Homework: Doesn’t improve grades but boosts test scores
Since my twins often have an hour or more of homework each night, I found this study out of Indiana University interesting. This piece comes from IU.
A study led by an Indiana University School of Education faculty member finds little correlation between time spent on homework and better course grades for math and science students, but a positive relationship between homework time and performance on standardized tests.
“When Is Homework Worth the Time?” is a recently published work of Adam Maltese, assistant professor of science education in the IU School of Education, along with co-authors Robert H. Tai, associate professor of science education at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, and Xitao Fan, dean of education at the University of Macau.
The authors examined survey and transcript data of more than 18,000 10th-grade students to uncover explanations for academic performance. The data focused on individual classes for students, examining the outcomes through the transcripts for students from two nationwide samples collected in 1990 and 2002 by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Contrary to much of the published research, a regression analysis of time spent on homework and the final class grade found no substantive difference in grades between students who complete homework and those who do not. But the analysis found a positive association between student performance on standardized tests and the time they spent on homework.
“Our results hint that maybe homework is not being used as well as it could be,” Maltese said.
The authors suggest in their conclusions that other factors such as class participation and attendance may mitigate the association of homework to stronger grade performance. They also indicate that the types of homework assignments typically given may work better toward standardized test preparation than for retaining knowledge of class material.
Maltese puts forward the idea that “if students are spending more time on homework, they’re getting exposed to the types of questions and the procedures for answering questions that are not so different from standardized tests.”
Maltese said the genesis for the study was a concern about whether a traditional and ubiquitous educational practice, such as homework, is associated with students achieving at a higher level in math and science. Many media reports about education compare U.S. students unfavorably to high-achieving math and science students from across the world. The 2007 documentary film “Two Million Minutes” compared two Indiana students to students in India and China, taking particular note of how much more time the Indian and Chinese students spent on studying or completing homework.
“We’re not trying to say that all homework is bad,” Maltese said. “It’s expected that students are going to do homework. This is more of an argument that it should be quality over quantity. So in math, rather than doing the same types of problems over and over again, maybe it should involve having students analyze new types of problems or data. In science, maybe the students should write concept summaries instead of just reading a chapter and answering the questions at the end.”
This issue is particularly relevant given that the time spent on homework reported by most students translates into the equivalent of 100 to 180 50-minute class periods of extra learning time each year.
“The results from this study imply that homework should be purposeful,” Tai said, “and that the purpose must be understood by both the teacher and the students.”
The authors conclude that given current policy initiatives of the U.S. Department of Education, states and school districts to improve science, technology, engineering and math education, more evaluation should be done about how to use homework time more effectively. They suggest more research be done on the form and function of homework assignments.
“In today’s current educational environment, with all the activities taking up children’s time both in school and out of school, the purpose of each homework assignment must be clear and targeted,” Tai said. “With homework, more is not better.”
“If homework is going to be such an important component of learning in American schools, it should be used in some way that’s more beneficial,” Maltese said. “More thought needs to be given to this, rather than just repeating problems already done in class.”
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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99 comments Add your comment
Sandy Springs parent
November 16th, 2012
3:15 am
I don’t believe in homework! I never had any homework until at least until 6th grade. THen in middle school and high school with had a whole period each day after lunch that we three days a week we went to the cafeteria to do homework on 1-2 days a week we would rotate out to the library to do homework their, actually teachers walked around to assist with homework. This resulting in rarely having homework to do at homework. Perhaps finishing up are rare book report or project. Our home time was ours. The same thing occurred in high school. The same study halls in a high schools. Guidance counselor a all one of them helped us with college
Sandy Springs parent
November 16th, 2012
3:23 am
Applications. My daughter a senior with a 3.92 GPA has had no help from her 1 of assigned 5 counselers applying for college. One couselor sends out a monthly email listing scholarships, they are all for black and Hispanic students my daughter is in the 12% minority not in those groups. Most of the colleges they bring in are HBCU, or 3 rd their colleges we are not going their?
AnnieAD
November 16th, 2012
5:03 am
Sandy Springs parent, the role of a high school is to provide information, transcripts. parent help nights, and college fairs. It is your child and your role to apply. Ifyou do not know how, ask for help.
fjeremey
November 16th, 2012
5:51 am
I assign homework for two reasons: skills practice and accountability. I teach high school social studies and there is just too much knowledge to rely on our limited time in class, especially considering the EOCT schedule which make one of my classes 14 weeks instead of 18, and then of course AP classes.
Honestly if I could rely on students dedicating themselves to outside work I could “flip” my classroom and do most of what we know as “homework” in class. But I can’t so I assign light tasks that exist mainly to force engagement with the text for those that otherwise wouldn’t. I try to keep most skills practice in class, but sometimes they need a little more time or less time pressure.
Really I would prefer to get rid of the standardized testing all together and move to a more creative system of evaluation. But that is time consuming, takes a good deal of deeper engagement, and doesn’t generate nice, clean numbers so I don’t see it happening any time soon on a wide scale. Which is unfortunate because being creative and deeply engaged really is the best way to learn.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
6:27 am
A person is not going to learn math unless they spend time on their own doing math problems, showing work, mastering concepts. Typically, a type math problem is introduced in class, the student uses a textbook or like information to see model problems. For example, there might be five same problems and explained solutions for one section. Student spends their own time (”homework”) doing assigned problems and refers to textbooks model problems when there is a question on how to solve problem. Through this (loosely told / defined) method, this is how math technique is gained or achieved. WIthout this process, a person will not learn or “seat” the knowledge required for math, the foundation of many things. The same thing/ process can be said for grammar, conventions, literacy. It you take away the student’s “home” time for work, they will not learn the material. It the students has no textbook to refer to, they will not learn the material. The three things required: lesson example taught by teacher, student doing assigned work on own time, student having textbook or like resource containing example problems that line up both what the teacher is teaching and the assigned work for student. If this process is not done, the work (content) will not be learned.
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Georgians for Educational Excellence
November 16th, 2012
6:27 am
Regular, intensive studying is positively correlated to both class grades and standardized test scores.
DeborahinAthens
November 16th, 2012
6:43 am
Sandy Springs parent, maybe you should check your posts for spelling and grammar. Maybe extra homework would have been a benefit to you.
Pride and Joy
November 16th, 2012
6:44 am
Inciteful and accurate “The authors suggest in their conclusions that other factors such as class participation and attendance may mitigate the association of homework to stronger grade performance.”
