Lowering Math Anxiety in Students: Understanding the Causes, Gender Impacts, and What Teachers Can Do

April 16, 2026

$Elementary student with hands on her head, in front of a chalkboard filled with math problems$

If your students are experiencing math anxiety, you are not alone.

Multiple studies show an average of 20-30% of students experience math anxiety, which happens when students feel an emotional response to subject participation. Math triggers the most anxiety in students, compared to other subjects.

What makes math anxiety particularly challenging is that it directly impacts cognitive function. When students become anxious, their working memory is compromised, making it harder to process and solve problems effectively. In many cases, students know the material but cannot access that knowledge under pressure.

Math anxiety has existed for decades, however, experts believe the events and consequences of the COVID pandemic were an exacerbation point.

“One thing we just can’t get away from is that there was a major decrease in math achievement after the COVID pandemic, and we’re still recovering,” Education Professor Lindsey Engle Richland told EducationWeek in 2024. “We know that math anxiety and math achievement go hand in hand.”

Lowering math anxiety is important not only for student success but also for the workforce. Students with low math anxiety can transition to higher education more smoothly and are more likely to study STEM subjects.

Educators play a critical role in interrupting this pattern. By fostering an inclusive classroom environment and actively challenging stereotypes, teachers can help ensure that all students feel capable and supported in their learning. Because when a student builds confidence around math, it impacts the rest of their life.

Why Math Anxiety Exists

The roots of math anxiety frequently begin early in a student’s academic experience, with adult influence playing a significant role.

Teachers and parents who unintentionally communicate that math is difficult or frustrating can shape how students perceive the subject. When students feel exposed or fear embarrassment, math becomes something to endure rather than explore.

These perceptions can have long-term consequences. Students who internalize the belief that they are not capable in math are more likely to disengage, avoid advanced coursework, and opt out of STEM-related opportunities. This contributes to broader gaps in participation in math-intensive fields.

One study found four key themes that drive this anxiety:

Gender
Self-awareness
Numerical ability
Learning difficulty

Understanding these themes and their role in math anxiety can help educators better connect with and help their students.

Gender

Gender differences in math anxiety are well-documented, though they are often misunderstood. Studies consistently show that girls report higher levels of math anxiety than boys, particularly as they grow older.

One study uncovered just how much gender affects math anxiety (MA and test anxiety (TA):

“No gender differences emerged for mathematics performance, but levels of MA and TA were higher for girls than for boys. Girls and boys showed a positive correlation between MA and TA and a negative correlation between MA and mathematics performance. TA was also negatively correlated with mathematics performance, but this relationship was stronger for girls than for boys. When controlling for TA, the negative correlation between MA and performance remained for girls only. Regression analyses revealed that MA was a significant predictor of performance for girls but not for boys.”

Cultural messages about who is “naturally good” at math can shape confidence, even when performance levels are equal.

The study concludes:

“These results might suggest that girls may have had the potential to perform better than boys in mathematics, however, their performance may have been attenuated by their higher levels of MA. Longitudinal research is needed to investigate the development of MA and its effect on mathematics performance.”

Educators can push back on these negative gender stereotypes by:

Being mindful of the language used in the classroom
Calling on female students as often as male students
Helping female students connect math to their interests

Self-awareness

At its core, math anxiety is a form of performance anxiety that emerges in situations involving numbers, problem-solving, or evaluation. Research shows confidence is related to behavior and performance in math.

This often creates a self-reinforcing cycle.

Students who feel anxious avoid math, which leads to less practice and weaker skills. Over time, this avoidance increases anxiety and lowers performance, reinforcing the belief that they are “not good at math.”

Students with low math confidence or high math anxiety might benefit from self-evaluation and self-regulated learning (SRL). This strategy refers to the “ability of students to understand, track and control their own learning and can be deﬁned as ‘self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions that are planned and cyclically adapted to the attainment of personal goals.”

A study found that high SRL in mathematics is associated with low math anxiety and EduTopia features an article on how to promote SRL in the classroom.

According to the article, SRL features three phases:

Goal setting and strategic planning
Monitoring performance and progress toward goals
Reflecting and making decisions on how to change their behavior

Through SRL, students can recognize there are different strategies for learning, helping them build confidence.

