The Relationship Between Student Resiliency and Math Achievement

The educational environment today is filled with stressors. The consequences of high-stakes testing can have an extraordinary impact on all students, particularly minority and low-socioeconomic students. Yet, there is always the student, when faced with adversity, who does not lose hope. Resilient children are those who thrive under conditions of poverty, racism, family psychiatric illness, family alcoholism, or abuse. Building resilient students can have a positive impact on achievement; and the school is one of the best places to aid students in building the assets that allow them to bounce back from adversity. This study examines the relationship of resiliency to math achievement and gives the educator concrete ideas for building resilient students. The correlation of resiliency with math achievement may help teachers, principals, and superintendents create school environments that help protect students from the risks they face on a daily basis, while increasing their achievement in schools.