Ahead of Maths GCSE paper 2 this week, a new survey of UK parents revealed that more than 8 in 10 were unable to correctly answer a Maths GCSE question set by experts from Save My Exams.
85% of parents unable to correctly answer this Maths GCSE question, as millions of teens in midst of sitting exams
Millions of teenagers are set to sit exams across the UK from next week, and with secondary school children receiving revision support from parents in the build-up, experts from Save My Exams have challenged parents to answer a maths question that would feature across both the foundation and higher paper.
Over 8 in 10 UK parents unable to answer this Maths GCSE question
Save My Exams asked 500 parents to answer a past paper GCSE Maths question, and found that 85% were unable to answer the question, with 55% of respondents getting it wrong, and 30% unable to provide an answer.
Parents of UK secondary school students were asked to answer the below question:
The question, which stumped over 8 in 10 parents of high school students in the UK, would feature across both the foundation and higher maths paper, and relates to the topic of changing ratio.
Lucy Kirkham, Head of STEM at Save My Exams, explains the answer:
“This GCSE Maths question relates to changing ratios, and requires students and parents to correctly find the value of one part, in order to work out how much money Chris gave to Errol.
“Before being able to calculate this, you first need to work out how much each part of the ratio is worth by dividing how much Debbie gets by her part of the ratio, then multiplying this by Chris and Errol’s ratios. One part is therefore worth £30, multiplying this by each of the other shares, Errol gets £60 and Chris £90, meaning they have shared £270 in total.
In the second ratio, there are 10 shares in total (2 + 5 + 3 = 10) so one part is equivalent to £27, as you divide the total amount the friends have by the total shares in the new ratio. Finally, you can work out how much Errol now gets by deducting the two values Errol had in each ratio, giving a final answer of £21. You can see the full workings below.”
A third of parents believe that they would fail Maths GCSE
The study also revealed that 33% of parents surveyed by Save My Exams believed that they would be most likely to fail GCSE Maths, meanwhile 34% named Science as the subject they would most likely be unable to pass.
Over three in 10 parents surveyed said that they were not confident that they would pass their child’s GCSE exams, with almost a third (28%) also stating a lack of confidence and uncertainty in their child passing their GCSEs this year.
The GCSE subjects UK parents think they would be most likely to fail:
Science – 34%
Maths – 33%
Languages – 29%
History – 27%
Geography – 24%
93% of UK parents are providing revision support to children yet don’t feel confident in themselves, survey reveals
Despite 85% of parents being unable to correctly answer a Maths GCSE question, only 7% of parents surveyed said that they don’t help their child with exam revision.
Save My Exams further found that 7 in 10 feel pressured to help their child, and more than a quarter feel guilt when they can’t offer support.