HSC advanced maths exodus adds up. But it points to another problem

April 22, 2026 — 5:00am

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The headline that thousands of students “dump” advanced mathematics between Year 11 and 12 each year is hard to ignore. But the deeper story is more complex than students simply walking away from maths. It is about how we misunderstand senior secondary schooling and what we expect of students navigating it.

First, this pattern is not unique to mathematics. Across the HSC, subject drop-off between Year 11 and 12 is common. Eight other subjects have similar or worse rates of attrition than advanced mathematics, according to NSW Education Standards Authority data. In total, a whopping 32 senior subjects lose at least one in five students over this period. This is not just a mathematics problem.

That does not mean it should be accepted as normal. As my colleague, Dr Ben Zunica, a fellow experienced mathematics teacher, has pointed out, if one in three students start a course and do not continue, it........

© The Age