This study reports on the results of a survey of achievement goal orientations administered to a sample of 777 students enrolled in remedial and college-level mathematics courses at a community college. Results indicate that students' achievement goal orientations are consistent with adaptive learning patterns: Students are interested in developing competence, expect and believe they can handle challenging work, avoid self-handicapping behaviors, and exhibit a positive mathematics self-concept. However, interviews with faculty members teaching the courses in which the students were enrolled revealed that instructors had a more negative perspective. This discrepancy suggests that instructors might not be taking advantage of the high confidence and motivation to learn that their students bring to the mathematics classroom. (Contains 8 tables, 1 figure and 4 notes.)