Effects of Cooperative Homework Teams on the Acquisition of Mathematics Skills by Secondary Students with Mild Disabilities

We examined the effects of a homework model, Cooperative Homework Teams (CHT), on three measures of mathematics performance: rate of homework completion, percentage correct on homework, and a norm-referenced global measure of mathematics achievement. Participants, 171 middle school students with mild disabilities (learning disabilities or emotional disturbance), were assigned to either the CHT or a control (C) condition. Significant differences between the conditions were found on the two homework measures, but not on the global measure. Post-hoc analyses indicated that grade level was a mediating factor: CHT was less effective for 6th than for 7th and 8th graders. No significant effects were noted for either type of disability or level of special education service.