Math Anxiety in Teenagers
Math anxiety is fear or dread that comes up around math. One review pooled 50 studies of programs for math anxiety (Sammallahti and colleagues, 2023). Programs for students older than 12 showed the biggest drops in anxiety. None of these studies tested Learning Success. In our view, a teenager's math anxiety is worth working on.
TL;DR
- A 2016 review of 60 years of research found that math anxiety tends to rise through childhood (Dowker and colleagues, 2016). The review offers possible reasons. They are the authors' ideas, not findings.
- A large review pooled studies from childhood into adulthood (Barroso and colleagues, 2021). Higher math anxiety went with lower math results at every age it looked at. It is a link, not proof of a cause.
- One review pooled 50 studies of programs for math anxiety (Sammallahti and colleagues, 2023). Programs for students older than 12 showed the biggest drops in anxiety. None of these studies tested Learning Success.
- Complete avoidance of math is a reason to ask for help. Start with the teacher.
Math anxiety is fear or dread that comes up around math. In our view, it tells you how math feels to a teenager, not what they can do.
”Math anxietyWhat does math anxiety look like in a teenager?
To us, the fear can come before a single problem is tried. You may see it as avoidance. Homework gets put off, or never started.
Some teenagers decide they are "bad at math." To us, that tells you how math has gone, not what they can learn.
Some may refuse to go to math class at all. In our view, that can be about the math, the worry, or mood.
Does math anxiety grow with age?
A 2016 review of 60 years of research found that math anxiety tends to rise through childhood (Dowker and colleagues, 2016). The review offers possible reasons. They are the authors' ideas, not findings.
A large review pooled studies from childhood into adulthood (Barroso and colleagues, 2021). Higher math anxiety went with lower math results at every age it looked at. The link was smaller in grades 3 to 5, and after high school, than at other ages. It is a link, not proof of a cause.
One study looked at 15- and 16-year-olds in England (Jerrim, 2022). It found little sign that test anxiety went with lower exam grades. The author notes this differs from much earlier research. That study asked about test anxiety, not math anxiety.
We hold no study that followed teen math anxiety into adult life.
Can a teenager's math anxiety be helped?
In our view, yes. One review pooled 50 studies of programs for math anxiety (Sammallahti and colleagues, 2023). On average, they lowered math anxiety and raised math results. Programs for students older than 12 showed the biggest drops in anxiety.
Another review looked at 17 school studies, kindergarten to grade 12 (Codding and colleagues, 2023). Therapy-style programs looked better for anxiety. Math teaching looked better for math results. Once study quality was taken into account, the difference was not significant either way. In our view, that means both the math and the worry are worth working on.
We could read only the summaries of every study here except the 2016 review. None of these studies tested Learning Success.
What you can do at home
To us, telling a teenager to stop dreading math does not work. We suggest working on the avoidance instead. Make math easier to start.
Our suggestion, from our own reasoning rather than a tested method, has three parts.
- Keep each session short, and say when it will end. To us, a known end makes a task easier to start.
- Say what will be in the session before it starts. To us, much of the dread is about not knowing what is coming.
- Keep practice apart from testing. If every bit of math is a test, avoiding it makes sense to us.
When to ask for help
Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.
- Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
- Extreme upset about math.
- Complete avoidance of math.
- Worry about math that spreads into the rest of learning.
- Sadness or worry that lasts.
- Math well below your child's other schoolwork.
- A teacher who raises a concern about math.
- A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
Start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.
For worry about tests, one review names the school psychologist as a person who can help (von der Embse and colleagues, 2013).
Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.
Key Takeaways
In our view, a teenager's math anxiety is worth working on.
In our view, work on the math and the worry together.
Our suggestion, from our own reasoning rather than a tested method: make math easier to start. Keep sessions short, with a known end.
Complete avoidance of math is a reason to ask for help. Start with the teacher.
Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
Pick a short math task for tomorrow, like five problems. Tell your teenager now what it will be, and when it will end. Then keep to it. You are not testing anything. Notice whether it is easier to start.
”What to do tonightWhat to use next
A set of questions you answer about what you see at home. A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing, or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too — that's the only route to those supports.
What sits underneath arithmetic, one skill at a time, worked alongside math instruction, not in place of it.
Common questions from parents
Does math anxiety cause low math grades?
The research we hold does not show that. A large review pooled studies from childhood into adulthood (Barroso and colleagues, 2021). Higher math anxiety went with lower math results at every age it looked at. It is a link, not proof of a cause. Anxiety may lower results. Low results may feed anxiety. Or something else may drive both. In our view, work on the math and the worry together.
Should my teenager write about their worries before a test?
In classroom trials, students wrote about their worries just before an important test (Ramirez and Beilock, 2011). They scored higher, especially the students most anxious about tests. The summary we read does not give the students' ages. A 2016 review notes the writing helped only students with high test anxiety (Dowker and colleagues, 2016). The trials measured that test, not later ones. We suggest the writing only as something to try before a big test. The writing was tested in classrooms and labs, not at home. None of these studies tested Learning Success.
My teenager refuses to go to math class. What should I do?
In our view, the refusal can be about the math, the worry, or mood. We suggest finding out which first. If your teenager avoids math completely, that is a reason to ask for help on its own. Start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. For worry or mood, ask someone who works with children's mental health. Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.
Does math anxiety carry on into adult life?
No study we hold followed math-anxious teens into adult life. We cannot say what one teen's worry becomes. A large review pooled studies of children and adults (Barroso and colleagues, 2021). In adults, more math worry went with lower math results. On average, the link was smaller after high school. It is a link, not proof of a cause. One small trial tested adults before an exam (Jamieson and colleagues, 2010). Those told a racing heart helps scored higher on its math part. That trial was with adults, not children or teens. We hold no trial of math anxiety help for adults outside college. We could read only the summaries.