The Mystery of Student Errors in Math Story Problems: A Critical Riview of Newman’s Theory

Abstract

This study aims to identify and analyze the various difficulties experienced by students in solving mathematical word problems using the framework of Newman’s Error Analysis Theory. The research subjects consisted of 29 fourth-grade students from SDN Lubang Buaya 05 Pagi during the 2024/2025 academic year. This research employed a qualitative approach with a descriptive method, where data were collected through written tests, interviews, observations, and documentation. The data were analyzed based on the five stages of error proposed by Newman: reading, comprehension, transformation, process skills, and encoding. The results indicated that students still experienced difficulties at each stage of problem solving. The highest error rate occurred in the reading stage (92%), followed by comprehension (81%), transformation (77%), process skills (59%), and encoding (40%). Although most students were able to understand the problems, they still faced challenges in converting word problems into appropriate mathematical models, performing accurate calculations, and systematically writing the final answers. In conclusion, students’ abilities in solving mathematical word problems need to be improved, particularly in the aspects of process skills and final answer writing, in order to achieve more optimal mathematics learning outcomes.