I was very disappointed to learn what teaching in manhy APS classrooms (many not all) is like:
The teacher passes out a photocopied worksheet from a book and gives them to the children and says “circle the right answer” and then sits down and does something on her computer.
If I could, I would ban photocopy machines in schools.
It encourages teachers to “pass out” something and sit down.
Teachers should be up and out of their chairs and working with the kids, talking to them, walking by their desks and helping them individually.
I shudder to think of the flipped model — where homework is done in school and teaching is done at home with a CD.
What are schools coming to? It’s crazy.
My childrens’ private school is very different.
Very few photocopied sheets. They are almost always handwritten by the teacher and then photocopied. It’s not a “boxed program” — it is teaching the kids what they need to know: reading, writing and arithmetic.There are no political agendas and no achievement gap politics. The kids are diverse in race and gender and financial status and the outcomees are outstanding. This is why I am a proponent of charters. Charters can function as well as my kids’ private school because they have the flexibility to ditch most of the politics.
HS Math Teacher
November 16th, 2012
6:47 am
I believe for 10th – 12th grades it should be mostly optional. A large portion of the ones who need to do it are most likely going to copy it at the school breakfast, or will not do it at all, and suffer some sort of grading penalty. However, nothing replaces independent practice, and a student should get plenty of this in the classroom. Unless we’re talking about a very complex unit of instruction, a teacher shouldn’t be lecturing the whole class period in a math class. Get the students involved. Make them strike the iron while it’s hot.
The teacher should teach the Concept, then the Technique, then Application. I agree with this research article that any homework assignment should consist of a few unique problems that cover the whole unit, not just 20 problems that are all pretty much the same, and at least one problem should be a level 2 or 3 type problem.
Pride and Joy
November 16th, 2012
6:50 am
Private Citizen, that’s not how my own traditional school worked.
The teacher explained the concept in class then then solved a problem on the board for us to see. Then, IN CLASS, she would ask us to solve a problem in the text book IN CLASS. After a few minutes she would ask a volunteer to come to the board and solve the problem for all of us as we checked our own papers. Then she repeated and then assigned homework, which means, there was a great deal of class participation in school and homework to provide supplemental practice time.
The teachers were actively involved during class time as well as the students. THAT makes a HUGE difference.
Pride and Joy
November 16th, 2012
6:58 am
I dsagree that 10th through 12th don’t need homework. For college-bound kids, independent study is essential because that is how colleges function. To be successful in any real college, one has to know to how do do research and read texts and online information and take notes and learn on one’s own.
Kieran Pavlick
November 16th, 2012
6:58 am
My Mother raised me alone,until age 12. Then she married. Her and My Step Father,never went to High School and I had no older Brothers or Sisters. Fortunately, in 1965 Blue Collar jobs were available and the Draft,as I had no one to ask for help.
Also I worked six nights a week to help the family. Never learned,Geometry,Algebra,or Trig. Took the subjects and barely passed. Having Homework didn’t help me,as I had no resources for help.
No homework hotline back then.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
7:09 am
HS Math Teacher – the plumber shows up! obviously you would know. Great post and well said. My previous post specific to middle / high school, not elementary. This is a great line of discussion. You have just covered the basics of pedagogy. It like a bucket of cold water compared with the numerous and distracting contrived initiatives we are made to suffer. You make an interesting point about three types of students: model student does work with integrity, disinterested students does not do work, still has integrity, and then there is the copying crowd. I have many times seem students assemble for group work, idea being someone has “the work” and the rest sit there diligently copying like they’re stenographers. This is the real teaching same as in 1920, 1950, 1970, and 2012. Learning and ciphering… learning and ciphering.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
7:15 am
HS Math Teacher, I like your realpolitik, HS students 11/12 grade maybe not have homework? To have more time for the Taco Bell drive through job? I used to say, “Once they get the fast food job, it is game over for schooling, which is just a stopping place.” Point is, for those who go to college, and especially upper tier college, doing 2-4 hours of math homework a night is appropriate for several reasons. One is to master content to prepare for college work and the other is to get used to applying the mind and study hours / accomplishment for college work. If I may be the critic, the homework optional for 11/12 grade is maybe one reason why many Georgia students go to college and fail like a sinking rock in water. Another outcome is to soften and otherwise dilute the requirement of college work in this good-times everybody-wins current education politic.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
7:22 am
One time in another state I got a summer job as a math tutor for a school district. I had two girl high school students show up, high achievers going the extra mile, they were real serious and real mature and they knew the trigonometry concepts better than me and they were asking me math questions I could not readily answer, as I am not a higher math specialist and it is not my main area of study. These two were a clear example of some unusually serious and able students poised to sail through a top tier school with a lot of hard work, which is what they wanted. Anyway, it was a real surprise for me, thinking I was going to be helping out “the needy.” These two showed me.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
7:32 am
And sometimes the students who copy will howl like a siren when you call them on it, as if they have their little “system” and are determined this is how they are going to get “success.” I had one dear-soul student who went off for weeks like a cuckoo steam locomotive when I “called” them on this type activity. It was a clear example where they were “empowered” and the rest of the world was a blur for them to step on. Good kid, though. It would be nice if the administration was a little more up to speed with giving the teacher some “power” instead of the giving power to the one who has mastered the howling political siren. Some administrators treat good teachers as “suspect.” And then ask me to change the grade for their kid. And then the grade change is not good enough. Yes, thanks a lot. Jerk!
mountain man
November 16th, 2012
7:36 am
You COULD read this that teachers give certain grades (inflated) that do not reconcile with a student’s real performance. This could be because of a wish not to impede HOPE scolarship qualification or it could be one of those “no zero” policies.
I always thought homework was practice. It is like a coach showing you how to throw a ball, but then you practice at home until you get good at it. Same with teachers. They demonstrate the techniques, then you should practice at home to reinforce these things you have learned.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
7:41 am
PS And a year later the student who received a little demand from teacher, something expected from them, they see teacher and look at them like “You’re the only one in the world who did anything for me.” Meanwhile the scheming multi-tasking administrators who just advanced one federal initiative, then withdrew it, then did The Big Debue of the new federal policy, they look at teacher like Zombie from the latest B-movie. The scheming administrators don’t get it, they just want the initiatives met and the nice tightly worded press release from their main office. And they’ve got their “players” on staff among teachers who say “yerrr hurting the students” and then these get the plumb positions, masterminds of subverting less crafty workers. Hey, let’s play “Flatter the principal!” No thanks. And engineers from other countries will keep making our stuff for us. And the Mexicans will keep bending over to pick our produce. Game. Match. Checkmate.
