Predicting Academic Achievement Using Mathematics Anxiety among Senior Secondary School Students

Abstract

This study investigated Mathematics anxiety as predictor of academic achievements of Senior Secondary School Students. Three research questions guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population of the study consists of three hundred (300) students in public senior secondary school in Ijebu-Ode Local Government Area of Ogun State. Two instruments were used for this study. The instruments are (i) Mathematics Anxiety Scale (MAS) and Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT). The data collected were analyzed using multiple regressions analysis. The finding of the study showed that Mathematics anxiety predicts students’ academic achievement. The findings also revealed that gender significantly predicts students’ academic achievement in Mathematics. Based on the findings, it is concluded that Mathematics anxiety is a predictor of both male and female students’ academic achievement, it is therefore recommended among others that Mathematics teachers should be trained periodically in order to have ideas of innovative approaches of teaching Mathematics to avoid Anxiety in secondary school.