U.S.

Math Deficiency 1

Running Head: U.S. MATH DEFICIENCY

The Deficiency of Math in the United States

Logan W. Lantz

Glen Allen High School

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Introduction

In a 2004 Gallup poll, 37% of students said math is the the most difficult subject in

school (Saad, 2005). The goal of this research, to determine why math is so difficult whether it is

the fault of the school or the student. This is important because as of 2015, the US ranks 40th

globally in mathematical achievement. The United States can improve their schools as whole,

national curriculum, and the achievement of their students by decreasing the focus on grades and

increasing the focus on learning. Some students have difficulties due to their learning styles and

brain types. Left brain thinkers tend to see things in sequential pieces while right brain thinkers

see things more as a whole (Fleming, 2018). A solution of this well known issue is to look

towards other countries who are successful. In Finland schools, one of the most successful

countries academically in the world, teachers are selected from the top 10 percent of the nation’s

graduates and are given the same status as doctors and lawyers. There is no ranking system in

these schools and there is only one standardized test required for the students when they are a

senior in high school. There is no homework and students are put in the same classrooms, no

matter their level of achievement. The gap between the worst and best student is the smallest in

the world (Hancock, 2011). This brings up the questions: Why is math difficult for students?

Should the United States model math curriculum off of other countries?

Why U.S. Math Achievement is an Issue

Student opinion shows that math is the consensus favorite subject. In a 2004 Gallup poll,

24% of students said that math was their favorite subject, which was the highest ranking subject

(Saad, 2005). However, this preference displays conflict as 37% of students say that math is their

most difficult subject. Saad also highlights that 56% of adults say that basic math is required in

their job on a day to day basis. The lack of student mathematical achievement in the United
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States is an issue due to the need of math later on in life. According to Achieve, Inc., 90% of

2010 college graduates believe that some form of education is required after high school,

illustrating the importance of math comprehension in lower levels of education (2013). If

students cannot understand math at a secondary education level, they will have trouble in higher

education as well. Achieve, Inc. (2013) argues that,

completing advanced math courses in high school has a greater influence on

whether students will graduate from college than any other factor—including
family background. Students who take math beyond Algebra II increase their
likelihood of persisting to sophomore by about 20 percentage points and nearly
double their chances of earning a bachelor’s degree.
Students fail to realize the importance of mathematics to their future partly due to their lack of

motivation and their teachers. The United States is ranked too low on a global scale in academic

achievement and should not be acceptable by American standards.

Student Difficulties

Strauss argues that it is the slow progression of the approximate number system in the

early stages of development in young children (2013). This system allows people to estimate a

number for a group of similar objects, which is more important for younger children. This

irregular development causes delays to the comprehension of math as a whole and sets the child

back from their peers. Fleming takes a different approach and states that since math is a

cumulative subject, students who have “average” grades in elementary and middle school have

difficulty in high school and college because they have not mastered the foundation of

mathematics (2018). Teachers do not have the time to make sure every student knows every

topic so some students are left behind. Then, once students are behind, these “weaker performing

students in particular resort to memorisation strategies in studying mathematics” (Välijärvi et al.,

2003).
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In 2014, 26% of 12th graders were proficient in math because they have been learning it

all wrong (“Math isn’t hard,” 2014). They have been taught that fractions are an impossible

concept to manage quickly and some high schoolers still have trouble with the idea. Randy

Polisac asserted that math needs to be taught as a language because that is what it was created to

be, as is was used to create structures and trade. Adding one apple to four apples should make

just as much sense to a student as adding one third to four thirds. Students should be able to

make the connection that five apples and five thirds are the sums for both problems. The same

amount, yet different objects.

In 1988, a study was conducted that examined the math anxiety in middle and high

school students (Wigfield & Meece). Typically, difficult math problems caused the students to

show either negative emotions or actions. A common response was for the students to worry

about whether they are getting the problem right or doing the correct processes. Another

response was for them to display nervous habits, such as tapping their fingers or shaking their

legs. “Highly anxious students are overly concerned with the possible consequences of failure.

The negative emotional states that these self-focused cognitions evoke can interfere with

attentional and learning processes so that test or task performance is impaired” (Wigfield &

Meece, 1988). One benefit of math anxiety is that it is positively correlated with the amount of

work students put towards math as well as the importance of math to students. Overall, Wigfield

and Meece discuss how math anxiety affects math performance in students and whether that

effect is positive or negative.

