Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 1

The Homework Hypothesis: Will changing how homework is

graded increase student retention, mathematical confidence, and exam scores?

Tracy Lynn La Van

Truman State University

Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 2

Table of Contents

Abstract ............................................................................................................................................3

Introduction ......................................................................................................................................4

Literature Review.............................................................................................................................5

Methods............................................................................................................................................6

Results ..............................................................................................................................................9

Discussion ......................................................................................................................................11

Limitations .....................................................................................................................................12

Future Implications ........................................................................................................................13

References ......................................................................................................................................14

Appendix A: Pre-Attitude Survey..................................................................................................15

Appendix B: Post-Attitude Survey ................................................................................................16

Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 3

Abstract

This study examined the effects of changing homework grading from grading for accuracy every

day to grading a daily assignment for completion and a weekly assignment for accuracy and

whether this change in grading and collecting homework increased retention of the material,

increased the students confidence level in mathematics and boosted exam scores. The study

focused on two classes of high school Algebra II students. Pre-existing exam scores were

compared with exam scores obtained during the study. Pre- and Post-Attitude Surveys were

collected from all students. The results of the study failed to reject the null hypothesis that

changing how homework was graded did not affect retention, confidence or exam scores overall.

However, when looking at a subgroup of the sample (those students who normally scored below

90% on exams), the results did reject the null hypothesis.

Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 4

THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS: WILL CHANGING HOW HOMEWORK IS GRADED

INCREASE STUDENT RETENTION, MATHAMTICAL CONFIDENCE, AND EXAM

SCORES?

Homework is an important part of the learning process. Homework is a broad term that

encompasses several types of activities that vary in length. Homework may or may not be taken

for a score. A question that arises is whether homework should be taken as a formative

assessment for student feedback or a summative assessment for a grade, or a combination of the

two? However, as seen by Wilson (1994), what students deem worthy of effort and worth their

time is what is put into the grade book.

Grading can be based on completion whether or not the student attempted to complete

the problem or on accuracy whether or not the student correctly completed the problem. The

purpose of this research study is to determine whether changing homework grading from grading

for accuracy every day to grading a daily assignment for completion and a weekly assignment

for accuracy will increase retention of the material, the students confidence level in themselves,

or self-efficacy, and ultimately exam scores.

Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 5

Literature Review

Almost any teacher would agree that homework in the classroom is important, especially

in mathematics. Much like a musician practices for a concert or a football player practices for a

game, homework acts as practice for learning.

Teachers should make sure that students understand the concepts and can solve a few

problems before sending them off to pursue homework on their own. Doing so can reduce the

amount of time it takes the student to complete an assignment; not understanding a topic leads to

longer time spent on homework and ultimately a decrease in mathematical achievement

(Kitsantas, Cheema, & Ware, 2011). However, with understanding comes mathematical

confidence in oneself (self-efficacy). The teacher should be able to help the student to the point

that the student feels able to complete their assignments (Kitsantas, Cheema, & Ware, 2011).

Although called homework, in most schools, students are able to complete some of

their homework in class. Some teachers allow students to complete all of their homework in class

for fear that if it is not completed in class, then it will not be completed at all (Stern, 1993).

There is no significant evidence whether or not work done in-school is more, less or equally as

effective as out-of-school work (Timothy, Christine, & Jodene Goldsenring, 2004). However,

there is evidence that frequent, shorter assignments may be more effective for learning than

infrequent longer ones (Trautwein et al., 2002).

There is controversy as to whether or not homework should be graded and included in a

students class grade. The United States is the leader in the world for how much homework

teachers include in a students grade (Vatterott, 2011). One argument for grading homework is

that if it is not graded, students will not value the homework. A high school in Texas saw a

decline in midterm grades when they abolished graded homework in their classrooms. The
Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 6

school found that students did not realize how practicing homework prepared them for exams

(Vatterott, 2011). Others argue that grading homework blurs the line between formative

assessments (not graded, used for feedback) and summative assessments (graded, used to

demonstrate knowledge gained over a subject). Still others argue that if homework is to be

graded it should be separated into two categories: formative homework and summative

homework, where formative homework assessments are not factored into a students grade

(Vatterott, 2011).

