Factors Associated with Mathematics Achievement of Spanish Students in Primary Education

Abstract

This study analyzes the effect of students' factors on mathematics achievement using die database from the TTMSS 2019 study. The sample comprises 9512 Spanish students of 4th grade (51.6% boys; 48.4% girls) from 535 schools. An Exploratory Factor Analysis (KMO=0.941 and significance level of Baitlett=0,000) was carried out on the 18 items of the student questionnaire. A 4-pornt Likert scale (l=Strongly disagree and 4= Strongly agree) was used to analyze students factors. A student's t-test, a multilevel model (student and school) and an Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were used. Three factors have been identified: attitude, anxiety and self-efficacy in mathematics. Results show that the number of books at home, the educational level of parents and the area where the school is located (rural/urban) have an influence on mathematics achievement. Girls experience more math anxiety than boys, although it has more effect on boys' performance. Further research is needed to account for the effect of factors on performance according to the school ownership.