Atlanta Mom
November 16th, 2012
7:41 am
Seems to me we would have been better of with a regression analysis of time spent on homework and the success in college.
Or time spent on homework and satisfaction with one’s place in society ten years hence.
Just because grades are not corrolated with study time, doesn’t mean it’s not important.
mountain man
November 16th, 2012
7:54 am
“Seems to me we would have been better of with a regression analysis of time spent on homework and the success in college”
My guess would be that there is a direct correlation between good homework ability and good college success. In college, your-time studying (homework) is supposed to be two-thirds of your study time. Better get used to it in high school (and before).
cris
November 16th, 2012
7:57 am
I think it’s all about the student’s motivation…I never assign homework (before you start howling, I am NOT an academic core teacher), however; I do tell my students that they ONLY way for them to improve is to practice (aka homework) on their own time. And – voila! The ones who take the iniative to practice usually improve (sometimes greatly) and the ones who don’t, well, they don’t. It all depends on the intrinsic motivation of the student. As a teacher I can put it out there, whether they take it or not is up to them…
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
7:58 am
Sandy Springs parent So, you do believe in homework, as long as there is a study hall period at school to do it. Good idea.
i think the most successful homework time for me was when my friend (one year older than me) requested and was given an unused office / room and this is where he built the school’s first computer (from a kit) (this kit, in fact: http://s7.computerhistory.org/is/image/CHM/102626767p-03-07 ). There were three of use, we all sat there together at a table in the afternoon and did our math homework. It was quiet. We had sunlight from a window and we used a textbooks and pencils with erasers. The other two guys were better than me and when I got to those #9. and #10. problems, I asked for their help. I recall having three sheets of paper, in pencil, showing all of the steps for one problem. Routinely, completed homework in math would be 10 sheets hand written in pencil, solved first on one sheet of paper and then recopied for finished work / presentation. This was routine and daily. Needless to say, the other two guys are multi-millionaires today. Well, one of them is dead from unexpected pre-programmed dna health issue, but his wife has his estate! When he was a kid, rats ran around his grandmother’s wheelchair. Truth and fact.
Me
November 16th, 2012
8:06 am
I’m with mountain man. If they don’t learn how to do homework and study when they are young, then more than likely it will translate to poor performance in college.Yes some people will still perform well, but more than likely they won’t. That’s part of the reason why a large percentage of students who go to college don’t succeed in graduating. Homework is practice and from what I have seen, the kids who actually do their own work and don’t copy tend to make better grades. Oh and lets not forget the kids who get parental “assistance”…ie doing it for them.
Atlanta Mom
November 16th, 2012
8:07 am
There is nothing surprising in this study. Back in the olden days, students who didn’t do the homework, didn’t do well on tests or their report cards. In this day, where academic grades take a back seat to self esteem, there is no correlation.
Where the direct correlation is seen is homework time and standardized tests. And I’m not talking EOCTs or graduation tests. I refer to SATs, ACTs, and APs.
So Ms. Maureen, I’m afraid it’s back to the books for your twins.
Mother of 2
November 16th, 2012
8:09 am
I think that homework is generally beneficial because it helps students gain mastery of a subject. Of course, sometimes the projects are busy work. But overall, I think it helps build study skills for college and a strong work ethic.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
8:18 am
By the way, the one guy’s wife is Chief Executive or somesuch in the company the other two founded. After they sold off their first company, now what they do is redundant internet connection / server management to run at least one major airport. Their connections do not go down, they’ve got it covered from four different sides and invented the concept, at least for themselves. I visited one time and they were upgrading a server room (in a building they had bought) and we were configuring some racks and, referring to a piece of rack mounted gear I was holding, the one guy told me “Don’t drop that thing. It costs half a million dollars.”
Redux: there’s a reason the trains run ontime
But this is the USA. Who cares? Let’s puff up some propaganda, put some nice pre-pack marketing photos to go with it, and debut the initiative with no support materials and then force everybody to do it and get angry with them when they don’t. Don’t forget, “respect” at all times and “confidentiality” regarding any of the thousand emails from the borg. At this time, I would like to express my recognition and gratitude to Julian D’Assange and especially, Bradley Manning.
PS What I learned about computing from my high school friends: No Microsoft – ever. And no Apple, too. That’s your homework assignment. Go figure out what is left. I suggest you start with what was used to run telephone systems since time immemorial, and go forward from there. Keyword: type of operating systems.
Hey, does anyone know what is the most-used, most applied operating system in the world? i-tron from Japan. http://tronweb.super-nova.co.jp/tronwebimages/wesupportitron.gif -Knowledge, so simple, so easy. But you get potato pie.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
8:28 am
And now Bill Gates wants to tell you how to do education. In many parts of the world that guy is considered to be a criminal. The Indians like him because he temporarily monopolized US computing and gave the Indians something to do exploited US I.T. jobs. When Gates Foundation goes looking for money, the German industrialist says (and I quote) “Where’s the legitimacy?” Meanwhile, Microsoft was fined $1.1B in europe for anti-trust and the fine held 2012 upon appeal / review. Think about that. But they’ve got government and business principles and require competition over there, imagine that. http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0628/Microsoft-fine-1.1B-upheld-in-antitrust-suit Pretty serious matter when you consider that State of Georgia is signing a lot of pre-packaged Gates initiatives into law, and I’m not talking about the charter movement, either.
Tom
November 16th, 2012
8:30 am
Just read the title of your article. It’s a shame that people are more concerned with making good grades than they are about LEARNING. We should be focusing on learning how to enjoy education, learning how to learn and discover, more than on getting good grades. (I admit I haven’t and won’t read your article or the other posts. Let’s love learning.
FJ
November 16th, 2012
8:39 am
@ Pride and Joy – I would like to know which private school your children attend. You keep bragging about how fantastic it is, yet I remember when you wrote last Spring that you just walked into the school and signed them up for the following year. You have also written that you pay less in tuition for both of them to attend than APS spends per child per year. I am calling BS. We are now a private school family and I know full well that any of the decent schools in Atlanta are around 20k per kid per year, and I also know how competitive the application process is. Do you just sit around and make this stuff up or what?
Concerned DeKalb Mom
November 16th, 2012
8:42 am
To clarify what I think HS Math Teacher was saying…homework should be OPTIONAL for 10-12 grade students. That’s a very different concept than assigning no homework at all.
