The Scarcity of Interleaved Practice in Mathematics Textbooks

A typical mathematics assignment consists of a block of problems devoted to the same topic, yet several classroom-based randomized controlled trials have found that students obtain higher test scores when most practice problems are mixed with different kinds of problems—a format known as interleaved practice. Interleaving prevents students from safely assuming that each practice problem relates to the same skill or concept as the previous problem, thus forcing them to choose an appropriate strategy on the basis of the problem itself. Yet despite the efficacy of interleaved practice, blocked practice predominates most mathematics textbooks. As an illustration, we examined 13,505 practice problems in six representative mathematics texts and found that only 9.7% of the problems were interleaved. This translates to only one or two interleaved problems per school day. In brief, strong evidence suggests that students benefit from heavy doses of interleaved practice, yet most mathematics texts provide scarcely any.