“Big picture, AI is not very good at math,” said Alex Kotran, co-founder and CEO of . “Language models just predict the next word. You get mixed results using language models to do math. It’s not yet mature enough to where it can be trusted to be scaled.”

And even if it were to improve, critics worry it might hurt kids’ ability to try — and fail — on their own. Much would be lost, Kotran said, if “we get rid of productive struggle and we build this instinct where the first thing you do is go to AI for help.”

But students in the United States and the United Kingdom have a different view. found 56% believe AI could go a long way in reducing math anxiety. 

Fifteen percent of the 1,500 16- to 18-year-old students surveyed said they had already experienced this relief themselves and slightly more than 1 in 5 said their math scores improved because of the technology. 

The survey also included . Sixty-one percent suggested students view AI as “a mentor or study partner rather than a crutch”, while nearly half “see value for students in using AI for help with the process of learning math concepts, rather than to give answers.” 

Nicole Paxton, principal of Mountain Vista Community School in Colorado Springs, said her teachers use AI in many ways. Tools like MagicSchoolAI analyze student responses to math prompts, with AI generating “specific, standards-aligned feedback for each student, focusing on their reasoning, accuracy, and math vocabulary.” 

Paxton said the tool highlights strengths and misconceptions, “which helps teachers give timely and targeted next steps.” The practice saves educators time so they can “more easily differentiate their re-teaching or follow-up, especially when addressing common errors across the class.”

Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, recently looked at the evidence base for using AI in math instruction, including whether it can help the “shocking number of students” with foundational skills’ gaps like those identified in a recent study. 

The May 13 analysis by TNTP found that almost half of the students sampled started the class with only one-third of the concepts and skills needed from earlier grades. Lake said AI can be used by schools to identify children who are struggling — and, at least to some degree, by the students themselves. 

“AI can be very helpful in analyzing data and identifying gaps in student learning,” she said.

And, if a student wants to learn a mathematical concept in a different way than what they’ve experienced in class, she said, AI can provide a valuable alternative. 

“A lot of students are already doing this,” Lake said. 

to use the technology, though many educators Terrie Galanti, associate professor at the University of North Florida, said AI success in student learning depends on how teachers are prepared to use it. 

“AI can be more than an explainer or an answer giver,” said Galanti, who teaches secondary mathematics and STEM integration/computational thinking. “With thoughtful prompts, AI can become part of interactive, collaborative conversations to deepen mathematics understanding.” 

​​The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics said in that teachers have long been accustomed to technological advances that change the way students learn. 

They had already adjusted to the availability of pocket calculators in the early ’80s and, more recently, to the widespread use of , a mobile app that recognizes and solves math problems. 

It notes that advancements in AI make teachers more, not less valuable, in student learning. 

Latrenda Knighten, the organization’s president, told in March that students will still need to rely upon their own discernment to solve mathematical problems — regardless of what tools become available.  

“We know that children learn math from being able to problem-solve, being able to use reasoning skills, critical thinking, having opportunities to collaborate with each other and talk about what they’re doing,” Knighten said. 

Irina Lyublinskaya, professor in the department of mathematics, science, and technology at Teachers College, Columbia University, distinguished between chatbots like ChatGPT and computational knowledge engines like She noted math specific AI-powered applications — including WolframAlpha and Symbolab — work very well. 

“AI chatbots can help students learn math, and they can help teachers to support students, but this is not about asking ChatGPT to solve a math problem,” she said. “I know of research-based initiatives that use AI to adapt learning materials to students’ learning styles and abilities and these definitely help students learn.”

One, she noted, was , developed by researchers and educators in Europe, and is now being tested in NYC. 

“Chatbots can be trained as teaching assistants or tutors that can provide students proper scaffolding and feedback, helping them to learn math the same way they would with a real person,” she said. 

Zachary A. Pardos is an associate professor of education at the University of California Berkeley where he studies adaptive learning and AI. He found, in conducted a year ago, that 25% of the answers provided by ChatGPT in algebra were incorrect. 

“That’s pretty high,” he noted. “Much higher than you would want.”

But the technology has improved since then. 

“With the right techniques — at least in algebra — from an error perspective, I feel it is ready for real-time intervention in math,” he said.

Mathematics has long been a challenge for U.S. students — they have made only modest gains in the subject during the past — and have yet to recover from the pandemic. Scores have remained largely flat, and where gains have occurred, it’s been predominantly for high achievers.