When I have taught in the past, I’ve never graded homework for anything other than completion. Why? Becuase there is no way to ensure legitimacy of a student’s work when you send it home for them to work on it. I prefer students to work together on math problems, ask for help from me or from other teachers, or their parents…which therefore results in their work not being truly theirs. I’ll know on assessments–and I have given PLENTY–whether or not they are actually completing their own work. But I think that HS Math Teacher has a really good point–those who value the importance of hard work will always do their homework; those who don’t will find others to do it for them.
Hey Teacher
November 16th, 2012
8:43 am
I think it depends on the course and the definition of homework. I don’t know any way around “homework” in a high school English class — especially at the honors level. Most of my homework assignments are long term — an essay, a novel assignment for example that we will discuss in class. I don’t think it is meaningful for students to complete pages and pages of grammar worksheets but its impossible to read an entire novel in class without having it take up the entire semester.
Mom of twins
November 16th, 2012
8:59 am
It looks like the researchers overlooked the subjective component of grades. Both of my twin boys score very well on standardized, IQ, all the tests they give. At home when I give them assignments on vacation, they do very comparable work. BUT NOT AT SCHOOL. The cute, talkative one consistently gets better grades and the quiet one consistently gets put in study hall for not finishing his work. He’s not motivated and the teachers don’t like him. This isn’t a homework-related problem. This is a variance among teachers’ personal skills.
teacher&mom
November 16th, 2012
9:01 am
Quality of homework vs quantity of homework is almost always mentioned in the homework research. However, when the debate begins….it always morphs into homework vs no homework.
The secret is quality homework. Homework that can’t be copied. For example…handing students a packet filled with a couple of pipe cleaners, a handful of beads and asking them to return the next day with a protein structure. Or how about creating an pictorial analogy of photosynthesis that does include a single plant leaf or the sun…but they can show they understand the principles behind photosynthesis (electron transport chain, breaking of chemical bonds, etc). Give them a make-believe animal that is stranded on an island and ask they have to illustrate/discuss how the species evolves…include examples of coevolution, vestigial organs, etc.
Digger
November 16th, 2012
9:03 am
Pride and Joy is simply the latest reincarnation of some guy who likes morphing into various personalities on here. It has been busted numerous times, but continues in its fantasy land.
guest
November 16th, 2012
9:05 am
I can’t believe we are having this discussion. Last week it was let’s do away with cursive and this week it’s homework is really not worth it. I have an idea, next week let’s say do away with math because kids have smartphones to do that anyway. And we wonder why our kids are so stupid. Good grief.
BehindEnemyLines
November 16th, 2012
9:05 am
Seems like the most influential phrase in all of this was likely “with all the activities taking up children’s time both in school and out of school”.
If those aren’t leaving time for homework — and I’m familiar with students playing a sport with a high time demand still managing to complete 2-4 hours of homework & study per night, at least 5 nights a week — then maybe the activities are the issue rather than the homework.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
9:09 am
Optional core assignments looks like a nice progressive way of dealing with single-track curriculum. So this takes some pressure off the none-college crowd (students). Still doesn’t teach those how to weld or have a means to support their family. College for me, Taco Bell and jail for you. And somebody else can do the welding and trade jobs. i.e. What are they at come age 25?
Long Time Teacher
November 16th, 2012
9:14 am
I have never given much homework because kids need to go out and play. But homework does build responsibility and discipline. Students who faithfully do their homework seem to do well in school. Students who have not dveloped the habit to complete homework usually lag behind because of a lack of discipline.
Duh
November 16th, 2012
9:18 am
My school’s philsophy is that homework should rarely be given, and shouldn’t count against a student if they don’t do it. As my principal says, “There is no standard for responsibility.”
Smackerel
November 16th, 2012
9:56 am
This study is the academic equivalent of peeing on your leg and telling you it’s raining. The notion that work does not correlate to results is nuts. It is a testament to P.T. Barnum that you can dress up such nonsense with academic gobbledygook and get people to swallow it hook, line and sinker.
When you have open heart surgery, or get on a 747 to fly across the ocean, do you want the guy who did his friggin’ homework, of the slacker that never cracked a book? Even if you want the slacker, you’re not going to get them, because those fields are meritocracies, and excellence born of hard work is required to advance. Slackers can’t hack it.
If the educational environment is such that slackers do no worse than hard workers, then the conclusion is not that work makes no difference, it is that the environment is dysfunctional, stupid and should be smashed to bits to that the obvious, normal and natural relationship between work and results is restored.
George
November 16th, 2012
10:00 am
Hey mom do not have your kids to do homework and stop starting a bunch of bull SSSSS.Every one knows everything in Georgia on how to educate except the DAM TEACHERS.Keep your kids at home and do it yourself.homework is vitial to learning.the real problem is parents do not want to do anything so they come up with a bunch of Bull SSSS just do you.
skipper
November 16th, 2012
10:06 am
There will be arguments for and against. I personally am against homework, because YOU NEED A LIFE! If the job is getting done at school, there may be a little test review at home, etc. but (and I hate to say it) but much homework is more “punitive” (if I may) busywork than anything else. It can put a bad taste in your mouth about school. There are experts on both sides…some who will argue for it. remember, though, that the so-called experts thought lobotomies, bleeding, etc. were the way! By the way, I did pretty well in school, am a college-grad, etc. We hac one teacher in high-school who did not believe in homework, save a little occasional test study. She made class so interesting that after her class we were betting on what she would come up with the next day; and nobody wanted to miss it, so absenteeism went down. She may have been the exception, but you can teach w/o making life frickin’ miserable!
Frankie
November 16th, 2012
10:10 am
I am a big supporter of homework. Home work should be consistent with the leasson covered for that day and it should be an evloving process. for math ie questions 1 – 4 should be easy and allowfor work to be shown, questions 5 – 9 should be a little more difficult but incorporate the ideas of questions 1-4, and so on and soforth…thee should be at least 10 questions that incorporate all the concepts. as far as reading I had to explain this over and over agiain to my son’s mother….that if he is having difficulty comprehending his reading assignmet, make him after each chapter write a short 2-3 sentence summary discussing the chapter, who were the main caharacter fo that chapter, etc..
like a light bulb….oh yeah she says….that is a good idea…
I think the larger problem is kids and their parents do not know how to study and are trying to catch up with the teacher and her assignments..
