Maths tutor in Sydney

Tests along the way

Some Sydney families are preparing for a particular test. We keep separate pages for OC test maths, the selective test mathematical reasoning section and NAPLAN numeracy.

This page is about everyday maths at every stage, which is what makes any of those tests manageable.

Learners who come to us

Many are doing fine and want to go further; many have lost confidence in one topic and need it rebuilt. Both are normal, and the first free lesson tells us which applies.

Adults are taught separately from school students, often for a university bridging unit or work.

Where the windows overlap

The overlap of all seven windows runs from 4,267,940 to 4,268,256, a range only 316 people wide. The large rows set the lower edge and the "Year 9 or below" row sets the upper edge.

The simple method wins, nearly always

One division using the biggest row gives 4,274,348, off the middle of the overlap by 6,250, or 0.15%. For almost any real question, that one line of arithmetic is enough.

Why small rows mislead

The "Year 11" row alone suggests 4,315,897, nearly 1% too high, because rounding 2.9% hides a lot. A small percentage carries a wide window.

What students practise

Reverse percentages, the meaning of rounding to one decimal place, writing an interval as an inequality and finding the intersection of several intervals.

Years 7 and 8 students do the single division; Years 9 and 10 add the windows; senior students can prove why larger rows give tighter windows.

What we did not do

We never add the rows to make a total. Published parts need not add exactly to a published total, because of how the ABS protects small counts and how people answered.

The interval is our calculation from the published figures; the ABS publishes its own counts in its own tables.