"How to choose the right mathematics subject for the senior years?" is a very popular questions raised by students, especially those in Year 9 and Year 10. Here are a few suggestions for you to consider.

(Note: Jmath does not provide advice for General Mathematics / Standard Mathematics.)

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1. Subjects names:

NESA (former BOSTE) has changed mathematics subject names a few times in the past. The most recent names are:

Mathematics Extension 2 (older version: 4 Unit)

Mathematics Extension 1 (older version: 3 Unit)

Advanced Mathematics (older version: 2 Unit)

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2. Connections of senior mathematics subjects:

Advanced mathematics serves as the foundation of Extension 1, and Extension 1 is the foundation of Extension 2.

Advanced and Extension 1 are provided in both Year 11 and Year 12, but Extension 2 is only available for Year 12.

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3. Important facts:

1) Number of lessons each fortnight (each lesson is 50 min)

Advanced Mathematics - 9 lessons

Mathematics Extension 1 - 5 more lessons + 9 lessons from Advanced = 14 lessons

Mathematics Extension 2 - 5 more lessons + 14 lessons from Extension 1 = 19 lessons

 

2) Difficulty level according (0 easiest, 10 hardest)

Advanced Mathematics - 5

Mathematics Extension 1 - 7

Mathematics Extension 2 - 10

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3) HSC Scale (how much final report mark is increased from raw exam mark)

Advanced Mathematics: roughly the same

Mathematics Extension 1 - brings up the mark significantly

Mathematics Extension 2 - brings up the mark the most

 

4. Mathematics performance in Year 7-10

A student's mathematics performance in Year 7-10, especially Year 10, is a good indicator for their achievement in the senior years. Generally speaking, a student is required to complete Stage 5.3 mathematics in Year 9 & 10, in order to set a strong foundation for the challenging senior mathematics.

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5. Speak to experienced HSC maths teachers

Experienced HSC maths teachers usually know the subjects well and can assess students' ability to provide insightful suggestions.

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6. Potential university course requirement

Select appropriate mathematics subjects based on the university programs that a student wants to study. Call admission offices and request information on the minimum level of mathematics courses. Some programs do provide bridging courses for a student who does not study required high school subjects. However, this also means that the student needs to take an additional year to finish the program.

 

7. Required ATAR score

Each university program has its minimum ATAR admission score. If a student wants to achieve a very competitive ATAR mark, Mathematics Extension 2 is one of the best options, because it has the highest scale among all subjects. In other words, it can bring up the final mark significantly. For example, if a student's raw mark of Mathematics Extension 2 is close to 80, the final report mark can be over 90 most likely. At the same time, Mathematics Extension 1, along with Physics, has the second-highest scale. These are all very important factors to consider when it comes to subject choice.

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8. Comfortable with more hours of study, stress, and anxiety

One factor that many parents and students fail to consider is students' well-being and personal preference. Is the student willing to spend extra hours studying more challenging topics? Can he/she cope with a high level of stress and anxiety? For example, Mathematics Extension 2 requires at least double the amount of study time of Mathematics Extension 1. This alone can be very overwhelming and exhausting for some students. In the past, I often saw capable students decide to drop Mathematics Extension 2 at the end of Year 12 Term 1 because they were overly stressed and felt exhausted from long hours of study.