Student Motivation: The Connection to Improved Mathematical Achievement at the Secondary Level

This study’s purpose is to research motivational strategies and survey high school students in mathematics to determine student motivation toward attending an after school tutoring program. The research focuses on after-school tutoring programs at the secondary level and their effectiveness in demonstrating academic growth. This study evolved from measuring the effectiveness of tutoring to determining how to motivate students to attend, communicate with parents to support, and encourage staff to promote attendance to after school teacher led tutoring. This study and literature review covers four themes that connect current research on this topic. The methodology used for this study was a mixed methods approach of explanatory sequential design. Explanatory sequential design is composed of quantitative then qualitative data. Observations of tutoring took place, attendance sheets were reviewed, and staff, parents, and students were surveyed. Based on survey results, while parents and staff members stated they believe the same things about tutoring, the students' opinions were extremely varied from class to class. This study determined there is indeed a connection to motivation and student connectedness in implementing tutoring as a sustainable school-wide academic intervention program. The results showed that students with the most academic deficits have the least buy-in to tutoring and overall indifference to intervention and supports provided to them.