no homework policy definition

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Homework vs. No Homework Is the Wrong Question

Does your school have a homework policy? How does your school ensure that teachers don’t overload students with busy work?

The real question we should be asking is, "What do we believe should happen after the end of the school day to help ensure that students retain what they have learned and are primed to learn more?" Any answer with the word, "work" in its name, as in "homework," is not typically going to be met with eagerness or enthusiasm by students.

Ideally, we want children to understand that they are always learners. In school, we refer to them as "students" but outside of school, as children, they are still learners. So it makes no sense to even advertise a "no homework" policy in a school. It sends the wrong message. The policy should be, "No time-wasting, rote, repetitive tasks will be assigned that lack clear instructional or learning purposes."

A realistic homework strategy should be a key topic of back-to-school night and the first parent-teacher conferences of the school year. But it should also reflect a considered school policy and not simply be up to each individual teacher to carry out according to his or own theory of student learning. Another advantage of this approach is to ensure that individual children are not inadvertently overloaded with demands from teachers who may not know what other teachers are asking of the same student. This is a particular concern in secondary schools.

Home Activities That Matter the Most

Children should be encouraged to read, write, perform arithmetic, better understand the world around them in terms of civics, science, and the arts, and, of course, develop their people skills -- their emotional intelligence. This encouragement should be part of everyday family interactions outside of school, and the school should provide developmental guidance to all parents, in the appropriate languages, to help them do this. For some children, specialized guidance will be needed, and this, too, should be provided proactively to parents.

Some parents will select focused programs or after-school experiences to help foster their children's learning in one or more of the aforementioned areas. To promote equity within and across schools, communities should think about how to make these kinds of experiences available to all children in high-quality ways -- without undue or unrealistic expense to families.

Of course, some teachers will have specific, creative ideas about how learning can be enhanced at home, in the context of particular units of study in school. Maybe what we need is a new word for all this. Instead of "homework," how about "continued learning" or "ongoing growth activities?"

Parents Playing Their Part

Finally, students' learning would be greatly enhanced by schools taking a clear stance about supporting good parenting. My colleague Yoni Schwab and I have written about the importance of parents focusing on parenting as a priority, and secondarily working on assisting schools with educational issues (Elias, M. J., and Schwab, Y., 2004).

Aspects of good parenting that could be encouraged by schools include workshops, family nights, and discussion series on ways to promote:

• Children's social-emotional and character development
• Parents spending more time directly interacting with their kids in enjoyable ways
• Parents visibly showing how much they value the importance of education and effort
• Parents monitoring their children's use of and exposure to electronic media
• Children's "continued learning" in as many possible opportunities during everyday household routines
• Above all, schools should remind parents to never lose sight of modeling for their children the value of close relationships, support, caring, and fun. That is the most important home work of all.

Elias, M. J., and Schwab, Y. (2004). What About Parental Involvement in Parenting? The Case for Home-Focused School-Parent Partnerships. Education Week, 24 (8), 39,41.

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Nobody knows what the point of homework is

The homework wars are back.

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As the Covid-19 pandemic began and students logged into their remote classrooms, all work, in effect, became homework. But whether or not students could complete it at home varied. For some, schoolwork became public-library work or McDonald’s-parking-lot work.

Luis Torres, the principal of PS 55, a predominantly low-income community elementary school in the south Bronx, told me that his school secured Chromebooks for students early in the pandemic only to learn that some lived in shelters that blocked wifi for security reasons. Others, who lived in housing projects with poor internet reception, did their schoolwork in laundromats.

According to a 2021 Pew survey , 25 percent of lower-income parents said their children, at some point, were unable to complete their schoolwork because they couldn’t access a computer at home; that number for upper-income parents was 2 percent.

The issues with remote learning in March 2020 were new. But they highlighted a divide that had been there all along in another form: homework. And even long after schools have resumed in-person classes, the pandemic’s effects on homework have lingered.

