You asked for – why are so many students bad at math?

Many students struggle with math due to a lack of foundational skills, a fear of the subject, and ineffective teaching methods.

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Many students struggle with math for a variety of reasons. According to a study, 93% of US parents have anxiety about helping their children with math homework and may inadvertently pass that anxiety on to their children. This anxiety can contribute to a fear of the subject that leads to poor performance.

Additionally, students may lack foundational skills in math, such as number sense and problem solving, which can make it difficult to understand more advanced concepts. This is compounded by teaching methods that often focus on memorization and standardized testing, rather than hands-on learning and real-world applications.

Famous mathematician John Mighton recognizes that “…obstacles to learning math are often created before students even enter the classroom.” He founded JUMP Math, an organization that aims to improve math education and proficiency among students.

Interesting facts about math education include:

• In some countries, like Finland, there is less focus on standardized testing and more emphasis on hands-on learning and creativity in math education, leading to higher achievement among students.
• About 20% of American adults are considered “functionally illiterate” in terms of math proficiency, according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy.
• According to the National Science Foundation, only 36% of 8th graders and 22% of 12th graders in the US are proficient in math.
• There is a gender gap in math proficiency, with boys consistently outperforming girls in standardized testing, although this gap has been narrowing in recent years.
• Early math proficiency has been linked to future academic and career success, making it crucial to address math education issues early on.

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Answer to your inquiry in video form

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Richard Dawkins discuss why many people struggle with mathematics and how the human brain’s natural survival instincts may contribute to this. They highlight the importance of rational and logical thinking in scientific advancements while acknowledging that areas like art can be more subjective. Additionally, they discuss the role of probability in mathematics and how humans are wired to prioritize survival instincts over mathematical reasoning, which can lead to a lack of understanding and appreciation for mathematical concepts.

There are other opinions

Math challenges aren’t always a result of a learning difficulty. For many students who struggle with math, it’s simply because they don’t have the proper foundation needed for success. These students may have fallen behind in a unit or moved on to advanced material before they were ready, leading to falling grades.

Because many people think of math as if it was :

[math]\int_7^{13} \frac{x^2}{\cos(x)}[/math]

Or :

While this is the mundane part of it. Seriously !

But it is also this :

Percolation theory – Wikipedia [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percolation_theory ]

That :

Knot theory – Wikipedia [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knot_theory ]

Or that :

Fractal – Wikipedia [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal ]

Or even that :

roots [ http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/roots/ ]

And I could continue for years with a lot of graphics if I wanted !

What we learned at school were the boring part. Even combinatoric is boring in regards of these! (I like combinatoric as it is a bit more brainy than other subjects at school)

Mathematics is a compound of many fields. Each fields itself has many specialties.

Lamely copied from SO (Detailed diagram with mathematical fields of study [ https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/166862/detailed-diagram-with-mathematical-fields-of-study ]) :

It’s not ex…

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