Examining an Assessment Strategy on High School Mathematics Achievement: Daily Quizzes vs. Weekly Tests.

ABSTRACT The participants in this study were high school Hispanic students from four geometry classes. All students were taught by the same teacher, and the duration of the experiment was for one term or six weeks. Two classes were placed in the control group and another two classes in the experimental group. In the control group, students took weekly quizzes every Friday, and in the experimental group, students took daily short quizzes during the last 10 minutes of the class. The investigator examined whether the daily quizzes had a significant impact on student mathematics achievement as measured by the final exam. The researcher also examined whether daily quizzing had any effect on students' homework grades. The study found that daily quizzing significantly improved student mathematics scores and homework grades. In 2006, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed that American high school freshmen students lagged behind in mathematics among the 30 richest nations, which make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007). In the PISA program, American 15-year-old students ranked 23rd in mathematics with only four nations ranking below them. The literature has documented various strategies for improving high school mathematics test scores. One important factor that affects student learning is assessment (Van De Walle, 2004). Elton and Lauri I lard (1979) stated that the quickest strategy to increase student achievement is by implementing an effective assessment strategy, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has advocated the use of frequent assessment as a means for teachers to guide their instruction (NCTM, 1989), and they have suggested that assessment should occur in a classroom daily (NCTM, 1991). This study documents the effects of daily assessment on final exam scores and homework grades in high school mathematics classes. This study is important due to the lack of any research comparing the effects of daily quizzes versus weekly quizzes on minority students' mathematics achievement. The No Child left Behind Act advocates closing the gap between lower and higher achievement students in mathematics, and Hispanic students received one of the lowest scores in mathematics on state-mandated tests, SAT or ACT in the United States (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003). This study should provide insight into the role assessment in improving the mathematics achievement of Hispanic students. LITERATURE REVIEW Research on the effects of frequent testing on student achievement started in the 1920s (Deputy, 1929). A review of the literature revealed, however, that over 80% of studies on the effects of frequent quizzing focused on college students, with less than 20% having focused on elementary and secondary school students (Bangert-Drowns, Kulik, J. A., & Kulik, G. L. C, 1991). Previous researchers have, moreover, used definitions for" frequent" testing or quizzing, that ranged from administering tests more than once a semester, to tests once a week to daily quizzes. This section reviews literature that provides theoretical support for frequent assessment and then examines studies related to the effects of frequent assessment on high school mathematics achievement. THE IMPORTANCE OF FREQUENT ASSESSMENT Frequent testing has a mediating effect on student engagement. Research has shown when students are engaged in a lesson, students would academically outperform passive learners (Shirvani, 2007). Another research study showed that when frequency of testing increased then there would be an increase in involving students, responding to questions, and discussing reading materials (Marceli, 2008). Denham and Liberman (1980) found that engagement time is the second important factor, besides student ability, which affects student learning. In addition, a study found that student engagement and participation in the classroom discussion improved when the researcher implemented online web quizzing in a psychology class (Urtel, et al. …