# data[].attributes.body
“Especially in mathematics due to the hierarchical nature of the subject, mastery in basic skills facilitates the attainment of higher order conceptual understanding (Siadat, Musial & Sagher, 2008, p.350).

Siadat, V., Musial, P., & Sagher, Y. (2008). Keystone method: A learning paradigm in   mathematics. Primus: problems, resources and issues in mathematics   undergraduate studies, 18(4), 337-348.

# data[].attributes.body
“Learning is not a spectator sport.  Research has demonstrated that students learn more if they are actively engaged with the material they are studying”  (Starke, 2007).

Starke, D. (2007). Active learning. Retrieved September 15, 2013, from   http://www.texascollaborative.org/activelearning.htm#section1

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Laura Varlas

Cathy Vatterott's "Connecting Homework to Classwork" session invited participants to share what's wrong with homework in their school or district. One principal said she needed a convincing argument to counter parent beliefs that more homework equals better learning. Another said he wanted a better way to explain why teachers shouldn't assign textbook end-of-unit questions just because they're there. Yet another said his school has a primarily English language learner student population, and a lot of his students didn't have the out-of-school resources (e.g., time or space to work) to complete homework. Many attendees were struggling with how to grade homework and acknowledged that homework grades were not always a true reflection of student learning.

In general, a lot of the teachers and administrators attending were fearful that chaos would ensue if they stopped grading homework or greatly decreased the amount of homework assigned.

Vatterott said the first step to changing how your school uses homework is to talk about your school's belief systems surrounding homework. Implicit in that is considering the belief systems of your students' guardians, and communicating the motives for homework policy changes to them, as well.

Vatterott shared several of her guiding philosophies regarding homework:

Homework that cannot be done without help is not good homework.

Zeros do not hold students accountable for learning.

Quality homework has a clear academic purpose and promotes personal ownership.

Instead of trying to teach responsibility with punishments, we must force students to practice responsibility through self-scheduling and seeking support.

Instead of grading homework, check for understanding.

She noted that moving from grading to checking homework requires shifting the role of the teacher from evaluative/judge to diagnostic/advocate.

This isn't just theory that sounds good on paper. Vatterott gave examples of schools that have moved from grading homework to checking it to using homework to diagnose learning needs and advocate for students' best achievement. For example, the STAT (Student Teacher Access Time) program at Prairie High School in Vancouver, Wash., is a half-hour period following lunch, every day. (Prairie High found these extra minutes by trimming five minutes from every class period.) STAT attendance is required based on how students are performing at six-week check-ins. Teachers may summon struggling students, and the time has multiple uses; students who don't need homework support can participate in clubs, tutoring, and make-up tests.

If you're still wary of moving from grading to checking homework, Vatterott suggests these baby steps:

Limit the percentage that homework factors into a grade (moving toward no zeros).

Set time limits.

Revise late policies.

Prohibit weekend or holiday homework.

You can also read up on how other practitioners have adapted homework policies to support classwork and student learning:

Is your school ready to move from grading to checking homework? Join the conversation already in progress at ASCD's blog, Inservice.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Vatterott on Grading vs. Checking Homework

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Laura Varlas Cathy Vatterott's "Connecting Homework to Classwork" session invited participants to share what's wrong with homework in their school or district. One principal said she needed a convincing argument to counter parent beliefs that more homework equals better learning. Another said he wanted a better way to explain why teachers shouldn't assign textbook end-of-unit questions just because they're there.

# data[].attributes.headline
Key Lessons: What Research Says About the Value of Homework

# data[].attributes.subject
Key Lessons: What Research Says About the Value of Homework

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
References

Click the "References" link above to hide these references.

Balli, S. J., Wedman, J. F., & Demo, D. H. (1997). Family involvement with middle-grades homework: Effects of differential prompting. Journal of Experimental Education, 66, 31-48.

Cooper, H. (1989). Homework. White Plains, N.Y.: Longman.

Cooper, H. (2001). Homework for all - in moderation. Educational Leadership, 58, 34-38.

Cooper, H., Lindsay, J. J, Nye, B., & Greathouse, S. (1998). Relationships among attitudes about homework, amount of homework assigned and completed, and student achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(1), 70-83.

Cooper, H., & Nye, B. (1994). Homework for students with learning disabilities: The implications of research for policy and practice. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27, 470-479.

Cooper, H., Nye, B.A., & Lindsay, J.J. (2000). Homework in the home: How student, family and parenting style differences relate to the homework process. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(4), 464-487.

Cooper, H., Robinson, J. C., & Patall, E. A. (2006). Does homework improve academic achievement? A synthesis of research. Review of Educational Research, 76, 1-62.

Corno, L., & Xu, J. (2004). Homework as the job of childhood. Theory Into Practice, 43, 227-233.

