Mathematics as a subject is one of the subjects that performs poorly in the KCSE KNEC examinations. Consider the progress of mathematics in the table below since the year 2009 to 2013.

The fifth column with the mean score is a clear evidence that mathematics has been performing poorly in over a decade and the results are even getting poorer with the best mean ever achieved as 29.46; this trend is worrying especially for a country aspiring to be a first world in the year 2030. Industrialization comes with science courses like engineering and we can't mold good engineers and doctors who are not doing fine in mathematics.

These are the basic principles of effective learning. These principles are derived from research in a number of disciplines. They include:

Teachers who know their subject matter thoroughly can be more effective and efficient at organizing the subject matter, connecting and subject with the students previous knowledge, finding useful analogies and examples, presenting current thinking on the subject and establish appropriate emphasis

Most students and scholars in general tend to have common goals/objectives and these objectives are nothing far other than academic success. People dream of scoring a distinction in all subjects, some wish this would happen but cannot trace the formula for doing it.
Attitude, laziness, absenteeism, lack of proper planning, psychological effects and other factor are the reasons why most students fail. Due this enormous number of factors that contribute to poor performance, its  in good faith scholars to first understand their weaknesses before attempting to apply any solutions. I have been a teacher for over a decade now in a girls school, I will use my observation and experience to draw solutions for rampant weaknesses that most scholars tend to suffer on.
In this article I will assume that each student has the same educational environment both at home and at school, however psychology takes the lion's share on success or failure of any student. Most students who are settled and courageous to face challenges head-on, tend to out perform cowards, shy, mouthy and attention seekers. The following factors do not focus on personality types but mere factors which can be used as an ideology for great academic prowess. In order to perform;