Many of the studies cited above focused on whether or not homework improved

achievement or whether it should be formative or summative. Instead of debating about which

side was right or wrong, what if we combine both theories on homework into one? The purpose

of this research project was to see what happened if students were given a formative assessment

in which they received credit for merely completing still receiving points for the assignment

will encourage them to value the assignment, but students will not be penalized for incorrect

answers and then given a summative assessment over the same material to see if they had

achieved the learning objectives. The study also looked into whether the two pieces together

helped to promote mathematical confidence and whether having a chance to correct mistakes

made on the formative assessment before completing the summative assessment increased

overall retention of the material and ultimately if it boosted exam scores.

Method

Participants

Data was collected from two sections of Algebra II, referred to as 1st Hour and 2nd

Hour. The Algebra II classes consisted of twenty seven students: six sophomores, seventeen

juniors and four seniors. One junior required special modifications to his course work which
Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 7

included extended time on exams and on homework. Typically, at this school, students take

Algebra II as juniors. Those sophomores in the class had excelled in mathematics in the past and

the seniors either took Pre-Algebra as freshman or were taking Algebra II for a second time.

At the beginning of the year, the students received a syllabus that stated the purpose of

homework in Algebra II was to give students practice with a new skill or to reinforce a skill, to

give students extension or enrichment of classroom instruction, to give students feedback on

whether or not they understand the new skill and to give the teacher feedback on student

performance. All students were provided with informed assent documents for themselves and

consent documents for their parents. Students were informed of the voluntary nature of the study

and no students declined to participate. This study was approved by the Institutional Review

Board at Truman State University.

Procedures

Students first filled out an attitude survey (Appendix A) that asked them to rank their

personal feelings on a Likert scale that ranged from 1 to 10 on how they felt about their

mathematical confidence, how they felt homework currently prepares them for exams, how they

felt they performed on exams and homework, and how satisfied they were with how homework

is graded in class. A follow up survey (Appendix B) was given at the end of the study asking the

students the same questions, except the last question was how satisfied they were with the new

way homework was graded in class. Students were also offered the opportunity to provide any

additional comments at the end of both surveys. The pre- and post-survey data was compiled and

tested for statistically significant difference with a one-tailed dependent t-test at a 95%

confidence level.
Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 8

The daily, smaller homework assignment for completion was assigned at the end of the

lesson and checked at the beginning of class the next day. The daily homework assignment was

referred to as the practice. The practice homework is meant to be a formative assessment for

both teacher and students to see what needs to be done to correct or improve their performance.

Students received 5 completion points for successfully completing their practice homework, even

if their answers were incorrect. In order to maintain appropriate effort levels on the practice,

students had to complete every problem in the set assigned and show all of their work to get the

completion points. Solutions for the practice were either read aloud or posted on the interactive

whiteboard. Students proceeded to check their own homework, write down the correct answers

and then asked questions if they did not understand why they had an incorrect answer. The

number of missed questions was recorded by the teacher for data, but did not affect students

grades.

A larger assignment that accumulated throughout the week was checked on Monday

morning by the student and verified by the teacher. The larger assignment was referred to as

homework. The homework assignment was meant to serve as a summative assessment. Again,

solutions were either read aloud or posted on the interactive whiteboard, the students checked

their own homework, and the students wrote down the correct answers to their incorrect

solutions, but this time the assignment was scored for accuracy if a student missed a question,

they missed a point on the assignment. Averages of how many correct out of many assigned

were taken for both completion assignments and accuracy assignments to see if there was any

significant difference between the two.

Exam scores collected during the study were averaged and compared against exam scores

throughout the year to see if there was any notable difference in their quality. All exams were
Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 9

paper and pencil based assessments that assessed the key objectives from the lessons covered.

All exams consisted of questions and directions that were similar in style to which was found in

the homework.

Results

The null hypothesis for this research study was that there is no difference in the way

homework is graded; whereas, the research hypothesis was that changing how homework was

graded will increase exam performance and self-confidence in the students mathematical

abilities. The first piece of information examined was whether or not exam performance

improved. A one-tailed t-test for dependent samples was used with a significance level of

p=0.05. Table 1 shows the data used to calculate the t-value. The table was arranged from the

highest pre-research exam average to the least. The value needed to reject the null hypothesis

was 1.706. The value obtained was t(26)=0.993, p<0.05. Thus, the null hypothesis could not be

rejected and therefore the change in grading cannot be shown to increase exam scores.