Cosden, M., Morrison, G., Albanese, A. L., & Macias, S. (2001). When homework is not home work: After-school programs for homework assistance. Educational Psychologist, 36(3), 211-221.

Epstein, J. L. (1998). Homework practices, achievements, and behaviors of elementary school students. Baltimore: Center for Research on Elementary and Middle Schools. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED301322]

Foyle, H. C. (1985). The effects of preparation and practice homework on student achievement in tenth-grade American history (Doctoral dissertation, Kansas State University, 1985). Dissertation Abstracts International, 45, 8A.

Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., Battiato, A. C., Walker, J. M. T., Reed, R. P., DeJong, J. M. & Jones, K. P. (2001). Parental involvement in homework. Educational Psychologist, 36, 195-209.

James-Burdumy, S., Dynarski, M., Moore, M., Deke, J., Mansfield, W., Pistorino, C. & Warner, E. (2005). When Schools Stay Open Late: The National Evaluation of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program Final Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education/Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.

Johnson, J. K., & Pontius, A. (1989). Homework: A survey of teacher beliefs and practices. Research in Education, 41, 71-78.

Keith, T. Z., & Benson, M. J. (1992). Effects of manipulable influences on high school grades across five ethnic groups. Journal of Educational Research, 86, 85-93.

Kohn, A. (2006, September). Abusing research: The study of homework and other examples. Phi Delta Kappan, 8-22.

Leone, C. M., & Richards, M. H. (1989). Classwork and homework in early adolescence: The ecology of achievement. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 18, 531-548.

McDermott, R. P., Goldman, S. V., & Varenne, H. (1984). When school goes home: Some problems in the organization of homework [Abstract]. Teachers College Record, 85, 391-409.

Muhlenbruck, L., Cooper, H., Nye, B., & Lindsay, J. J. (2000). Homework and achievement: explaining the different strengths of relation at the elementary and secondary school levels. Social Psychology of Education, 3, 295-317.

Murphy, J. & Decker, K. (1989). Teachers' use of homework in high schools. Journal of Educational Research, 82(5), 261-269.

Rosenberg, M. S. (1989). The effects of daily homework assignments on the acquisition of basic skills by students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 22, 314-323.

Scott-Jones, D. (1984). Family influences on cognitive development and school achievement. Review of Research in Education, 11, 259-304.

Trautwein, U., & Koller, O. (2003). The relationship between homework and achievement - still much of a mystery. Educational Psychology Review, 15, 115-145.

Van Voorhis, F. L. (2003). Interactive homework in middle school: Effects on family involvements and science achievement. Journal of Educational Research, 96(6), 323-338.

Warton, P. M. (2001). The forgotten voice in homework: Views of students. Educational Psychologist, 36, 155-165.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Key Lessons: What Research Says About the Value of Homework

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Click the "References" link above to hide these references. Balli, S. J., Wedman, J. F., & Demo, D. H. (1997). Family involvement with middle-grades homework: Effects of differential prompting. Journal of Experimental Education, 66, 31-48. Cooper, H. (1989). Homework. White Plains, N.Y.: Longman. Cooper, H. (2001). Homework for all - in moderation.

# data[].attributes.headline
Homework: New Research Suggests It May Be an Unnecessary Evil

# data[].attributes.subject
Homework: New Research Suggests It May Be an Unnecessary Evil

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A brand-new study on the academic effects of homework offers not only some intriguing results but also a lesson on how to read a study -- and a reminder of the importance of doing just that: reading studies (carefully) rather than relying on summaries by journalists or even by the researchers themselves.

Let's start by reviewing what we know from earlier investigations.[1] First, no research has ever found a benefit to assigning homework (of any kind or in any amount) in elementary school. In fact, there isn't even a positive correlation between, on the one hand, having younger children do some homework (vs. none), or more (vs. less), and, on the other hand, any measure of achievement. If we're making 12-year-olds, much less five-year-olds, do homework, it's either because we're misinformed about what the evidence says or because we think kids ought to have to do homework despite what the evidence says.

Second, even at the high school level, the research supporting homework hasn't been particularly persuasive. There does seem to be a correlation between homework and standardized test scores, but (a) it isn't strong, meaning that homework doesn't explain much of the variance in scores, (b) one prominent researcher, Timothy Keith, who did find a solid correlation, returned to the topic a decade later to enter more variables into the equation simultaneously, only to discover that the improved study showed that homework had no effect after all[2], and (c) at best we're only talking about a correlation -- things that go together -- without having proved that doing more homework causes test scores to go up. (Take 10 seconds to see if you can come up with other variables that might be driving both of these things.)

Third, when homework is related to test scores, the connection tends to be strongest -- or, actually, least tenuous -- with math. If homework turns out to be unnecessary for students to succeed in that subject, it's probably unnecessary everywhere.

