We know the struggle with mathematics—for both teachers and students—all too well. Students’ math scores, as per the “Nation’s Report Card,” have plunged to record lows. Misconceptions in early grades ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Linda Darling-Hammond is an expert on education research and policy. PISA scores reveal deep problems in how the United States ...

Math is, by definition, a subject about numbers. But at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics this week, math educators said the subject has its own language, too—and knowing how to speak it ...

Imagine a classroom full of bright young students, all striving to do their best on a high school math test. They sit, heads slightly bowed, pencils ready, each one thinking about how to tackle each ...

What do the integers have in common with the symmetries of a triangle? In the 19th century, mathematicians invented groups as an answer to this question. Mathematics started with numbers — clear, ...

It is just as natural for young children to think mathematically about their world as it is for them to use language. They develop mathematical knowledge as they manipulate objects and reason about ...

Even before the formal presentation started at D.C.’s Noyes Elementary on Thursday night, students were eager to show off. They bounced from one table to another, rolling dice, flipping coins and ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Mathematics started with numbers—clear, concrete, intuitive. Over the last two centuries, however, it has become a far more abstract ...