Mathematics – A Struggle

An analysis was done by Chennai-based online mathematics education platform, HeyMath that resulted into a conclusion that over 60% of grade 7 students cannot compare quantities, while 40% of grade 6 students struggle with ratios. Harsh Rajan and Nirmala Sankaran, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, HeyMath caters to 5,000 math teachers and 500,000 students across the world and India with more than 10,000 lessons and 1, 00,000 practice problems.

The Department of Education reported that most American students find it difficult to understand when it comes to mathematical problem-solving. While there has been a significant improvement in Mathematics performance in recent years, the ability of children to tackle problem-solving has emerged as a real concern. Dr Gerry Shiel, one of the authors, said more time should be allocated in Maths classes for making students understand reasoning and problem-solving which needs time. HeyMath study was conducted to evaluate the Maths proficiency of students at the end of the current academic year where 5,000 students from grades 5 to 9 in 30 CBSE schools across Delhi (1500), Chennai (2500), Coimbatore, Madurai, Bengaluru, and Vellore participated. The study claimed that 35% students failed (students who got more than 40% of questions wrong) in factors and multiples and divisibility tests which will directly affect their understanding of LCM (lowest common multiple) and HCF (highest common factor). Whereby 40% of grade 6 students failed in decimals, fractions, and ratios; 60% of Grade 7 students failed in mensuration and comparing quantities and more than 50% students, across all grades, found word problems to be difficult which indicates the importance of comprehension skills in primary years. Overall we can say, as per the study, Chennai students performed about 15% higher better than their Delhi counterparts. In the recent years, Nirmala Sankaran, co-founder of HeyMath, said “Grade 5 to 6 and Grade 8 to 9 are very important transitions years and a strong arithmetic foundation is critical. Moreover, CBSE has made board exams mandatory for Grade 10 and is considering extending testing to students of Grades 5 and 8 as well. ICSE has declared a similar plan that will start from the next academic year. The students are very far from ready.” According to her, when students cannot do arithmetic they tend to struggle when it comes to understanding new concepts.  Teachers need to have the luxury of time and the baseline data to address these deficiencies at the level of individual students. It is required to look beyond the conventional pedagogy and use engaging methods, interactive lessons, animation, graphics, and quizzes, to ensure timely intervention in making Maths learning less intimidating.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/study-finds-students-lacking-in-math-skills/article25510923.ece