Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Author Note
This article review was prepared for EA 740: School as a Formal Organization, Section
901, taught by Dr. C. Suzanne Klein
USE OF HOMEWORK
My guess is that one of the most common questions during the evening hours that parents
ask their school aged children is, Do you have any homework? When I asked my sixth grade
daughter to read this first sentence she said, Well I think that it actually is: What did you learn
today? As my middle school daughter walked out of the room she added, But it is your paper.
Little did she know, she was giving me the perfect transition into the review of the article,
Making Homework Central to Learning.
The author, Cathy Vatterott, discusses the purpose of homework and how this school to
home work should be accounted for in a students summative grade. She noted two flaws in
U.S. schools typical practice relating to homework. First, both students and teachers tend to
view homework grades as rewards for working rather than as feedback to learning. Second,
students fail to connect the relationship between homework and assessments. They do not realize
that homework is practice for the game. According to a study conducted by Baker and
LeTendre in 2005, almost 70% of U.S. teachers said that they used homework to calculate final
grades, compared with 20% in Canada, 14% in Japan, and 9% in Singapore. Three years later,
OConnor wrote that more teachers now view homework as a means of formative assessment,
therefore choose not to count it toward a final grade.
So why do teachers still grade homework? Vatterott cited three reasons, 1) If I dont
grade it, they wont do it, 2) Hard work should be rewarded, and 3) Homework grades help
students who test poorly. The author noted that when homework grades are averaged with low
assessment grades, it can cloud the true level of competency. Further, this method mixes practice
and checking for understanding (formative assessments) with actual demonstration of learning
(summative assessments).
USE OF HOMEWORK
If grading homework sends the wrong message about its purpose, what can teachers do
instead? Teachers need to help make the connection for students between doing homework and
reaching particular learning goals. Further, the author states that even if a teacher doesnt grade
the work, it still needs to be corrected so the student has the opportunity to receive specific
feedback on the assignment. According to Ms. Vatterot, students still need to be held accountable
for completing homework and if they fail to do so, interventions should be put in place until the
work is finished.
If schools are changing their homework policy for the purpose of formative assessment
that checks for understanding, then parents need to be informed. According to Glenn Westlakes
principal, Phil Wieczorek, parents had many misconceptions. Several parent meetings were
needed when this Illinois middle school changed their grading practices and went to more of a
standards based report card. Their new report card has one column for the students academic
grade and the second column is labeled responsibility for learning, where students earn a one,
two, or three depending on the quality of homework, note taking, and the number of homework
and group projects completed.
The author also noted three practices that pioneering schools are now using to shift
homeworks purpose for learning. The first practice is to evaluate each assignment to determine
whether to grade it. Assignments that fall into the formative category such as spelling or math
practice problems should not be included in the final grade. Whereas, research papers or
portfolios of student work that are more summative in nature may be calculated into the final
grade. Either way, the district policy needs to outline these policies for grading so that all
stakeholders are informed. Practice two ties homework to assessments. An example of this
practice would be to allow students to use homework assignments and/or notes when taking an
USE OF HOMEWORK
assessment. The final practice is to focus on the demonstration of learning, not task completion.
Rethinking the deeper purpose of homework and adopting practices like the ones listed above are
steps that schools need to take to make homework central to learning.
This article was distributed at the December Galileo meeting and used with a protocol to
foster a discussion on the use of homework. When discussing this topic at staff meetings, it has
never ended with consensus. Most teachers have strong feelings one way or another on
homework practices in their classrooms. Some feel that it is very important for students to
practice skills independently. Every time this discussion has come up with staff that I have
worked with, the homework teaches students responsibility argument arises. I was glad that the
article addressed this citing it as a poor reason to assign homework. At our school, very few
teachers assign busy work, but we have a lot of work that doesnt get returned for final grading.
Due this homework issue, our staff desperately needs to have this discussion. I was
thankful that Dr. Fouts picked this article for our Galileo meeting. We were also given some
other resources, as well as a protocol, that can be used with staff to begin this dialogue. Earlier
this year, I voiced the frustrations relating homework and low grades. My plan is to share this
article with my principal in hopes it can be used as a spring board for discussion with our staff.
When I was a counselor at the high school, I was part of the freshmen academy team.
When this team began, the district offered the members of this group incentives to meet during
the summer to plan. During these planning meetings, the topic of homework and common
grading standards was a controversial topic. It took two very emotional meetings, with just nine
teachers, to come up with consensus. With this background experience, I anticipate a similar
USE OF HOMEWORK
struggle when Wolfe Middle School staff comes to the homework table to discuss the purpose
of practice and its place in the overall grading of our students.
References
Vatterott, C. (2011). Making homework central to learning: If grading homework sends
the wrong signal about its purpose, what can teachers do instead? Educational Leadership EL.
69(3), 60-64.
USE OF HOMEWORK
USE OF HOMEWORK
USE OF HOMEWORK
USE OF HOMEWORK
USE OF HOMEWORK
10
USE OF HOMEWORK
11