Homework and Student Achievement

WESTERN NEW ENGLAND
UNIVERSITY
ED 601 - 51: Research Methods
Summer Session

The Relationship Between Homework and Student
Achievement
Research Completed by Brian Morse

Focus
Primary: What is the relationship
between homework and student
achievement?
Secondary: Is there a greater
impact on student achievement
when completing homework
online vs. traditional pen and
paper assignments

Background
Homework policies have changed over the past 12 years
Some teachers continue to insist that homework be given
nightly while others have begun to soften on this stance
Many students have proven to be high achievers without
ever completing their homework
As the method of completing homework has changed, has
this also changed the impact that homework has on
achievement

Background
Research conducted at Abby Kelley
Foster Charter Public School
K-12 School
Worcester, MA
Research conducted in three different
Freshman US History I courses:
• College Fundamentals
• College Prep
• Honors

Methods
Groupings
Each class was divided into three equal groups:
1. No Homework
2. Traditional Pen and Paper Homework
3. Online Homework

Methods
Research would be broken into three weekly units
Each Friday - Weekly Assessment
Homework groups would receive homework on two of the
other nights during the week
Data would be collected on individual scores and averages for
each group

Methods
Pre-Assessment Questionnaires
Prior to each weekly assessment, students would complete a short questionnaire to gauge
students preparedness
Pretest Questions: Circle the best answer for each statement
1.I feel confident that I am prepared for this assessment.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
2.There were enough activities during the week to allow me to do well.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Data - Class D - Honors
Student
ASSESS-
1
ASSESS-
2
ASSESS-
3 Student
ASSESS-
1
ASSESS-
2
ASSESS-
3 Student
ASSESS-
1
ASSESS-
2
ASSESS-
3
1 89 78 78 10 89 100 94 19 83 83 94
2 83 78 78 11 89 94 89 20 89 89 83
3 89 83 94 12 100 94 94 21 83 94 83
4 83 94 83 13 83 89 89 22 67 72 94
5 78 83 89 14 89 83 89 23 100 83 94
6 94 83 100 15 78 78 83 24 94 94 94
7 67 78 67 16 78 83 83 25 83 100 78
8 78 67 78 17 89 94 94 26 100 94 94
9 83 94 94 18 89 83 89
Averages A-1 A-2 A-3
NONE 82.67 82.00 84.56
ONLINE 87.11 88.67 89.33
PEN 87.38 88.63 89.25
Overall 85.65 86.35 87.65

Data - Class D - Honors
100.00
87.50
75.00
62.50
50.00
Class D - Honors Level
NONE ONLINE PEN Overall

Data - Class A - College Prep
Student
ASSESS-
1 ASSESS-2 ASSESS-3 Student ASSESS-1 ASSESS-2 ASSESS-3 Student ASSESS-1 ASSESS-2 ASSESS-3
1 78 78 78 10 83 78 78 19 83 83 83
2 78 78 83 11 89 78 89 20 83 89 100
3 72 67 67 12 83 83 94 21 83 79 79
4 67 61 78 13 78 89 89 22 71 79 79
5 94 100 89 14 78 83 73 23 89 83 94
6 61 72 72 15 83 89 83 24 83 79 83
7 78 72 78 16 89 94 78 25 83 94 83
8 78 89 89 17 83 83 83 26 78 89 89
9 89 89 83 18 61 83 72
Averages
NONE 77.22 78.44 79.67
ONLINE 80.78 84.44 82.11
PEN 81.63 84.38 86.25
Overall 79.81 82.35 82.54

Data - Class A - College Prep
100.00
87.50
75.00
62.50
50.00
Class A - College Prep - Level 2
NONE ONLINE PEN OVERALL
Assessment 1 Assessment 2 Assessment 3

Data - Class C - College
Fundamentals
Student ASSESS-1 ASSESS-2 ASSESS-3 Student ASSESS-1 ASSESS-2 ASSESS-3 Student ASSESS-1 ASSESS-2 ASSESS-3
1 67 56 61 5 72 83 72 9 78 83 94
2 61 56 61 6 89 94 83 10 83 83 83
3 56 72 56 7 83 83 83 11 78 94 78
4 72 72 67 8 83 89 94 12 83 78 83
Averages A—1 A-2 A-3
NONE 64 64 61.25
ONLINE 81.75 87.25 83
PEN 80.5 84.5 84.5
Overall 75.41667 78.58333 76.25

Data - Class C - College
Fundamentals
100.
87.5
75.
62.5
50.
Class C - College Fundamentals - Level 3
NONE ONLINE PEN Overall
Assessment 1 Assessment 2

Data - Pretest Questionnaires
Pretest Question Responses
Question 1 – I feel confident that I am prepared for this assessment
Group No Homework Online Homework Pen and Paper Homework
strongly
agree agree disagree
strongly
disagree
strongly
strongly
disagree
strongly
strongly
disagree
Assessment 1
- Question 1 2 2 18 0 2 18 1 1 6 13 1 0
Assessment 2
- Question 1 1 2 16 2 4 18 0 0 5 13 2 0
Assessment 3
- Question 1 1 2 14 4 3 17 2 0 8 10 2 0
Average 1.33 2.00 16.00 2.00 3.00 17.67 1.00 0.33 6.33 12.00 1.67 0.00

Data - Pretest Questionnaires
Question 2 – There were enough activities during the week to allow me to do well.
Group No Homework Online Homework Pen and Paper Homework
strongly
strongly
disagree
strongly
strongly
disagree
strongly
strongly
disagree
Assessment 1
- Question 2 0 4 8 10 3 19 0 0 5 14 1 0
Assessment 2
- Question 2 0 2 2 18 4 18 0 0 8 12 0 0
Assessment 3
- Question 2 0 2 2 18 4 18 2 0 8 12 0 0
Average 0.00 2.67 4.00 15.33 3.67 18.33 0.67 0.00 7.00 12.67 0.33 0.00

Conclusions
Homework can have an impact on student achievement
The impact differs based on the level of student
The higher the level, the less the impact
Little difference between the means by which homework is
completed

Homework and Student Achievement

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