Results of this international comparative test show worldwide drops over the past 20 years, with accelerations since the pandemic. We should note the scale of the graphic, yet the trend is clear. Poverty, distracting devices, and mental health are offered as potential explanations. East Asian countries and city-states do best in math, and the United States sits a bit below the average. Our close cultural cousins the UK and Canada do notably well, while Australia sits just a hair below the average. It’s interesting that the worst performing students in the US seem to do better than the worst performing students elsewhere. Could this be because of the things we actually do right, like get kids to (a) school regardless of income and give them some calories while they are there?
Tag Archives: mathematics
algebra, what is it good for?
This New York Times opinion piece (sort of) argues against teaching algebra.
Making mathematics mandatory prevents us from discovering and developing young talent. In the interest of maintaining rigor, we’re actually depleting our pool of brainpower. I say this as a writer and social scientist whose work relies heavily on the use of numbers. My aim is not to spare students from a difficult subject, but to call attention to the real problems we are causing by misdirecting precious resources…
What of the claim that mathematics sharpens our minds and makes us more intellectually adept as individuals and a citizen body? It’s true that mathematics requires mental exertion. But there’s no evidence that being able to prove (x² + y²)² = (x² – y²)² + (2xy)² leads to more credible political opinions or social analysis…
I WANT to end on a positive note. Mathematics, both pure and applied, is integral to our civilization, whether the realm is aesthetic or electronic. But for most adults, it is more feared or revered than understood. It’s clear that requiring algebra for everyone has not increased our appreciation of a calling someone once called “the poetry of the universe.”
I think everyone is capable of and needs to learn math, logic, critical reasoning and system thinking skills. I think there is some merit to the idea that the way math is taught is a turn-off to so many people. There is also some merit in the argument that teaching people to manipulate symbols on a page is not really logic or reasoning or system thinking. A more ideal way to teach math (and reading and writing, for that matter) would be to integrate it into more interesting subjects like science, economics and history. Students could be gaining an intuitive feel for the world we live in through those subjects, while at the same time understanding how reading, writing, and arithmetic (and algebra and calculus and statistics and physical and mathematical models of various types) are powerful tools that can help increase the depth of that understanding.