Ballarat Clarendon College, a non-selective private school in Victoria, has refined its mathematics teaching methods over more than a decade, yielding consistently strong results. Since 2014, the school has maintained high performance in national assessments, with 98 percent of its Year 7 and Year 9 students in 2025 achieving results in the strong or exceeding categories on the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) maths tests.
Deputy Principal Greg Ashman, who began as a mathematics teacher at the school in 2010, attributes this success to the college’s shared curriculum model and explicit instruction approach. The school uses a common bank of lesson plans that are reviewed and adjusted annually. Ashman said this structured approach counters the unpredictability often seen in lesson delivery and ensures students systematically master both fundamental arithmetic and advanced concepts.
Ashman emphasized that the method is not based on any educational trend but on detailed, carefully refined teaching practices. He rejected inquiry-based or discovery learning as ineffective for mathematics, arguing that the subject requires clear, step-by-step instruction to avoid cognitive overload.
The debate over mathematics education in Australia has intensified following recent international test results that placed Australian teenagers at their lowest levels in maths and reading in two decades. A report earlier this month noted primary students in Australia acquire core skills up to two years later than peers in leading education systems such as Singapore and England. Critics have also highlighted the Australian curriculum’s increased focus on statistics and probability, areas given less emphasis in more successful countries.
Ashman criticized the current Australian maths curriculum as overly ambitious in some areas while lacking rigor in fundamental skills. He described the curriculum’s expectations as very low and called for revisions, including the introduction of standard algorithms for basic operations, greater emphasis on number fact fluency such as multiplication tables up to 12x12, and earlier introduction of algebra in primary school. He said the curriculum should also minimize reliance on calculators to ensure mastery of basic processes.
At Ballarat Clarendon College, more than two-thirds of senior students achieved results in the top exceeding band last year, while over 95 percent of Years 3 and 5 students scored in the strong or exceeding categories. The school supplements its curriculum with daily problem-solving exercises and frequent reviews to reinforce foundational skills.
Ashman acknowledged that the school benefits from its resources but believes other institutions could adopt similar successful strategies. However, he identified systemic challenges within Australia’s education bureaucracy that hinder the sharing and implementation of best practices. He pointed to what he called a “tall poppy effect,” where high-performing schools may face pressure to downplay success, limiting collaboration.
Teachers such as secondary maths instructor Laura Simpson highlighted the school’s collaborative culture, noting that effective teaching methods are shared and refined annually among staff. The college’s explicit teaching approach involves continuous monitoring of student understanding during lessons and adjusting instruction accordingly.
As Australian education ministers prepare to approve a revised maths curriculum for early years later this year, there are growing calls for reforms that raise standards and better align with international benchmarks, reflecting insights from schools like Ballarat Clarendon College.