The phrase “I’m terrible at maths” is commonplace among students and adults alike, which could be leading to low pass marks in exams, according to teachers.
They were reacting to Education Ministry figures released yesterday showing that 45 per cent of teenagers failed to “matriculate” in their mathematics O Level exams this year.
Students must obtain a minimum score of 5, equivalent to a D, in the subject to be eligible for entry – in other words to matriculate – in most sixth-form colleges.
Lorraine Vella, a private school maths teacher, said it was commonplace for students to resign themselves to the idea that they were “not good” at maths, and so should not bother with it.
It’s acceptable, it’s a kind of nervous joke you say when you count out the wrong change
“I hear students say it all the time. This is then reinforced by parents who say the same thing during parent-teacher meetings. ‘I was terrible at maths when I was that age’. It’s acceptable, it’s a kind of nervous joke you say when you count out the wrong change at a shop or tell the wrong time,” she said, calling on parents to take the issue more seriously.
The concerns of Ms Vella, a seasoned teacher, were shared by other educators who lamented the poor perception of the subject.
David Grech, who teaches in a State school, said: “Sometimes in class my students ask me, ‘what’s the point?’ Not so long ago a student told me she wasn’t going to study for her exam because she had decided she had no chance of passing maths. When I contacted her parents, they said they understood her point of view because they too were bad at the subject.”
Mr Grech said this popular view of maths did not add up. “I wonder whether illiteracy is given the same nonchalant attitude as mathematical illiteracy.”
Results for the other core matriculation subjects, Maltese and English, were themselves also far from promising.
Some 1,500 students failed their Maltese exam, amounting to a third of all those who sat for the subject. Thirty-seven per cent failed their English language exam. The Matsec system offers students the option of sitting for Paper A or Paper B versions of the essential exams.
While 95 per cent of those who sat the tougher Paper A of the maths test passed, some 75 per cent failed to obtain the lowest matriculation score in the simpler Paper B option.
Just as many students scored a 5 in maths as those whose mark was so low it could not even be classified by the Matsec board.
A glance at the scores in the simpler Paper B version of English and Maltese exams reveals that 64 per cent failed Maltese while three-quarters failed English.
Earlier this week, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said only 45 per cent were obtaining grades between 1, which is an A, and 5, a D, in the core subjects offered to students. The failure rates were reflected in the number of applications for free revision courses.
More than 700 students have applied for the courses aimed at helping students prepare for their second swing at the exams in the September resit session.