Motivation and Math

Posamentier argues that a large part of student success in the classroom is due to intrinsic

motivation. “Many students demonstrate intrinsic motivation in their desire to understand a topic
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or concept, to outperform others, or to impress others” (Posamentier, 2017). Similarly, Adele

Gottfried studied the correlation between motivation and mathematical achievement. In a

longitudinal study, students from 9 to 17 years old were examined and it was determined that

both achievement and motivation decline over time (2007). Gottfried analyzed her results and

determined that,

from childhood through adolescence, across varied populations, those with higher
academic intrinsic motivation have been found to be more competent in school,
generally evidencing significantly greater academic achievement, more positive
perceptions of their academic competency, lower academic anxiety, and less
extrinsic motivation.
All core subject in school have had a progressive decline over the years in terms of intrinsic

motivation, yet math was the steepest (Posamentier, 2017).

Finland Schools

Hancock discusses an overview of the FInland school system. Teachers are selected from

the top 10 percent of the nation’s graduates, while there is no ranking system in these schools

and there is only one standardized test required for the students when they are a senior in high

school (Hancock, 2011). The gap between the worst and best student is the smallest in the world.

Students of all levels of achievement are put into the same classrooms and they are taught a third

language beginning at age 9 (Hancock, 2011). The New York Times presents the fact that all

high school students in Finland schools must take physics, chemistry, biology, philosophy, music

and at least two foreign languages, making it a very difficult curriculum (“Why other countries,”

2013).

Another source presents the reasoning behind Finland’s success in schools, since

“Finland showed the highest mathematical literacy performance in the OECD and the second

highest performance within all countries” (Välijärvi et al., 2003). Another interesting finding this

research brought about was that the gender gap between the performance of boys and girls in
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Finland was smaller than other OECD countries; however, boys typically had a stronger self

concept of mathematics than girls (Välijärvi et al., 2003). Finland focus heavily on equity,

whether that is in the quality of education or socioeconomic status. Surprisingly, the more a

teacher was involved with students, the worse a student achieved, yet this can be explained by

the fact that lower performing schools reported more teacher support (Välijärvi et al., 2003).

Conclusion

Overall, the United States has a present issue at hand that needs to be solved, the lack of

academic achievement compared to other countries, especially in mathematics. Many factors

have been found to affect student performance, including “students’ own interests, attitudes, and

learning strategies, learning opportunities offered by home and school, and parents’ and schools’

expectations” (Välijärvi et al., 2003). Also, students experience math anxiety which inhibits their

performance due to the expectations of them and their uncertainties. Considering the various

reasonings behind students’ difficulties with math, the United States should adopt similar

policies to Finland by eliminating the ranking system and making effective teaching decisions,

not political decisions.

References

(2013, March). All students need advanced mathematics. Achieve, Inc. Retrieved from

https://eric.ed.gov/?q=math&ft=on&id=ED541644.

(2014, December 5). Math isn’t hard, it’s a language. Youtube. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6yixyiJcos.

(2013, December 17). Why other countries teach better. The New York Times. Retrieved from

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/opinion/why-students-do-better-overseas.html?page
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wanted=all.

Fleming, G. (2018, January 18). Why math seems more difficult for some students. ThoughtCo.

Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/why-math-seems-more-difficult-for-

some-students-1857216.

Gottfried, A. (2007). Multivariate latent change modeling of developmental decline in academic

intrinsic math motivation and achievement: Childhood through adolescence.

International Journal of Behavioral Development. Retrieved from

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0165025407077752.

Hancock, L. (2011, September). Why are Finland’s schools successful? Smithsonian.com.

Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-

successful-49859555/.

Posamentier, A. (2017, June 20). 9 Strategies for Motivating Students in Mathematics. Edutopia.

Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/9-strategies-motivating-students-

mathematics-alfred-posamentier.

Saad, L. (2005, May 17). Math problematic for U.S. teens. Gallup. Retrieved from

http://news.gallup.com/poll/16360/Math-Problematic-US-Teens.aspx.

Strauss, V. (2013, March 27). Why is math so hard for many? The Washington Post. Retrieved

from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/03/27/why-is-math-

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Välijärvi, J., Kupari, P., Linnakylä, P., Reinikainen, P., Sulkunen, S., Törnroos, J., & Arffman, I.

(2003). The Finnish success in PISA – and some reasons behind it. PISA. Retrieved from

https://jyx.jyu.fi/dspace/bitstream/handle/123456789/37478/978-951-39-3038-

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Wigfield, A. & Meece J. (1988). Math anxiety in elementary and secondary school students.

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