A financial decision with no single correct answer might not sound like a typical mathematics lesson, but that's exactly the kind of learning Year 12 student Aabhigya Khadka experienced while testing the SACE's renewed General Mathematics prototype.

Developed as part of the SACE Board's Subject Renewal program, the prototype explores new approaches to learning and assessment that emphasise student agency, deep authentic learning and the application of knowledge in real-world contexts. 

The task centred on making financial decisions that reflected the kinds of choices people face beyond school. 

Students selected from different cars, occupations and loan options before using mathematics to determine whether their decisions were financially realistic.

“That reflects a real-world situation because no one's going to be there telling you to pick this or pick that. You have to think about it yourself.”

The flexibility of the task encouraged students to consider personal priorities alongside mathematical calculations.

"I looked at the cars, and I chose the one that I liked the most which I would do in real life,” he said.

“You pick an interest rate that matches your earnings, so it won't financially burden you to be trying to pay off this car loan. 

Then you start making calculations and seeing the practicality of how you can actually pay the car off."

Unlike traditional investigations, there was no prescribed format and no expectation that every student would produce the same response which changed Aabhigya’s relationship with the subject.

"Because there was no restriction for this sort of assessment task, every person's work was unique,” he said.

“I'm not a big fan of maths as a whole, but I felt like I was able to enjoy it more because I was given that freedom of choice. I got a lot out of that."

Aabhigya’s experience reflects one of the central aims of Subject Renewal: strengthening Deep Authentic Learning by giving students opportunities to apply their knowledge to complex, real-world situations. Through decisions about careers, vehicles and loans, he was not simply completing a mathematics task, but thinking independently, weighing competing considerations and taking ownership of his learning.

As Subject Renewal continues to be tested in classrooms, experiences like Aabhigya's demonstrate how deep authentic learning can help transform mathematics from a subject focused on finding the right answer into one that equips students to make informed decisions in the real world.