Along comes a new study, then, that focuses on the neighborhood where you'd be most likely to find a positive effect if one was there to be found: math and science homework in high school. Like most recent studies, this one by Adam Maltese and his colleagues[3] doesn't provide rich descriptive analyses of what students and teachers are doing. Rather, it offers an aerial view, the kind preferred by economists, relying on two large datasets (from the National Education Longitudinal Study [NELS] and the Education Longitudinal Study [ELS]). Thousands of students are asked one question -- How much time do you spend on homework? -- and statistical tests are then performed to discover if there's a relationship between that number and how they fared in their classes and on standardized tests.

It's easy to miss one interesting result in this study that appears in a one-sentence aside. When kids in these two similar datasets were asked how much time they spent on math homework each day, those in the NELS study said 37 minutes, whereas those in the ELS study said 60 minutes. There's no good reason for such a striking discrepancy, nor do the authors offer any explanation. They just move right along -- even though those estimates raise troubling questions about the whole project, and about all homework studies that are based on self-report. Which number is more accurate? Or are both of them way off? There's no way of knowing. And because all the conclusions are tied to that number, all the conclusions may be completely invalid.[4]

But let's pretend that we really do know how much homework students do. Did doing it make any difference? The Maltese et al. study looked at the effect on test scores and on grades. They emphasized the latter, but let's get the former out of the way first.

Was there a correlation between the amount of homework that high school students reported doing and their scores on standardized math and science tests? Yes, and it was statistically significant but "very modest": Even assuming the existence of a causal relationship, which is by no means clear, one or two hours' worth of homework every day buys you two or three points on a test. Is that really worth the frustration, exhaustion, family conflict, loss of time for other activities, and potential diminution of interest in learning? And how meaningful a measure were those tests in the first place, since, as the authors concede, they're timed measures of mostly mechanical skills? (Thus, a headline that reads "Study finds homework boosts achievement" can be translated as "A relentless regimen of after-school drill-and-skill can raise scores a wee bit on tests of rote learning.")

But it was grades, not tests, that Maltese and his colleagues really cared about. They were proud of having looked at transcript data in order to figure out "the exact grade a student received in each class [that he or she] completed" so they could compare that to how much homework the student did. Previous research has looked only at students' overall grade-point averages.

And the result of this fine-tuned investigation? There was no relationship whatsoever between time spent on homework and course grade, and "no substantive difference in grades between students who complete homework and those who do not."

This result clearly caught the researchers off-guard. Frankly, it surprised me, too. When you measure "achievement" in terms of grades, you expect to see a positive result -- not because homework is academically beneficial but because the same teacher who gives the assignments evaluates the students who complete them, and the final grade is often based at least partly on whether, and to what extent, students did the homework. Even if homework were a complete waste of time, how could it not be positively related to course grades?

And yet it wasn't. Again. Even in high school. Even in math. The study zeroed in on specific course grades, which represents a methodological improvement, and the moral may be: The better the research, the less likely one is to find any benefits from homework. (That's not a surprising proposition for a careful reader of reports in this field. We got a hint of that from Timothy Keith's reanalysis and also from the fact that longer homework studies tend to find less of an effect.[5])

Maltese and his colleagues did their best to reframe these results to minimize the stunning implications.[6] Like others in this field, they seem to have approached the topic already convinced that homework is necessary and potentially beneficial, so the only question we should ask is How -- not whether -- to assign it. But if you read the results rather than just the authors' spin on them -- which you really need to do with the work of others working in this field as well[7] -- you'll find that there's not much to prop up the belief that students must be made to work a second shift after they get home from school. The assumption that teachers are just assigning homework badly, that we'd start to see meaningful results if only it were improved, is harder and harder to justify with each study that's published.

If experience is any guide, however, many people will respond to these results by repeating platitudes about the importance of practice[8], or by complaining that anyone who doesn't think kids need homework is coddling them and failing to prepare them for the "real world" (read: the pointless tasks they'll be forced to do after they leave school). Those open to evidence, however, have been presented this Fall with yet another finding that fails to find any meaningful benefit even when the study is set up to give homework every benefit of the doubt.
NOTES
1. It's important to remember that some people object to homework for reasons that aren't related to the dispute about whether research might show that homework provides academic benefits. They argue that (a) six hours a day of academics are enough, and kids should have the chance after school to explore other interests and develop in other ways -- or be able simply to relax in the same way that most adults like to relax after work; and (b) the decision about what kids do during family time should be made by families, not schools. Let's put these arguments aside for now, even though they ought to be (but rarely are) included in any discussion of the topic.

2. Valerie A. Cool and Timothy Z. Keith, "Testing a Model of School Learning: Direct and Indirect Effects on Academic Achievement," Contemporary Educational Psychology 16 (1991): 28-44.

3. Adam V. Maltese, Robert H. Tai, and Xitao Fan, "When Is Homework Worth the Time? Evaluating the Association Between Homework and Achievement in High School Science and Math," The High School Journal, October/November 2012: 52-72. Abstract at http://ow.ly/fxhOV.