Recent studies show math competency is critical for adult success: the subject has an even greater impact on earnings than reading. and across the country — alongside philanthropic heavy hitters —&�Բ�����;������ to boost student performance in the subject. 

“In terms of a change on the K-12 level, I think it’s fair to say that the changes we should consider are not just about more math — we know U.S. adults believe it to be important and say it should be prioritized — they’re also about more impactful math that is relevant to students’ needs,” said Andrea Malek Ash, senior research consultant at Gallup. 

Gallup respondents listed financial math skills, data science, software and programming as the most desired out of a list of 30 math topics. The organization surveyed two groups in December 2024: 5,136 U.S. adults ages 18 and older — including 808 parents of children enrolled in K-12 — and 2,831 managers.

It found nearly all U.S. adults surveyed see math as important in their lives: 55% said such skills are very important in their work life while 40% said they are somewhat important. 

Sixty-three percent said math skills are very important in their personal life while 33% called them somewhat important. 

Financial math, including personal finance, budgeting and accounting, ranked among the most desired skills regardless of gender, race and ethnicity or educational background.

Among the 16% of Americans who describe high school math as “not at all” important or “not too important”, 81% say they held this view because high school math is more advanced than what is needed for the real world, among other reasons.

The survey found, too, that older Americans are more likely to value math than younger ones: 75% of those 65 and older said it is very important for most adults in their personal life, compared with 37% of those ages 18 to 24, Gallup found. The same held true for work life.

Asked to compare math with other topics in school, 6 in 10 U.S. adults said it should either have a “higher priority” or have “the very highest priority” in learning. 

Gallup, with support from the Gates Foundation, reports that managers noted a lack of skills in this area among their employees: 85% said they wish their direct reports had more math skills in at least one area, citing financial math as their top concern. 

Nearly 6 in 10 managers say that in the next five years it’s very or somewhat likely that they will need to hire more people with data science skills. 

The public seems to feel the same: speaking of the workforce generally vs. their own lives, 61% of respondents said math skills are “very important” in the workforce. While reading, language and technology skills ranked higher — at least 68% found each to be very important — math outranked leadership skills. 

Not surprisingly, Americans report having “complex emotions toward math,” according to Gallup: 60% said it makes them feel challenged, while 24% said they were confused by the subject. Just 1 in 5 said they were excited by math. 

The survey’s results reflect this tension, said Justin Lall, principal for global analytics at Gallup. 

“Americans can overwhelmingly feel that math is challenging, but demand more of it,” Lall said. “It bucks the narrative that we’ve had that math is not for everyone.”

Parents’ anxiety about their own math skills plays a profound role in their child’s experience. Gallup found this is acted out in practical terms at the kitchen table: Parents with positive feelings toward math are nearly twice as likely as those with negative feelings to express confidence in their ability to help their children with math homework. 

Survey responses varied based on gender, race and educational attainment: 54% of men and 42% of women have exclusively positive feelings toward math while 46% of Black respondents and half of white adults said they have only positive feelings toward the subject. 

Just 37% of Hispanics said the same as did 53% of those with a bachelor’s degree and 44% of those without a college diploma.

The Gates Foundation sponsored the Math Matters Study The Value of Math in Work and Life and provides financial support to The 74.

Candace Shaw, 34, founder of , earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Spelman College in Atlanta and an MBA from Georgia State University. Her for-profit company — which recently opened a nonprofit arm to help those who can’t afford to participate — serves children from K-12. 

Shaw first discovered her love for mathematics around the age of 6. She said her family split their time between New York and Georgia, where she had access to a large whiteboard. She would often ask her parents and older siblings to leave complex math problems there for her so she could spend the day solving them. 

Her sister, Melinda Shaw, 38, is the company’s CEO and co-owner. She earned her bachelor’s from Albany State University in Georgia in addition to a certificate in medical science. She said her sister’s advanced ability in math prompted her to dive into it further. “We always had a positive competition in our family in terms of academics,” she said.  

The sisters’ parents are both registered nurses: the women credit them for their success. 

“My parents instilled a love of education in us by teaching us our history and showing us the amazing things that our ancestors did,” Candace Shaw said. “It made me have pride and confidence that I was capable of being intelligent so that I could do things to change the world.”

The 74 chatted with the female entrepreneurs just in time for Women’s History Month and as their nine-member company recently opened its first brick-and-mortar tutoring center in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Designed in an open-concept style, it includes a small office space and backyard for outdoor learning.  

