivation for providing the extra 25 points if a student takes the higher level and does not, on the day of the exam, opt to take the lower level. This was as much as it was trying to do, no more, no less. It is not a solution on its own; it is part of an overall approach to maths. The other approaches include the introduction of the new Project Maths syllabi at both junior and senior cycle and, as I said, the provision of the 25 bonus points by higher education institutions for higher level maths students who succeed in achieving a D3 grade or above. The increase of 25% in the number of entrants for higher level maths in the leaving certificate this year is, I believe, very encouraging, and I hope these entrants have already sat the higher level maths examination.

Some concern has been highlighted in regard to this year's leaving certificate papers, which is normal. As I said, the chief examiner and the college of examiners in the State Examinations Commission look at these matters. The Government is fully aware of the importance of maths and other STEM subjects. We will continue to ensure the initiatives I have outlined are prioritised in order that a quality maths education is available for young people both at junior and senior cycle.

I am aware of the Deputy's professional background in this area and her genuine concern and motivation in raising this matter. With many others, I share the concerns about the quality of teaching in both literacy and numeracy at primary and secondary level up to higher level maths, and in regard to providing graduates from our secondary school system and third level colleges with a range of skills for which there is a market shortage throughout the world. While I am committed to delivering change and improvement, the implementation requires a lot of time and co-operation. I will be more than happy to discuss with the Deputy and other Oireachtas colleagues how best we can achieve this.

Nobody has a monopoly on wisdom in this regard, and I do not claim that I do. However, it is obvious from what has been said in recent years when I was in opposition that we had to address the mathematics issue. Project Maths was an attempt to start to do this. We are not complete in terms of the way it will be implemented and will continue to improve it. I am also aware of the issues concerning the provision of suitable textbooks.