4. Other research has found little or no correlation between how much homework students report doing and how much homework their parents say they do. When you use the parents' estimates, the correlation between homework and achievement disappears. See Harris Cooper, Jorgianne Civey Robinson, and Erika A. Patall, "Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement?: A Synthesis of Research, 1987-2003," Review of Educational Research 76 (2006): 1-62.

5. To put it the other way around, studies finding the biggest effect are those that capture less of what goes on in the real world by virtue of being so brief. View a small, unrepresentative slice of a child's life and it may appear that homework makes a contribution to achievement; keep watching, and that contribution is eventually revealed to be illusory. See data provided -- but not interpreted this way -- by Cooper, The Battle Over Homework, 2nd ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2001).

6. Even the title of their article reflects this: They ask "When Is Homework Worth the Time?" rather than "Is Homework Worth the Time?" This bias might seem a bit surprising in the case of the study's second author, Robert H. Tai. He had contributed earlier to another study whose results similarly ended up raising questions about the value of homework. Students enrolled in college physics courses were surveyed to determine whether any features of their high school physics courses were now of use to them. At first a very small relationship was found between the amount of homework that students had had in high school and how well they were currently faring. But once the researchers controlled for other variables, such as the type of classes they had taken, that relationship disappeared, just as it had for Keith (see note 2). The researchers then studied a much larger population of students in college science classes - and found the same thing: Homework simply didn't help. See Philip M. Sadler and Robert H. Tai, "Success in Introductory College Physics: The Role of High School Preparation," Science Education 85 [2001]: 111-36.

7. See chapter 4 ("'Studies Show...' -- Or Do They?") of my book The Homework Myth (Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2006), an adaptation of which appears as " Abusing Research: The Study of Homework and Other Examples," Phi Delta Kappan, September 2006 .

8. On the alleged value of practice, see The Homework Myth, pp. 106-18, also available at http://bit.ly/9dXqCj.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Homework: New Research Suggests It May Be an Unnecessary Evil

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A brand-new study on the academic effects of homework offers not only some intriguing results but also a lesson on how to read a study -- and a reminder of the importance of doing just that: reading studies (carefully) rather than relying on summaries by journalists or even by the researchers themselves.

# data[].attributes.headline
Teaching Time Savers:Is Homework Grading on Your Nerves?

# data[].attributes.subject
Teaching Time Savers:Is Homework Grading on Your Nerves?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Lisette de Pillis and Michael E. Orrison

You have probably heard it said that we learn mathematics best when we do mathematics, or that mathematics is not a spectator sport. For most of our students, this means that their mathematics courses will involve a fair amount of homework. This homework is often used to evaluate individual student progress, but it can also be used, for example, as a catalyst for discussion, to emphasize a point made in class, and to identify common misunderstandings throughout the class as a whole. There is, however, the matter of grading homework.

In spite of the importance of providing meaningful and worthwhile feedback to students regarding their homework, we have a feeling that, for many of us, it would be a struggle to imagine ?grading homework? in our ?ten things I like most about my job? lists. A few years ago, however, it occurred to us that grading homework was probably farther down on our lists than it needed to be, not because of what our students were trying to communicate, but because of how they were trying to communicate it. .

How many of us have felt that we (or our graders) spend too much time trying to navigate puzzle-like homework with sentences that wind their way through a maze of scratch work, or dealing with answers that seem to have magically appeared at the end (if you are lucky) of a solution? Do you spend so much time deciphering handwriting that you begin to empathize with the folks at the NSA? .

Since we wanted our students to communicate clearly and effectively to us in their homework, we felt that, as instructors, we were obligated to clearly and effectively communicate our expectations. We needed to go beyond saying ?make it neat? and ?box your answers? to a point where we were sharing specific advice (or instructions) together with a template. In particular, we wanted to impress upon our students the idea that ?how you present your work should enhance the ideas you are trying to communicate, not impede them.? .

With that in mind, in the summer of 2004, we developed a website that described what we felt were the most important structural elements for presenting homework in our classes, both introductory and advanced, regardless of course content. That website, which can now be found at http://www.math.hmc.edu/homework/, is currently being used by the majority of our colleagues in our department. .

From reading solutions, to providing comments, to alphabetizing and returning homework, the website has helped us to streamline the homework grading process, for our benefit and for that of our students. And while we hardly expect ?grading homework? to find itself in that top ten list any time soon, it is nice to know that there are simple things that we can do to make it less onerous. It is also nice to know that even small investments toward fine-tuning the communication skills of our students can lead to huge payoffs for everyone involved! .

Time spent: 5 minutes to link directly to our page, or 60 minutes to construct your own page from scratch, including an example image. .

Time saved: 15 to 30 seconds per homework assignment. .

