Weighing the Consequences of Math Anxiety.
The United States is now facing what has been called a “STEM crisis” – meaning that not enough people are being adequately trained in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to meet the demands of our technology-driven society.
Attempts to ramp up STEM education in the U.S., such as President Obama’s Educate to Innovate campaign, have focused primarily on improving math content and methods of instruction. Such efforts, while laudable, fail to appreciate the extent to which emotional factors contribute to students’ math deficiencies and subsequent avoidance of STEM careers.
In this article, I examine the far-reaching consequences of math anxiety in order to motivate a more concerted effort toward finding solutions to this pervasive problem.
How bad is it, doc?
How common is this particular malady we call math anxiety? Because assessment instruments and threshold scores for calling someone math anxious vary across studies, a specific number is hard to pin down. Estimates have been all over the place – ranging from 17% to 75% of the population.
As a lifetime math educator, the latter estimate more accurately reflects my lived experience. When I tell people that I am involved in math education, I’d say a clear majority respond with some version of “ugh, math?!” or “I definitely could have used your help!”
The rates of math anxiety are more predictably high among community college students, who often arrive grossly underprepared for college mathematics. Indeed, many students end up at community colleges as a result of their failure to demonstrate college-math readiness on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT.
Math anxiety is not only a problem here in the United States. A study conducted by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) found that 15-year-old students identified as being high in math anxiety performed on average significantly worse than their low math anxiety counterparts in 42 out of 43 countries (China being the exception). Math anxiety is truly a global problem.
Why do we care, again?
If you’re a consequentialist like me, you probably want to know why we should give such high priority to the issue of math anxiety. What are the real-life consequences?
The balance of this article will address this question by outlining some of the specific deleterious effects of math anxiety on students, teachers, and society.
Impact on Students
Here’s a sobering statistic that I once encountered in a math department meeting: Students who place into the lowest level course in the developmental/remedial math sequence (Basic Math) have less than a 5% chance of eventually passing a college level math class of any kind. Ever.
For many students, passing a college-level math class is the primary and perhaps only obstacle to getting a 2 or 4-year degree. Of those who do manage to somehow squeak through college algebra or elementary statistics, how many never take another math class and avoid majoring in STEM fields specifically because of the math requirements? I don’t have the data on that, but I’m sure it’s a very high percentage.
Put simply, fear of math places significant limitations on students’ educational and professional pathways, and all but guarantees that they will not pursue a STEM career.
Impact on Teachers
Students aren’t the only ones impacted by math anxiety. I’ll be honest. Teaching math really sucks sometimes. Math teachers are people too. We want to feel a sense of self-efficacy – like we are having a positive impact on the world rather than merely uttering sounds out into the universe for no apparent reason.
Too often math teachers devote themselves to sharing knowledge about a subject that they deeply love only to be met with a daily barrage of aversion and apathy. This takes a toll psychologically, and many teachers become disillusioned, cynical, or just plain burnt out. Careers in industry or tech begin to look more and more appealing.
Not surprisingly, the shortages of math teachers in many school districts across the U.S. have reached crisis levels. Who would want to subject themselves to this kind of torture for so little pay and prestige? When vacancies are filled with emergency-certified teachers with dubious math backgrounds, we are providing fuel to perpetuate the “vicious cycle” of math deficits, anxiety, and avoidance.
Impact on Society
Finally, society pays a price as well. Researchers estimate that almost half of all US workers will likely see their job automated in the foreseeable future. Although more jobs will be created in the process, they will increasingly involve interfacing with new technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. A basic level of STEM literacy will soon become a requirement for employment and participation in civic life, and math anxious citizens run the risk of finding themselves on the outside looking in.
The societal implications of math anxiety are not limited to our increasingly technology-driven economy. Making informed decisions on questions related to health, personal finance, parenting, and public policy all require an ability to sort through information presented by the media and separate sense from nonsense. In the end, everyone’s decisions impact everyone else. It’s time we move beyond folk wisdom and Dr. Oz (sorry Dr. Oz fans).
What are the take-aways?
Math anxiety is a pervasive, global problem with negative effects that include:
- Limiting students’ ability to obtain college degrees or pursue STEM careers
- Contributing to teacher burnout and the nationwide shortage of math teachers
- Impairing mathematical literacy and rational decision-making among the populace
Math anxiety impacts all of us, either directly or indirectly. As a society we would be wise to give greater attention to finding a viable solution. Research in educational psychology is already making some headway, identifying the major causes of math anxiety and testing possible interventions for preventing it or reducing its impact. I will summarize these interventions in next week’s article.
With you in the pursuit,
Dr. Dave
Are you a teacher?
Check out my full course Understanding and Combating Students’ Math Anxiety available for CEU credits at CE Credits Online
References:
Math Anxiety: A Factor in Math Achievement not to be Ignored, by Beilock & Maloney, 2015
The Math Anxiety-Performance Link: A Global Phenomenon, by Foley et al, 2013
Math Anxiety: Personal, Educational, and Cognitive Consequences, by Ashcraft, 2002
Mathematics Anxiety and Mathematics Teacher Efficacy, by Swars et al, 2006