Learn how to study folks and homework won’t be a chore…
Mark Rheault
November 16th, 2012
10:21 am
Yes….and I can just pick up a bat and hit a home run in a game without practicing at the batting cages…
mgdawg
November 16th, 2012
10:23 am
Here’s my first argument, is the fact that homework helps with standardized tests a bad thing? It was said in this very text that the US is behind many other countries, what is that based off of? My guess is standardized tests. Teachers are being evaluated on what? Standardized tests. College’s look at the SAT and ACT as one of the major components of acceptance, those are standardized tests. Many classes in high school’s have end of course tests that you must pass to pass the class, that is a standardized test. Do you get my point? If homework helps on standardized tests, does that make it not useful?
Now onto my personal opinion on homework. I believe homework helps out a lot, if done correctly. The problem is the latter part of that sentence. Homework is very easy to cheat on, if you cheat on it then it won’t help. If it isn’t graded right or wrong, and just graded if you put something on the paper, then many kids are just going to run through it and put no thought into it. Extra study time can’t hurt you, it can only help. Not to mention, if you go to college all of your work is homework. If you have never done homework before then it is very difficult to have the self control to do homework. It takes practice to have the self control not to play video games or go out with friends if you have something that needs to be done.
AlreadySheared
November 16th, 2012
10:44 am
Only way to learn math is to do math. Teacher teach you math, you still gotta DO it to LEARN it. Period.
Bruce Kendall
November 16th, 2012
11:05 am
The correct answer depends on how the homework is used. If it is used to address any shortfalls in learning when the teacher checks it, then it is to the good. However, if not checked by the teacher or used to address shortfalls….
RCB
November 16th, 2012
11:32 am
If time is spent in school on homework, it should be called schoolwork. What a waste of time during the school day. Where are all of these schools that have such huge blocks of time for kids to do homework? I wouldn’t want my child going there. Homework teaches responsibility, structure and good work/study habits. There is no easy way out, which is what we’ve come to expect these days.
sloboffthestreet
November 16th, 2012
11:36 am
So we have a college professor writing about tenth graders. How about elementary school students? Students are still counting on their fingers entering middle school. Anyone see a problem? I watch our sons 6th grade classmates struggle with multiplication and division. Why? They were never taught their addition and subtraction facts and they were also never required to memorize their multiplication tables.
Writing a paper titled homework doesn’t improve test scores and then targeting one grade level is idiotic at best. But what else does a Highly Qualified Educator have to do other than spew their garbage? “Oh look at that smart professor. He wrote a paper.” Just more trash to entertain the education minions.
And as so correctly stated above, “The Only Way To Learn Math is Through Repetition.” Do it, and do it again. It may be boring but once the light goes on it burns forever. Homework please. And please teach one skill at a time. Send home a homework sheet every night that shows one example of the skill completed and 10 -20 questions that allow the student to master that skill. I have asked for this every year including this year and all the teacher sends home is one page for the week with 5 different skill questions for each night. The font is so small you struggle to read the problems. The line for the student to write the answer is also microscopic. When I asked for 10 – 20 skill specific questions nightly, her answer was “Amen to that.” She continued to explain that the homework sheet sent home is what she was given relating to Common Core and went on to say that many of her students “Were Not Getting It.” Imagine, she teaches the same lesson to every sixth grader and she is to lazy to write a daily homework assignment. Instead she takes an example given to her from the Common Core and copies it and sends it home every week. Now that is above and beyond the call of duty. NOT!!!
Sandy Springs parent
November 16th, 2012
11:38 am
@Mark R one of my friends from a big 10 college never practiced football in high school or college. He was the first tight end choose in 1981, in the NFL draft. What do you call him a naturally gifted athlete.
Halftrack
November 16th, 2012
11:41 am
“The results from this study imply that homework should be purposeful,” Tai said, “and that the purpose must be understood by both the teacher and the students.” This has always been the case for education. We are finding that out everyday – - – critical thinking is not being taught by our teachers.
Speed Racer
November 16th, 2012
12:03 pm
Grades and test scores aren’t the standard by which everything should be measured. I believe the goal is…learning.
chicagojeff
November 16th, 2012
12:11 pm
Just reading these post indicate to me that reading comprehension homework was not sufficiently completed by the lot of you. Why would you comment on an article if you haven’t read it? I think I know why.. because when they start using words you’re not comfortable with data..outcomes..translate.. you just signed it off as a written piece condemning homework. Purposeful directed homework makes good sense. Children’s time should be looked at as precious. Just assigning busy work is nonsensical and the children are clear that that is what you are doing.
Sandy Springs parent
November 16th, 2012
12:14 pm
@ Private citizen thank you what folks don’t realize is that study halls to do any assigned homework is the great equalizer for those of us who weren’t born on the right side of the tracks. I was that kid that was embarrassed getting off the bus at the trailer park. Even though my father owned it he still made us live in it. I also have a mother who a high school drop out ( I need to go out and buy her a cell phone and add it to my plan, since $775 in Social Security is quite livable, and I can’t have an 86 year old stranded. My father went to college to play football and then when his grades went down lost his scholarship. There was no one to help with homework. We lived 16 miles from school during the gas rationing of the 70’s so you made that bus.
I have worked since I was 11 babysitting, caddying at the country club ( putting up with the comments of the prevented old men, including the doctor with the RR who wanted to drive me home), washing the walls of some rich ladies house after a fire, working at the pro shop at the country club, working at a dinner, working at a grocery store. These were just my jobs during high school. So when was I going to go the hours of BS homework that is now given. Thank goodness, I went to school in New York where students were separated out, by academic potential into Regents college bound, me. Then general which went to vocational school afternoons Junior and senior years.
So for all of you that love Homework, think about how you are disenfranchising students, since the schools no longer allow a full period of study hall with teachers available to help. Tutorials prior to school are the most ridiculous things on earth, how are students suppose to get there???? unless children can stay until parents get off of work or there is a bus home, not a sweep bus to nowhere close, the something with afternoon tutorial. What parent Cana pickup at 4:45.
I fortunately have a high IQ, and drive. I went to college when Private colleges were less than $7k with room and board, instead of even Alabama out do state $42k, Baylor 44k, my old college $46k, most privates $56k. I graduated with a master’s in Engineering in 5 years , with only $14k in debt. I made over the SS maximum contribution during the majority of my career.
@ grammar police this is an informal blog. I am trying to type on an I-pad. I a sure I made several times what you did. I hired former English teachers as my secretary’s or executive assistants. If you want to be that get a better paying job as an executive assistant. Then you will complain about answering the phone. I don’t drink coffee so you will never make it for me.