Examples: On this page, the ?easy to read homework format? we suggest that students use; on the next page, our general hints on writing up mathematics homework.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teaching Time Savers:Is Homework Grading on Your Nerves?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
You have probably heard it said that we learn mathematics best when we do mathematics, or that mathematics is not a spectator sport. For most of our students, this means that their mathematics courses will involve a fair amount of homework.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Value of Homework: Is Homework an Important Tool for Learning in the Classroom?

# data[].attributes.subject
The Value of Homework: Is Homework an Important Tool for Learning in the Classroom?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Homework continues to be a controversial topic. The debate over homework is an old one, with attitudes shifting throughout the debate over the years. Proponents and opponents make cases to support their views on the necessity and importance of homework in the development of the student and the construction of knowledge. Good and Brophy (2003) indicate that many view homework as, "An important extension of in-school opportunities to learn" (p. 393).

While some proponents of homework believe in its purpose, a question still persists about the role of homework in determining the student's grade. Should homework be assigned and graded on a regular basis, or should it be viewed as an educational means to an end? As a means to an end, should one centralized school or district policy govern homework, or should some flexibility exist?

Education consultant Ken O'Connor (1999) suggests eight guidelines for successful assessment, which includes a directive to not mark every single assignment for grades, but rather take a sampling of student efforts in order to assess how much they have learned. His approach pushes for a more standards based approach in determining grades, combining formative assessment to track students' grasp of lesson concepts as they learn, enabling adjustment of teaching practice on-the-fly, and summative assessment in the form of a test or quiz, which measures the level of student knowledge and understanding after the learning process. This is also a valuable tool for the teacher, as they may be better able to gauge the efficacy of their lessons and unit.

In a study conducted by Hill, Spencer, Alston and Fitzgerald (1986), homework was positively linked to student achievement. They indicate that homework is an inexpensive method of improving student academic preparation without increasing staff or modifying curriculum. "So, as the pressure to improve test scores continues to increase, so does the emphasis on homework" (p. 58). 142 school systems in North Carolina were contacted.

Of the initial 142 schools, 96 responded, and were sent three-part questionnaires seeking information about the existence, scope, development and evaluation of homework policies in their schools. The researchers cite several general conclusions based on their findings, including the importance, and apparent lack, of homework policies in existence. Despite the pervasive nature of homework in every participating school, only 50% of the schools indicated the existence of a written homework policy.

Amongst the policies reported by the other half of the participating schools, most of the policies specified the type or quality of homework to be assigned, and allowed some flexibility in the assignment and evaluation of homework. The authors indicated:

Particularly encouraging signs were that a variety of types of homework were suggested, and the focus of homework assignment was toward meaningful, creative, and high-level thinking endeavors... and away from tedious busy work and drill. (Hill, Spencer, et. al, 1986, p. 68)

Homework is seen as a valuable resource for teaching, allowing students to practice, and in doing so, learn the unit material. This study documented the importance of flexibility in the assignment and evaluation of quality homework assignments, but also the alarming lack of a written homework policy in 50% of the participating schools.

It can be drawn from this study that some type of homework policy is necessary, as is the assignment of higher cognitive types of homework and the flexible assessment and grading of that work in order to foster and track student learning.

Cauley and McMillan (2009) define formative assessment as, "A process through which assessment-elicited evidence of student learning is gathered and instruction is modified in response to feedback" (p. 1). The authors suggest the use of feedback in the process, but suggest a steering away from performance-goal oriented extrinsic motivators such as grades. Emphasis on performance and grades during the formative process can be detrimental to eventual student achievement because it might shift student focus away from their goal of mastery of course material to concern over the way their abilities might be judged by their peers (Cauley & McMillan, 2009, p. 3).

Constructive feedback throughout this process maintains the focus on mastery goals created at the outset, and provides the student with the support necessary to make connections between new learning and prior knowledge. Homework, ongoing formative assessment, and feedback are all considered to be part of the instruction process. Grading and recording the work completed throughout this time would not accurately create a record of the student's level of understanding and knowledge because they are still in the process of learning the material.

McMillan, Myran and Workman (2002) conducted a study of over 900 teachers in order to investigate the assessment and grading practices in practice. The authors used surveys returned by a sample of 901 participating teachers of grades 3-5, representing a total population of 1,561 teachers of those grade levels from 124 schools near Richmond, Virginia.

The surveys featured a 6-point scale for participants to rate the emphasis they placed on different assessment and grading practices, with 1 being not at all and 6 representing completely. The findings revealed relatively low emphasis on homework grades, but also a positive correlation between the importance of homework and increasing grade levels. The authors state that:

Given the relatively low emphasis on homework, comparisons with other students, other teachers' grading, and the infrequent occurrence of borderline cases, these results suggest that teachers conceptualize two major ingredients - actual performance, and effort, ability, and improvement. Of these two, academic performance clearly is most important, but effort, ability, and improvement remain as fairly important, especially for some teachers. (McMillan, Myran, & Workman, 2002, p. 209)

This study documents the importance of homework in the construction of knowledge, but also identifies the fact that there was little emphasis placed on the grades for that work. The majority of the assessment for the students was derived from test and quiz scores, or other forms of summative assessment.

