Pupils are sometimes asked to “jump through hoops” rather than being encouraged to think about and apply maths, according to a report published by the AQA exam board.
The exam agency brought together a panel of education experts in June to discuss how GCSE maths has changed in recent years and how it will develop in the future.
From next September, new GCSE maths courses are due to be brought in and a report based on the June discussion says this will “radically” change the way the course is taught.
The group of experts looked at the changes and made a number of recommendations, including scrapping league tables in order to reduce the focus on “teaching to the test”.
The report says: “Schools were frequently preoccupied by a focus on performance tables and for a lot of teachers, it was about their own performance review and the targets they had been set for the number of grade Cs they needed to achieve.
“In some respects, this could have a detrimental effect on students who were sometimes encouraged to jump through hoops rather than be encouraged to think and apply mathematics.
“Teaching to the test had produced a mixed experience for students.”
“The abolition of performance tables was seen as one way of resolving some of the current problems.
“There was a need to do something different with mathematics in schools and the mindset and framework of performance tables might mean less innovation on the part of teachers and their classroom practice.”
In response, AQA said it “sympathises with the pressure on teachers and schools due to performance tables and is committed to supporting them to maintain their targets while also providing worthwhile mathematics education to students of all abilities”.
A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: “Public accountability is here to stay - it allows schools to measure their performance and enables parents to compare schools and make informed choices about their child’s education.
“But we have always been absolutely clear that pupil attainment represents just one measure of a school, which is why we are reforming how they are held to account.
“The new school report cards will properly reflect the range of what is going on in a school - including what pupils think, what parents think, and overall progress.”
The US-style report card, announced at the end of June, will see every school ranked on a number of measures including not just performance but also behaviour and attendance.
The DCSF spokesman said teachers were expected to do more than drill students for exams, adding: “We trust teachers’ experience and professionalism, and expect pupils to be prepared for exams through excellent teaching, not unnecessary drilling.”
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