Homework: To Assign or Not To

Assign?
 Presented by: Denise M. Fries
 Last updated: 5 November 2004
 C & I 402, fall, 2004
Introduction
 This presentation came about in an effort
to determine the effectiveness of the
homework I assign. I had three main
questions regarding homework that I
hoped to find conclusive answers to in my
research. This Power Point presentation
is an attempt to share the answers I have
found.
The Big Three Questions
 Is it fair to grade students on homework?
Isn’t homework their practice? Were we
graded as children as we learned how to
ride a bicycle or tie our shoes?
 Is it fair to penalize students for late
assignments?
 Do I even need to assign homework at all?
Why Teachers Should Assign
Homework-the Benefits:
Homework can:
 Provide additional practice.
 Provide teachers a way to monitor student
progress.
 Provide teachers a way to diagnose
student learning problems.
 Increase student responsibility and
accountability.
Benefits, Continued
 Facilitate more rapid movement through
the curriculum.
 Allow for increased communication
between school and home.
 Lead to students’ and parents’
understanding that the school has high
expectations for students.
Benefits, Continued
To further clarify the first benefit
listed-”Provide additional practice” I have
listed the following:
Homework:
• Gives students a chance to review.

• Allows students to prepare for the next

day’s lesson.
(Additional Practice, Continued)
 Provides opportunities for students to learn to
use other resources, i.e. the library, the
Internet, reference books, and community
resources.
 Allows for a more in-depth exploration of topics
than is possible during class time.
 Helps students develop time management,
study & organizational skills.
Why Teachers Shouldn’t Assign
Homework
Homework can:
• Contribute significantly to students’
negative attitudes toward school—this is
particularly true if homework is a source of
conflict between students and parents at
home.
• Create negative feelings if linked to
punishment.
Negative Aspects of Homework,
con’t.
 Stress students if the students do not have
a supportive homelife which allows quiet
time to complete assignments.
 Physicians are concerned that excessive
homework is contributing to students
being significantly sleep-deprived.
 Reinforce skills learned incorrectly if not
corrected immediately.
Negative Aspects, Continued
 Be brutal to the lives of teachers.
 Rob children of time that could be spent
doing other things that might have more
influence on character. Children are not
miniature adults and have different needs
than adults.
What Homework Should Be—by
the Experts.
 The School Board and Administrators
should develop a schoolwide or
districtwide homework policy.
 Classroom Teachers should:

-never give homework as a punishment or

use “no homework” as a reward;
-vary homework assignment types;
Homework by the Experts
-not give daily assignments that are too
long;
-give classroom assignments built on
homework to reinforce the value of
homework;
-give importance to homework through oral
comments and scoring papers regularly;
Homework by the Experts
-apply effective instructional practice to
homework;
-assure that students have concepts and
skills necessary to do the assignment;
-review the assignment before giving it to
students and anticipate difficulties;
-teach students the skills they need to study;
Homework by the Experts
-give clear instructions;
-correct homework;
-give feedback;
-involve parents;
-challenge students at their learning level by
recognizing each student’s unique needs
and circumstances;
Homework by the Experts
-review homework policies and guidelines
on a regular basis.
How Much Homework Is Enough?
A guide for teachers sponsored by the
Office of Educational Research and
Improvement in the U.S. Department of
Education establishes the following
guidelines for how long students should
spend on homework each night:
-Grades 1-3: no more than 20 minutes per
night.
How Much Is Enough Homework?
-Grades 4-6: 20 to 40 minutes per night for
all subjects.
-Grades 7-9: no more than 2 hours per
night for all subjects.
-Grades 10-12: 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours per night
for all subjects.
What Homework Should Be---by
Our Administration:
Our administration at Thomas Metcalf Laboratory
School at ISU believes that homework can be a
positive experience in the life of a child. They
further assert that schools need to be set up in a
way that allows for teachers to collaborate and
communicate on homework by cultivating
sensitivity to student overload and seeking to
meet the needs of the individual learner when
applicable. It is their opinion that by
communicating homework to parents through
Homework by the Administration
Newsletters and web-sites and by offering help
sessions after school, parents and teachers can
have a team effort in supporting students. It is
the belief of our administrative team that the
nature of the homework should be purposeful
and directly apply to concepts being explored in
class.
What Homework Should Be---my
Opinions.
The debate has been on for years and will continue to rage on
over the issue of homework. I see both positive and
negative aspects of homework. If homework is implemented
properly, there are many significant advantages for the
students. On the other hand, if homework is used
incorrectly, any gain that the students could have earned
from the assignment will be lost. As a teacher with multiple
preps and large amounts of students, the task of grading
and providing positive feedback on each students’
assignments is daunting. Coupled with the charge of
returning the homework quickly so that students have
immediate feedback on how they are doing, homework can
become
Homework, My Opinions
overwhelming to teachers. As a parent, I readily admit a
frustration at the amount of time my girls spend on
homework and the juggling acts needed to provide time
for an extra-curricular or tow, family time, sleeping, etc.
With that said, I still strongly believe that homework is more
benefit than not. In my subject matter of foreign
language, if students do not practice the skills outside of
class, their level of expertise will not grow. I have looked
closely at my own homework policies and believe that I
have developed a positive plan. What follows is that
ACTION PLAN for my courses.
Spanish Homework Action Plan:
Spanish homework should be:
 purposeful:

-provide further practice/reinforcement of

skills introduced in class;
-provide opportunities for extension and
enrichment;
-individualized as necessary to accommodate
students’ needs;
Action Plan, Continued
-a means to complete work begun in class;
-preparation for new classroom instruction.
 Reasonable in length (no more than 10-20
minutes a night)
 Be given oral and/or written feedback so that
students see that homework is valued
 Be structured so that students have the skills
and concepts necessary to complete the activity
without frustration.
Action Plan, Continued
 Varied by the type of activity the students are
asked to complete.
 Have clear and precise instructions with time in
class for students to ask questions.
 Involve the parents by having the homework and
other class news posted on the Metcalf
Homework Page, notices through the school
newsletter and the electronic Spanish
newsletter, and HELP sessions daily after
school.
Action Plan, Continued
 Homework policies and guidelines will be
reviewed on a regular basis.
Spanish Homework-additional
Teacher Responsibilites
 Provide daily updates to the Metcalf Homework
Page.
 Encouraging students to attend the HELP
sessions in place for 4th-8th grades and assisting
in the running of the program.
 Provide daily homework notices to the 4th and 5th
grade homerooms.
 Provide in-class time to record assignments in
assignment notebooks and begin assignments.
Additional Teacher
responsiblities, Continued
• Teacher will provide feedback for all homework
assignments, either oral, written or both.
• Some homework assignments will be graded for
completion only and others will be graded for
accuracy as well.
Spanish Homework-parent
Responsibilities
Parents should try to:
• Set a regular study time each day that is not
interrupted. This should have definite beginning
and ending times.
• Establish a study area away from distractions.
• Make sure students have the materials they
need to do assignments and a place to store
them.
• Have the students organize school materials.
Parent Responsibilities,
Continued
• Have the student make a daily list of homework
assignments so parent and student con both
monitor progress on work.
• Help the student work to find the answer rather
than doing th work just to get it done.
• Be supportive and give assistance when
students get frustrated or discouraged with
particularly difficult assignments.
Parent Responsibilities,
Continued
• Contact the teacher to clear up any
misunderstandings, troubleshoot problems and
be better informed about the students’ learning
progress.
Spanish Homework-student
Responsibilities
Students should:
• Write down assignments.
• Be sure all assignments are clear; don’t be
afraid to ask questions if necessary.
• Set aside a regular time for studying. Try to find
at least 10 minutes a day to review current
vocabulary and grammar at a minimum-even
when there isn’t written homework.
• Find a quiet, well-lit place to study.
(Student Responsibilities,
Continued)
• Utilize the HELP program after school.
• Be responsible in checking the Homework Page
and checking with the teacher in case of
absences.
Spanish Grade Level Specifics
 Fourth grade:
-Assignments will be marked late after being late
for more than four class days.
- Points will be deducted for late assignments after
that time.
-The only assignment which will be recorded as a
zero will the assignment not turned in by the end
of a grading period.
Spanish Grade Level Specifics
 Fifth Grade:
-Assignments will be marked late after being late
for three class days or more.
-Points will be deducted based on how many days
late the assignment is.
-Once an assignment is more than 12 class days
late, it will be corrected and noted as completed,
but a zero will be assigned as the grade.
Spanish Grade Level Specifics
 Sixth-Eighth grades:
-There will be 20% deducted from an assignment
which is completed during class (the day that it
is due,) turned in at the end of the school day or
turned in one day late.
-For assignments two or three days late, 30% will
be deducted from the score earned.
-If an assignment is four or five days late, 50% of
the score earned will be deducted.
(Spanish Grade Level Specifics,
Continued)
 For an assignment six or seven days late, a student may
earn up to 25% of the earned score.
 After an assignment is eight days or more late, the work
will be corrected and noted as completed, but a score of
a zero will be recorded.
 There will continue to be one free late assignment each
quarter. This will allow a student to turn in an
assignment one day late and still receive credit for all the
points earned.
Spanish Grade Level Specifics
****There are always extraordinary
circumstances when exceptions need to
be made. This has always been my
personal policy and will continue to be
so.****
Brief Answers to the Three Big
Questions
As I look back at my original questions, I believe I do have
answers. To the question, “Is it fair to grade homework?”
I can say, “yes.” My plan is to grade homework in a
variety of ways. I will have “homework checks” where the
grade will be given based on whether the homework is
completed or not. In addition, I will collect some
homework that will be graded and corrected. The grade
of these assignments will be basically based on
completion and effort. The third type of homework will be
collected and graded for accuracy. The research shows
that homework that is not given
Answers, Continued
feedback will send students the message that homework is
not valued and not worthy of being completed. The
students also need for the feedback to be given quickly
after completion of the assignment. This is so that if
students have learned a skill/concept incorrectly, they
can immediately re-learn it properly. The longer a
student knows misinformation, the harder it is to correct
it.
In answer to the second question, “Is it fair to penalize
students for late assignments?”, my answer is yes.
Students need to learn to be responsible and
accountable for their work. This does not mean that
Answers, Continued
work cannot be accepted late. I have decided that I will
continue to deduct points for late assignments, but I have
restructured my late policy. The research indicates that
homework late policies need to be clearly stated and
explained so that students and parents understand the
consequences of late work. It is my intention to
summarize my Action Plan and go over it with my
students in class. Not only will they be given a written
copy for their notebooks, but a copy will be sent home to
the parents as well. Also, by not deducting points from
late assignments, I believe that I am sending the
Answers, Continued
message that homework is not important and can be done if
and when a student feels so inclined. Furthermore, it is
unfair to the students who complete assignments on time
if a student can turn in work late and still earn the same
score. Our students have the HELP (homework
assistance) program after school beginning with fourth
grade, study halls, and time to complete assignments in
class.
The third question was, “Do I even need to assign
homework at all?” Although I acknowledge that there are
drawbacks to homework, it is my opinion that homework
when properly administered is an important
Answers, Continued
component of all students’ education. I am going to
continue to revise the amount of homework that I assign
and will also continue to work with the other members of
our teaching team to assure that students have a
reasonable amount of homework each night.
Works Cited
Anderman, Eric M., Ph.D. “Stressing Competition May Drive Adolescents
to Cheat in School.” APA ONLINE. 26 Feb. 1998. 1 Sept. 2004
<http://www.apa.org/releases/homework.html.

