Sources of math anxiety among failing minority students taking algebra and geometry in high-poverty schools located in SPA 6 of Los Angeles County

This study researched 174 failing algebra and geometry minority students in high poverty schools using the 98-item Math Anxiety Rating Scale for Adolescents developed by Dr. Richard Suinn. The results were analyzed to determine which mathematical scenarios created the highest and lowest levels of math anxiety. It also analyzed math anxiety trends based upon grade level, gender and ethnicity.;Conclusions of the study. Math anxiety levels were not relevant to grade level even though students in the study were 1 to 3 years behind in math. This yielded several implications for practice.;When comparing all males and females in the group to their respective norm groups, males experienced moderate levels of math anxiety and females experienced higher levels of moderate math anxiety. However, there was no statistically significant difference based on race, gender, or both. Although the gender math anxiety results were not statistically significant at the .05 level, the p value was .08 which implied that female math anxiety needed to be addressed.;Latin-American and African-American students experienced overall higher levels of anxiety when compared to the norm group. However, ethnicity was not a statistically significant factor in math anxiety levels when comparing African-Americans to Latin-Americans.;Classroom routines and testing methods are a statistically significant contributor to math anxiety. Stated another way, how these students are treated in math class positively or negatively impacts their comprehension of math more than remediation or review of basic math skills.