ATL

Adults 'unconfident' with maths skills

25 February 2009

A number of adults are unconfident with their maths abilities, it has been claimed.

Chief executive of Whizz.com Richard Marett suggested that more adult education facilities are needed to help improve their maths skills.

He noted that while in many cases adults were not confident with maths while at school and this has continued into their grown-up life, in other cases even those who excelled in the subject while at school have lost their ability.

And the expert suggested that many adults are embarrassed to seek help to improve their skills.

Mr Marett said that for many adults, maths knowledge is limited to that which they use in everyday life, such as while shopping.

But this is usually a skill that most people have grasped by the time they turn approximately eight-and-a-half, he noted.

Research conducted recently by Whizz.com found that the average adult in Britain has the equivalent maths ability of a ten-and-a-half-year-old.

The online maths tuition provider advised that, as children are often better at maths, parents should look to them for help in beating the recession.