One point worthy of noting is that a general pattern formed within the data. The students

who scored well on exams before implementing the change in how homework was assigned

(scoring on average 90% or above) were the students who the changed seemed to hurt the most

(the students with a negative difference in Table 1). The students whose exam scores averages

were below a 90% seemed to have benefited from the homework change (scores with positive

differences in Table 1). Another t-Test was administered on those 18 students who were not

originally averaging a 90% or above on exams. The value needed to reject the null hypothesis

was 1.734. The value obtained was t(18)=3.115, p<0.05, allowing us to reject our null hypothesis.
Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 10

Table 1: Exam Averages Used for t-Test

Exam Average Before Exam Average After Difference Difference2

113.02 104.92 -8.10 65.61
105.33 103.28 -2.05 4.19
101.18 100.00 -1.18 1.40
100.00 83.61 -16.39 268.74
100.00 98.36 -1.64 2.69
99.41 96.72 -2.69 7.22
95.27 85.25 -10.02 100.41
91.72 90.16 -1.55 2.41
89.35 83.61 -5.74 32.98
89.35 93.44 4.09 16.76
86.39 86.89 0.49 0.24
85.80 90.16 4.37 19.05
85.19 98.36 13.18 173.59
84.62 85.25 0.63 0.40
83.43 95.08 11.65 135.72
82.84 85.25 2.41 5.79
78.11 85.25 7.14 50.97
76.92 70.49 -6.43 41.36
76.33 86.89 10.55 111.38
70.41 78.69 8.27 68.46
63.91 73.77 9.87 97.32
61.54 57.38 -4.16 17.32
60.95 68.85 7.91 62.50
60.36 62.30 1.94 3.76
60.36 73.77 13.42 179.97
56.80 59.02 2.21 4.89
Sum 2158.56 2196.72 38.16 1475.15
Mean 83.02 84.49 1.47 56.74

The next piece of information examined was whether the students confidence levels in

mathematics improved. Table 2 shows the average Likert scale scores collected from the student

pre- and post-attitude surveys (shown in Appendix A and Appendix B). On average, students

rated that their mathematical confidence (question 1) higher on the post-survey. Question 2 asked

whether or not the students felt their homework prepared them for exams. Question 3 had the
Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 11

biggest difference from pre- to post-survey students felt they did better on exams on the post-

survey. Question 4 reflected how students felt they performed on their homework and question 5

addressed whether or not students were satisfied with how homework was graded in class.

Question 5 was the only average that went down when compared with the pre-survey, possibly

indicating that students would rather have daily accuracy homework than daily completion

assignments with a weekly accuracy assignment.

Table 2: Averages from Attitude Surveys (Using a Ten Point Likert Scale)

Pre-Attitude Survey Post-Attitude Survey Difference

Question 1 6.58 6.82 0.24
Question 2 7.23 7.61 0.38
Question 3 6.52 7.07 0.55
Question 4 6.35 6.50 0.15
Question 5 7.48 7.25 -0.23

Discussion

The null hypothesis that changing how homework is graded will not increase student

retention, exam scores or mathematical confidence was accepted. The results prior to

implementing the change were very similar to the results after the change and thus there was not

enough significant statistical evidence to reject the null hypothesis. As shown from the pre- and

post-surveys, the data leans towards student preference for how homework was originally

graded. This slight preference could be a result of students waiting until Sunday night to do the

majority of their accuracy homework assignment. Although students were encouraged to do their

homework shortly after their practice was checked, several students admitted to waiting until the

night before the homework was due to work on it.

The fact that 15 out of 18 students who were originally averaging below a 90% on exams

improved after the change in homework is something that cannot be overlooked. Although this

approach was not statistically rigorous, exploring this subgroup uncovered an unexpected trend.
Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 12

The second t-Test that was run indicated that we could reject our null hypothesis that the

homework change did not affect anything. It is possible that implementing a practice homework

set for completion before the homework graded for accuracy is benefiting the majority of

students by providing a type of instructional scaffolding or reinforcement, allowing the students

to practice the same skills multiple times before their exams. Although students received the

same quantity of homework as before the study, it was spread out over two days.

Why the top eight performing students were a counter-trend became the next question of

importance. It is not known whether the top eight were a count-trend because the sample size

was small or because of another reason. Potential reasons include the possibility that since the

students were already scoring high on exams, their scores did not have as much room to improve

or factors not relating to the research such as life events that happened outside of school.