O'Connor (1999) begins his list of eight guidelines for successful assessment with the indication that the only acceptable basis for student grades is their own individual achievement. He goes on to specify that grades recorded must measure the student's achievement of the learning goals established at the outset of the unit. This suggestion is aligned with the information provided by Cauley and McMillan (2009), which emphasizes the importance of setting mastery goals prior to the instruction process.

They also convey the idea that feedback, and not grades, should be used during the learning process, as formative assessment takes place. The true measurement of what the student has learned comes at the end of that learning process, in the form of a summative assessment, which McTighe and O'Connor (2005) suggest also be used at the outset of the unit to establish realistic performance goals:

This practice has three virtues. First, the summative assessments clarify the targeted standards and benchmarks for teachers and learners... Second, the performance assessment tasks yield evidence that reveals understanding... Third, presenting the authentic performance tasks at the beginning of a new unit or course provides a meaningful learning goal for the student. (McTighe and O'Connor, 2005, p. 2)

Waiting until the end of a unit, however, to measure student learning is a mistake, since the time for instruction and learning of that material has ended. It is in the course of the instruction and learning process that McTighe and O'Connor also place importance on the formative assessment process.

Homework is a form of formative assessment, along with draft work, ungraded quizzes and other exercises used with the intent of guiding and instructing the student to promote higher-level cognitive connections. Placing little or no emphasis on grades on those types of exercises and activities allows for focus on the mastery goal, and keeps feedback constructive. "Although teachers may record the results of formative assessments, we shouldn't factor these results into summative evaluation and grading" (McTighe & O'Connor, 2005, p. 1).

This philosophy could be seen in the low levels of emphasis placed on homework grades in the study by McMillan, Myran, and Workman. Effort, ability, and improvement remained important factors in that study, and McTighe and O'Connor echo that idea in their discussion of replacing old student achievements with new ones. They take into consideration, the varying learning curves of different students, and their progress toward goals set at the beginning of the unit. A student will likely have a greater mastery over the unit material at the end of instruction, than at the outset of instruction.

That point, at the end of instruction is the appropriate time to measure what the student has learned, allowing improvements to replace previous difficulties or failures. McTighe and O'Conner (2005) note, "Allowing new evidence to replace old conveys an important message to students - that teachers care about their successful learning, not merely their grades" (p. 6).

The material reviewed has established the importance of the existence of a flexible, written homework policy on a school or district level. Mr. O'Connor presents a total package, in this respect, to schools and districts that are seeking to establish a policy, or re-evaluate their current one. Following my research and analysis of the relationships between the literature, and Mr. O'Connor's work, questions still remains unanswered, possibly to be addressed in further study: Will students be motivated to complete homework and/or classroom activities that they know will not be graded?

If there were a problem with student motivation in this respect, what would the impact be on achievement in a setting where the same, or similar type of policy is in place? If a teacher wishes to use homework for the purposes of ungraded formative assessment, they must be certain that the work is truly that of the learner him or herself, with no outside assistance coming from family members or tutors they might see outside of school. This is a major problem related to the use of homework in this way, as homework results may not truly be indicative of the student's acquired knowledge.

Cauley, K., McMillan, J. (2009). Formative assessment techniques to support student motivation and achievement. Clearing House, 83(1), 1-6. Retrieved from Professional Development Collection.

Good, T., Brophy, J. (2003). Looking in classrooms, ninth ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

McTighe, J., O'Connor, K. (2005). Seven practices for effective learning. Educational Leadership, Vol. 63, No.3.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Value of Homework: Is Homework an Important Tool for Learning in the Classroom?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Homework continues to be a controversial topic. The debate over homework is an old one, with attitudes shifting throughout the debate over the years. Proponents and opponents make cases to support their views on the necessity and importance of homework...

# data[].attributes.headline
Review: A REPAIR KIT FOR GRADING by Ken O’Connor

# data[].attributes.subject
Review: A REPAIR KIT FOR GRADING by Ken O’Connor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Review: A REPAIR KIT FOR GRADING by Ken O'Connor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Repair Kit for Grading by Ken O'Connor My rating: 2 of 5 stars The ideas in Ken O'Connor's A Repair Kit for Grading would work a lot better if students were all identical and self-motivated, and if we only want curricula to be morsels of accomplishment that once digested remain firmly in place.

# data[].attributes.headline
Educators question significance of grades for homework

# data[].attributes.subject
Educators question significance of grades for homework

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
More teachers break with tradition, reserve grades for classroom work instead

Jami Dehn prepped homework packets to send home with her class of third-graders every Friday afternoon last year, carefully charting how much they should read, write in cursive and practice spelling.

