Factors Predicting Girls' and Boys' Enrollment in College Preparatory Mathematics

Students ( n = 337) tested in the eighth grade were followed up in the eleventh grade to see what courses in the college preparatory math sequence they had elected. Discriminant analyses for girls and boys were performed on the test scores, predicting those electing one, two, three, or four years of college preparatory math. Scores included math achievement (SRA Math Concepts), vocabulary (Cognitive Abilities Test), spatial visualization (Differential Aptitude Test) and the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales II. For girls, the standardized weights of the discriminant function were highest for vocabulary, Confidence in Learning Mathematics, Attitude toward Success in Math, and Effectance Motivation in Mathematics. For boys, they were highest for Confidence in Learning Mathematics, vocabulary, perceived Attitude of Father toward One as a Learner of Mathematics, and Math Concepts. Consistent with results of a previous study, the Confidence in Learning Mathematics Scale emerged as a powerful discriminator of groups differing in mathematics enrollment behavior. Spatial visualization skill was a more important discriminator for females than for males.