Mathematics Attitude in Fifth and Sixth Grade Students

This paper examines mathematical attitude of students in the fifth grade to sixth grade. Two geographical regions in Texas with different ethnic distributions were surveyed. In addition to the impact of grade level, the study investigates the influence of gender, ethnicity and region on student attitude toward mathematics. Attitude was measured using the Math and Me survey constructed by Adelson and McCoach [1], which considers attitude based on student’s mathematical self-perceptions and their enjoyment of mathematics. The analysis performed provides evidence that the transition into the sixth grade had a negative effect on student attitude. Multivariate analysis indicated that grade is the only main effect of significance impacting overall attitude however, all other factors considered are present in significant interactions.