Tenth-Grade High School Students' Mathematical Self-Efficacy, Mathematics Anxiety, Attitudes toward Mathematics, and Performance on the New York State Integrated Algebra Regents Examination

Strong mathematical abilities are important for the continuation of a successful society. Mathematics is required and involved in all aspects of daily life: banking, communications, business, education, and travel are just a few examples. More specifically the areas of finance, engineering, architecture, and technology require individuals with strong mathematical abilities to survive and grow. The importance of mathematics knowledge to our future cannot be overstated. The purpose of this study was to examine tenth-grade high school students' mathematics self-efficacy, mathematics anxiety, attitudes toward mathematics, and performance on the New York State Integrated Algebra Regents Examination. Furthermore, this study compared and analyzed the differences in students' mathematics self-efficacy, mathematics anxiety, and attitudes toward mathematics on the basis of gender and race. Relationships among the affective mathematics variables as well as gender, race, and overall grade point average were examined. Linear regressions were also calculated to determine which variables were the best predictors of student performance on the June 2012 New York State Integrated Algebra Regents Examination. A survey consisting of 21 items from the 2003 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) was developed for this study. This survey was administered to 84 tenth-grade students from two large suburban high schools within the same school district located in New York State in November 2012. This survey instrument was used to collect information regarding students' beliefs about their mathematics self-efficacy, mathematics anxiety, and attitudes toward mathematics. Demographic data were obtained through the electronic student management system utilized by the school district where this study took place. The results demonstrated that tenth-grade high school students in this study are overall confident in completing specific mathematical tasks. These students also have a positive attitude toward mathematics, but experience some level of mathematics anxiety. Moderate positive relationships between student performance, and mathematics self-efficacy, attitudes toward mathematics and overall grade point average were also found. The inverse relationship between student performance and mathematics anxiety found in this study indicates that mathematics anxiety continues to affect mathematics performance. Positive relationships between mathematics self-efficacy, attitudes toward mathematics, and overall grade point average were also found. These relationships accounted for large percentages of the variance in each variable. Mathematics anxiety was found to have an inverse relationship with mathematics self-efficacy and attitudes toward mathematics. This indicates that as a student's mathematics anxiety increases, his/her mathematics self-efficacy and attitudes toward mathematics decreases. Attitudes toward mathematics and overall grade point average were found to be the best predictors of overall student performance on the June 2012 New York State Integrated Algebra Regents Examination. This result is inconsistent with most studies on affective mathematics variables and student performance, indicating that attitudes toward mathematics have emerged as a key variable in predicting mathematics performance. When separate regressions were computed for male participants and female participants, the representative model selected for male participants was consistent with the model for all students in this study. This demonstrated and supported a major finding of this study: attitudes toward mathematics are a unique and valid predictor of mathematics performance more precise than both mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics anxiety. For female participants, the best representative model included only one variable: overall grade point average. This indicated that for female students the best predictor of future success in mathematics is prior overall academic success. The results of this study demonstrated the importance of mathematics self-efficacy, mathematics anxiety, and attitudes toward mathematics on mathematics performance and support other studies that have included these variables. The results also indicated that prior success in mathematics is important to students' beliefs regarding their mathematics self-efficacy, mathematics anxiety, and attitudes toward mathematics. This study demonstrated that strong mathematics self-efficacy beliefs, low levels of mathematics anxiety and a positive attitude towards mathematics continue to be important constructs of increasing student performance in mathematics. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]