Greater mathematics content in a practice test improves subsequent mathematics performance by a small amount (~2% of a standard deviation per hour of practice)¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causalr2–r3·q3
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
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q3 i? Students randomly assigned to practice tests with more mathematics content scored higher on a subsequent mathematics test, with 1 hour of additional mathematics practice improving scores by about 2% of a standard deviation (b = 2.29, SE = 0.84, p = 0.007). → Avvisati 2020
q3 i? Both the 1-hour group (G2) and the 1.5-hour group (G3) outperformed the 0.5-hour group (G1) on the target mathematics task, with no evidence of non-linearity in the dose–response relationship (p = 0.178). → Avvisati 2020 (2)
Evidence¶
Avvisati 2020¶
Avvisati, F., & Borgonovi, F. (2020). Learning Mathematics Problem Solving through Test Practice: a Randomized Field Experiment on a Global Scale. Educational Psychology Review, 32, 791–814. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09520-6
q3 · i? · causal · r2
Randomized field experiment within PISA 2012 across 32 countries (N = 19,355 in study 1). Students were randomly assigned to paper-based test forms containing 0.5, 1, or 1.5 hours of mathematics content within a 2-hour practice test. "1 h of additional problem-solving practice in mathematics improved students' ability to solve mathematics problems by about 2% of a standard deviation."
"1 h of additional problem-solving practice in mathematics improved students' ability to solve mathematics problems by about 2% of a standard deviation ( b = 2.29, SE = 0.84, p = 0.007 )"
Avvisati 2020 (2)¶
Avvisati, F., & Borgonovi, F. (2020). Learning Mathematics Problem Solving through Test Practice: a Randomized Field Experiment on a Global Scale. Educational Psychology Review, 32, 791–814. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09520-6
q3 · i? · causal · r3
Same randomized field experiment, non-parametric group comparisons from model 2 in Table 3. "both G2 and G3 outperformed G1 on the target task" with the reported coefficients and standard errors; the linear dose–response assumption could not be rejected (p = 0.178).
"Mean comparisons that do not assume a functional form for the dose –response relationship confirmed that both G2 and G3 outperformed G1 on the target task ( bG2-G1 = 2.40, SEG2-G1 = 1.09; bG3-G1 = 2.41, SEG3-G1 = 0.87 )"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Mathematics test practice does not improve domain-general problem-solving ability — related
- Brief practice on non-symbolic approximate numerical addition or comparison tasks speeds subsequent exact symbolic arithmetic in first graders compared with non-numerical magnitude tasks — related
- Studying worked examples between two rounds of a computer puzzle game produced significantly greater knowledge map improvement than no worked examples for adult players — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
math-practice-test-improves-math-performance-small-effect |
title |
Greater mathematics content in a practice test improves subsequent mathematics performance by a small amount (~2% of a standard deviation per hour of practice) |
description |
Greater mathematics content in a practice test improves subsequent mathematics performance by a small amount (~2% of a standard deviation per hour of practice) |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2020 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-19 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
2 — avvisati-2020, avvisati-2020-2 |
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