Story Highlights
- 60% of U.S. adults feel challenged by doing math; 48% are interested in it
- Older Americans report more positive math feelings
- Parents with positive math feelings are more confident helping kids with math
WASHINGTON, D.C. — When asked what three emotions best describe how doing math makes them feel, U.S. adults are most likely to choose “challenged,” with 60% selecting this from a list of 10 emotions. Underscoring that math can also be mentally stimulating, nearly half (48%) say they feel “interested,” while about a quarter report feeling “confused.” Additionally, two in 10 each feel “pressured” or “excited.”
Fewer Americans select emotions with less of a cognitive component, such as “happy” or “angry,” or indicate detached feelings toward math, choosing “tired,” “bored” or “afraid.”
These results are from the Gallup Math Matters Study, conducted by Gallup with support from the Gates Foundation via a web survey Dec. 2-6, 2024. The survey is based on 5,136 U.S. adults, including 808 K-12 parents, using the Gallup Panel.
Almost Half of Americans Report Feeling Positive Emotions Toward Math
Forty-seven percent of Americans select only positive emotions — interested, excited or happy — to describe how they feel about doing math. Another 37% report exclusively negative feelings, such as confused or bored, and 16% select a mixture of positive and negative feelings.
Math Emotions Vary by Age
Positive feelings about math are relatively scarce among young adults but become increasingly common among older age groups. Sixty-one percent of Americans aged 65 and older have exclusively positive feelings about math, almost double that of adults aged 18 to 24 (32%).
A substantial difference is also seen by gender, with a slight majority of men (54%) feeling exclusively positive emotions about math, compared with 42% of women. Forty-six percent of Black adults and 50% of White adults have exclusively positive feelings about math, followed by 37% of Hispanic adults. Additionally, adults with at least a bachelor’s degree (53%) are more likely than those without a bachelor’s degree (44%) to report positive feelings toward math.
Math Feelings Influence How Parents Support Their Child’s Math Learning
Whether parents feel positive, negative or mixed emotions toward math, those feelings relate to how well they believe they can support their child’s math education.
Parents who have exclusively positive feelings about doing math are nearly twice as likely as parents with exclusively negative feelings to agree or strongly agree that their child’s math homework is clear and easy to understand (61% vs. 32%, respectively).
Similarly, almost three-quarters of parents who report positive emotions toward math (73%) are confident in helping their child with their math homework, compared with 38% of parents who report negative emotions.
In addition, parents with positive feelings toward math are less likely to report having difficulty understanding the content of their child’s math homework.
Bottom Line
Doing math does not end in school; people continue to encounter math at work and in daily life. Gallup’s findings show that U.S. adults are largely divided when it comes to having positive versus negative emotions about doing math — and that whichever category parents fall under could affect how their child experiences math at home.
At a time when recent national assessments show plateaus or declines in U.S. student math achievement, supporting strong math learning is crucial to prepare students for the demands of the future. But learning math isn’t just academic — it is also emotional, for both students and parents. Parents can play a critical role in their child’s math education, yet their own feelings toward math can boost or hinder their confidence in their ability to help with their child’s math learning.
Learn more about the Gallup Math Matters Study.
To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on X @Gallup.
Learn more about how the Gallup Panel works.