But while she checked the returned assignments and wrote comments in the margins, the Hawthorn South Elementary School teacher didn't score the work.

Dehn joins a growing number of teachers who either have stopped grading homework or have capped how much it counts toward a student's overall grade. Instead, they reserve their grade books for in-class work like tests and research projects.

Educators say many of the daily assignments measure a student's work ethic more than knowledge. Besides, they say, some papers come back with an obvious assist from mom and dad.

"Don't get me wrong. I think homework is very important," Dehn said. "But the thing is, you don't know how much was done by a parent or someone else."

The shift upends years of tradition where teachers assigned homework, parents hounded kids to do it and students got graded based on what they turned in. That can make the change a tough sell to parents and educators who see homework as an important responsibility lesson and worry that kids may blow off assignments if they are not graded.

"People like to hold on to these things, these ideas of: 'That's how we do school. We have homework and we give grades,'said Lisa Cerauli, director of teaching and learning at Hawthorn School District 73. "It's hard to change that expectation of what school should look like."

Among those who have concerns is Lisa Kornfeind of Bolingbrook. She said homework counts for 10 percent of her high school daughter's grade, and she worries that might not be enough. She believes grades reinforce the message that students should take assignments seriously.

"If it counted for more, I'm sure more kids would get it done. And if you don't do homework, how will you remember what you learned?" Kornfeind said.

There's a great range of opinion, however. At a time when some adults worry that kids face more homework at a younger age, the move away from grading homework is viewed in some quarters with relief.

Grading expert Ken O'Connor contends that grades actually deter some students from doing homework. He urges teachers, parents and students to view homework as practice.

"Nobody gets better from getting a 1 out of 10," said O'Connor, a former high school teacher in Canada who advises several local school districts on grading. "But if you get some descriptive feedback saying 'You did this well, and this is where you need to improve,' that's far more likely to get them to do their homework."

The change comes as many schools revamp their entire approach to grades. The end-of-term average that for years lumped together tests, homework and class participation did not show whether students mastered a specific set of skills, teachers and curriculum experts said.

Now, many teachers calculate a student's grade without regard for homework. They reserve that for a separate section of the report card that asks if "students complete homework on time."

The grading question is most pointed in middle school, where students often get their first taste of traditional " ABC" grades and tougher homework assignments from multiple teachers.

Middle school prepares students for the rigors of high school, but the closer you get to high school, many educators say, the more people pay attention to grading and homework.

"Middle schools know that in high school, it's amped up a bit. They want to prepare their students. So, I think their philosophy is, 'You need to take some responsibility,' " said DePaul University education professor Roxanne Owens.

This fall, Glenview School District 34 will limit quizzes, mid-term reports and homework to 20 percent of a middle school student's grade. Meanwhile, a panel of parents and teachers will determine whether homework should play any role in their grade-point averages.

"I'm not convinced a grade is a motivating factor for all kids. I think, as adults, a lot of times we think it is," said Assistant Superintendent Phil Collins.

In Glen Ellyn, Hadley Junior High School officials worried that students might skip assignments when they overhauled the grading system three years ago to count homework only as a work skill.

But Principal Chris Dransoff said they found that students kept doing the work. He hopes they learn a larger lesson, too.

"The thing we're trying to hit - and it's a more lofty goal, maybe - is showing kids the relationship between doing work and getting a good grade," Dransoff said. "This is really a time when kids start to put two and two together."

Schools found other carrots and sticks to encourage students to tackle the nightly assignments.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Educators question significance of grades for homework

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
More teachers break with tradition, reserve grades for classroom work instead Jami Dehn prepped homework packets to send home with her class of third-graders every Friday afternoon last year, carefully charting how much they should read, write in cursive and practice spelling.

# data[].attributes.headline
How one family won the battle to ban homework

# data[].attributes.subject
How one family won the battle to ban homework

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Shelli and Tom Milley were exhausted by the weepy weeknight struggles over math problems and writing assignments with their three school-aged children. They were fed up with rushing home from soccer practice or speed skating only to stand over their kids tossing out answers so they could finish and get to bed.

And don't even get them started on the playground that their daughter, Brittany, had to build in Grade 3 from recycled materials, complete with moving parts. Or the time their eldest son, Jay, was told to cut pictures of $1-million worth of consumer goods from a catalogue.

So last week, after two years of trying to change the homework policy at the children's school, the two Calgary lawyers finally negotiated a unique legal contract: their kids will never have to do homework again.

"We have struggled constantly as a family with excessive amounts of homework," said Ms. Milley, who left her practice to stay home with her children. "We just blindly accepted the way it was."

But after many long stressful nights of getting 18-year-old Jay through his high school homework, they weren't prepared to repeat history with Spencer, 11, and Brittany, 10. Being lawyers, she and her husband decided to make it official.

