Math beliefs: theory-framed and data-driven student success

This study examined the incremental contribution of math anxiety and math beliefs, measured at the beginning of a college math course, to the prediction of student outcome in that course. The Math Belief Scale (MBS) was developed to measure math versions of the five elements of the Health Belief Model (Rosenstock et al., 1988) in addition to a sixth subscale for math anxiety. Math SAT and the MBS subscales were entered into a stepwise discriminant analysis with student course outcome (pass/fail) as the grouping variable. After Math SAT Score was entered, Perceived Susceptibility to Failure and Perceived Benefits of Action yet explained significant variance in course performance. Given that introductory math courses represent a common hurdle for student persistence, understanding predictors of success in these courses may aid college retention efforts. KEYWORDS: Math Education, College Students, Attitudes, Beliefs, Retention