Students approach mathematical problem solving in fundamentally different ways, particularly problems requiring conceptual understanding and complicated strategies. The main objective of this study is to compare students’ performance with different thinking styles (Field-dependent vs. Field independent) in mathematical problem solving. A sample of 242 high school males and females (17–18 years old) were tested based on the Witkin’s cognitive style (Group Embedded Figure Test) and by a math exam designed in accordance with Bloom’s Taxonomy of cognitive level. The results obtained indicated that the effect of field dependency on student’s mathematical performance was significant. Moreover, field-independent (FI) students showed more effective performance than field-dependent (FD) ones in math tasks. Male students with FI styles achieved higher results compared to female students with FD cognitive style. Moreover, FI students experienced few difficulties than FD students in Bloom’s Cognitive Levels. The implications of these results emphasize that cognitive predictor variables (FI vs. FD) could be challenging and rather distinctive factor for students’ achievement.

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