The Future of Mathematics Curriculum in Australia Part 2: Naplan beyond the headlines

Amongst recent reports and debates around best practice in Mathematics education, the discussion has become more divisive than ever. How can we move forward?

In Part 2 of this theme, we discuss what we can learn from the NAPLAN results beyond the sensationalism and hype. How can we work together as teachers, curriculum writers, researchers, and other stakeholders to do something meaningful with the results?

Featuring Kathy Lin, Fiona Longmuir, Donna McNeight, Michael Rosenbrock and Jennifer Bowden.

Kathy Lin

Kathy is the Head of Maths at Edrolo and a former teacher. She is an author and speaker and has presented at ResearchEd, MANSW, MASA, MAWA, QAMT and MAV. Kathy currently leads Edrolo's catalogue of maths products from Year 7 to 12. She has 12 years of teaching experience at the International School of Beijing and the Shanghai American School. Kathy holds a bachelor's of science degree in Economics from Duke University, a graduate certificate in Elementary Teaching from Drexel University, and a Maths Specialist in International Schools (MSIS) credential.

Fiona Longmuir:

Fiona Longmuir (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer in Educational Leadership and Co-leader of the Education Workforce for the Future Impact Lab, School of Education, Culture and Society, Faculty of Education at Monash University.

Fiona’s research focuses on educators’ working conditions, principals’ emotional labour, and the role of school and system leadership in supporting student engagement and agency. She has expertise in crisis leadership, social cohesion, and social justice in education. She has published on topics including, teachers’ working conditions and retention, leadership in complex contexts, and student agency in school reform.

Fiona teaches in the Master of Educational Leadership, specialising in social justice, policy enactment, and educational change. She led the Graduate Certificate of Principal Preparation from 2019 to 2021 and contributes to leadership programs for international school and system leaders. 

Previously, Fiona spent over a decade as Director of Research in Innovative Professional Practice at Educational Transformations, leading national and international studies on school leadership and system effectiveness. She also worked 15 years with the Victorian Department of Education and Training as a teacher, and curriculum, school, and network leader. Fiona is a Victorian Fellow of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders. 

Michael Rosenbrock:

Michael is an experienced and passionate educational leader, education consultant and a teacher of physics, mathematics and multimedia. He has over a decade experience teaching and leading in schools, most recently as Assistant Principal at Wodonga Senior Secondary College. Michael has worked as a Specialist Teacher for the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) and was a Content Specialist at Evidence for Learning (E4L). He works with systems, networks, school leaders and teachers – supporting the translation of research evidence into practice. Michael is regularly called upon to provide subject matter expertise – particularly in the areas of implementation in schools, teaching and learning, curriculum, science teaching and mathematics teaching. Michael is a determined advocate for those experiencing socio-economic disadvantage and for students in rural, regional and remote settings. Prior to working in education, Michael worked in the aerospace, automotive and software industries in Germany, the USA and Australia.

Jennifer Bowden:

Jennifer is respected leader and educator within the Australian mathematics education community, dedicated to the mission of “confident, capable, and engaged lifelong learners of mathematics.” Committed to ensuring that all Victorian students have access to the highest-quality teaching and learning opportunities in mathematics. Possesses strong management and leadership skills that foster meaningful relationships with industry partners, schools, and mathematics educators to enhance the delivery of effective, engaging, and innovative mathematics education.

Deeply committed to supporting MAV members and recognising the critical role professional associations play in valuing, supporting, and advocating for the teaching profession, ensuring the continued growth and strength of mathematics education across Australia.

Donna Mcneight:

Donna has been teaching for 18 years, and she is currently the Numeracy Learning Specialist. She has written four articles that have been published in Prime Number and a journal article for APMC. Donna completed a podcast called ‘From being in a jam to making it your jam’ for the Strength in Numbers series for AAMT. She completed the Primary Mathematics Specialist Program twice, completed Extending Mathematics Understanding (EMU) training and she is participating in the Mathematics Leadership Mentoring Program with Matt Sexton.

Donna participated in the first cohort of the Teaching Excellence Program with Bastow in 2022, she also completed the Numeracy Masters Training and implemented the Local Leaders Numeracy Program in 2024 in the Central Highlands area. She presented to the City Network Principals Group in 2023 and 2025 and was part of the VCAA Board that revised the changes to the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 for Mathematics in 2023. She has presented at the MAV conference in 2023 and has completed webinars for Bastow. Donna received a $30,000 grant in 2024 where she researched how to use the MOI growth points with aspects of EMU to build the students place value understanding in the junior year levels.

A part of her leadership responsibilities is to coordinate NAPLAN each year and taught grades 3/4 for 11 years where she explored, evaluated and implemented strategies that provided the students the best opportunities to achieve success in the assessment. Donna has implemented a program called ‘A Positive Approach to Mathematics’ at her school which has had a tremendous influence on the students’ achievements including NAPLAN. In the last few years, the percentage of students in strong and exceeding has averaged at 85% and above for year 5 with 100% of our students achieving strong and exceeding growth this year from grade 3 to grade 5.