Professors Blame Pandemic for College Students' Math Troubles
2023-09-17
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1"This is a huge issue," said one college math professor.
2"This is significant and deep," said another.
3They were talking about their students who are still struggling with basic math skills three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
4Most of the students are in their first or second year in college.
5But when the pandemic started in 2020, they were still in high school, learning algebra or early calculus.
6During the pandemic, many U.S. schools closed to in-person classes and started teaching by video call.
7Education experts said they believed students would catch up.
8College professors said they hoped for a "rebound" by now. But it has not happened in most places.
9As a result, universities in the U.S. are trying to find ways to fix the problem. Some offer summer math camps.
10Others called on students to learn from each other, a process known as "peer tutoring."
11Still others offer basic math classes students can take while also attending classes such as calculus.
12Brian Rider is the head of the math program at Temple University near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
13"It's not that they're unprepared," he said.
14"They're almost damaged."
15Rider said he hated to say that, but "they're so behind."
16Erin Vorke is a math instructor at Eastern Florida State College.
17Many of her students must take a math class to get a two-year associate degree and move on to a four-year college.
18Some are high school students who are getting college credit.
19She told VOA about her experience.
20She said some of her students did not get a good foundation in math even before the pandemic started. Once they missed time in class, their troubles increased.
21"It's definitely become a lot worse since the pandemic. And what I've been told is that everyone was just being passed through while they were in high school...I have a lot of students who can't work with negative numbers, I have students who don't know what an even number is."
22Vorke said she cannot stop her class to teach students something they should have learned when they were in middle school.
23"I slow down as much as I can, but I have to cover my curriculum," she said.
24Diego Fonseca is a student in northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. Nineteen-year-old Fonseca recently finished high school.
25This summer, he took a math "boot camp" at George Mason University so he could "brush-up" on math learning.
26He was one of about 100 students trying to improve their math skills.
27He said he did well in physics and computer science while in high school, but he did not get good scores on a math placement test for college.
28He wanted to take calculus, but in three tries on the test, he did not get a good enough score.
29He was permitted to take the test four times and wanted to do better on his final attempt.
30He was not having trouble with the math he learned recently, but he did not learn algebra well early in high school when schools closed in 2020.
31"I didn't have a hands-on, in-person class," Fonseca said.
32He later said he had trouble with more difficult algebra.
33The math troubles are a problem for students at universities across the U.S. who want to study engineering and science.
34Many are being placed into low math classes, which means they are falling behind in their study programs.
35Colleges say the pandemic learning problems affected both reading and math, but math skills suffered more, and recovery has been slow.
36Maria Emelianenko is one of the math professors at George Mason.
37She said students are in difficult pre-calculus and calculus classes and they cannot add simple fractions.
38Jessica Babcock is a math professor at Temple. She said she realized how big of a problem she had while grading a test last year.
39Nearly all her students missed what she thought was a simple question.
40"It was a striking moment," she said.
41Babcock teaches a basic math class that includes material students should have learned in their first year of high school.
42Before the pandemic, it had about 800 students.
43But by 2021 there were almost 1,400.
44Education researchers say math is a "hands-on" subject and it was hard to teach with students learning from home.
45If students moved on to subjects like geometry or trigonometry without learning algebra, learning gaps could go unnoticed for years.
46In addition, they say parents have an easier time helping their children with reading than math at home.
47Katherine Strunk is an education expert who now heads the graduate school of education at the University of Pennsylvania.
48She led a study that looked at learning problems in Michigan.
49She said minority students and low-income students had the most problems during the pandemic.
50"They're the ones who are going to suffer the longer-term consequences," she said.
51Babcock, the Temple professor, said many students gave up on math.
52They did not come for help and continued getting poor grades on tests.
53The problems made Babcock change her class this year.
54The class has discussions, making students more involved in the learning process.
55"We really want students to feel like they're part of their learning," Babcock said.
56That kind of class, said Vorke, may be more helpful for students who wonder when they will use algebra or other math in the future.
57She is part of a group of educators at her college who teach what she called "real-world problems (students) can actually relate to," each summer.
58"If you go shopping, and there's a sale, and you want to figure out how much you'll be paying for an item that's 10 percent off. That's algebra," Vorke said.
59After the summer boot camp, Fonseca said he chose to start his college studies at Northern Virginia Community College.
60In two years, he can move on to George Mason.
61He recently took the placement test again.
62On his final attempt, he qualified for calculus.
63"I didn't have any expectation I'd do that," he said.
64I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Jill Robbins.
