A Psychological Explanation of Failures in High-School Mathematics

This paper is a plea by a psychologist for the treatment of students who are having difficulty in mathematics by the same kind of skillful, scientific methods as are employed in dealing with human beings in need of physical relief. I begin by accusing you of not always being efficient in your work. I have it in mind to present some statistics that I feel sure ought to be of interest to you. I find these statistics one of the best introductions to my talk because I find they always secure attention for what I have to say, when otherwise I should not be able to command attention.