PEER TUTORING: A STUDY OF ITS EFFECT ON MATHEMATIC ACHIEVEMENT AND ATTITUDE OF NINTH GRADE MATH I STUDENTS OF HARRISBURG HIGH SCHOOL (EXPERIMENTAL, INNER CITY, PENNSYLVANIA)

The purpose of this study was to assess the intervention effect of the peer tutoring program on the academic achievement and attitude towards math of ninth grade Math I students of Harrisburg High School. The study examines the relationship between peer tutoring and math achievement, the relationship between peer tutoring and attitude towards math. Specifically, the objective of this study was to answer the following questions: (1) Did students who received peer tutoring have higher achievement than those who did not? (2) Did students who received peer tutoring have a better attitude towards math than those who did not? (3) Was there a relationship between math achievement and attitude towards math? The methodology used for the study was the pretest-posttest experimental design. This allowed for detection of small, short term improvements. The t-test of difference for unmatched groups was used to analyze the differences in achievement and attitude between tutored and non tutored students. The Pearson\u27s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to determine if a relationship existed between achievement and attitude of the students who were tutored. The study increased the present existing empirical data relative to peer tutoring programs existing at the high school level using high school peer tutors in the academic area of mathematics. As a result of the statistical analysis, the following are major findings of the study: (1) There was a difference in the mean improvement of the peer tutored students versus the non peer tutored students in the mathematic achievement overall and in one teacher\u27s class, but the mean improvement was non significant. (2) There was a positive mean improvement in both tutored groups; however, there was a significant difference in the mean improvement of the peer tutored students versus the non peer tutored students in attitude towards mathematics overall and in one teacher\u27s class. (3) There was a weak, but non significant, correlation between mathematic achievement and attitude towards mathematics