The "differentiated homework plan" spells out the responsibilities of the students: to get their work done in class, to come to school prepared, and prep for quizzes. But their teachers will have to mark them based on what they do in class, and cannot send work home that factors into their grades.

<a title="View Milleys' Differentiated Homework Plan on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/22681699/Milleys-Differentiated-Homework-Plan" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Milleys' Differentiated Homework Plan</a> <object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" id="doc_684451498582888" name="doc_684451498582888" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" align="middle" height="500" width="600" > <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=22681699&access_key=key-2k7q54odt9llszq87f89&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list"> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="play" value="true"> <param name="loop" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showall"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="devicefont" value="false"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="menu" value="true"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="salign" value=""> <param name="mode" value="list"> <embed src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=22681699&access_key=key-2k7q54odt9llszq87f89&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" play="true" loop="true" scale="showall" wmode="opaque" devicefont="false" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="doc_684451498582888_object" menu="true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" salign="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" mode="list" height="500" width="600"></embed> </object>

For the Milleys, this means a school year that would make many homework-stricken parents envious: they are free to hang out as family without long division and English comprehension questions hanging over their heads.

"It was a constant homework battle every night," Ms. Milley recalled. "It's hard to get a weeping child to take in math problems. They are tired. They shouldn't be working a second shift."

It's not as if, the couple pointed out, they don't value education. They know firsthand the work involved in earning university degrees. But they wanted the academic work done at home to be on their terms, based on where they knew their children needed help. Brittany, for instance, was struggling with spelling, but "we never had any time to focus on that because she had so much homework," Ms. Milley said.

And there were plenty of frustrating nights, she said, when her kids were so tired, "we'd stand over them, saying, 'write this, write that.' " If that's what families are doing, she asked, "how do the teachers even know whose work they are marking?"

Two years ago, Ms. Milley began collecting studies on homework, most of which suggest that, particularly for younger grades, there is no clear link between work at home and school performance. Working with the staff at St. Brigid Elementary Junior High School, she formed a homework committee, although no firm changes resulted. This fall, the couple began negotiating the legal document that decided the matter.

"We think it's a parent's right to choose what's in our children's best interests," said Ms. Milley. "But we're thankful the school did the right thing."

Prompted by issues raised by parents, the Calgary Catholic School District is officially reviewing its homework policy to create more concrete guidelines for schools. Other parents and teachers have worked out homework deals, although more informally. "We know it's not one size fits all," said Tania Younker, a district spokesperson.

The contract the Milleys and their children signed doesn't go just one way. While preventing teachers from giving penalties when homework isn't done, it also puts clear expectations on the students and their parents - to practice a musical instrument, for instance, and read daily, two activities more clearly linked to academic success, Ms. Milley suggested, than racing through leftover schoolwork. And the parents agreed to make sure their children have "opportunities" to review class work and study for tests. (Although that may as well be homework, Ms. Milley observed wryly, noting that, by her count, Spencer, has had roughly 28 quizzes and tests in about 38 class days of Grade 7.) The bottom line: the Milley kids won't be doing any school-assigned work at home any time soon, although Jay, now in first year university, must resign himself to being a trailblazer for his younger siblings.

"Why were we putting our family through that stress," wondered Ms. Milley. "If we don't want it all, we shouldn't have to have it."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Shelli and Tom Milley were exhausted by the weepy weeknight struggles over math problems and writing assignments with their three school-aged children. They were fed up with rushing home from soccer practice or speed skating only to stand over their kids tossing out answers so they could finish and get to bed.

# data[].attributes.headline
Rick Wormeli: How Much Should Homework Count?

# data[].attributes.subject
Rick Wormeli: How Much Should Homework Count?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rick Wormeli: How Much Should Homework Count?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What percentage of a student's grade should homework be counted toward? Should I give the same homework assignment to each student in the class? And if a student demonstrates mastery, yet doesn't turn in homework, is it accurate to give them a lower grade for the course?

# data[].attributes.headline
What is the Value of Homework? Should it be Graded?

# data[].attributes.subject
What is the Value of Homework? Should it be Graded?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What's the value of homework and should it be graded?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These two questions have been debated many times, often with little resolution. Many schools leave it up to individual faculty members, a grade-level team or department to determine its own policy. I wonder why schools tend to relinquish the responsibility for setting a homework policy that is based on guidelines consistent with what research says...

# data[].attributes.headline
I
plan to study whether or not grading homework plays a role in student achievement
because I want to find out if not grading homework will increase performance to
show the relationship between grading and achievement so that I may better
understand how I should weigh homework in a student’s overall grade.

# data[].attributes.subject
I
plan to study whether or not grading homework plays a role in student achievement
because I want to find out if not grading homework will increase performance to
show the relationship between grading and achievement so that I may better
understand how I should weigh homework in a student’s overall grade.