How good are Americans at math? Studies are conflicting -- some claim that Americans are terrible compared to other countries, while others report that the US is about average with everyone else. What's the real story?
Are American students that bad at math?
While there are plenty of reports that claim Americans aren't as good as other countries, it's possible that they overstate just how bad they are. For example, a recent article references New York Times' Nicholas Kristof, who believes that American eighth-graders’ math skills are humiliatingly bad, citing examples of problems that students in Ghana, Iran, Indonesia, Armenia, Turkey, and Palestine can solve and American eighth-graders can’t.
Kristof does have a point, which is essentially that American students tend to be bad at applying the math they've learned in the real world.
But while math teachers ought to be concerned about the methods they're using to teach math, that doesn't mean American kids are worse than those other countries.
American students aren’t as bad at math as you think.
It's possible, however, that Kristof is just "cherry-picking problems from a test on which American students, on average, do pretty well in comparison," according to the article.
Essentially, Kristof uses the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey, a standardized test of eighth-graders, but only uses the questions that students did worse on than any other.
As a whole, the Americans didn't do that bad on the entire test -- in fact, for the majority of the test, they did better than average. Overall, American students scored slightly above average, on par with Finland’s test-takers.
Our math techniques could be the problem
This is a notably different method from American schools, showing that our own less-creative teaching methods may be why American students don't always score as high on tests as other countries. But, it doesn't mean they are bad at math -- they've just been taught fewer methods of applying it.
Compared to those around the world, American students are lacking in their math skills, but overall they are not as terrible as some may say. In fact, they do about average compared to other countries.
The questions students were asked were not the best examples, and throughout the world, there are different programs where students are taught different things.
Key Takeaways:
It's great news that Americans aren't as bad at math as some reports say. That said, students who are facing math difficulties should certainly seek help. If you or someone you know is having difficulty with math, find out which micro-skills need strengthening and increase math learning ability by taking our assessment here!
Do You Need help with a Math Difficulty?
Our simple online analysis will help you get to the core of the problem and find the right solution for you.
Understanding how to help someone with a learning difficulty starts with understanding which micro-skills are affected. When you learn which of the micro-skills is the problem, you will then be on your way to solving it.
You'll also learn how to:
- Build confidence
- Enhance Learning ability
- Eliminate avoidance
- Build grit
You can get this analysis for free by filling out this simple form. This will help you get to the bottom of a learning difficulty and provide you with a solution. If you are ready to put this problem behind you click the button below and fill out the form.
