Key stage 2 maths Sats should be reformed to increase the marks required to achieve the expected standard and to rigorously test mental methods and problem solving, according to a new review of the subject.

The Maths Horizons report, entitled How England should reform maths education for the Age of AI and published today, warns that pupils are being rushed through a crowded curriculum, leaving too many without knowledge or confidence in the subject.

‘Too much content’ in primary maths

Polling for the report found that 82 per cent of primary teachers believe that “the primary maths curriculum has too much content”, creating pressure on teachers and affecting their curriculum sequencing.

It says: “In our consultations, we heard that topics are rushed through; knowledge is assumed to be secure, rather than tested for; and too much time is spent on revision-cramming.”

It said that Year 6 Sats are skewed towards rote arithmetic over reasoning and mental methods, and warned that maths GCSEs can be passed with as little as 14 per cent of the available marks.

Maths Horizons is chaired by Professor Lord Lionel Tarassenko, president of Reuben College, University of Oxford. It is co-led by Dr Helen Drury and David Monis-Weston, both former maths teachers and founders of education charities (Mathematics Mastery and the Teacher Development Trust, respectively).

It was launched in September 2024 to develop evidence, analysis and recommendations about the future of maths curriculum and assessment in England.

Maths Horizons says it aims to support the government’s ongoing curriculum and assessment review.

‘Low-stakes gateway checks’

Today’s report makes a series of recommendations, including a call to rebalance content from upper primary to lower secondary, allowing more time for knowledge to be secured when it is first introduced.

It also says that the subject should see an increased rigour in reasoning and problem solving for all students, including specifying more clearly what, when and how students should learn.

The report calls for new “low-stakes gateway checks” of fundamental knowledge, to be administered nationally at critical points in new knowledge-progression maps.

Call for Sats and GCSE reform

There are recommendations for reform of both Sats and GCSEs. The report seeks an increase in the marks required to achieve the “expected standard” in tests at the end of primary school.

And it says GCSEs should be reformed to ensure that a “standard pass” demonstrates secure fundamental knowledge; to rigorously test problem solving; and to improve the retake system.

The report’s authors also call for the government to explore a maths entitlement for 16- to 19-year-olds, which should promote take-up of core maths; to review the content of A-level maths; and to pilot a standalone further maths A level.

As part of the report, researchers from Public First carried out quantitative and qualitative work. They also looked at existing literature and case studies internationally.

AI focus

The report says that, in the not-too-distant future, AI will be capable of doing all the maths that most people need. However, it adds that the subject will still be needed.

It adds: “Maths knowledge is needed to craft prompts, spot subtle errors in replies and refine approaches to get better answers.

“A society fluent in mathematics can scrutinise the algorithms that increasingly govern public life, instead of surrendering decisions to them.

“Students will need to continually adapt to new developments in AI, for which the best preparation may be foundations in ‘pure maths’ - topics like number theory, geometry and algebra - and well-practised problem-solving skills.”

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