Relationship between Teachers’ Beliefs and Student Achievement in Middle School Mathematics

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship between teachers’ beliefs and student achievement in middle school mathematics. A total of 35 teachers chose to participate from nine separate middle schools in an urban school district in Texas. Additionally, 1,095 data from students from economically disadvantaged households were analyzed in conjunction with their teacher’s data. The independent variables were two surveys that measured teachers’ beliefs about intelligence and classroom goal orientation. The dependent variables were students’ scores and yearly progress made on the state math exam (STAAR). Data were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlations for both dependent variables.

Results of the study indicated that there was a statistically significant positive correlation between a teacher’s beliefs and their student’s yearly progress in math. However, no significant relationship was found between a teacher’s beliefs and their students scale scores on the STAAR math exam. Further results revealed that there was a statistically significant negative relationship between a teacher’s classroom goal orientation and student scale scores and progress made in math in one year. These findings show that the beliefs that teachers hold about intelligence and approaches to instruction may be related to student achievement levels in middle school math. The study concludes with implications and limitations of the study and makes recommendations for future research on teacher beliefs and student achievement.