A study published in Educational Studies in Mathematics took a representative sample of 439 Jewish Israelis and asked them about the "math in the news."
Twenty-one questions were designed to assess literacy in the mathematical topics that were in the news heavily at the time. These included differentiating between linear, polynomial, and exponential growth, understanding exponents, reading bar graphs, interpreting the "flatten the curve" graphs, and others.
Even those who had taken advanced mathematics (5 study units) in high school didn't figure everything out, the average grade being a 72/100.
Those who took only mandatory levels of math (3 study units), which accounts for over 50% of Israel, correctly interpreted much less on average, maintaining an average score of 54/100.
Finally, those who had not completed all the examinations required for the official state certificate - roughly 45% of 17-year-olds in Israel - obtained an average grade of 44/100.
However, it appears that self perception is more important when it comes to mathematical literacy. The findings suggest that being "afraid" of math, or feeling as though you aren't competent in math prevents people from engaging with the math needed, even if they had learned it.
The examiners devised a scale to assess 5 elements: self-description of math competency, their interest in math, if they enjoy math, their self-perception of their ability to learn math, and their perception of math as a useful subject.
"These results seem to show that school mathematics, especially in its high levels, may prepare adults to understand critical information important for their well-being, such as at a time of global pandemic. However, they also indicate that negative attitudes towards math may significantly hinder adults’ engagement with such information," said the study's lead author, Prof. Einat Heyd-Metzuyanim. "Our findings should trigger some soul-searching in the mathematics education field," she added.
"After all, the goal of learning mathematics, for most of the public, is to be able to deal with mathematical information in their daily lives. We should therefore make sure that high-school graduates leave school with both the cognitive tools for processing mathematical information around them, and the attitudes and dispositions that would allow them to do so."
The study was conducted by a team of researchers at the Faculty of Education in Science and Technology at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology during the first wave of COVID-19 cases in Israel (March-April 2020).