News article: Math skills suffer in the U.S.

I found this an interesting read; the study it talks about has found how undervalued math and math skills are in the States. As a result, very few kids want to pursue it.

Math Skills Suffer in U.S., Study Finds

QUOTE:
"The United States is failing to develop the math skills of both girls and boys, especially among those who could excel at the highest levels, a new study asserts, and girls who do succeed in the field are almost all immigrants or the daughters of immigrants from countries where mathematics is more highly valued."

Comments

Unknown said…
One solution to this sorry state of affairs is the growing popularity of Math Circles (http://www.mathcircles.org). We are particularly fortunate in Dallas, TX that Dr. Titu Andreescu, one of the authors of this study, is the founder and director of the Metroplex Math Circle (http://www.metroplexmathcircle.org).
2:14 PM, October 12, 2008
Anonymous said…
Maria, this article is a great find. Educational institutions across the country should take a note and start presenting math in a positive light and start emphasizing the importance and utility of math in real life. Not just for Engineers, Physicians and other such professions but in pretty much every field. In countries like India, the reason students don't run away from math and try to excel at it is partly due to the fact that the schools and society in general understands and accepts the importance of math and it is considered imperative for academic and professional growth.
4:41 PM, October 14, 2008
Tom said…
Another approach to help this situation is for parents, students or adults to undertake to improve their math skills. There are a lot of resources available on the Internet. For example comprehensive math video lessons can be purchased and downloaded for a very reasonable amount from www.mathmadesimple.com
3:00 PM, December 12, 2008
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