Factors influencing student mathematics achievement in the sixth-grade

In this study, four hypotheses were designed to identify the patterns of the following variables by gender of student: (1) student mathematics achievement, (2) student cognitive style, (3) student attitudes toward mathematics, and (4) both positive and negative teacher interactions with students. Another three hypotheses were designed to identify patterns of student mathematics achievement by student cognitive style, students' attitudes toward mathematics as a function of their mathematics teacher's attitudes toward mathematics, and the relationship between sixth graders' attitudes toward mathematics and their mathematics achievement.;The total population was 130 subjects including 125 sixth graders and their five mathematics teachers from three school districts in Pennsylvania. The research instruments included the Survey of Attitudes toward Mathematics (both student and teacher versions), the Group Embedded Figures Test, and the Checklist of Teacher Interactions with Students by Gender.;The analysis of the results on the three factors directly related to student mathematics achievement revealed that (1) there was no significant difference in mathematics achievement by gender, (2) there was a significant difference in mathematics achievement as a function of the variable of student cognitive style, and (3) student attitudes toward mathematics were weakly but positively correlated to their mathematics achievement.;The results of the statistical analysis of the indirectly but logically related hypotheses indicated that there were no significant differences by gender of student in cognitive style, attitudes toward mathematics, and teachers' negative interactions with students. There was no significant difference in the attitudes toward mathematics between sixth grade students as a function of attitudes toward mathematics of their mathematics teachers. However, a high significant difference was found in the positive interactions of teachers between girls and boys.;The results of this study were consistent with other research studies that found cognitive style, student attitudes toward mathematics, and socioeconomic status influence student mathematics achievement. But the results were not consistent with those studies that found a significant difference in mathematics achievement by gender at the sixth grade level.