title: Metacognition and confidence: comparing math to other academic subjects.
abstract: Two studies addressed student metacognition in math, measuring confidence accuracy about math performance. Underconfidence would be expected in light of pervasive math anxiety. However, one might alternatively expect overconfidence based on previous results showing overconfidence in other subject domains. Metacognitive judgments and performance were assessed for biology, literature, and mathematics tests. In Study 1, high school students took three different tests and provided estimates of their performance both before and after taking each test. In Study 2, undergraduates similarly took three shortened SAT II Subject Tests. Students were overconfident in predicting math performance, indeed showing greater overconfidence compared to other academic subjects. It appears that both overconfidence and anxiety can adversely affect metacognitive ability and can lead to math avoidance. The results have implications for educational practice and other environments that require extensive use of math.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced Merced, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Shanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erickson
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced Merced, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Heit
keywords: confidence; math anxiety; math education; metacognition