Structural Regression Modelling of Relationship between Mathematics Achievement and Mathematical Reasoning Ability

Using the structural regression modelling technique, this study established the relationship between students’ mathematical achievement and mathematical reasoning ability as explained by the indicators of mathematical reasoning ability. Two hundred and eighty (280) Senior Secondary One (SSI) students drawn from population of ten thousand two hundred and eighty (10,280) from twelve (12) Senior Secondary Schools in the Taraba State, Nigeria participated in the study. The participants were randomly drawn from three (3) local government areas of Wukari, Donga and Ibi. The age of the participants ranges from 14-16 years (mean age = 15.20; standard deviation = 1.79). A 24-item Mathematics Reasoning Ability Test (MRAT) consists of a total of 12 subtests. Under each subtest, there are two items. Each item’s difficulty and discriminating indices varied from 0.37 to 0.70 and from 0.30 to 0.57, respectively. Every section’s reliability index fell between 0.69 and 0.81. A 36-item Attainment in Mathematics Test (AMT) with three sections was also administered to the participants. Each section’s reliability index was as follows: 0.71 for number and numeration, 0.76 for algebra, and 0.69 for geometry, using the Kuder Richardson 20 formula. Students’ MRAT and AMT scores were analyzed using LISREL version 8.88’s maximum likelihood estimations. The structural regression model’s results showed that success in mathematics reasoning ability consistently predicted success in mathematics achievement, and the four basic concepts—class, variable, order, and classification—were measures of mathematical reasoning ability. These findings revealed that mathematics reasoning ability predicted success in mathematics achievement. Therefore, it is important that teachers implement intervention programs to support students in strengthening their capacity for mathematical thinking and which would eventually raise their mathematical achievement.