Math Alive! Survey of Middle School Students

Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez

Raytheon Company commissioned an independent study to determine the learning preferences and habits of U.S. middle school students and pinpoint their perceptions and attitudes about the role math plays in the classroom and at home, as well as the importance of math to their futures, in the survey: Math Relevance to U.S. Middle School Students.

The survey was fielded in February 2012 by Research Now. Results are based on a national sample of 1,000 U.S. middle school students ages 10-14 years old.

Key findings include:

In the classroom:
* 70 percent of respondents said they like math
* Math and science were subjects that students said they favored over social studies, English and foreign language
* Students enjoy computer class almost as much as math class
* 85 percent of middle school students prefer hands-on, interactive activities or computer-based lessons to more traditional approaches such as textbooks when it comes to learning

At home:

* Students report spending almost eight hours per day in front of a screen but less than two hours of this time is related to school and homework
* When asked which parent has better math skills, respondents were 64 percent more likely to answer their father than their mother
* At the same time, when asked who they think is better at math - Selena Gomez or Justin Bieber - an overwhelming majority (76 percent) said the female pop star Gomez

Other fun facts:

* 85 percent of students can identify Lady Gaga while only 66 percent can identify Albert Einstein
* 56 percent of students would rather eat broccoli than do math homework
* 44 percent would rather take out the trash than do math homework

For more about Math Alive, visit: http://www.mathalive.com/teachers-area.html.

More details at: http://tinyurl.com/cm3rwk6