Mathematics has been a problematic subject for K-12 students in the United States. The federal mandate of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was created to provide a system of accountability to public schools and school systems, while stressing the importance of teaching research-based lessons. Under NCLB, schools and school systems must demonstrate and maintain satisfactory scores on state-mandated standardized assessments. The state-mandated assessment in Georgia is the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). Similar to their peers nationally, many Georgia middle school students do not meet the state-mandated standards on the mathematics section of the CRCT. The purpose of the quantitative explanatory correlation study was to determine whether participation in a connections mathematics class resulted in an improvement in the subsequent mathematics CRCT scores for lower-performing students in a suburban Atlanta county. The study sample included students who participated in the connections class and those who did not. The null hypotheses were rejected based on the multiple regression results. Additionally, the interaction of the 6^th grade CRCT scores and participation in the connections class offered some explanation for the variance in the 7^th grade CRCT scores. Stepwise regression results indicated further study was warranted in examining the intervening variable of race/ethnicity as to its predictive value for the 7^th grade mathematics CRCT score. Educational leaders can utilize the results of the study to develop strategies to maximize student learning, better prepare students for state-mandated standardized tests, and conduct future research in evaluation of mathematics teaching strategies.