Tired, hungry and bored: Why Aussie kids are flunking maths Education by NATASHA BITA Premium Content Subscriber only Hungry, tired and bored students are dragging down Australia's dunce performance in global maths and science tests. One in four Australian kids is going to school hungry every day and a third of students are turning up tired, a startling new study shows. The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) report reveals the reasons Aussie kids are falling behind in maths and science, and the problems start at home. Shockingly, 28 per cent of the Australian students in years 4 and 8 are going to school hungry, with 34 per cent tired when they turn up to class.