Revising a Measure of High School Students' Mathematics Anxiety

• In Event: 28.088 - Fairmont Royal York Roundtable Session Four
  In Roundtable Session: 28.088-2 - Topics in Rasch Measurement

Abstract

Mathematics anxiety is a significant impediment to student mathematics participation and achievement. Unfortunately, there is little agreement on how mathematics anxiety should be conceptualized, and existing instruments have several limitations. This study aims to: 1) refine a measure of mathematics anxiety for use with high school students that is psychometrically robust and overcomes the limitations of existing instruments, and 2) answer the question: to what extent can the construct of mathematics anxiety be measured reliably and meaningfully by revising a Rasch-based scale? Results from an administration of the revised scale are promising. However, additional work is needed to clarify the construct definition and measure students at the lowest levels of mathematics anxiety.

Author

• Kelsey Klein, Boston College