When Teachers Doubt Their Math Skills, Students Lose Ground — New Study Finds

A new study of more than 3,000 Indiana teachers finds that educators' anxiety about teaching mathematics is linked to small but measurable declines in student learning — especially for pupils who already struggle.

How The Study Worked

Researchers surveyed teachers of grades three through eight about statements such as "Teaching mathematics does not intimidate me at all" and "Of all the subjects, mathematics is the one I worry about teaching." From those responses they created a math-teaching anxiety score and matched teachers to their students' state-test progress, allowing a detailed view of how teacher confidence relates to student outcomes.

Key Findings

Overall, most elementary and middle-school teachers in the sample were reasonably confident: just over half reported high confidence in teaching math, and nearly 40% reported moderate confidence. About 11% of teachers expressed significant apprehension about teaching mathematics. Newer teachers and those in the earliest grades were more likely to report low confidence, while many middle-school teachers — who often specialize in math — tended to report higher confidence.

Math-anxious teachers were not spread evenly across classrooms. Students with disabilities, lower-achieving pupils, and children from lower-income families were more likely to be assigned teachers with higher math-teaching anxiety. The researchers also note the reverse possibility: repeatedly teaching large numbers of students who struggle in math could erode a teacher's confidence over time.

Impact On Students

Students taught by less confident math teachers showed modest but detectable learning losses. On average, a student's standardized test score fell by roughly one percentile point when their teacher was classified as less confident in math. The study warns the harm could compound if students encounter multiple math-anxious teachers across years. The negative effects were somewhat larger for girls, Asian American students, and English learners, and were—critically—largest for students already performing poorly in math.

"When teachers are genuinely excited about the content, students tend to engage much more," said NaYoung Hwang, the study's lead author and a professor at the University of New Hampshire.

Why This Matters

The findings reinforce longstanding concerns about elementary mathematics preparation. A report from the National Council on Teacher Quality concluded that many elementary teacher-preparation programs devote insufficient time to core math content — a shortfall that this new evidence suggests can have classroom consequences.

Recommendations

Authors recommend that school leaders take teachers' self-assessments seriously when designing professional development. Practical steps include: asking educators what support they need, offering targeted training on math content and pedagogy, providing mentoring for early-career teachers, and monitoring assignment patterns so that students who need the most help are not disproportionately taught by the least confident teachers.

Bottom line: Teacher confidence in math is tied to student learning in modest but meaningful ways. Strengthening teachers' content knowledge and instructional skills — and listening to their self-identified needs — can help close gaps for students who need support most.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization that covers change and innovation in public education.