Why primary problem solving has faded - and why it matters

Over the past decade, teachers have repeatedly told us that problem solving and reasoning feel harder to prioritise in primary mathematics than they once were. The curriculum still calls for them. Teachers still value them. Pupils still need them. So what changed?

One of the biggest, and often overlooked, influences is the shift in the structure of the end-of-Key Stage 2 SATs.

How the balance shifted

Before 2016, the assessment landscape looked very different:

Pre-2016

• Mental Arithmetic: 20 marks

• Problem Solving: 80 marks

• Ratio — 4:16

2016–2028

• Written Arithmetic: 40 marks

• Problem Solving: 70 marks

• Ratio — 4:7

The proportion of problem-solving questions was more than twice as high in the pre-2016 papers as it is today.

Why this matters in classrooms

From 2016 onwards, pupils have been able to reach the expected standard with minimal success on the problem-solving papers, if they performed strongly on the written arithmetic test. In practice, that means a pupil could:

• do very well on Paper 1

• score fewer than 20 out of 70 on the reasoning papers

and still meet the expected standard.

Unsurprisingly, this shifts teaching. When the arithmetic paper is predictable and procedural, and when success on Paper 1 can compensate for weaker reasoning, the incentive to spend precious time on problem solving gets squeezed.

Teachers know that reasoning matters. But in a high-stakes environment, the assessment signal is powerful. The result: less time for the thinking that matters most. Written arithmetic is important, but it is not where mathematical thinking grows.

By contrast, problem-solving questions ask pupils to:

• build a mental model

• connect ideas

• select appropriate methods

• explain and justify reasoning

• work systematically.

When their proportion in the assessment halves, the space for teaching these habits inevitably shrinks.

Supporting teachers

Spending less time on problem solving not only means that pupils have fewer opportunities to problem solve, but teachers can become less confident teaching problem solving. Teachers need both space to be able to teach problem solving and support to know which strategies work best, including worked examples of problem types.

I see this on a weekly basis in the schools I support. Teachers know their pupils need to be able to solve problems, but they don’t always know where to start and what good looks like in the topics and year groups they are teaching.

Where we go from here

At Maths Horizons, we believe the system can and should strengthen the role of reasoning and problem solving across all phases. The upcoming curriculum and assessment changes provide an opportunity to rebalance what we value.

Because all pupils deserve more than procedural fluency. They deserve a mathematics education that helps them think.

Will Power is an expert on the Maths Horizons specialist team.  

Will is Ark Curriculum Plus’s Head of Subject for Primary Maths and leads Mathematics Mastery Primary, AC+’s flagship and longest-running mastery programme. Will taught in challenging primary schools across London for 14 years and as Headteacher, led a school out of special measures to become ‘Good’ for the first time in its history. Will has worked on maths curriculum and assessment projects with schools and published a range of resources for pupils aged 3-18 in his previous role as Maths Publisher at Oxford University Press.