What’s 470 minus 276? Quick! If you’re anything like me, being tasked with an on-the-spot arithmetic question is enough to give you quadratic palpitations. (Spoiler: it’s 194).
I was in the bottom set for maths at school. One day, my teacher, Mr Smith, caught me writing, “I hate maths and Mr Smith” on the corner of my folder. And thus began a lifelong avoidance of sums and calculations, division and fractions.
I’d say I have a case of genuine ‘maths anxiety’, and according to new research, kids today suffer from ‘maths anxiety’, too – experiencing rage and despair during their lessons, with some even reduced to tears.
The University of Cambridge study says schools should treat this issue with “real concern”. “We should be tackling the problem of maths anxiety now to enable these young people to stop feeling anxious about learning mathematics and give them the opportunity to flourish,” said co-author of the study Dr Denes Szucs, who said the findings formed part of a “mathematical crisis” in the UK.
The researchers, who looked at 1,700 British pupils aged eight to 13, as well as 1,000 Italian pupils, warned that kids who suffer so-called ‘maths anxiety’ can fall into a “vicious circle” of poor performance. And it found that students generally viewed maths as being more difficult than other subjects. Kids were also anxious about getting bad marks, being teased by classmates, and feeling pressure from tests – including SATS.
I know how they feel. I’ll never forget the day Mr Smith decided I should go up to set four from set five, after a couple of “not bad” mental maths tests. I sat there, petrified and silent, for an entire term – until they sent me back to the bottom set again. And even now, if I go out to dinner with friends, I’m the one that passes the bill to someone I deem to be more competent than me, with the throwaway message, “You do it – I’m rubbish at maths.”
Researchers found teachers and parents may be unwittingly contributing to children’s feelings of ‘maths anxiety’ through “parental pressure and confusing teaching methods”. In my case, I certainly avoid helping my children with maths homework – that’s always somebody else’s job. So, what to do?
“If we can improve a student’s experience within their maths lessons, we can help lessen their maths anxiety, and in turn this may increase their overall maths performance,” said Szucs.
A spokesperson for the the Department for Education, which has created ‘maths hubs’ and provided £41m extra funding to raise standards at UK primary schools, told The Independent: “A confident grasp of mathematics at a young age provides the building blocks of numbers and problem solving that can help young people develop the knowledge and skills they need to secure a good job and succeed in whatever path they choose later in life.
“Maths is also increasingly important as the world becomes more automated – as machines speak the language of maths.”
Outside the classroom, you could always try some maths at home with your child on sites such as Oxford Owl and CBeebies ... if you fancy it.