Claudia Stucke
November 16th, 2012
12:19 pm
Dr. Spinks succinctly points out what cognitive psychologists and other education researchers have found as well. The problem is how to apply the practice. Reinforcement is the most efficient and meaningful way to get a lesson to “take” or to get new information to find an accessible place in the brain. Students can greatly improve understanding if they simply go over texts again after they get home. (I would say “notes,” but getting students to take notes is yet another battle.)
So if homework (even if just going over the day’s lessons) reinforces learning or understanding (as evidenced by test scores), then why doesn’t it help daily grades? For one thing, kids often refuse to do it, and it results in a zero for that day’s homework grade. I have mixed feelings about grading homework in the first place, since it is meant to be a tool to promote understanding and a reality check for students to see if they understood the lesson. I don’t like to penalize a student for learning, especially if he or she made the effort to do the work. But as students pointed out to me, “We aren’t going to do it if you’re not going to grade it,” which was their rationale for not taking notes. “We’ll take notes if you grade them.” ???? The problem here: Many students have come to see “education” as merely the exchange of paper for grades. Paper goes in, grades come out . . . . and not much (if anything) passes through the brain long enough to lodge. There’s also the issue of immediate (versus delayed) gratification, which is understandable in the world young people have grown up in: ATMs, microwave ovens, instant answers from Google, etc. . . . .
I Don't Care for Homework
November 16th, 2012
12:30 pm
Because the kids are already tired from being at school all day & every teacher decides to give the kids homework that is due the next morning, it’s too much & too time consuming. Let them learn in class & let them do some reading, but giving them homework everyday for every subject doesn’t make much sense. When will the kids have time to sleep?
Claudia Stucke
November 16th, 2012
12:33 pm
@Halftrack: We’re trying to teach critical thinking. I went into teaching thinking that adolescents would enjoy discussion and would find it freeing to know that some (most) questions have more than one “right” or “wrong” answer. Imagine my dismay when they demanded worksheets and multiple-choice tests instead. Sure, I was able to engage even some marginally literate ninth-graders in a heated debate among themselves about who was most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet (a great exercise in critical thinking and ethics, among other things); but even then I often heard, “So what’s the answer?” as if there were only one–the “right” one. Or, sadly, “Will this be on the test?” I even resorted to pulling out Bloom’s Taxonomy (it’s not a secret–kids should know that we’re trying to help them learn to think, not trying to teach them WHAT to think) and showed them that the lowest classification was informational and that higher-order thinking skills were farther up the scale. There’s no one reason why many students are stuck on the information-acquisition end, but even the brighter students are often resistant to taking chances or risking “wrong” answers in front of peers.
catlady
November 16th, 2012
12:38 pm
Was one of their datasets the NELS 88 data?
I’d like to read their discussion of their regression analysis. What did they control for? For example, were kids who did better ALREADY IN classes that require more homework (AP, higher math, physics?) Did they find, independent of IQ, parental education, SES, etc, that kids with more homework did better?
I would wonder
Proud Teacher
November 16th, 2012
1:04 pm
You teach a team that you play like you practice so you must practice very diligently. Isn’t homework much the same thing? And yet how many of you debunk the idea of homework? Homework could solve several problems that aren’t class grade related such as better test scores, less time with frivolous technology, less time in the street, and practiced focus on school. Life is not fair and life is not easy, now or ever.
Solutions
November 16th, 2012
1:10 pm
The quality of the homework time makes a big difference. Sitting in front of the tv with a math book open in your lap is not quality homework time. Solving problems alone in a dark room is quality homework time, especially if you are using a programmed text that allows you to check your solutions immediately, and gives hints if you are stuck. The trick is to try to solve the problems using the models prior to looking at the hints or worse yet the solutions. You must have hints and solutions immediately available to avoid frustration, a frustrated students soon stops trying.
cris
November 16th, 2012
1:23 pm
@Sandy Springs I appreciate what you’re trying to say, but in places it’s almost impossible to decipher what you’re trying to say…and the bragging about how much you make and who you hire is somewhat childish given your supposed level of education and accomplishment.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
1:23 pm
Maybe no math homework in Georgia so the state will have more grown-up lottery customers! -would be a good thing for the state to get out of the gaming business. If you want gaming, open up casinos. Casinos have food/ buffet and entertainment and whole families can go instead of mom, pop, and auntie hanging out at the convenience stores to pay dollars into a state business. And I dearly love my friends who own convenience stores but there is definitely a “lottery culture” and they sure know little of maths! ! !
And as a university student, please! keep your lottery money. I do not know want it and it should be going to buy toys and supplies for the kids, bought by their parents instead of paying it out one dollar at a time to the state for gaming.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
1:27 pm
State needs to get out of the “hope” business and get into the “ethics” business. One half-way audit done and retracted. How about “finish the job” and and move on to the other 200-something school districts. PS It’s really gets on their nerves when you call a state agency and say, “Hey! Why don’t you do your job!” Much consternation in Georgia with this concept. Answer is “Huh? Wha?”
Those gaming people are “doing their job” just like it is told in the good book. And I don’t mean the right side of the good book, either.
Hmmmmmmm
November 16th, 2012
2:25 pm
It’s NO wonder that public school learning is at the bottom of the charts in this country… The IU research project sounds like a government sponsored study…. Pathetic at best! Try going to one of the more credible private institutions in this state. i.e Westminster in Atlanta, Lovett, or Pace Academy. Home work is an essential part of every students learning process. AS IT SHOULD BE…. But hey, we wouldn’t have any democratic voters if there were not public schools to dumb our kids down…
@Sandy Springs parent busted
November 16th, 2012
2:57 pm
@Sandy Springs parent the only tight end drafted in the first round of the 1981 NFL draft was from South Carolina. Not exactly Big 10 country.
Try again.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
4:19 pm
Speaking from experience, putting periodic “homework” grades as part of your student grade report with get you an icy reception from administrators in this current feel-good good-times politic, as will high results from students since you just “made everyone else look bad.” Craz-z-z-y (thank you to the expressive beatnik entertainers – who probably did their homework).
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
4:27 pm
It is kind of like the current demand is to want high results but in an informal setting, informal approach, everybody (students) “do their own thing.” Its like the bosses front to shop from a nice catalog. The whole mess sort of contains a sense of unreality. It’s really a bhoozie make-believe formula nudged along with crispy press releases. The marketing preceeds the support materials. The new marketing… preceeds the support materials. If teachers had “power” there would be no “power” left for anyone else, and the bosses are insecure and hunger for it (power). The bosses network with the students against the teachers. Seen this in 4th tier state colleges, too. Erroneous complaint, big response. Teacher is dirt, under the heel, student and administrator are puffed up in unison.