Butler, Jocelyn A. “Homework.” NW Regional Educational Laboratory. 31

Aug. 01. 1 Sept. 2004 <http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/1/cu1.html.

Checkley, K.. “Homework—A New Look at an Age-Old Practice.”

Education Update, 39 (7). 1997. 1 Sept. 2004
<http://www.fekids.com/article/print/0,1303,3-9181,00.html?obj_gra.

Cooper, Harris Ph.D. “Yes Johnny; Doing Your Homework Is Important.”

26 Feb. 1998. 1 Sept. 2004
<http://www.apa.org/releases/homework.html.
Works Cited, Continued
Fritson Coffman, Amy. Interview. 21 Oct. 2004.

“Getting the Most Out of Homework.” NW Regional Educational

Laboratory. Oct. 2000. 7 Oct. 2004
<http://www.nwrel.org/request/oct00/most.html.

Heller, Dr. “Viewing Homework as an Educational Liability.” Parenting &

Marriage Articles. 7 Oct. 2004
<http://www.drheller.com/viewing_homework.html.

Marzano, Robert J., Debra J. Pickering, and Jane E. Pollock. Classroom

Instruction that Works-Research-Based Strategies for Increasing
Student Achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development, 2001.
Works Cited, Continued
Marzano, Robert J., Debra J. Pickering, and Jane E. Pollock. A
Handbook for Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001.

Walker, Tony. “Is Homework Worth the Hassle?” American

Association of Christian Schools. 3 Sept. 2004. 7 Sept. 2004
<http://aacs.org/pubs/ViewPArticle.aspx?ArticleID=260.

Yeow, Elizabeth. “Homework: To do or not to do?” Cultural Inquiry

Process: Guidebook. 2002. 1 Sept. 2004
<http://classweb.gmu.edu/cip/g/gc/gc-c015.htm.