NAO report highlights education success in STEM subjects

Dawinderpal Sahota, Computing, Monday 15 November 2010 at 14:09:00

Take up of Maths and Science subjects on the up, but Department of Education
not meeting its teacher recriuitment targets

The Department for Education has made good progress in improving take up and
achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects,
according to a recent report from the National Audit Office, although there has
been less success in attracting more teachers to these areas.

The report, entitled
Educating
the Next Generation of Scientists, recently published claims that take-up
and achievement in A-Level Maths and GCSE Triple Science has improved, and that
the knock on effect of the success has been that pupil take-up of the three
individual sciences at A-Level has increased by almost 150 per cent in the last
five years.

The NAO claims that there is evidence that pupils taking Triple Science GCSE
are more likely than those studying combined science to choose science subjects
at A-Level and to achieve higher grades. However, by June 2009, almost half of
secondary schools still did not offer Triple Science.

It is often said that qualifications in the pure sciences are a good basis
for a career in IT and technology.

Meanwhile, take-up of Maths A-Level has already exceeded the targets for 2014
set by the Department of Education, but take-up of physics A-Level has increased
only slightly since 2005-06.

The Department is not on course to meet the targets set by the previous
government for recruiting more mathematics and physics teachers by 2014.

?The Department for Education has focused its resources on improving pupil
take-up and achievement in school science and maths, and has made good progress
in areas such as A-Level maths and GCSE Triple Science,? said Amyas Morse, head
of the National Audit Office.

?To make further progress, what?s needed is a more joined-up approach,
bringing together key success factors to maximise successful results and
efficient use of public resources.?

Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2273121/report-highlight-education