Impact of Math Anxiety on Academic Performance in Pre-Calculus of Senior High School

Math anxiety is often associated with poor students’ performance in mathematics. This study analyzed the impact of math anxiety and the factors that caused the anxiety in pre-calculus of Senior High School Students taking Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Strand at Sorsogon State College, Sorsogon City. The research design utilized was descriptive- correlational. Eighty-eight (88) respondents out of one hundred eighty (180) students or two (2) out of four (4) sections from the Laboratory High School were randomly selected to take a math anxiety test. Among them, sixty-seven (67) students were found to have math anxiety. Results revealed further that there is a significant relationship between math anxiety and performance of students in pre-calculus. The Nature of the Subject, Student’s Factor and Parents Factor were the primary causes of the anxiety of the students. Anxiety-less workbook in pre-calculus was constructed based on the findings.

Keywords: Math anxiety, Performance, Impact, Pre-calculus, Senior high school