Some variables related to the problem solving achievement of third year high school students

This study determines the relationship between the problem-solving ability of third year high school students and their (1) attitude towards Mathematics, as well as (2) cognitive skills in doing the task. The research went further by investigating if a difference was significant in the problem-solving ability of students who had opposite profiles in verbal and numerical abilities. Among the cognitive skills investigated were: (1) reading comprehension ability, (2) logical reasoning, (3) spatial visualization, (4) general mental ability. The result of the study showed that significant correlations were manifested between the students\u27 problem-solving achievement and the following variables, as taken singly or collectively. These variables were the following: (1) average grade of previous Mathematics subject (2) attitude towards Mathematics and (3) cognitive abilities such as reading comprehension, logical reasoning, space visualization, and mental ability. Numerical ability, logical reasoning, mental ability, and previous Mathematics grades were good predictors of problem-solving achievement. There was a significant difference in the problem-solving achievement of (1) students with high verbal ability but with low numerical ability, and (2) those with low verbal ability but high numerical ability. The latter performed better than the former