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. 

The 74: Why did you found this company? What was the need you were trying to fill? 

Candace: Before 2020, I was working in the corporate world and I still had this passion for math. I was doing private tutoring — I had two clients I would work with — and their parents really loved it. It brought me joy and so in 2020, when the pandemic hit, word of mouth spread, and more parents started calling to ask me for help. I began virtual tutoring and built a website for parents to book sessions. We have a house in East New York (Brooklyn) and we opened a room on the first floor for kids to learn. They would come on Saturday mornings or afterschool for in-person sessions. 

Melinda: Candace and I had talked about this for many years prior to opening. We both were STEM majors and we noticed there were a lot of different disparities in communities of learning, so many different learning gaps and limited access to certain services.

You serve kids K-12. Describe your average student. 

Melinda: We serve a lot of students in the second and third grade. That’s when a lot of testing begins and homework increases. Parents are starting to see what level their child is at  — and where they want them to go. At the middle school level, we serve a lot of seventh graders and in high school a lot of 10th through 12th graders. Many have college exams they are preparing for.

Do you see any difference in the types of problems students face based upon their grade? Elementary versus middle and high school-aged? 

Melinda: There is disparity overall in education. Sometimes, it falls within race and sometimes it falls in income or socio-economic level. It also depends on which district you are in, the curriculum they purchased and how that is determined. Some students in the third grade don’t get homework while others are homework heavy. There are so many reasons as to why a student is more proficient than others. 

How many schools do you work with and where? 

Candace: We work with at least 10 schools and they are all in Brooklyn. We have some in District 19 in East New York, some in Bedford Stuyvesant — and we just opened up to some in Canarsie. 

How exactly do you deliver your tutoring services? 

Candace: We have a few online offerings but we prefer in-person. We started after the pandemic, and most parents would say, “I really need it in-person because my child learns better that way.” 

What makes your service unique? 

Candace: We have a genuine investment in these children’s education. And we approach math in a way that’s fun and not scary. We allow students to learn at their own pace and in their own learning style. We provide supplemental events and activities — a Pi day party, holiday parties, back to school events. And we do giveaways. Also, our staff is highly qualified: These are all people with math degrees, engineering degrees — or they are statisticians. Most come from Brooklyn, from the communities we serve. It’s great to see that. A lot live walking distance away.

Melinda: We also serve students who are neurodivergent, people of all learning abilities. We live here, we understand what it is people want. We also say the children are our future. If that’s the case, and we are relying on them to maintain the community, we have to pour into them. They have to be innovative, sharp and fast thinkers. We are using math to build these skills which are transferable to real life.

How do you address math anxiety, which can be even more prevalent in communities of color? 

Melinda: We don’t remind the student that they have that anxiety. We reinforce what they do know, what they have done correctly. We highlight the points they are excelling at even if they are really minor. We don’t reinforce their fear or whatever is hindering their success. We focus on non-verbal cues, how they respond: Are they foot tapping? Are they having to go get snacks? We allow them to release when they need to release and then reel them back in. Over time, we can reduce that anxiety, highlight what they are greatest at and lessen that fear, which is really a lack of understanding of the subject.  

Candace: We reduce embarrassment and shame. We say mistakes are OK, that mistakes are some of the best ways to learn, which makes them feel safe to fully try. We also talk to parents about things they can do at home to support their child’s learning. And we create an environment where math is fun for everyone. When we have events for families and parents are involved, we ask them math questions, and if they got it right they could spin a wheel and get a gift. 

How does it feel to be a Black female entrepreneur, knowing your very existence in this space could impact the lives of the children you serve? 

Candace: It feels incredible to stand beside other Black women paving the way to change and innovation. It also feels like I have to balance being a Black woman and being a leader, which can sometimes be overwhelming. But then I try to lean into self care and give myself grace. I hope this inspires the children I work with to follow their wildest dreams. I want them to know there’s a place for them in this world. You don’t have to only look up to what’s portrayed in the media as success because there’s so many different ways to be successful. You just have to find what works for you — and be the best at it.

What do you want for the children you serve?

Candace: I want these kids to excel at math, to go to class and get As on assessments, to be above grade level. I want them to be strong and confident with a solid math foundation. I want them to form a strong STEM identity, to see themselves as engineers, coders, architects, to be able to know they can excel in those fields.