Elementary, middle school and high school teachers often use graphs as part of their math curriculum. Graphs help students organize and analyze information in well-structured formats, making it easier to interpret data. Visual learners respond especially well to graphs and often understand the information better without pages of text. Graphs do have a downside -- students might jump to conclusions without carefully analyzing the limitations and parameters. Students might also rely on graphing calculators, without being able to solve equations or do the graphing themselves.

Line graphs provide a simple, visual way for students of all ages to interpret data and to draw conclusions about mathematical relationships, such as:

• equality
  
• inequality
  
• more than
  
• less than
  
• grouping

Students also learn that graphs have limits -- many don't show all of the data and they don't explain alternate options. Students who learn to graph equations are often well-prepared for upper-level math, statistics, engineering and science courses.

Visual graphs provide clues that words and equations don't. For example, it might take middle school or high school students several minutes to read, digest, interpret and map a word problem. With a pictograph or pie chart, students can quickly draw conclusions. Graphs show trends, gaps and clusters, and compare multiple data sets at once, often accommodating large sets of data. They make it easy for scientists and students alike to form hypotheses and draw conclusions.

Some students jump to conclusions and interpret graphs inaccurately, resulting in incorrect answers to applied math problems. They might ignore important information, rush through problem details, fail to read instructions, treat irrelevant data as important and forget to rely on prior knowledge. Graphs, such as line graphs and bar graphs, are designed to work in conjunction with other information sources, such as text, so students who focus solely on graphs often misinterpret data.

Students who rely solely on technology-generated math graphs for classroom learning, such as those produced by graphing calculators and computer programs, might become complacent. Computerized graphs often reduce the amount of work that needs to be done -- which can be a benefit during timed tests -- but they also interfere with the learning process. Students might not fully develop their own graphing skills, potentially leading to problems when batteries die or computer programs go haywire.