Mathematics Anxiety and Academic Performance: A Statistical Analysis of Urban–Rural Differences among Secondary School Students in North-East India

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between mathematics anxiety and academic performance among secondary school students across urban and rural areas in North-East India. A total of 2,600 students from ten government schools were selected through stratified random sampling. Standardized instruments have been used to measure the mathematics anxiety, self-efficacy and attitude towards mathematics. Further, mathematics scores in the previous academic year and the socio-economic background of the students have been collected. Statistical analysis t-tests, Pearson correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression have been used to examine the group differences and to predict the relationships. Results revealed that urban students had significantly lower mathematics anxiety (M = 58.53) and higher performance (M = 63.27) compared to the rural students (M = 60.76; M = 60.89), though the effects were minimal. It has been observed that Mathematics anxiety correlated negatively with achievement (r = –0.38, p < 0.001), while self-efficacy and attitude correlated positively (r = 0.46, r = 0.33; p < 0.001). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that self-efficacy and attitude variables together explained 47% of the variance in performance, while demographic factors contributed only a negligible amount of predictive power. The findings highlight the central role of emotional and motivational factors in shaping mathematics achievement, underscoring the importance of anxiety-reduction and confidence-building initiatives, especially for rural learners.