August 19, 2008
More Math Homework Does Not Help Average Achievers Increase Test Scores
Does extra homework help students achieve better scores on math tests? It works differently depending on the kind of student, a study from researchers at the State University of New York at Binghamton and the University of Nevada has found.
In a paper published in the July issue of The Econometrics Journal, the researchers said that giving additional homework is most effective for high and low achievers, but it has a lesser impact on the math test scores for average achievers.
Pushing high-achieving students harder might be beneficial for them, as well as giving extra homework to low-performing pupils who might have been not challenged enough, the researchers found.
“But for the average achieving classes, who may have been given too much homework in an attempt to equate them with the high achieving classes, educators could be better served by using other methods to improve student achievement,” said Daniel Henderson, an associate professor of economics at Binghamton University, in a university news release.
The researchers, who used data from a large study of eighth-grade students conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics, said their findings might interest those schools that are trying to help their students pass state-mandated tests by increasing their homework load. —Maria José Viñas
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Hear, hear! Good to know the evidence backs up anecdotal examples in my own family. In general math homework can be “de-motivational” and quite difficult if the student has great difficulty with it and no one to ask for assistance. I expect “the average parent” isn’t qualified to teach math and while I can assist with homework and think I know when to call a tutor into the situation, this doesn’t allieviate the difficulty children can have doing the work and getting confused when they do. I suppose we are all subject to this type of situation at one time or another; it is regrettable it results in the attitude that “I cannot do math,” in children.
— CJP Aug 20, 06:52 AM #
The idea that more work will raise test scores is a widely held belief. Our children are given so much homework, and not only does it not help, it destroys a love of school and learning. I am thrilled that there is research to back up what teachers and parents see every single day. Now, if only administrators and politicians will read and follow what the research tells us.
www.family-homework-answers.com
— Angela Norton Tyler Aug 20, 09:16 AM #
The math teacher I had for three years in high school never assigned homework, at least not for her “gifted” classes. It worked for me.
It seems like “thinking,” rather than repetition, is the key.
— Fred Aug 20, 09:20 AM #
Thank goodness. I remember the old rule of half an hour per grade level of homework… but when I was in 12th grade, I’d be up into the wee hours of the morning because I had at least 5 hours worth of homework – on top of band practice… when you get home at almost 6pm after band practice/clubs/whatever meetings, and have to get up at 5:30 am to catch the bus to school… that doesn’t leave you much time to sleep if you have 4-5 hours of homework a night – and that’s if you understand it well.
Much of the time, if I had trouble with it, I’d toss it aside and say “I can’t do this, I don’t get it, and I don’t have time to deal with it”. … Which was most often Math. The more homework assigned, the less I cared, and the worse I did.
Sometimes more work isn’t the answer.
Thank goodness research is backing up what students have been trying to say, parents have been trying to say, for years.
— KM Aug 20, 09:58 AM #
These kind of researches can backup any theory they want to. Personally, I found HW to be very helpful in increasing my understanding to handle a variety of problems —I always scored A+ in math. However, I did not have the pressure of band practice because that was not my primary focus, academic achievement was. As long as students do the HW with their effort (not copying from some one), it always helps their improve grades.
— Sam Aug 20, 10:34 AM #
I don’t understand the meaning of “achiever” in this context. Does the term refer to intelligence, motivation, or something else? One of the study’s authors refers also to ability. I’d appreciate any explanation by commenters.
— wm Aug 20, 10:36 AM #
I wonder if this is true for other areas of study. I know of a number of folks who stuggle with homework night-after-night without seeing any real improvement.
— Emmett Aug 20, 10:48 AM #
Math tests (and any other problem-solving tests) require the student to know the order of specific steps. Overall, homework improves performance. You will see a greater improvement in performance based on the student’s ability to moderate anxiety.
If we look to the relationship between performance and anxiety (Yerkes-Dodson Law: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerkes-Dodson_law) we know that low-anxiety and high anxiety are least likely to perform well.
It looks like the students who are “high achievers” or “low achievers” are going to be at the extremes and will need extra practice to moderate the effects of anxiety. The “moderate achievers” are probably in the moderate anxiety zone and are in a good position to learn the material and retain it and so just a few passes through with examples will likely be enough for them.
— Nathan Aug 20, 12:08 PM #
I guess I am a terrible math teacher. I do not know how anyone can learn how to work math problems without the practice inherent in homework. Sure, it is possible to assign too much, but too little is devastating.
— Math professor Aug 20, 12:14 PM #
In my day high school homework in math or otherwise was mostly busy work, over-emphasizing rote solution, doing little to reinforce concepts, and seldom introducing new ideas. I doubt that has changed. College was an intellectual awakening for me. Topics were covered exactly once and assignments were not only fewer but much more meaningful. I ended up majoring in math simply because the courses provided an intellectual challenge and eschewed drudgery. It undoubtedly helped that every single math teacher I had in college was a competent mathematician.
For the pace of a typical high school math class, I suspect an average of no more than 30 minutes worth of assignments per night is sufficient … perhaps given as a problem set at the beginning of the week, designed for the average student to complete in a couple of hours total. For those on the low end, supplemental “practice” problems for concept reinforcement are appropriate. For those on the high end, supplemental “challege” problems for concept extension are appropriate. Of course, that demands we figure out how to develop effective teachers in K-12 mathematics, something in short supply for at least the past 50 years.
— CW Aug 20, 12:58 PM #
The problem with math homework and that in many other disciplines it is difficult to determine what is enough. If a student completes 5 long division problems correctly, how many more are needed to insure that he/she has mastered long division? Too often homework is given and feedback, which is essential, is nonexistent or marginal. Indeed, practice is needed, but when does the activity become a mindless drill?
— JDS Aug 20, 02:13 PM #
fuck this
— fff Sep 18, 01:47 PM #