Mathematical knowledge and numeracy inform decision making in personal and community life, and contribute to the study of several other disciplines; mathematics is also one of the core subject areas to be covered in the forthcoming national curriculum in Australia. This week Curriculum Leadership publishes a summary of material that has appeared in the journal over the last five years on issues surrounding the teaching and learning of numeracy and the subject area of mathematics at primary and secondary levels. Issues include the role of technology in maths teaching and the question of whether students should be grouped by ability levels.