Jack ®
November 16th, 2012
6:27 pm
That old homework probably interfers with TV and the internet.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
6:39 pm
Jack, It would be sensible to have internet based homework, a website where homework is done. This would make grading / credit quick and effective for the teacher, as opposed to checking homework on paper, which can be time consuming.
Private Citizen
November 16th, 2012
6:40 pm
PS Much interest in contemporary digital means for teaching, as printed textbooks are now obsolete.
Laurie
November 16th, 2012
10:16 pm
“Many students have come to see ‘education’ as merely the exchange of paper for grades.”
I think that is exactly true.
But who or what is teaching them to think of it that way?
AlreadySheared
November 16th, 2012
10:46 pm
@cris
You show respect! This is an anonymous forum on the internet – someone tell you they have professional credentials and high income YOU DON’T QUESTION THAT. They tell the truth always out of respect. YOU show respect.
Beverly Fraud
November 17th, 2012
4:01 am
An Atlanta School Board member investigated for an ethics violation? Again?
Knock me over with a feather!
Beverly Fraud
November 17th, 2012
4:11 am
“They suggest more research be done on the form and function of homework assignments.”
And how might this be implemented?
“Well, if we can cut 15 to 20 of those pesky teachers out of the budget, we can free up the funds for a new Department of Homework! I’ll run it by Cheryl this afternoon.”
Beverly Fraud
November 17th, 2012
4:13 am
Disclaimer: The name Cheryl does not refer to any particular educational figure; any resemblance to an educational figure in purely coincidental.
Of course.
Steve
November 17th, 2012
4:23 am
I can see where homework would help on standardized tests. I have a couple thoughts from teaching for 33 years. Why ask memorize, reguritate and flush questions? Why not have performanced based tests? I would rather know my child can do something. Why is my grandson in kindergarten getting an hour of reading and math homework every night? He is 5 and already hates reading and math. We wonder why there is such a high drop out rate. Where is the common sense? Has anyone in education or political office really thought this through? Is this one of those good ideas with unintended consequences I keep hearing politicians hearing about? I think that education no longer cares about the kid but only about how education looks.
Tony
November 17th, 2012
6:18 am
So many in our society miss the point about homework and other aspects of achievement in schools. It is not about who’s the smartest or who gets the highest grades. It is much more about who is willing to show initiative, work hard, and learn the most. These motivations come from within the student and are often based on family values that are instilled at early ages.
Why are these important? When you are talking about academic exercises, like homework, then you are talking about activities that require extra effort. This extra effort and the desire to do well come from attitudes within a person. Generally, the more time a person spends working on something, the better that person will do. This applies to everything! Athletes know it. Musicians know it. And high achieving students know it.
The fact that our society has such animosity toward homework is an indicator that we hold high academic standards in contempt. It really does not matter what we think about homework. What matters is whether we value hard work and that we spend the time it takes to truly master the knowledge and skills that will lead to future success.
You will not get a good education if you do not put effort into it. This is one of the biggest reasons that our focus on teachers’ evaluations using test scores is fallacious from the outset.
Private Citizen
November 17th, 2012
8:12 am
Steve How true, how true. Well said.
Tony You’re addressing two different things. The first is way wrong. Being a performance drone as measurement of worth is perfect objective of peasant society, i.e. did you do what you were told to do, how well? etc. The second thing you address is hostility toward intellectualism, a comment I recent read made about the oil rich Arab countries. Anyway, it all seems to be about central power and outside orders. PS starting to see our state DOE as a puppet. Who has the hand in the glove, who is the puppet-master?
Here’s your homework. Identify which image is government propaganda and which is from computer video game:
1. Bin Laden’s Mountain Fortress http://www.forwardon.com/attachments/2009-01-25/1232916861485bl.gif
2. Minecraft http://i.imgur.com/nZwr6.jpg
Compare and Contrast: http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2011/05/osamahouse_01.jpg
mountain man
November 17th, 2012
8:29 am
“Grades and test scores aren’t the standard by which everything should be measured. I believe the goal is…learning.”
Pray tell, how do you measure “learning” without grdes or standardized tests? We used to be able to measure student performance by grades, then HOPE started grade inflation – along with pushy parents who wanted a grade changed.
a_mom
November 17th, 2012
8:48 am
@BehindEnemyLines 9:05am – You sounded like it’s reasonable to give 2-4 hours of homework a night. FOUR HOURS?!! Mine are still in elementary school, but I see the older kids getting off the bus around 4pm. Assume they should have at least 30 minutes of “down time” when they get home for a snack & tell parents about their day. Hopefully, another 1/2 hour so they can get out in the fresh air & play a little. That makes it 5pm. With 4 hours of work, plus 1/2 hour for dinner, plus 1/2 hour for showers & getting ready for the next day… they’ll be going to bed at 10pm. And that allows no time for any extracurricular activities to make them well-rounded. Grades ALWAYS come first to me, but I would like to think my kids can take music lessons or play a sport. If teachers are loading up on that much daily homework, then I think a lot of it is just busywork or to make it look like they’re good teachers.
I went to public school in Florida and I never remember getting much homework until junior high/high school. There was some in later elementary (4th-6th), but mostly a page of math problems (which needs repetition) and the occasional science report, book report, or social studies diorama. My kids in Cherokee have had homework since Kindergarten, and I think that’s ridiculous!! If you google it, there are a lot of studies suggesting that very young kids shouldn’t have “homework”, per se. They learn to hate school and are weary of it before they hit the higher grades. The material at young ages should be mostly covered during school. Even in high school, I usually had around 1.5 hours of homework, with the exception of the occassional special reports. I attended college on an academic scholarship, so lack of “busywork” homework didn’t hinder my education.
Too many teachers seem to think it makes them a better teacher if they’re giving lots of homework every day. The best teachers make sure they cover most of the material in class. Homework should be for a purpose, not just mindless repetition.
South Georgia
November 17th, 2012
9:04 am
More and more excuses to do less and less. Ask students at Georgia Tech how much homework they did in high school…then ask the 20 and 30 year olds working at McDonalds how much homework they did while they were in high school. I’m glad I did my homework 40 years ago.
