Teacher expectations and students' achievement in solving elementary arithmetic problems

The objective of this research was to verify whether teacher expectations of students' achievement in mathematics in solving elementary arithmetic problems are related to students' performance in these problems. The sample was 1,420 students and 66 teachers from 48 schools in Spain. First, we assessed whether differences existed in the level of resolution among students, with regard to such factors as grade, gender, or socioeconomic status. We then evaluated teachers' level of expectations of students in relation to the same factors. Finally, we aimed to verify to what extent teachers' expectations corresponded to students' performance levels. It was found that there is a moderate correlation between expectations and achievement, and that expectations were greater than the results. A comparison is made with the results of previous studies.