Changes in Math Anxiety Levels.

The effectiveness of seven Perkins Act-funded single parent/displaced homemaker programs throughout New Jersey in reducing clients' math anxiety was evaluated through a pretest and posttest designed to determine level of math anxiety. During the 1993-94 school year matched pretest and posttest scores were obtained for 98 of the 177 individuals tested at the 7 sites. As a group, the participants demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in level of math anxiety (group means of 234.07 and 213.48 on the pretest and posttest, respectively). The mean posttest score of the female participants (213.48) was significantly lower than their mean pretest score (234.07), which indicated a decrease in math anxiety after program participation. The males also had a lower mean test score (224) compared to their pretest score (230.09); however, the difference was not significant. The males' mean pretest score was lower than the females, which indicated that the males had a lower initial level of math anxiety. On the posttest, the situation was reversed. The females' mean posttest score was lower than the males' mean posttest score, thus indicating that, after participation in the single parent/displaced homemaker programs, the females had less math anxiety than their male counterparts. (Contains 25 references.) (MN)