Can you pass the 'practical maths' test that every teenagers will have to pass?

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Teenagers could face a maths test which looks at their ability to understand real-life situations, under plans being developed by an exam board.

Colin Hughes, chief executive of AQA, an awarding body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said the assessment is aimed at 'everyone', adding that there are some able students who are academically gifted at solving theorems, but struggle with real world situations. 

The AQA is piloting the exam which potentially could give pupils a maths proficiency certificate, like a driving licence or a music grade, even if they never pass a GCSE in the subject, The Times reports.

Looking at a wage slip to calculate net pay, a telephone contract to see which is the cheapest package, how much more money you would need to cover a rent rise which is in line with inflation are among some potential sample questions, seen by the newspaper.

Managing a bank account, understanding interest rates and measuring milk formula are other potential areas that could be covered when it is piloted in the next couple of months at schools.

The AQA is piloting the exam which potentially could give pupils a maths proficiency certificate

Mr Hughes insisted that the online test would not make maths easier and told BBC Radio 5 Live Saturday Breakfast: 'It's not making it easier at all.

'What it's doing is saying, think about it, you use mathematics all the time every day. I absolutely guarantee that several times today you will use your head to do various kinds of calculations. Everyone does it.

'The issue is that we don't really enable every student to prove that they can do it.'

He added: 'We now have, particularly digitally, the means to enable people to practise, get used to doing things like that and then actually to test themselves kind of on the run.

'So it's not easier to do but it is easier to deliver - that's the really big thing.'

About a third of GCSE candidates fail to achieve a grade 4 in maths each year. The grade is considered a pass by most employers and colleges.

It is expected that pupils, from 14 year-olds to those in sixth-forms and further education colleges, could use a new platform to assess and improve on their real-life mathematics skills.

Mr Hughes said some people can get locked into a cycle of constantly resitting English and maths to try to progress to the next stage of their work but what they may be struggling with are academic mathematical situations such as theorems and formulae.

Potential questions for the 'everyday practical maths' exam 

One example question provided by the exam board to the Times reads:

QUESTION 1

You pay £600 per month rent. The rent will rise in line with inflation. Inflation is 3 per cent this year. Work out how much extra rent you will pay each month.

A. £14 

B. £12 

C. £18 

D. £16

The following questions are what maths teacher Emily Hughes would expect on an 'everyday practical maths' exam.

QUESTION 2  

QUESTION 3 

QUESTION 4

 QUESTION 5

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Colin Hughes, chief executive of AQA, said there are some able students who are academically gifted at solving theorems, but struggle with real world situations

He told the BBC: 'But when you actually put them into a situation when they're obliged to use numeracy as we would put it in the real world, that might be looking at phone bills, it might be working out rent, calculating, often it is calculating money but not only - then they are absolutely fine.'

He pointed out that it is not the less-able students who may face difficulties as there are 'students who are very good at that academic stuff' that 'quite often struggle in the real world'.

This summer almost 186,000 teenagers over the age of 16 resat maths GCSE and 17.4 per cent achieved a grade 4 or above.

Any new qualification would need to be introduced by the Government.

Ex-maths teacher Emily Hughes, from Peterborough, runs the Parent Guide to GCSE, a programme which helps parents to support their teenagers through their exams. 

 She said she believes it would be a positive thing to introduce this test in schools.

She told FEMAIL: 'Our curriculum has a strong focus on the 'academic' side of maths, and very little focus on practical, everyday maths.

'While we teach compound interest, we don't get to dig into credit card practicalities, APR, payday loans and so on. It's the sort of content that would put students on a much more secure footing when it comes to managing their finances once they leave school.

'There's lots of maths involved in working out phone contract options, and understanding a payslip, but again, there's so much we have to cram into lessons that we don't get time to explore these things.'

Emily - who has 15 years of experience teaching maths and used to be head of department - said every pupil should be taught personal finances as an essential part of the curriculum.

'Our children are leaving school without understanding how quickly interest can add up on a credit card, or worse, on a payday loan if you don't pay them back quickly. That's just setting them up for trouble,' she added. 

ANSWERS  

QUESTION 1: You pay £600 per month rent. The rent will rise in line with inflation. Inflation is 3 per cent this year. Work out how much extra rent you will pay each month.

ANSWER: C (£18)

QUESTION 2 ANSWER: £15,532 total 

 QUESTION 3 ANSWER: 

 QUESTION 4 ANSWER: 100 tiles 

 QUESTION 5 ANSWER: £187 total 

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