Seminar: The effect of digital practice and parental involvement on math- and language performance of secondary students

Time: 13.00-14.00 hours
Location: CPB-office, Van Stolkweg 14, The Hague

Presentation: Carla Haelermans (TIER)

Discussant: Julian Slotman (CPB)

Language: English

Registration: Please register by sending an email to seminars@cpb.nl.

Abstract subject:
In this study we analyze two aspects: 1) the effect of using a digital homework practice tool for improving basic math and language skills of students in grade 7 to 9 in the Netherlands, and 2) the effect of parental involvement, by analyzing the use of an app in which parents can follow their child’s practice behavior in the digital homework tool, both using randomized field experiments at the individual level. The experiment ran one semester and included 3195 students in 3 schools in the Netherlands. After a pretest in September 2015, students wrote a posttest in January 2015. Half of the parents of these students were allowed to download the app, only half of them really did download, and only 80% of those actually used the app. A parental questionnaire for additional background information generated 27% response, of whom 30% had downloaded the app. Students were supposed to practice an hour per week with the tool, 30 minutes for math and 30 minutes for language. However, data on practice behavior shows that only 80% of students comply, that there is large variation in practice behavior, and that the average is not even near those 30 minutes. An IV-analysis to control for non-compliance and amount of practice shows that the effectiveness of the tool on the grade and track of the student. Practicing in easier domains such as numbers is more effective for 7th grade students, and practicing in more difficult domains such as relations is more effective for 9th grade students. Parental involvement via app-use positively affects practice behavior of 7th grade students, but negatively affects practice behavior of 9th grade students.

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