Mastery goals correlate positively (r = .17) and performance-avoidance goals negatively (r = −.17) with mathematics achievement, while performance-approach goals barely do¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · reviewr3·q3·i1small · n=30 meta-analyses, 66 correlations from 13,853 effect sizes (~4.66 million participants)
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
In Huang's (2011) meta-analysis, mastery goals correlate r = .17 with mathematics achievement, performance-approach goals .07 and performance-avoidance goals −.17 (k = 19 each). These are correlations compiled across meta-analyses: they describe how strongly the characteristic goes with mathematics achievement, not what causes it.
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i1 In Huang's (2011) meta-analysis, mastery goals correlate r = .17 with mathematics achievement, performance-approach goals .07 and performance-avoidance goals −.17 (k = 19 each). → Breit et al. 2025
Evidence¶
Breit et al. 2025¶
Breit, M., Schneider, M., & Preckel, F. (2025). Mathematics achievement and learner characteristics: A systematic review of meta-analyses. Learning and Individual Differences, 118, 102621. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102621
q3 · systematic review of meta-analyses · i1 · small effect, r = .17, .07, −.17 · n=30 meta-analyses, 66 correlations from 13,853 effect sizes (~4.66 million participants) · review · r3
The review compiles zero-order correlations from published meta-analyses (each with at least ten effect sizes, the largest one kept where several covered a variable), found by a systematic PsycINFO search in July 2024. It pools nothing further and controls for nothing: many of these characteristics correlate with one another, so a correlation here says how strongly the characteristic goes with mathematics achievement, not that it causes it. Mastery goals r = .17, performance-approach .07, performance-avoidance −.17, each on 19 effect sizes in mixed-age samples (Huang 2011).
Discussion¶
The ordering matches achievement-goal theory: mastery goals go with persistence and absorption in the task, avoidance goals with self-concern and anxiety. All three correlations are small.
Learner Variables¶
- Achievement Goal Orientation — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
Related Claims¶
- Mathematics achievement correlates more strongly with learners' knowledge, skills and cognitive abilities than with their personality traits, goals or emotions
- Learning and performance goal orientations are highly positively correlated and not mutually exclusive in adults — related
- Achievement goals show small consistent correlations with academic achievement, positive for approach goals and negative for avoidance goals — related
- Mathematics self-concept correlates strongly with mathematics achievement (r = .43), while verbal self-concept barely does (r = .12) — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
mastery-goals-correlate-positively-and-avoidance-goals-negatively-with-math-achievement |
title |
Mastery goals correlate positively (r = .17) and performance-avoidance goals negatively (r = −.17) with mathematics achievement, while performance-approach goals barely do |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2025 |
generated |
by claude/unspecified on 2026-10-16 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — breit-et-al-2025 |
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