How Do Extracurriculars Affect Math Grades?
Abstract
High school students are dedicating their time to extracurricular activities for many different reasons, including the desire to look more well-rounded for college applications or to find enjoyment in an activity outside of schoolwork. There is a tradeoff between time spent studying and time spent on extracurriculars, and students attempting to increase their chances of college admission with more extracurricular activities may end up sacrificing a higher GPA. Previous research shows extracurriculars have a positive impact on high school GPA and other measures of academic achievement; however, I add this research by using a novel data set from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Heath. To test whether extracurriculars affect student classroom performance, I used an Ordinary Least Squares model with 3,053 self-reported observations. I test whether reported time spent on hobbies and sports affect student math grades. My results showed time spent on hobbies had no statistically significant effect on math grades, but time spent on sports had a statistically significant positive effect on math grades. This result may be because many schools have minimum grade requirements for school-sponsored sports participation.
How Do Extracurriculars Affect Math Grades?
High school students are dedicating their time to extracurricular activities for many different reasons, including the desire to look more well-rounded for college applications or to find enjoyment in an activity outside of schoolwork. There is a tradeoff between time spent studying and time spent on extracurriculars, and students attempting to increase their chances of college admission with more extracurricular activities may end up sacrificing a higher GPA. Previous research shows extracurriculars have a positive impact on high school GPA and other measures of academic achievement; however, I add this research by using a novel data set from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Heath. To test whether extracurriculars affect student classroom performance, I used an Ordinary Least Squares model with 3,053 self-reported observations. I test whether reported time spent on hobbies and sports affect student math grades. My results showed time spent on hobbies had no statistically significant effect on math grades, but time spent on sports had a statistically significant positive effect on math grades. This result may be because many schools have minimum grade requirements for school-sponsored sports participation.