Mathematical word problem-solving skills are an important area to master during education, since these skills provide a basis for applying and combining mathematical knowledge in different situations. Therefore, it is important to understand which kinds of word problems are especially challenging, to provide adequate support in education.
When summarizing evidence from 69 individual studies, our findings showed that multiple linguistic and numerical characteristics of mathematical word problems increase the difficulty of these tasks. Especially, word problems where the unknown is placed first, where linguistic cues contradict the operations needed (such as "altogether" ≠ addition), where real-world scenarios or multiple solution steps are involved, present the most challenges for students (see image). In turn, our findings did not support the idea that being familiar with the narrative of the word problem would ease the solving of word problems. Similarly, problems involving multiplication or division did not seem to be generally more demanding than problems with addition or subtraction.
The findings urges educators to consider these challenges when designing instruction and assessment tools, ensuring that students are equipped with the necessary skills to handle a variety of math word problems effectively. For instance, students should be taught early on strategies that apply to various different word problems and instruction could be sequenced to advance from less to more challenging word problems.
The news article is based on a study “Task Characteristics Associated with Mathematical Word Problem-Solving Performance Among Elementary School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” authored by Terhi Vessonen, Maria Dahlberg, Heidi Hellstrand, Anna Widlund, Johan Korhonen, Pirjo Aunio, and Anu Laine. The article was published in Educational Psychology Review in October 2024. The article is open-access: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09954-2