Arizona Educational Research Organization. Not Just Academics: The Effects of Perceived Classroom Environment on Math Achievement

• In Event: The Consortium of State and Regional Educational Research Associations: Distinguished Paper Session 3

Abstract

This study examines the relationships between students' mathematics achievement scores and their perceptions of three non-academic classroom factors: teachers' relationships with students, teachers' control over a classroom, and teachers' willingness to help students with academic content. Using survey and achievement data from the United States sample of the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), we use multiple regression models to identify the strongest classroom environment predictor of math achievement, controlling for student gender and socioeconomic status. Our results indicate that when controlling for wealth and gender, math teachers' student-perceived ability to manage a classroom has the strongest effect on students' math achievement.

Authors

• Dillon McGill, Teach For America, Inc.

• Jake Douglas Winfield, Temple University