Third-Grade Students’ Poor Performance on the Math Section of the Stanford Achievement Test at Chapel Hill Elementary School: An Instrumental Exploratory Qualitative Single-Case Study

The purpose of this instrumental exploratory qualitative single-case study was to explore the understanding of the principal, teachers, and parents related to the poor performance on the math section of the Stanford Achievement Test and the related factors of self-determination and self-efficacy of third-grade students in a private Christian elementary school in a city (pseudonym, Chapel Hill) in the Western United States. The theory guiding this study was Bandura\u27s social cognitive theory, which is the foundation of self-determination theory, academic self-efficacy, and school-related parental monitoring. This case study contained a purposeful sample of ten participants (one principal, four teachers, and five parents). Although the themes of professional development, mathematics performance, and student learning were prevalent for teachers, paren-ting was primarily applicable to parents. Positive psychology was present for all participants. The cultural environment influenced and was linked to all other themes. The findings indicated that poor performance was related to students lacking motivation in third grade to learn math and maintain their skills successively in elementary school. Possible causes of these findings were inadequate synchronized effort between teachers and parents and a lack of student discipline despite math drills offered in the curriculum enforced by rules and supported by manipulatives. Parents needed to dedicate themselves more adequately to student learning. The influence of the cultural environment had implicitly adverse effects on student regulation and academic achievement. Suggestions were given on how teachers, parents, and educational policymakers can leverage self-determination and self-efficacy-related theories to help them improve students\u27 learning outcomes. Implications for educational (reform) policies were given