According to the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which tests reading, maths and science skills among 15-year-olds across 79 countries, Australian maths standards have dipped the most.

The 2019 assessment found the average maths student was 14 months behind compared to their counterpart in 2003 and 46 per cent of 15-year-olds were below the national standard in maths proficiency.

Brauer College acting principal and senior maths teacher Carlos Lopez said the trend had been observed at his school but he was not "overly concerned" about the decline.

"The expectations back then were a lot higher in terms of (doing) well in maths," he said.

"Whereas now... because the computers can do a lot of hard work for us, I think it's easy for teenagers to go, 'well, why should I learn about it when we've got computers?'."

Mr Lopez said he thought it was more important to foster a passion for maths among students rather than just preparing them to perform well in tests.

"Sometimes we tend to treat maths as just a drill," he said.

"Maths is about the gameplay... to get students into situations where they need to use their higher thinking skills to solve a problem.

"If the expectation is that every time that you go to a maths class you're just going to get drills... that does tend to make it more difficult for students to build up that love for maths."

The PISA maths results coincided with a 2022 Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) study which found Year 12 enrolment in one or more maths subjects dropped from 71 to 73 per cent over the past decade to 26 per cent in 2020.

Mr Lopez said Brauer had been looking to market the subject more to students in younger year levels, especially females, to attract more talent and improve results.

"We've had a dedicated team of staff that have really encouraged particularly females to join maths and to really enjoy the love of maths," he said.

"The opportunities that maths can offer, particularly going forward into a new generation of scientists, engineers, and people joining STEM, it's something that we really need to market."

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Emmanuel College assistant principal Justin Houlihan said his school's 2021 NAPLAN numeracy scores for Year 9 - the PISA test age equivalent - were level with the country's average, which had been steady since 2008.

"(It's) no different to what's happening across the state," he said.

Though Mr Houlihan said he was open to exploring new teaching practices and ways of engaging more students with maths.

"We have been restructuring our pathways for maths classes particularly within our middle school... to provide students with more choice," he said.

"10 years ago, there would have just been the one core (maths) class... whereas we now classify the classes as Foundation, General and Methods in order to cater for student needs."

Mr Houlihan said Emmanuel was working to provide more support to maths students but looked forward to the revamped Victorian senior school maths curriculum due in 2023.

"Students have opportunities to get assistance with their maths during after-school 'study hall' sessions," he said.

"The restructuring of the VCE in 2023 will be a positive change, offering students alternative pathways."

A Victorian Department of Education and Training spokesperson said four VCE maths subjects, instead of three, would be offered in 2023 to provide more choices to students.

He said the state government would invest in more maths teacher training to address the skills decline.

"We know there is more to do," the spokesperson said.

"That's why (the funding) will provide around 350 out-of-field secondary teachers with further training in mathematics and science."

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