Date of this Version In this action research study of my
classroom of 7th grade students, enrolled in Pre- Algebra (an
8th grade course), I investigated: rate of homework completion
when not taken as part of the academic grade, cognizant self-
assessment and its affect on mastery of objectives, and use of
self-assessment to guide instruction and re-teaching of
classroom objectives. I learned that without sufficient
accountability homework completion rates drop with time.
Similarly, students can be overconfident in their abilities but
unmoved when their summative reports do not match their initial
perceived formative benchmarks. Finally, due in part to our
society’s reactive nature; students find it more practical to
play catch-up rather than staying caught up. As a result of this
research, I plan to create, with the help of the students, an
accountability statute to help students stay caught up with
their understanding of the objectives, as well as allow
additional time and energy spent by both student and tea