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Academic skill development requires engagement in effortful academic behaviors. Although students may be more likely to choose to engage in behaviors that require less effort, they also may be motivated to complete assignments that they have already begun. Seventh-grade students (N ϭ 88) began a mathematics computation worksheet, but were stopped before completing the assignment. Students were then given a choice of completing the assignment they had already begun or a new assignment containing approximately 10% less work. Significantly more students chose to complete the lower-effort assignment. Those who choose the lower-effort assignment indicated that this choice was influenced by the amount of work required. However, those who chose the assignment that they already started indicated that they chose this assignment because they wanted to finish the assignment that they had begun. These results suggest that students are more likely to choose an assignment that requires less effort than one they have started but not yet finished. Discussion focuses on enhancing basic skill fluency and directions for future researchers.

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After students acquire a skill, mastery often requires them to choose to engage in assigned academic activities (e.g., independent seatwork, and homework). Although students may be more likely to choose to work on partially completed assignments than on new assignments, the partial assignment completion (PAC) effect may not be very powerful. The current studies were designed to replicate previous research and determine whether the amount of sunk effort was related to PAC effect strength. Together, these studies (1) provide the only current replication of PAC effect; (2) support previous research, which suggests that the PAC effect is not very powerful; and (3) extend the theoretical research on PAC effects by showing that sunk effort did not influence PAC effect strength. Discussion focuses on implications for educators and directions for future theoretical research designed to identify the causal mechanism responsible for the PAC effect. C