The Effect of Gender and Achievement on Mathematics Interest and Confidence of College-Bound High School Freshmen
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2010-07
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Masters of Education
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Abstract
The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of gender and academic performance on math interest and confidence of sixty honors and gifted and talented freshmen at Patapsco High School & Center for the Arts. The students’ PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Achievement Test) score from the fall of 2009 was used to gauge academic achievement. Math confidence and interest was assessed during June of 2010 through the Math Self-Efficacy and Interest Survey (MSES) by Betz and Hackett. Achievement gains were significant for math confidence and interest which negated the null hypothesis. Gender was only significant for math confidence not math interest. The results could be attributable to a number of intervening factors including enrollment constraints and participant age. Research in the area of high school math should continue given the continued disagreement over best teaching practices. The consequences of schools failing to provide social and emotional support to build math confidence and interest prohibit academic achievement and enrollment growth.