Math's difficulties comes in stages in my opinion:
- Number Sense (Add, subtract, multiply, divide)
- Fractions
- Order of Operations (BEDMAS/PEDMAS)
- Solving for
x - Linear and Quadratic Equations
- Advanced Functions & Calculus
- Math Proofs (This scares people away from higher level university math.)
- Math projects
- Masters/PhD Math & Research Math
Not many people are math majors and out of those not many pursue the research side within mathematics.