Probably the student forgot to press the shift key, and one of
the equal signs should have been a " + ", which is what you get when
you hold the shift key down while pressing the " = " key.
Maybe they meant this:
x + 4x - 3 = 12
5x - 3 = 12
Add 3 to both sides:
5x = 15
Divide both sides by 5
x = 3
Or maybe this:
x = 4x - 3 + 12
x = 4x + 9
Subtract 4x from both sides
-3x = 9
Divide both sides by -3
x = -3
Edwin