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UK Students Struggle with University-Level Math
New research has uncovered that students in UK universities today are struggling with the difficulty of degree-level math.
A new report published by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) has found that officials in UK universities are being forced to “dumb down” standards of math because of the amount of students who say that the work is too difficult.
Many institutions are “marginalizing the mathematical content” of degree courses amid fears that English students are incapable of the most basic sums, the report said, writes Graeme Paton at the Telegraph.
Researchers from the RSA say that the knock on effect is also damaging ability in many subjects that require good levels of numeracy, like the social sciences, medicine and psychology.
The report said that universities are failing to “advertise the level of math needed to comfortably study particular subjects for fear of hindering applications”.
It continues:
“Universities are marginalizing mathematical content in the delivery of degree courses because English students are not capable of studying it. For instance, in the social sciences, quantitative research methods may be neglected.
“It also means English universities are not keeping pace with international standards. It is common amongst universities overseas to require advanced mathematics qualifications prior to being accepted onto relevant degree programs.
“In an increasingly international market, the failure to develop quantitative skills and content adequately has the potential to damage the standing of some English degrees amongst international students and to disadvantage English graduates in the global marketplace.”
The researchers call for making math compulsory up to age 18 and creating a two-stage math qualification at GCSE level: one for more advanced students and the other promoting practical numeracy skills.
Emma Norris, RSA associate director, said:
“With nearly 50 per cent of our students failing to achieve GCSE mathematics, long term reform should be an urgent priority for ministers.
“English students would benefit from math education that’s flexible to learner needs, rather than the regimented exam – driven approach that currently characterizes England’s mathematics qualifications.”
And in response to the numbers, Professor Sparks, chairman of the Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME), said that the damning statistic “puts us at a real anomaly internationally and likely affects our economic competitiveness”.
Sparks has called for more students to study math up to the age of 18. He has also called for more tailored courses “between a GCSE and A-level” for those students who need them.
“The reason some people are being put off math is related to that issue of teaching to the test,” he said.
“Schools are given a big incentive to make sure pupils pass tests, which doesn’t necessarily mean that they get the well-rounded understanding that a good education requires.”
Tuesday
February 14th, 2012
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Comments
The way mathematics are being taught now in public schools, the possibility of pursuing math-related degrees in college is completely shut off to most students years before they can make that decision. Everyone should study mathematics until they are 18, that way if they decide later on to pursue the subject, they don’t feel like they’ll need years of catch-up work to do it.
“The reason some people are being put off math is related to that issue of teaching to the test,”
Argh, what nonsense! I can understand that “teaching to the test” might be counterproductive in English or history, but how else but “to the test” are you supposed to teach math? Are we supposed to put on plays exploring math concepts? Maybe recite poems to the beauty of irrational numbers? Math is about learning to solve problems! Like…I dunno..a test?
Well, one has to understand and apply math concepts rather than memorize test problems. Teaching to the test is often reduced to dull repetition of steps which student never bothered to understand in any way. That is useless and damaging.
[...] are incapable of the most basic sums, the report said, writes Graeme Paton at the Telegraph.”(more) Comments (0) Go to main news [...]
This is a huge problem in the U.S. too. Not enough people interested in pursuing math/science degrees and those that are, like 40% of them drop out before graduation. All because of lack of preparation. We really need to address this issue earlier than we are.
Mathematics is not about passing a test. Mathematics is about critical reasoning, problem-solving, and logical thought. If you think it’s only about the test, then no wonder it’s difficult.
Kay, mathematics is exactly about passing the test. It is impossible to pass a mathematics test after learning by rote and without understanding the underlying concepts, because what the tests actually..you know..test is application of those concepts. You can’t memorize formulae and expect to pass without comprehending how they work and which ones to apply when. Mathematics is just about unique in that respect: teaching to the test in this case is just about ideal.
actually kevin every survey ever says that people who drop out of math and science programs do so because they were much more engaging in high school. at the university level they do nothing to engage the student which drives most of them away since they can find no internal motivation to push through the challenge.
what i don’t understand is why no one acknowledges that as little as 30 years ago, most of these students who are “struggling” wouldn’t even have gone to college, but now they have no choice due to changes in the job market. But they are still the same type of student they would have been 30 years ago, of course they will struggle.
This is a good point, and I think I read somewhere an interesting story about the focus shifting away from vocational training. However, at least to some degree, college education is also not the same as it was 30 years ago, precisely because it now accomodates a very different student body.
This is sad, of course, because it would be better and cheaper for everyone if the college education didn’t change but that people were saved the huge cost of college attendance if they wanted to and not have it limit their career horizons.
Here’s the link:
http://www.onlineschools.org/education-debate/obama-shifts-focus-away-from-vocational-education/
i have no problem with more people going to college. i have no problem with the challenge of preparing more people for college.
i do have a problem with people who claim education has gotten worse because more students are unprepared, the reality is it hasn’t we are just pushing a different type of student into something they are not ideally suited for.
can we help them get better, make sure they have the skills and opportunity to grow into it? sure we can, but we can’t make them be something they aren’t
It’s like those lamenting our showing on international tests. Do they ignore the fact that American students have always done poorly on international tests? do they compare us to china and ignore the fact that by simple % of population china has more honors students then America has students?
there is so much to learn from our failures, there is so much to learn from the success of other countries, but instead of using knowledge as a tool to help us make good decisions, it has become a sledgehammer used in an attempt to destroy our public education system.
You are so right. It should be about learning from the best, but instead it is about destroying the confidence of our students and teachers.