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The present study tested the learning avoidance model by examining the degree to which learning avoidance in various afterschool settings mediated the negative association between math anxiety and math achievement. Participants consisted of 207 third to sixth graders. Using a path model, findings showed that students’ math anxiety was negatively associated with both standardized math achievement test scores and parent-reported math school grades. Additionally, higher math anxiety was associated with more negative homework behaviors and less frequent participation in math-related extracurricular activities. Finally, the association between math anxiety and math achievement was partially mediated by negative math homework behaviors and participation in math extracurricular activities. Effort in math exam preparation did not contribute to explaining the association between math anxiety and math achievement. Overall, these findings support the learning avoidance model and suggest that avoidance behaviors in everyday learning in the afterschool setting may contribute to explaining the undesired math achievement among highly math anxious students. 

BackgroundMath anxiety (MA) and math achievement are generally negatively associated. AimsThis study investigated whether and how classroom engagement behaviors mediate the negative association between MA and math achievement. SampleData were drawn from an ongoing longitudinal study that examines the roles of affective factors in math learning. Participants consisted of 207 students from 4th through 6th grade (50% female). MethodsMath anxiety was measured by self‐report using the Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Children (Chiu & Henry, 1990,Measurement and valuation in Counseling and Development, 23, 121). Students self‐reported their engagement in math classrooms using a modified version of the Math and Science Engagement Scale (Wang et al., 2016,Learning and Instruction, 43, 16). Math achievement was assessed using the Applied Problem, Calculations, and Number Matrices subtests from the Woodcock‐Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (Schrank et al., 2014,Woodcock‐Johnson IV Tests of Achievement. Riverside). Mediation analyses were conducted to examine the mediating role of classroom engagement in the association between MA and math achievement. ResultsStudents with higher MA demonstrated less cognitive‐behavioral and emotional engagement compared to students with lower MA. Achievement differences among students with various levels of MA were partly accounted for by their cognitive‐behavioral engagement in the math classroom. ConclusionsOverall, students with high MA exhibit avoidance patterns in everyday learning, which may act as a potential mechanism for explaining why high MA students underperform their low MA peers.