Mathematics anxiety is a pervasive, measurable emotional response that interferes with learning and performance — and it is far more common among Nigerian secondary students than many educators realise.

Synthesising data from national assessments, international surveys and peer-reviewed studies, this report finds that 42% of secondary students report high mathematics anxiety, with significant variation by gender, region and school type. The relationship between anxiety and performance is strong but not deterministic; anxiety explains roughly 12–18% of the variance in mathematics scores, even after controlling for prior attainment.

Critically, anxiety is not distributed equally. Girls, students in rural schools, and those from lower-income backgrounds report significantly higher levels. Yet the data also show that classroom climate, teacher responsiveness, and assessment practices are more powerful predictors of anxiety reduction than curricular content or technology access.

This report recommends a multi-level response: targeted teacher professional development on anxiety identification and management, school-wide shifts toward low-stakes, formative assessment, and structured family engagement programmes. With sustained effort, the burden of mathematics anxiety can be substantially reduced within a single academic cycle.

What is the prevalence, nature and impact of mathematics anxiety among secondary school students, and what can be done to reduce it?

This question is deliberately broad to allow synthesis across multiple dimensions: affective (how students feel), cognitive (how anxiety affects working memory and problem-solving), behavioural (avoidance, disengagement) and contextual (classroom, family, policy). The report draws on quantitative and qualitative evidence to build a holistic picture.

Sub-questions guiding this review

Mathematics anxiety matters not only because it reduces performance, but because it shapes students' relationship with learning and their future opportunities. Students who experience high anxiety are more likely to avoid mathematics-related subjects, limiting career options in science, technology, engineering and finance — fields that are critical for individual and national development.

The effects compound over time. A student who feels anxious in Grade 7 is more likely to underperform, receive lower teacher expectations, and develop a self-concept as "not a maths person" — a belief that becomes self-fulfilling. By senior secondary school, these patterns are deeply entrenched and difficult to reverse.

Addressing mathematics anxiety is therefore not a soft issue; it is a core lever for improving mathematics achievement, reducing educational inequality, and expanding students' life choices. This report treats anxiety as a system-level challenge, not an individual deficit.

Nigeria's secondary education system serves over 15 million students across federal, state and private schools, with mathematics a compulsory subject through Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE). The curriculum emphasises procedural fluency and examination readiness, with high-stakes assessments beginning in Junior Secondary School.

Despite policy commitments to universal basic education, significant disparities persist. Rural and northern states have lower teacher deployment, larger class sizes, and fewer instructional materials. These contextual factors amplify mathematics anxiety, as students in under-resourced settings face additional stressors including inadequate infrastructure, limited learning support, and high-stakes examinations.

Pathway to mathematics anxiety in Nigerian schools

This report synthesises data from four primary sources: (1) the Nigerian National Assessment of Mathematics Achievement (2023), (2) the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results (2020–2025), (3) the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 mathematics anxiety module, and (4) a systematic review of 38 peer-reviewed studies on mathematics anxiety interventions in low- and middle-income countries.

The evidence base is robust for prevalence and correlates, though intervention studies in the Nigerian context remain limited. Where possible, this report draws on regional (West African) and international evidence to supplement national data, with clear sourcing.

Primary data sources

Prevalence across key groups

Anxiety and performance (by grade)

The gap between high- and low-anxiety students widens with grade, suggesting that anxiety accumulates and compounds over time. This pattern is consistent across all regions and school types.

Teacher confidence in identifying anxiety

8.1  The anxiety–performance cycle

The relationship between anxiety and performance is not linear; it is a reinforcing cycle. Students who experience anxiety are more likely to avoid mathematics practice, which lowers performance, which in turn reinforces anxiety. This cycle explains why the performance gap widens over time, and why early intervention is critical. The data show that students who receive supportive feedback after errors have 30% lower anxiety in subsequent assessments, compared to those who receive only performance scores.

8.2  The role of assessment culture

High-stakes, high-publicity testing environments amplify anxiety. Schools that publish rankings, display results publicly, or emphasise competition show significantly higher anxiety levels, even after controlling for student ability. In contrast, schools that use formative, anonymous, or peer-reviewed assessments report lower anxiety and higher engagement.

8.3  Teacher–student relationships

Students who perceive their mathematics teacher as supportive, approachable and fair have significantly lower anxiety, regardless of their prior performance. This suggests that relational factors are as important as instructional quality. However, many teachers report feeling pressured to "cover the curriculum" and have little time to build these relationships — a structural issue that requires policy attention.

"Students do not learn from teachers they fear — they learn from teachers they trust."

Addressing mathematics anxiety therefore requires not only pedagogical changes, but also a shift in school culture towards psychological safety and trust.

Mathematics anxiety is not evenly distributed. Female students are 1.4 times more likely to report high anxiety than male students, a gap that widens in senior secondary years. Rural students, who often have larger class sizes and fewer qualified teachers, report anxiety rates up to 56% — 21 percentage points higher than their urban peers.

These disparities are not explained by ability alone. In rural schools, students of similar ability to urban peers report higher anxiety, suggesting that contextual factors — teacher availability, learning materials, and family support — play a significant role. Addressing anxiety therefore requires a targeted, equity-focused approach that addresses both individual and systemic factors.

Equity in mathematics requires not just equal access, but equal psychological safety.

This reframing shifts the burden from students to the system. Rather than asking "How can we make students less anxious?", we ask "How can we design classrooms, assessments and teacher-student interactions that reduce anxiety as a by-product?"

The evidence shows that small, consistent changes — low-stakes practice, growth-mindset feedback, collaborative problem-solving — are more effective than large, one-off interventions. The system does not need to be rebuilt; it needs to be re-tuned.

What would change if we designed every mathematics lesson to reduce anxiety, not just to teach content?

Priority matrix

Proposed Waokmath field study

This report is a secondary-data synthesis; it does not include new primary data collection on mathematics anxiety in Nigerian classrooms. As such, it reflects the gaps and biases of the existing evidence base, which is unevenly distributed across regions and school types.

The following questions are designed for fieldwork in the next phase of this research, to complement the quantitative evidence with lived experience.

Mathematics anxiety

A negative emotional response to mathematics that can interfere with learning, performance, and self-concept.

Formative assessment

Low-stakes, ongoing assessment designed to provide feedback and guide instruction, not to grade or rank.

Growth mindset

The belief that abilities can be developed through effort, strategy and practice — in contrast to a fixed mindset.

Peer mentoring

A structured support model where trained students provide guidance and encouragement to peers.

Psychological safety

A classroom climate where students feel safe to make mistakes, ask questions, and take academic risks without fear of embarrassment.

1. National Assessment of Mathematics Achievement 2023National Educational Research Council · 2024 · nerc.gov.ng
2. WASSCE Mathematics Performance Report 2020–2025West African Examinations Council · 2025
3. PISA 2022 Mathematics Anxiety ModuleOECD · 2023
4. Mathematics Anxiety in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic ReviewJournal of Educational Psychology · 2024
5. Teacher Confidence in Identifying Learning and Emotional NeedsWaokmath Teacher Survey · 2025
6. The Impact of Formative Assessment on Mathematics AnxietyAssessment in Education · 2022

Waokmath Research & Insights is a research publication series accompanying Waokmath, a mathematics education platform covering the Nigerian curriculum from Grade 1 through Grade 11 and SSCE. The series synthesises credible national and international evidence to inform how mathematics is taught, assessed and supported, and to guide the design of diagnostic, evidence-based learning tools.