Performance Standards, Student Effort on Homework, and Academic Achievement

Abstract

Recent reports on the state of American schools have focused on the standards for student performance. Using a sample of 12,146 students from 20 public high schools, we estimate the effects of teachers', parents', and peers' standards on student effort and achievement while controlling for the effects of student background factors. Teachers', parents', and peers' standards each have a positive and significant effect on the time students spend on homework. The effects of performance standards on achievement are mixed. Teachers' and peers' standards have small positive effects, and parents' standards have larger negative effects. We offer interpretations of this pattern and suggestions for testing these interpretations in future studies.