Young, Black, and Anxious: Describing the Black Student Mathematics Anxiety Research Using Confidence Intervals

In this article, the authors provide a single group summary using the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS) to characterize and delineate the measurement of mathematics anxiety (MA) reported among Black students. Two research questions are explored: (a) What are the characteristics of studies administering the MARS and its derivatives to representative populations of Black students? (b) What is the 95% CI for the reported MA of Black students in the MARS literature? A literature search yielded 21 studies after inclusion criteria were applied. Analyses suggest that Black participants and their scores are not well represented in the current MA research using the most popular instrument the MARS. Based on available mean point estimate data, the reported MA of Black students can best be described as consistent across measurements, and population parameter estimates are between 200 and 220 on the MARS scale. Moreover, although substantial research in the area of MA exists, much work is needed to fully comprehend the nuances of Black MA and its influence on achievement in mathematics.