Why your child gets 100% on their math homework but performs poorly on tests and quizzes.

Your child has been finishing their math homework everyday and has been getting 100% on it. They felt good and the school work was easy. You were happy, looking forward to seeing a good, solid test score. A lot of children struggle with math but your child seemed to be doing great! Until this week. Your child brought in a D. You were shocked. How is that possible? How can you do so well on homework and bomb a test? Unfortunately, this is a fairly common issue that a lot of students struggle with. Below are several causes of this situation that we see occur very often.

Disconnect between homework and test levels

Some teachers, especially in AP and Honors classes, believe that they are to teach children the fundamental concepts and the students should put those concepts together on their own and (somehow) learn how to use them. They assign generic homework at an intermediate level and then test students on problems at a much higher level of difficulty. Children, having never seen the higher-level problems before, and with no way of being prepared for them, perform poorly. (how can you blame them?)

Time pressure, environment and lack of confidence gives your child test anxiety.

Your child can finish their homework while watching TV, with the textbook and notes open, while checking solutions online, sipping on hot chocolate – in a relaxed atmosphere. Tests, on the other hand, are taken with no textbook, no notes, under time pressure that triggers kids’ anxiety, where they only get 1 shot to perform well and the other students start leaving early. Anxiety. Pressure. Restrictions.

Homework is checked only for completion

Simply because your child’s homework grade is 100%, doesn’t mean they actually do well! How is that possible? Homework is generally checked in 3 different ways: for completion, for correctness or self-checked. Teachers who check homework “for completion” simply skim through the homework to check if your child “did any work.” If so, it’s considered done (yes, even if it’s completely incorrect). Teachers who check homework “for correctness” will check your child’s answers and mark the incorrect ones. Teachers who use the “self-check” method, leave it up to the students to check their own solutions. All of these methods are completely ineffective for the vast majority of students.