[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-265297-105":59,"doc-detail-265297-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","mathematical-word-problems-in-adult-education-what-the-research-says","Mathematical Word Problems in Adult Education: What the Research Says","","Mathematical word problems, often treated as “story problems,” frame questions within scholastic settings where answers come from applying operations to numerical information stated or derived from the text. Research over recent decades examines adult learners’ encounters with such problems and the strategies used by both learners and instructors to improve success. The discussion highlights how word problems are used in assessments and instructional materials, yet questions whether contexts align with adult learners’ lived realities, including issues of class privilege and cultural unfamiliarity for immigrants.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/mathematical-word-problems-in-adult-education-what-the-research-says/265297/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/mathematical-word-problems-in-adult-education-what-the-research-says/265297.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Levi","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-05","2026-09-14",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What are mathematical word problems (story problems) in this research digest?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"They are verbal descriptions of problem situations where one or more questions can be answered by applying mathematical operations to numerical data provided in the problem or derived from it.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why are word problems important in adult education and related assessments?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"They commonly appear in high-stakes mathematics assessments and in placement or equivalency contexts, and adult education funding often depends on evidence of progress shown through standardized test performance.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What concerns have researchers raised about whether word problems reflect adult learners’ real worlds?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Some findings suggest many problems portray middle-class ideals and experiences, which may not match economically struggling learners’ lives. Other work shows immigrants can feel anxious when “real-life contexts” are culturally unfamiliar, reducing meaningfulness and access to informal strategies.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},265297,1789394058,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":34,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":143,"preview_page_count":4},7971461740909,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","ADULT LITERACY EDUCATION FALL 2022  \n| [http://doi.org/10.35847/LGinsburg.4.3.66](http://doi.org/10.35847/LGinsburg.4.3.66) |  |\n| --- | --- |\n|  | Research Digest |\n\nMathematical Word Problems in Adult Education: What the Research Says  \nLynda Ginsburg, Rutgers University (retired)  \nMathematical word problems, sometimes called story problems, are generally defined as “verbal descriptions of problem situations, presented within a scholastic setting, wherein one or more questions are raised the answer to which can be obtained by the application of mathematical operations to numerical data available in the problem statement or on numerical data derived from them”(Verschaffel et al. , 2020, para. 1) . The problems are positioned as representing how mathis applied in real life, although in real life thereis usually less clarity about the specific questions that need to be answered as well as the available situational data. Students are urged to limit their focus to the facts or data which is provided within the word problem itself.  \nStudents of all ages encounter mathematical word problems, and they are an ongoing challenge for many students and their teachers. Over the last 50 years, many researchers have looked at a variety of word problems, creating classification schemes based on the linguistic aspects of the problems as well as on their mathematical demands. Further, researchers have analyzed samples of student work and responses to these problems as well as the students’ relevant affective factors as they attempt to solve the problems. This research has primarily been focused on young children and elementary school students younger than 13 or 14 years of age. A summary of some of this literature is available in  \nreview articles (see Daroczy et al. , 2015; Verschaffelet al. , 2020) .  \nHere, I report on recent research (from 2015 to the present) that focuses on how and when adult learners, including those in adult education settings, community colleges, early college, or late high school, encounter word problems and the strategies they and their instructors might employ to increase success in solving them. This is important because word problems are commonly found in mathematics assessments, particularly for high stakes purposes such as high school equivalency tests (GED, HiSet) or for educational placement purposes. Adult education program funding is often dependent upon evidence of student progress as demonstrated by performance on standardized mathematics tests. Therefore, most published instructional materials provide some word problems. In addition, large-scale, cross-national assessments (i.e . , PIAAC) measure numeracy levels by including word problems.  \nDo Word Problems Represent the Mathematics of Adult Learners’Real Worlds?  \nWord problems are often promoted as a means of demonstrating that classroom mathematics is relevant and useful in the outside world and can be applied in a variety of everyday situations.  \nCorrespondence: [ginsburg@scarletmail.rutgers.edu](ginsburg@scarletmail.rutgers.edu) 66  \nFor adult learners, this rationale is of particular significance because they are likely simultaneously managing their own and family members’everyday lives, holding jobs, managing money, and having responsibility for housing while participating in their own education. Adult learners recognize that they encounter and must use mathematics daily (Ginsburg & Waldron, 2021) .  \nHowever, some have questioned whether the word problems appearing on assessments and in instructional materials actually do represent the lived experiences of most adult learners. Bright (2017) asked 58 graduate students to examine word problems in curricular materials and they found that many problems represented middle-class ideals and experiences. For example, problems focused on calculating area and/or perimeter by describing redecorating projects that would be most likely undertaken by home owners with disposable income rather than renters w","cbCaipXdqQ3hjzI9","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipXdqQ3hjzI9","pdf",88275,"English","# Mathematical Word Problems in Adult Education: What the Research Says\n## How adult learners encounter word problems and why it matters\n## Do word problems represent adult learners’ real worlds?","[{\"question\":\"What are mathematical word problems (story problems) in this research digest?\",\"answer\":\"They are verbal descriptions of problem situations where one or more questions can be answered by applying mathematical operations to numerical data provided in the problem or derived from it.\"},{\"question\":\"Why are word problems important in adult education and related assessments?\",\"answer\":\"They commonly appear in high-stakes mathematics assessments and in placement or equivalency contexts, and adult education funding often depends on evidence of progress shown through standardized test performance.\"},{\"question\":\"What concerns have researchers raised about whether word problems reflect adult learners’ real worlds?\",\"answer\":\"Some findings suggest many problems portray middle-class ideals and experiences, which may not match economically struggling learners’ lives. Other work shows immigrants can feel anxious when “real-life contexts” are culturally unfamiliar, reducing meaningfulness and access to informal strategies.\"}]","Mathematical Word Problems in Adult Education: What the Research Says | PDF",18]