Private Citizen
November 17th, 2012
9:18 am
Elementary school should be reserved for childhood. (i.e no homework). To even expect a child that young to relate to that type responsibility seems abusive. Cold to say, but really folks. Steve said it best about this preoccupation about “appearances” for the powers to be certain is “appear” effective seems to be priority #1. This one reason I am uncomfortable about the period degrees of “excellent schools” and “star teachers.” I mean, so what? It sets the tone that appearances are what count. It’s like the difference in marketing and engineering. A good engineer does not need to promote themselves, as their work is evident. Folks, we need to get real about this saturation testing. It is ongoing and I think it is abusive to kids and puts teachers on a hampster wheel. People say there should be periodic (annual?) testing and I agree but that is not what is happening. Anyway, off topic.
homework -> given to elementary students in order to present “image” or “appearances” of diligence -> pattern of marketing as a priority that turns into policy that turns into making people to things -> one of the reasons for saturation testing?
subtext: what is a wholesome environment for children (elementary) and students (toward high school)
Private Citizen
November 17th, 2012
9:20 am
typos. pardon the sloppy non-proofed typing. corrected:
“This is one reason I am uncomfortable about the periodic decrees of “excellent schools” and “star teachers”
Private Citizen
November 17th, 2012
9:24 am
Homework for elementary and homework for high school are two completely different things. The source article is specific to 10th grade students, although it is productive for the discussion to “branch” to the unexpected news that elementary students are being assigned homework.
Tony
November 17th, 2012
9:54 am
So, private, are you saying people should simply sit back and wait for their good reward? that hard work has nothing to do with a person’s accomplishments in life? I ask that because you seem to have taken my response and twisted it into something that I did not say.
bootney farnsworth
November 17th, 2012
10:03 am
this is stupid, and appears to totally ignore the point of homework.
studying you do, on your own, outside of class.
now why do such a revolutionary thing?
-practice for when you get older/up in school and it really counts
-accountability
-disipline
-to learn more
-to gage retention of what’s taught in class
God above, its no wonder the American public has lost faith in public ed
bootney farnsworth
November 17th, 2012
10:05 am
why bother to teach at all?
why not just have a decade long recess and give them worthless diplomas they can be proud of while they stand in the unemployment line?
bootney farnsworth
November 17th, 2012
10:08 am
I’m a big believer in homework should be age and intellect appropriate, but some of the comments I’ve read here….
absent common sense, accountablity, and in many instances brain cells
Woody
November 17th, 2012
11:09 am
If you cannot teach a subject and find a way to reinforce that right there in the classroom, and perhaps test for retention the following day, then I think that something is very wrong. By testing for retention the next day, child might decide on his/her own that some practice work is a good thing.
Lee
November 17th, 2012
12:40 pm
We’ve blogged the homework issue to death in the past. What is this, round 15?
Bottom line, there are benefits to doing homework. Just as there are benefits to playtime, family time, chores, sports, and leisure. The $64k question has always been quantity vs quality.
My biggest problem with homework as a parent was that it seemed the teacher sent home all the stuff she was supposed to cover in class, but didn’t have time. Send it home and hopefully the parents can teach it. When elementary kids are doing 2-3 hours of homework per night, something is wrong. Way back when, I just don’t remember having the homework load that my children had.
Common sense people. That’s all most parents ask for…
mountain man
November 17th, 2012
1:04 pm
I don’t think they should give homework. It interferes too much with kid’s video gaming time.
Sandy Springs Parent
November 17th, 2012
5:16 pm
Try the 1980 Draft, the same year Mark Harmon was drafted as a quarterback. It was 30 plus years ago. I don’t have a penis.
catlanta
November 17th, 2012
7:00 pm
Homework teaches self-discipline, a skill that is developed outside of required class-time.
The by-product is better test scores and increased comprehension while a student, but most of all it prepares a kid for higher education and the psychology of success in the workforce, when no one is “requiring” them to do certain things to get promoted or find their own path to excellence.
Private Citizen
November 17th, 2012
8:18 pm
Tony,
First, read the two pages of comments and then return renewed.
Second, it is not a simple issue and anyone saying “March! MArch!” probably uses words like “entitlements” too.
Thirds, hey Mountain Man, check out this Official information from the Seattle police department http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2012/11/09/marijwhatnow-a-guide-to-legal-marijuana-use-in-seattle/
Private Citizen
November 17th, 2012
8:26 pm
If you had a vo-tech or shop program, you could probably get some (high school age) kids to do hours of homework and on weekends, too. Somebody once told me that in their town (not in Georgia) the vo-tech program used to build a house every year, but all of that is gone now.
Robert Ryshke
November 18th, 2012
7:12 am
Hard to know whether this is meaningful because we don’t get any data on whether they looked at the value of the homework. There is “good” and “bad” homework. Good homework should be factored into a students grade if it is designed to improve mastery, long-term memory, and application of the concepts being studied. We need to know more about the teachers who were involved in the study and the alignment of their philosophy on grading and homework. Without this knowledge the study’s findings are meaningless. I think you post needs to be more intellectually rigorous. Don’t present the conclusions without determining whether they have merit. My guess is that they HAVE NO MERIT if you looked at how it was conducted. I will take a closer look to see if I am right in my suspicions.
Claudia Stucke
November 18th, 2012
10:54 am
@Laurie, I wish I knew. The problem may be our culture/society itself; I think it’s a complex issue with many possible answers.
@Lee, the reality of today’s high school classroom is that one teacher is trying to address the needs of 40 young people (possibly more) whose comprehension/ability levels may range from early elementary to college. (And several are still learning English as their second or third language.) Trying to introduce, model, practice, and reinforce within a 45- to 50-minute period is, I think, a superhuman feat. Kudos to anyone who can do this; I had to acknowledge that I can’t.
South Georgia
November 18th, 2012
11:29 am
@Claudia Stucke your point is very accurately made. Many board members as well as local and sometimes very vocal people have not stepped back into a classroom since they graduated or dropped out years, if not decades ago. The requirements and expectations now placed on teachers would be realistic if each teacher had a secretary to handle the paperwork, help handle discipline and document parent contacts. We…demand data…data driven…what does the data say? What the data will say if we continue as we are is that we required too much data and that the teachers who were expected to be miracle workers were drowned by the data. Let teachers teach.
Claudia Stucke
November 19th, 2012
1:15 pm
Thank you, South Georgia. Like so many other teachers who are still in the trenches, I didn’t need a secretary–just a smaller number of students!