Exploring the Impact of Mentoring on Mathematical Academic Performance and Sense of School Connectedness

The purpose of this research project was to examine how a consistent and established mentoring program impacts students’ academic performance in elementary and middle school mathematics classes. Mentoring programs have been implemented in schools and communities to address socio-emotional, physical, and academic issues. Studies have shown that mentoring programs do have favorable effects in multiple facets of life and can have several benefits. However, some studies have also demonstrated no noted improvement due to a mentoring program specifically. Participants included students in third through eighth grade and were placed into one of two conditions: a control group who did not participate in mentoring and an intervention group who did engage in the mentoring activities. Students in third through eighth grade who engaged in one-on-one and group mentoring on a weekly basis. Results indicated that those who were in the intervention group outperformed those in the control group in a curriculum-based measure of mathematical academic performance. While preliminary, this study lends to the extant literature that supports the notion that mentoring, when targeted and specific, can provide bolstered support that positively impacts student learning.