1"This is a huge issue," said one college math professor. 2"This is significant and deep," said another. 3They were talking about their students who are still struggling with basic math skills three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 4Most of the students are in their first or second year in college. But when the pandemic started in 2020, they were still in high school, learning algebra or early calculus. 5During the pandemic, many U.S. schools closed to in-person classes and started teaching by video call. Education experts said they believed students would catch up. 6College professors said they hoped for a "rebound" by now. But it has not happened in most places. 7As a result, universities in the U.S. are trying to find ways to fix the problem. Some offer summer math camps. Others called on students to learn from each other, a process known as "peer tutoring." Still others offer basic math classes students can take while also attending classes such as calculus. 8Brian Rider is the head of the math program at Temple University near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 9"It's not that they're unprepared," he said. "They're almost damaged." 10Rider said he hated to say that, but "they're so behind." 11One teacher's experience 12Erin Vorke is a math instructor at Eastern Florida State College. Many of her students must take a math class to get a two-year associate degree and move on to a four-year college. Some are high school students who are getting college credit. She told VOA about her experience. 13She said some of her students did not get a good foundation in math even before the pandemic started. Once they missed time in class, their troubles increased. 14"It's definitely become a lot worse since the pandemic. And what I've been told is that everyone was just being passed through while they were in high school...I have a lot of students who can't work with negative numbers, I have students who don't know what an even number is." 15Vorke said she cannot stop her class to teach students something they should have learned when they were in middle school. 16"I slow down as much as I can, but I have to cover my curriculum," she said. 17Students struggling 18Diego Fonseca is a student in northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. Nineteen-year-old Fonseca recently finished high school. This summer, he took a math "boot camp" at George Mason University so he could "brush-up" on math learning. He was one of about 100 students trying to improve their math skills. 19He said he did well in physics and computer science while in high school, but he did not get good scores on a math placement test for college. He wanted to take calculus, but in three tries on the test, he did not get a good enough score. He was permitted to take the test four times and wanted to do better on his final attempt. 20He was not having trouble with the math he learned recently, but he did not learn algebra well early in high school when schools closed in 2020. 21"I didn't have a hands-on, in-person class," Fonseca said. He later said he had trouble with more difficult algebra. 22The math troubles are a problem for students at universities across the U.S. who want to study engineering and science. Many are being placed into low math classes, which means they are falling behind in their study programs. 23Colleges say the pandemic learning problems affected both reading and math, but math skills suffered more, and recovery has been slow. 24Maria Emelianenko is one of the math professors at George Mason. She said students are in difficult pre-calculus and calculus classes and they cannot add simple fractions. 25Jessica Babcock is a math professor at Temple. She said she realized how big of a problem she had while grading a test last year. Nearly all her students missed what she thought was a simple question. 26"It was a striking moment," she said. 27Babcock teaches a basic math class that includes material students should have learned in their first year of high school. Before the pandemic, it had about 800 students. But by 2021 there were almost 1,400. 28Education researchers say math is a "hands-on" subject and it was hard to teach with students learning from home. If students moved on to subjects like geometry or trigonometry without learning algebra, learning gaps could go unnoticed for years. In addition, they say parents have an easier time helping their children with reading than math at home. 29'Many students gave up on math' 30Katherine Strunk is an education expert who now heads the graduate school of education at the University of Pennsylvania. She led a study that looked at learning problems in Michigan. 31She said minority students and low-income students had the most problems during the pandemic. 32"They're the ones who are going to suffer the longer-term consequences," she said. 33Babcock, the Temple professor, said many students gave up on math. They did not come for help and continued getting poor grades on tests. 34The problems made Babcock change her class this year. The class has discussions, making students more involved in the learning process. 35"We really want students to feel like they're part of their learning," Babcock said. 36That kind of class, said Vorke, may be more helpful for students who wonder when they will use algebra or other math in the future. She is part of a group of educators at her college who teach what she called "real-world problems (students) can actually relate to," each summer. 37"If you go shopping, and there's a sale, and you want to figure out how much you'll be paying for an item that's 10 percent off. That's algebra," Vorke said. 38After the summer boot camp, Fonseca said he chose to start his college studies at Northern Virginia Community College. In two years, he can move on to George Mason. He recently took the placement test again. On his final attempt, he qualified for calculus. 39"I didn't have any expectation I'd do that," he said. 40I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Jill Robbins. 41Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by The Associated Press and his own reporting. 42____________________________________________________ 43Words in This Story 44significant -adj. important in some way 45basic -adj. simple and low-level 46rebound -n. a return to an earlier, better condition 47foundation -n. the base on which later learning is built 48negative -adj. less than zero 49even -adj. a multiple of two 50curriculum -n. the classes that are part of a school study program 51boot camp -n. an intensive training program aimed at getting students to become much better in a short period of time 52brush up -v. to improve skills or knowledge usually some time after learning them 53fraction -n. non-whole numbers that are expressed as division of one whole number into another 54hands-on -adj. involving actually doing something rather than reading or thinking about it 55consequences -n. (usually pl.) the results of words or actions 56We want to hear from you. Do you think the students will be able to catch up on the math they missed during the pandemic?