Testing, Homework, and the American Family

• In Event: Division L Graduate Student Poster Session

Abstract

From kindergarten to twelfth grade children in the U.S. currently taken an average of 113 standardized tests (Kamenetz, 2014). As we continue to assess the consequences that these exams have on children and education as a whole, the objective of this ethnographic case-study is to better understand how pressure and stress from homework and standardized tests influence the dynamic relationships and interactions within families. Drawing upon Bourdieu (1986) and Holland et al. (1998), study findings indicate that individuals within families internalize schooling stress based on their self-constructed identity and understandings of available capital. Moreover, this research offers an initial understanding regarding the unintended consequences that national educational policies regarding homework and high-stakes testing have on children out-of-school.

Author

• Stephanie Shedrow, University of Wisconsin