The Effect of metacognition on mathematics achievement

According to the National Center of Education Statistics (2009), American students perform at a lower level of achievement than the nation expects of them. On the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the United States average mathematics score was 508 for eighth grade students. This is above the average of 500, but below five of the other 47 countries that participated. Chinese Taipei, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan had higher average scores than the United States. On the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the United States average score of 474 for 15 year olds. This is lower than the average of 498; American youth are in the lowest fourth of participating countries. They performed below 23 of the other 29 countries that are participated and are members of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Mathematics is important for the economic and technological future of the United States. Students need to be prepared for careers that require mathematics skills. President Obama, in his State of the Union address in 2011 said, "Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America's success…if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas, then we also have to win the race to educate our kids." The Business of Higher Education Forum (2011), found that only 17% of high school seniors are both interested in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics (STEM) and mathematically proficient. John Flavell developed the idea of metacognition in 1976. Study after study proved that "thinking about thinking" improves academic achievement. Metacognition relates well to the new Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice, which promote conceptual understanding, explanations of processes, and reasoning. Because "the sharp falloff in mathematics education in the U.S. begins as students reach late middle school" (U.S. Department of Education, 2008, p. xiii), this study aimed to determine if metacognitive routines in a middle school mathematics class would effect student achievement on a chapter test. Quantitative data was collected from middle school students in Northern California. Seventh grade mathematics students took a pre-test, post-test, and post post-test on solving equations. Students also completed a survey. One class was the experimental group, in which students participated in metacognitive routines. The other class was the control group, in which students did not participate in metacognitive routines. There was no significant difference in the test scores between the experimental and control groups. However, the experimental group's assessment of their confidence more accurately reflected their scores on the post post-test. This result corresponds with self-regulated learning, which includes metacognition. Other significant findings resulted when analyzing data by gender. Girls in the experimental group retained more knowledge than the boys on short answer questions. In the control group, girls were more confident, girls performed better on the talk to the equation question, and males performed better on the multiple-choice questions. Girls in the experimental group retained more knowledge than the girls in the control group on the short answer questions.