Is There a Math Facts Crisis in America?
For many people, the thought of solving worksheets, quizzes, and tests with dozens of math problems fills them with dread and anxiety.
As they work through each problem, they struggle to grasp the concepts they were taught and apply them correctly. Some children are even driven to tears, as they spend countless hours working through the material.
So why is math so difficult?
Each year’s curriculum is intended to build upon the skills and knowledge of the previous year. While students may be able to pass the class, they may not actually be prepared to handle the more difficult topics like algebra.
From elementary to college-level, math fact fluency is a must. Math facts are the building blocks that must be fully mastered in order to excel in more the advanced math topics.
However, despite the advances in technology and teaching methods, instructors and parents struggle now, more than ever to get their students to understand and retain math facts in memory.
Is there a national math facts crisis?
For many states like Oklahoma, math test scores are either declining or stagnant. This is happening amid shrinking school budgets and increasing demands made on both students and teachers to cover more material in less time.
So how are students faring as they get into college and adult life?
A study was conducted that discovered that only 1 out of 10 college students were able to pass a basic multiplication test.1
That’s only 10% of college students!
We know that math fact fluency is essential to living a successful and productive life. Some form of math is used in every occupation and it is used in nearly all areas of life, such as cooking, paying bills, and managing finances.
With the rise of smartphones, many children, teens, and young adults have become dependent on calculators to solve even the most basic of math problems.
So is there a better way to teach math?
Yes! There are key strategies that teachers and parents can use to help students of all ages not only learn their math facts, but master them.
Using the latest brain and memory research, we at Math Facts Matter (My Schoolware, Inc.) have developed a system and a line of products that help individual students and entire classes of all grade levels learn their math facts faster and store them in long-term memory.
We designed our system with busy teachers and parents in mind, so our programs require no prep time!
With fun and engaging, stress-free learning, students are empowered to do their best and enjoy learning mathematics.
1 DeMaioribus, C. (2011). “Automaticity of Basic Math Facts: The Key to Math Success?” Masters Thesis, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN.
