MathsClass

I can see that a lot of valuable work has gone into preparing these two spreadsheets. It's only when you see the syllabuses as a whole that you can detect the differences in their flavour. Of particular interest to me was the greater emphasis (focused in Stage 4) on understanding algebraic techniques by generalising the properties of numbers. I hope this changes students' common belief that algebra is a set of "rules for working with letters".

Based on a very large body of research (including a recent PhD thesis on the topic at Macquarie University) teaching students the mechanics of algebraic techniques without them understanding how the numbers work, is counter-productive in the long run. Rules without reasons are easily mixed up, soon forgotten, and often incorrectly applied. You might not see it in the topic test, but you'll likely see it in the yearly exams. As a tertiary educator (in Primary Maths Education), I find it quite easy differentiate between those students who have just memorised "the rules" and those who understand them.

Sorry Simon. I didn't realise what you meant. I see the greater emphasis in the new syllabus: See MA4-8NA compared with the old PAS4.1 & PAS4.3.

I think that the biggest difference is the use of the proficiency strands as the basis for assessment. Big changes for most states there. Particularly as problem solving means "new or unfamiliar Maths" rather than just "new context".