According to Bandura’s (1997) social cognitive theory, self-efficacy is specific to context
and must be measured appropriately. For example, students might feel confident that they can
correctly solve systems of linear equations but lack confidence in their abilities to prove a
geometric theorem. In this situation, asking the students to rate their confidence in mathematics
generally could result in misleading responses. Bandura also suggested that self-efficacy should
be measured close to the time that the task would take place. This proximity helps students to
make more accurate judgments about their abilities than otherwise. With these guidelines for
measuring self-efficacy in mind, it is crucial to understand how researchers typically measure
mathematics self-efficacy.