Does the mathematics anxiety level of K--3 elementary teachers relate to the mathematics achievement of their students

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between student achievement on the third grade FCAT and the levels of math anxiety of the students' K-3 teachers. A secondary question was the relationship among teacher math anxiety, mean student achievement on the FCAT, years of teaching, highest level of math taken in high school and in college, preferred teaching method, and workshops taken.;Participants in this study were K--3 teachers in the six elementary schools of Hendry County, Florida. 45 Participants took the Math Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS) and 30 of these were interviewed as to their experience, levels of math taken in high school and college, teaching methods, and recent workshops. Student scores on the FCAT Math Test for the March 2003 testing were matched with their teachers' math anxiety levels. Those for which all four teachers were participants were analyzed with a linear regression analysis.;It was found that there was no statistically significant relationship between the student scores and their teachers' mathematics anxiety level, although the small number of matches may be the cause of non-significance. A correlation matrix of the interview items revealed statistically significant correlations between years of teaching and teacher mathematics anxiety, student achievement and teacher experience, with a negative correlation between student achievement and workshops taken. Methods of teaching showed no significant correlation with any of the other factors. Qualitative data from the interviews revealed that while statistical significance was not achieved, there may be relationships among the variables that affect student achievement.;There are questions raised by the results of this study, such as the seemingly contradictory non-significant correlation of mathematics methods with all other factors. The possibility is suggested that methods are chosen more from the influence of the pressures to do well on the high-stakes FCAT than what teachers would normally use. Other questions of methods and their likelihood of making students mathematics-anxious even as they raise scores are discussed.