Dale Carnegie said, The first way, the last way, the never-failing way to develop self-

confidence in speaking is to speak (Carnegie, 1991). This study hoped to show the same for

mathematics: The way to develop self-confidence in mathematics is to practice doing

mathematics. An increase in mathematical confidence was not significantly evident from the data

collected; although, on average, students rated their confidence level 0.24 higher on a scale from

1 to 10. This small of an increase is most likely due to the fact that the research took place over a

short amount of time and did not allow ample time to impact students pre-conceived notions

about the confidence levels in mathematics.

Limitations

There are several limitations with this study including sample size, the amount of data

collected, and the amount of time the data was collected. The sample size for the research was

considerably small, consisting of 26 students, and the sample consisted entirely of Caucasian
Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 13

adolescences from a small rural community. Having such a small sample size increases the risk

for a Type II error (accepting a false hypothesis) with the t-Tests; having a larger sample size

would decrease the chance of a Type II error. An important point to consider is that the exam

scores were compared with previous exams scores in the year. The content on each exam was

different and difficulty levels of the material were not taken into account. Generally, in a high

school mathematics course the material builds on itself, so if a student does not understand the

content present on one exam, he or she may struggle on the next exam as well. Data was also

only collected for about five weeks and it is hard to boost a students confidence in oneself in

such a short amount of time. It would have been more beneficial to look at a students confidence

level over the course of an entire year.

Future Implications

Since there was no statistical significance in exam scores until the top eight students were

removed, it may prove fruitful to further explore the questions present in this study. Exploring

this research question with a larger group of students would be beneficial to further explore the

counter-trend present in this study. It may also be beneficial to perform this study in an urban

area with a bigger sample size to see if environment plays a factor. It would be valuable to

consider how changing the way homework is graded may benefit the students not already scoring

in the top percent of the class as a type of differentiated instruction. The best solution may be for

students to be able to choose which method of homework they prefer; although, this may be too

stressful on the classroom teacher to keep track of all of the scores. How homework should be

graded and implemented in the classroom has long been a topic of debate in the educational

realm, future research into the topic should continue to steer us towards what is most helpful for

students in order to learn in the most efficient and effective manner.

Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 14

References

Carnegie, D. (1991). How to develop self-confidence and influence people by public speaking.

New York, NY: Pocket Books.

Kitsantas, A., Cheema, J., & Ware, H.W. (2011). Mathematics achievement: The role of

homework and self-efficacy beliefs. Journal Of Advanced Academics, 22(2), 310-399.

Timothy, Z., K., Christine, D., & Jodene Goldsenring, F. (2004). Longitudinal effects of in-

school and out-of-school homework on high school grades. School Psychology Quarterly,

19(3), 187-211.

Stern, G. (1993, October 11). Kids homework may be going to the way of the dinosaur. Wall

Street Journal, pp. B1, B8.

Trautwein, R., Kller, O., Schmitz, B. & Baumert, J. (2002). Do homework assignments enhance

achievement? A multilevel analysis in 7th-grade mathematics. Contemporary Educational

Psychology, 27, 26-50.

Vatterott, C. (2011). Making homework central to learning. Educational Leadership, 69(3), 60-

64.

Wilson, L. (1994). What gets graded is what gets valued. Mathematics Teacher. 87(6), 412-14.
Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 15

Appendix A

Pre-Attitude Survey

1. How would you rate your level of mathematical confidence on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being
very confident and 1 being not confident at all?

2. How do you feel the homework currently prepares you for your exams on a scale of 1 to 10,
with 10 being very prepared and 1 being not prepared at all?

3. How do you feel you currently perform on exams on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being perform
very well and 1 being not very well?

4. How do you feel you currently perform on the homework on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being
very well and 1 being not very well?

5. How satisfied are you currently with the way homework is graded in class on a scale of 1 to 10,
with 10 being very satisfied and 1 being not satisfied at all?

Any additional comments:

Running Head: THE HOMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 16

Appendix B

Post-Attitude Survey

1. How would you rate your level of mathematical confidence on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being
very confident and 1 being not confident at all?

2. How do you feel the homework currently prepares you for your exams on a scale of 1 to 10,
with 10 being very prepared and 1 being not prepared at all?

3. How do you feel you currently perform on exams on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being perform
very well and 1 being not very well?

4. How do you feel you currently perform on the homework on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being
very well and 1 being not very well?

5. Compared to the way homework use to be collected and graded, how satisfied are you with the
new way homework is graded in class on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being very satisfied and 1
being not satisfied at all?

Any additional comments: