Reliability and Validity of Mathematics Anxiety Scale for High School Students

Abstract

This study evaluates the factorial structure of the Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Students (MASS) using data from 1,272 high school students. To this end, we used the mathematical anxiety rating scale for middle and high school students developed by Ko and Yi (2011). An exploratory factor analysis of the response data from the first sample (636 students) eliminated 31 of the 65 items of the original MASS, generating the MASS-Short Version (MASS-SV), a mathematical anxiety scale for high school students with four factors-mathematical problem solving, mathematical learning methods, mathematics test, and mathematics class. A confirmatory factor analysis of the MASS-SV using the responses of the second sample (636 students) revealed that the model fit indices were acceptable and did not differ significantly from those of the original MASS. The MASS-SV derived from this study is a valid and reliable mathematical anxiety measurement tool for high school students; it also helps the students save time and provide quality responses. Future research on the progress of math anxiety in students should identify trends in math anxiety or the relationship between variables such as achievement, attitude toward mathematics, and career path in relation to math anxiety.

Keywords

• mathematical anxiety scale
• exploratory factor analysis
• confirmatory factor analysis
• reliability
• validity