Where are your equal signs?

Abstract

The equal sign is a critical aspect in mathematics. Whether it is reaching an answer for an unknown, simplification of an expression using orders of operations, or when conducting a proof, the equal sign provides the mathematical sentence structure used as a backbone for ALL solutions. With such a fundamental, essential, and vital part of mathematics, equal signs have been increasingly misused by students, and as such there has been a lack of proper use of the equal sign. In this paper, we present not only the historical perspective of the equal sign, but also some evidence of how the equal sign is being misused and how we can fix this dilemma.