Numerical ability

Students with lower numerical processing are more likely to experience anxiety in math. One study was conducted with 48 graduate students to determine a link between math anxiety and a person’s ability to interpret numbers.

Researchers placed a single 18-point Arabic digit in the Arial typeface. The digits ranged from one to four and from six to nine. Each participant was asked to identify whether the number they saw was below or above five. The study’s results revealed that individuals with high math anxiety have a less precise representation of numerical magnitude than individuals with low math anxiety.

Educators can help students increase their numerical ability through slight adjustments.

According to the study, this “can be achieved through teaching in a supportive environment using multiple teaching strategies that address the needs of all students and not being didactic. Examples of these strategies include: accept and encourage students' creative thinking, tolerate dissent, encourage students to trust their judgments, emphasize that everyone is capable of creativity, and serve as a stimulus for creative thinking through brainstorming and modeling.”

Learning difficulty

Learning abilities play a role in math anxiety, with recent Stanford research finding that children with math learning disabilities exhibit “distinct brain activity patterns.”

The research shows children with a math learning disability are “...less likely to solve problems at the right speed, or to slow down after they make mistakes, particularly while working with number symbols. Their brain scans show different levels of activity in centers involved in executive function, which is similar to air traffic control, enabling focused attention, and checking for errors.

Different brains deserve different instruction. Knowing this challenge exists among students with math learning difficulties, educators have an opportunity to adjust work expectations and deadlines to meet the students’ needs.

“Our findings suggest that interventions should target not only basic number sense, but also metacognitive processes, like performance monitoring — how do you adjust when you notice an error?” said Vinod Menon, the study’s senior author, as well as professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a faculty affiliate of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning. “We need to provide these children with feedback and training to build those cognitive skills.”

What educators are saying about math anxiety

Math anxiety has been so widespread that teachers are seeking advice from peers on social networking platforms like Reddit.

Earlier this year, a user posted in the r/MathTeachers subreddit, asking:

I wanted to ask what problems you believe are holding your students back in our modern era. In addition to immediate issues such as students neglecting negative numbers, I also want to ask if you believe that certain psychological hang-ups are present in a large percentage of students today. For instance, do you think AI is melting their brains? Or perhaps anxiety causes them to overthink basic arithmetic?

What are the largest barriers preventing your students from understanding mathematics today? I encourage you to be liberal with your definition of "obstacle" as I'd like to hear many different perspectives on this issue.

The post collected 50 responses from fellow math teachers. Below are examples of what people are encountering:

Perseverance is necessary

“Students don't want to explore math,” they wrote. “I am trying to have my students try problems they don't know the answer to or how to get it, so they don't want to even try, even though 95% of the time they already have the skills, they just don't know how to apply them. It appears to cause them genuine stress to just try something without knowing how to do it.”

So is teacher confidence

Another user points to the instructor's foundation and relationship to math. If the students are learning from someone with math anxiety, that anxiety will trickle down.

“When you learn math from someone who is afraid of math, and society practically encourages math phobia, it’s a bad mix,” they said. “I had a class about teaching elementary math, and when we discussed how to teach adding fractions and skills/tricks to use, most of the people in the class could not do it themselves, and they all fretted about teaching it. Claiming it was impossible for them to learn to then teach it. Yet these people will be in front of a classroom and these people will teach mathematics.”

Practice problems help students get better

One user cited practice problems as a useful exercise, with a fellow user enthusiastically agreeing.

“Yes, how can you become better at a skill if you don’t do practice problems?!” they said.

Standardized testing adds challenges

One teacher made an interesting connection between math anxiety and standardized testing, a challenge all teachers must navigate with their students.

“...although every teacher knows it is best not to teach ‘to the test,’ there is so much pressure on the schools and divisions, and that pressure runs down to the classroom level,” they said. “Teachers are pressured to teach the students how to use Desmos, etc., to trick the questions to give the correct answer. Then, students who have gotten good grades and passed all of their standardized tests over the years think they are ready for a pencil and paper upper-level course, but they have no idea how to actually DO algebra.”

A fellow teacher validated the standardized testing experience, writing:

“I encounter so many students who are absolutely lost without a calculator, because a lot of the standardized tests allow use of one. All of a sudden, when they are not allowed to use one, they can't multiply or divide by hand.”

