Australia is falling disastrously behind the rest of the developed world in maths education, an international study has found.

Only 9 per cent of Australian primary school students are able to complete maths problems easily done by the majority of same-aged pupils in the US, Taiwan and much of Europe.

Experts say the failing could damage Australia’s international competitiveness and a minimum of five hours of maths a week should be taught in all primary schools.

An analysis of data from the most recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study report shows that while Australian Year 4 students perform well on questions that assess their understanding of shapes and interpretation of data, they perform poorly on items that assess number and measurement skills.

The analysis looked at three Year 4 maths problems; a multiplication of double digit numbers, a fractions question and a geometry calculation.

Australian students fared worst when compared with US and Taiwanese pupils.

“This is alarming given that 99 per cent of Australian students had teachers who reported teaching computation with whole numbers prior to the test,” education consultant Russell Boyle said of the multiplication problem results.

“And 14 per cent of our students were not even able to attempt the question, compared to 2 per cent of US students and 1 per cent of Chinese-Taipei students,” Mr Boyle said.

“We must improve the quality and quantity of mathematics education in our primary schools if we are to remain internationally competitive as a nation.”

“The teaching time for mathematics in all Victorian primary schools should be set at five hours per week.”

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