Homework journals' effect on homework completion for students in junior high school mathematics classes

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Homework Journals on the homework completion rates of basic math students. Seventy public school students across six sections of a basic seventh or eighth grade math class participated in the study, which was conducted during the third marking period of the 2000--2001 school year. Using a single-subject multiple baseline design (across groups), data were collected on the students' homework completion rates across an extended baseline phase and two intervention phases, consisting of homework journals with and without teacher feedback regarding homework completion. The intervention was implemented sequentially across the six classrooms, based on predetermined criteria for stability and trend. Data on interrater reliability and treatment integrity were collected. Reports indicate that homework journals were not consistently effective at increasing homework completion rates when class averages were compared across classrooms. Individual students' baseline scores were also tracked to determine the effectiveness for groups of students with high, medium or low baseline homework completion scores. Results indicate that the intervention had no impact on students who were already performing at high levels and the intervention was most effective with students who demonstrated low levels of baseline homework completion scores.