A Study on Students Attitudes Toward Mathematics in Elementary School

ABSTRACT

The British Abilities Scales basic number skills subtest was administered to 44 third graders and 45 fifth graders from English primary schools, and a Mathematics Attitude and Anxiety Questionnaire was used to record the students ratings of themselves on the topics of Self-rating, Liking for, Anxiety about, and Unhappiness about poor performance in mathematics. There were not many distinctions in opinion between the years. Even though there was no discernible performance gap between the sexes, boys tended to assess their own abilities higher than females. Overall, however, Self-rating was linked to actual performance whereas Anxiety was not. This correlation between self-assessment and outcome appears to have emerged between third and fifth grade. The results implications are examined.

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