In November 1987, the Secretary of State for Scotland published a consultation paper, Curriculum and Assessment in Scotland: A Policy for the 90's, which identified a need for:

clear guidance on what pupils should be learning in primary schools and in the first two years of secondary schools;

improved assessment of pupils' progress;

better information for parents about the curriculum and about their children's performance.

Following a period of consultation, Review and Development Groups (RDGs) were set up under the auspices of the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum, to give advice on each area of the curriculum. Each RDG undertook a wide-ranging review of good practice in order to set out clearly the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes appropriate to its curricular area; and then to advise on the formulation of national curriculum guidelines which would identify the aims of study, the ground to be covered, the way that learning should progress, and how pupils' attainment should be monitored and recorded.

These guidelines on Mathematics are based on the report of Review and Development Group 2, which was issued as a consultative document (Working Paper 3: Mathematics) in May 1990; following a period of consultation, the Secretary of State has decided to issue the guidelines as his considered advice on Mathematics 5-14.