Real-world connections help learning stick

A physicist whose wife teaches elementary school shared their outside-looking-in perspective, offering ideas to get students engaged in understanding real-world applications.

“I think the biggest thing would be to continue emphasizing interactions with real-world objects,” they wrote. “Logical puzzles are another great way. Examples: chain of relationships and how the final person connects to you, meet two people, one always tells the truth, the other always lies, who's who, you have to cross a river with one animal at a time, but certain pairs can't stay on shore together, etc.

To get to a place where reasoning and numerical facts are equally emphasized would take a significant change to the first society's mindset and then the curriculum. So, it's not happening any time soon. But what I would love to see is smaller changes, like introducing a daily logic puzzle. Or even using those puzzles for extra credit/bonuses.”

Easy classroom adjustments to help lessen math anxiety

Evolving how students experience math is the first step toward boosting their confidence in the subject.

When mistakes are treated as part of learning, pressure begins to fade and participation grows. Creating a supportive, flexible classroom that’s free from time stress makes math more approachable.

With thoughtful language and space to explore, students can move from anxiety to curiosity, building both understanding and confidence along the way.

View mistakes as practice

One of the most effective strategies is to normalize struggle. When students understand that making mistakes is a natural and valuable part of learning, they become more willing to engage. Emphasizing effort over correctness, encouraging multiple solution paths, and discussing errors openly can help reframe math as a process rather than a performance.

Creating a supportive classroom environment is equally important. Students need to feel safe asking questions and making mistakes without fear of judgment. Simple practices—such as giving students time to think before answering or allowing discussion in small groups—can make participation feel less risky.

Rethink timed testing

Reducing time pressure is another important step. Timed tests can heighten anxiety and limit students’ ability to think critically. Offering untimed assessments or flexible pacing allows students to focus on understanding rather than speed, thereby improving both confidence and outcomes.

Increase activities and play

Engagement also plays a key role. When math feels rigid and procedural, it can be intimidating. However, when it is interactive—through games, puzzles, or collaborative activities—it becomes more approachable. Educators often find that when students are given space to explore math concepts without immediate pressure, anxiety decreases and curiosity increases.

Use intentional language

Phrases that unintentionally minimize difficulty can increase anxiety for struggling students. Instead, focusing on growth, progress, and persistence helps build a more inclusive and encouraging atmosphere.

Connect math to real-world concepts

When students see how math applies to everyday situations, they are more likely to engage and see value in what they are learning. Incorporate more budgeting, design or real-world problem-solving into your lessons to help students make these connections.

Educator resources

Math anxiety can be challenging, but having a range of educational resources makes it easier to tackle with your students.

These tools offer practical strategies to build confidence, reduce pressure, and make math more approachable. By focusing on positive learning experiences and creative teaching methods, they help shift math from stress to curiosity and growth.

The Maths Anxiety Trust

A Great Britain-based organization, the Maths Anxiety Trust is a nonprofit with a goal to eliminate math anxiety in Britain. The website hosts resources for teachers, students and parents, while educating the user on the global trend. In 2022, the organization released a guide for teachers who have math anxiety, which you can download here. There is also a PDF on how math anxiety presents itself in girls and women, which is available here.

Edutopia

An educator’s dream resource, Edutopia has everything in one place, including an entire section dedicated to math.

Articles that can help build student confidence around math and inject more fun into learning include:

Subreddits

As referenced above, the r/MathTeachers subreddit is a valuable space to discuss math education. That’s not the only teacher-friendly domain on the website, however. Reddit hosts the following Subreddits that are just for teachers and people interested in math:

TED

Known as a resource for easily connecting people with education and new ideas, TED offers plenty of educator-focused talks that average 15-20 minutes. Many videos in this collection touch on math anxiety, how to creatively teach math and celebrating student success in the subject.

A Technique to Eliminate Math Anxiety
- Speaker: Dr. Katie Nall
Conquering Math Anxiety - The Power of Yay Math
- Speaker: Robert Ahdoot
Five Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching
- Speaker: Dan Finkel
Let’s Teach Mathematics Creatively
- Speaker: Ivan Zelich
Math Anxiety
- Speaker: Jiayi Tang
Poetry: A Simple Solution to Math Anxiety
- Speaker: Laken Brooks
Subtract Anxiety from Your Math Experience
- Speaker: Michelle Sisto

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