A statewide maths contest in Karnataka found that 72% of class 4 students answered 8 out of 20 questions correctly. However, the performance dropped subsequently with the progression of grades.

The same numbers dropped to 66% in grade 5 and 63% in grade 6. Organized by Akshara Foundation under the Ganitha Kalika Andolana banner, the contest analyzed from over 6 lakh students across 26,100 schools in 4,890-gram panchayats in Karnataka.

The contest posed mathematical problems and evaluated the data based on the number of students who would solve 8 out of the 20 problems given to them. Across grades, Tumakuru and Belagavi have remained among the top three positions in the state.

Tumakuru, Belagavi, and Chikkamagaluru performed the best in grades 4 and 5, while Dharwad replaced Chikkamagaluru in the top three for grade 6. Tumakuru saw 88% of grade 4 students answering 8 questions correctly, while Belagavi had 78% in grade 6. Ballari, Vijayanagar, and Chitradurga ranked the lowest in grades 4 and 6, and Kalaburagi joined the bottom three in grade 5, with 41-49% of students performing well.

Even as students had assimilated concepts of addition, subtraction, shapes, data handling, and place value, concepts of division and multiplication were their weak points. Although word problems were not included, the NGO noted that students might find them difficult due to language barriers.

The study also revealed a drop in top performers from grade 4 to grade 6, with over 40% of grade 4 students in the highest scoring band (70-100%), which fell to about a third in the higher classes. In contrast, about one-third of students in these classes scored in the bottom band (0-40%).

Girls outperformed boys across grades with a 4 percentage point advantage in class 4 and 2-2.5 percentage points in classes 5 and 6. Ashok Kamath, chairman of Akshara Foundation, noted the gradual decline in fear of maths as students moved away from memorization toward understanding.

However, he expressed concern over the drop in learning levels as students progressed from class 4 to class 6 and emphasized the need for targeted teaching to address specific areas where students struggle.