| The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between student's overall mathematics performance and performance on word problems (problem-solving) and selected mathematics performance-related variables, i.e., students' gender, mathematical self-concept, mathematics ability, mathematics anxiety, parental expectation for students' performance, and socioeconomic status.;The sample consisted of 376 seventh- and eighth-grade students (152 males and 224 females) from two junior high schools in New York City. The total sample was comprised of students from five mini-schools within the larger junior high school settings.;The Necessary Facts Test, the Necessary Arithmetic Operations Test, the Right Order Test, the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale--Adolescents (MARS-A), and a Mathematical Self-Concept Scale (Self-Concept of Ability: Mathematics Specific Subject Scale (Form BA) were administered to students. Students' parents were asked to complete a Parental Expectation Scale. Socioeconomic Status was estimated from Census Tract information. Mathematics and Reading Achievement scores from city-wide tests were obtained from school records.;Treatment of the data included looking at overall Mathematics Achievement and more specifically at Mathematics Problem-Solving. In each area a stepwise and an hierarchical regression analysis were performed. In the regression analyses, to control for differences in reading ability, reading was considered a covariate.;Results show that with regard to overall Mathematics Achievement and Mathematics Problem-Solving, the Right Order Test was the most powerful predictor, followed by Parental Expectation. Mathematical Self-Concept was also found to be a significant predictor. |
