Why Do Students Find As-level Maths So Difficult?

Well, one half-term has finished and there are roughly five weeks to go until the end of the current term. It has been an interesting first six weeks as I have seen seven students decide to drop AS Maths. Some left in the first week. One student approached me on the last Friday before the half-term holiday.

Is it my teaching? No. How do I know this? Simply because I have taught many students, many achieving Grade B and above and I have a success rate of 95%. So this tells me it is not the teaching.

So why do students find AS-Level Maths so difficult? One thing that I have found is that many students who do embark upon an AS-Level Maths course just do not have the skills that they should have acquired at GCSE.

By this I mean they have may have managed to get a grade B for instance but they have not answered the questions that will allow a student to achieve an A or A*. And these questions go further to test a student's ability in algebra and trigonometry which are the fundamentals behind AS-Level maths.

It is a sad fact that those with a grade B or below will find AS-Level Maths a huge challenge. Even those with an A or A* still find the course challenging and find it a shock that they are getting low grades in tests and homework.

So what is the actual underlying problem? It is difficult to say but I often tell my students that attending class and doing homework is not always enough. People need to study maths at AS Level for the right reasons. Being forced by parents or doing it because friends are, are not the right reasons for embarking upon a challenging course. The real or what I believe to be the real ingredient to success is an absolute desire, passion and hunger for the topic.

Without doubt, hard work is needed, but if a student lacks motivation then they are already facing a huge uphill challenge.

Overall, students must be motivated and ready to ask for help. AS Maths is a very fast paced course and missing even one lesson can have dire consequences. Motivation and passion will keep any student on track.