To what extent does math ability improve with age?

I think by 15, the ability to learn math is pretty close to being filled out. What may change later is self-confidence. It’s closely linked to math performance and often at low ebb during high school years.

It doesn’t. Maths guys tend to do all their best work before the age of the 30.

I’ve tutored kids in math for the last 4 years. From what I’ve seen with the right programme and the right support anyone can understand and advance in math.

I love and use Thinkwell’s Beginning Algebra which is a college level algebra course. I’ve used that programme for kids as young as 8.

Peak performance is probably in early adulthood. The main barrier then becomes the fact that the brain is no longer as flexible as it was in childhood, in term of being able to rewire itself. If you have managed to understand the math by that time, it is likely that you will never be able to truly master it.

One way to think about it is like learning a foreign language, or learning to read in a different alphabet. Once you reach a certain age without exposure to certain concepts, it may be impossible to catch up. As much as it pains me to say it, if I decided to start learning Mandarin Chinese tomorrow (with me being monolingual), chances are that I will never become truly fluent, ever.

Maybe I should have been clearer. The age range that I am interested in is from beginning high school up to college graduation. I heard somewhere that the brain continues to develop during that time.

@tranquilsea , I took a look at the Thinkwell site. I never heard of them before. The topics covered are pretty close to what I was tutoring. We dd not do anything with matrices, but we did cover conic sections. I looked at the sample videos. Are all the lectures in video form? How do you incorporate the lessons into your tutoring?

@LostInParadise I sit with them and we watch the videos together. Then I print off the questions and I work with them for the first two or three and then get them to do the rest. They often need extra help for the next two or three questions but then they are off and flying. If a student gets stuck on a concept I’ll get them to watch the video again and then use the aids provided by Thinkwell to expand on what’s shown in the video. Sometimes I’ll get them to do more questions to really bring the concept home.

Honestly, what I find is that it often helps for these kids to have someone to talk to as they work through the problem. Plus I watch them to be sure they aren’t burning out. If they seem like they are then I get them to take a break.

Math ability doesn’t necessarily improve, but the peer pressure to act dumb usually goes away.

Nobody doubts that athletic performance reaches a zenith in the early to late twenties. Why do people imagine that intellectual performance should abide by a different standard?

The simple answer is that one’s ability in math, or any other mental skill set, can improve at any age. It can even apply to some physical activities.

The student, in your example, seems to want to learn, but math(s) may not be a natural skill. The teen processes information differently than you do, thus his desire for rules to understand the information. Maybe he just processes information differently. Maybe he desires to build this particular skill set even if it isn’t a natural ability. Maybe he just participated to appease his parents or not lower his GPA.

As for brain development, it’s quite fascinating. When we are born and there is no mental disability, the brain is covered in an enormous amount of neurons that can be stimulated and developed. Image it as a fertile plot of land with freshly planted seeds. In spots that receive food, water, and sunshine, it flourishes. In others that don’t receive this treatment, it becomes barren.

This development process usually ends when a child is in their early to mid teens. By then, it’s like a lump of sculpting clay that has been molded and baked in a kiln. It doesn’t mean that a person cannot still learn. It only means that they have to call on other areas of their developed brain to process the information.

So if your student, for whatever reason, didn’t quite develop that plot of brain ‘land’ that processes math(s) as easily as you or others, then he needs to utilize other parts of his thought process in order to grasp the concepts. With practice and patience, he may be able to master a talent of it, but it doesn’t sound like it will ever be a natural one.