NCJ Number
134692
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 20 Issue: 6 Dated: (December 1991) Pages: 563-592
Date Published
1991
Length
30 pages
Annotation
Sixty-six students in the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS), an early college entrance program for talented students, completed the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS) in January and February 1990.
Abstract
The MARS test consists of short descriptions of situations associated with manipulation of numbers and the use of mathematical concepts. Participants rate the degree of mathematical anxiety arouse by each item. Items are scored on a 5-point scale, with a score of 5 indicating the highest degree of anxiety. The higher the score the more math anxious is the subject. Total scores range from 98 to 490. Mars total scores for the group ranges from 100 to 337 with an average of 160 for males, and 176 for the females. The TAMS students had lower scores on MARS than the unselected college students; however, they were more anxious than college students majoring in physics. There was no relationship between level of mathematics anxiety and grades or math anxiety and Scholastics Aptitude test-Mathematics scores for the TAMS students. However, a gender difference was noted when the latter relationships were examined for males alone. Higher verbal scores and higher grades were associated with lower levels of mathematics anxiety in the boys. These data support the assumption that mathematically talented students show little mathematics anxiety. 1 table and 22 references (Author abstract modified)