Here is a selection of public reports authored or co-authored by Observatory team members:
Themed report: The landscape of undergraduate mathematics degrees in England & Wales
University departments have repeatedly designed and redesigned their BSc Mathematics programmes. This process, however, has lacked a holistic overarching framework that can help to identify both the distinctive features of a particular course and the evolving emphases and gaps in the national undergraduate mathematical sciences provision. This report speaks to those two issues and aims to be of use to university mathematics leaders and teachers, and through them the course-choosing students of the future and their advisors and supporters.
For a summary of the key findings, see the highlights one-pager.
Themed report: Transition to university mathematics
In September 2024, the Observatory for Mathematical Education surveyed students with firm offers to study mathematical sciences degrees at universities in the UK, with a follow-up survey conducted six months later after the first semester. This second themed report from the Observatory considers how changes in curriculum and teaching at the transition to university mathematics are experienced by students and how this relates to their engagement and attitudes with respect to learning and to the subject.
For a summary of the key findings, see the highlights one-pager.
Technical report: Transition to university mathematics
This technical report presents the design and validation of two surveys conducted by the Observatory for Mathematical Education to explore undergraduate mathematical science students’ experiences of transitioning to university.
Themed report: KS3 teachers of mathematics
The first themed report from the secondary longitudinal cohort has now been published on the topic of key stage 3 teachers of mathematics. For this study, maths teachers in the 150 secondary schools in England were invited to complete a detailed workforce survey in November 2024. This report presents analysis of responses from 1030 teachers in these schools.
For a summary of the key findings, see the highlights one-pager.
Technical report: Cohort study school sampling
A central strand of the Observatory for Mathematical Education’s work is the primary and secondary cohort studies, following tens of thousands of learners through their seven years of primary/secondary state education. This technical report outlines how the Observatory sampled the partner schools that are participating in the cohort studies and demonstrates that these schools give a sample which is representative of schools in the frame of reference.
Technical report: Validation of secondary pupil attitudes survey
This technical report describes the validation of a survey of secondary school pupils’ attitudes towards mathematics. The survey will be used in a 7-year longitudinal study of pupils in England which is being conducted by the Observatory for Mathematical Education.
Introductory report: Concepts and plans
The introductory report sets out the Observatory’s design concepts together with preliminary plans for the coming years, including details of our progress on setting up the largest ever cohort studies of mathematical education in England.
The mathematics pipeline in England: Patterns, interventions and excellence
This report, led by Observatory team members, presents an overview of the mathematics education system focussing on who achieves high grades and offers insights and ideas to individuals and organisations that might be interested in developing, or investing in, targeted interventions to improve the mathematics excellence stream in England.
Local learning landscapes: Exploring coherence, equity and quality in teacher professional development in England
This was a Wellcome Trust funded research project into teacher professional learning in primary mathematics in England. The report reviews the local landscape for professional learning in three sample localities in England, reporting on the how the recently remodelled and still evolving school system supported teacher development in mathematics.
Centres for excellence in maths teaching for mastery randomised controlled trial: Evaluation Report
This report evaluates a teaching for mastery approach designed to improve GCSE resit outcomes for students in FE colleges. The study, involving 7000 students, found students made one month additional progress, increasing to two months for students previously eligible for Free School Meals.
Teacher training bursaries in England: An analysis of their impact on the quantity and quality of trainees
Recruiting sufficient numbers of high-quality teachers is a major challenge and the government spends up to £300 million incentivising entry to initial teacher training every year. This report highlights the weak evidence base that bursaries are the most effective way to increase and diversify the number of trainees.
PISA 2022: national report for England
Every 3 years the PISA results enable us to compare mathematics performance by 15-year-old students in England, with their counterparts in other countries. Since 2018, England’s scores for mathematics has declined significantly, as they did across the OECD, but England remains significantly above the OECD average.