Over the past three years, in response to concerns about equity, schools across the country, including in Sacramento, Los Angeles , San Diego , and Clark County, Nevada , made permanent changes to their homework policies that restricted how much homework could be given and how it could be graded after in-person learning resumed.

Three years into the pandemic, as districts and teachers reckon with Covid-era overhauls of teaching and learning, schools are still reconsidering the purpose and place of homework. Whether relaxing homework expectations helps level the playing field between students or harms them by decreasing rigor is a divisive issue without conclusive evidence on either side, echoing other debates in education like the elimination of standardized test scores from some colleges’ admissions processes.

I first began to wonder if the homework abolition movement made sense after speaking with teachers in some Massachusetts public schools, who argued that rather than help disadvantaged kids, stringent homework restrictions communicated an attitude of low expectations. One, an English teacher, said she felt the school had “just given up” on trying to get the students to do work; another argued that restrictions that prohibit teachers from assigning take-home work that doesn’t begin in class made it difficult to get through the foreign-language curriculum. Teachers in other districts have raised formal concerns about homework abolition’s ability to close gaps among students rather than widening them.

Many education experts share this view. Harris Cooper, a professor emeritus of psychology at Duke who has studied homework efficacy, likened homework abolition to “playing to the lowest common denominator.”

But as I learned after talking to a variety of stakeholders — from homework researchers to policymakers to parents of schoolchildren — whether to abolish homework probably isn’t the right question. More important is what kind of work students are sent home with and where they can complete it. Chances are, if schools think more deeply about giving constructive work, time spent on homework will come down regardless.

There’s no consensus on whether homework works

The rise of the no-homework movement during the Covid-19 pandemic tapped into long-running disagreements over homework’s impact on students. The purpose and effectiveness of homework have been disputed for well over a century. In 1901, for instance, California banned homework for students up to age 15, and limited it for older students, over concerns that it endangered children’s mental and physical health. The newest iteration of the anti-homework argument contends that the current practice punishes students who lack support and rewards those with more resources, reinforcing the “myth of meritocracy.”

But there is still no research consensus on homework’s effectiveness; no one can seem to agree on what the right metrics are. Much of the debate relies on anecdotes, intuition, or speculation.

Researchers disagree even on how much research exists on the value of homework. Kathleen Budge, the co-author of Turning High-Poverty Schools Into High-Performing Schools and a professor at Boise State, told me that homework “has been greatly researched.” Denise Pope, a Stanford lecturer and leader of the education nonprofit Challenge Success, said, “It’s not a highly researched area because of some of the methodological problems.”

Experts who are more sympathetic to take-home assignments generally support the “10-minute rule,” a framework that estimates the ideal amount of homework on any given night by multiplying the student’s grade by 10 minutes. (A ninth grader, for example, would have about 90 minutes of work a night.) Homework proponents argue that while it is difficult to design randomized control studies to test homework’s effectiveness, the vast majority of existing studies show a strong positive correlation between homework and high academic achievement for middle and high school students. Prominent critics of homework argue that these correlational studies are unreliable and point to studies that suggest a neutral or negative effect on student performance. Both agree there is little to no evidence for homework’s effectiveness at an elementary school level, though proponents often argue that it builds constructive habits for the future.

For anyone who remembers homework assignments from both good and bad teachers, this fundamental disagreement might not be surprising. Some homework is pointless and frustrating to complete. Every week during my senior year of high school, I had to analyze a poem for English and decorate it with images found on Google; my most distinct memory from that class is receiving a demoralizing 25-point deduction because I failed to present my analysis on a poster board. Other assignments really do help students learn: After making an adapted version of Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book for a ninth grade history project, I was inspired to check out from the library and read a biography of the Chinese ruler.

For homework opponents, the first example is more likely to resonate. “We’re all familiar with the negative effects of homework: stress, exhaustion, family conflict, less time for other activities, diminished interest in learning,” Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth, which challenges common justifications for homework, told me in an email. “And these effects may be most pronounced among low-income students.” Kohn believes that schools should make permanent any moratoria implemented during the pandemic, arguing that there are no positives at all to outweigh homework’s downsides. Recent studies , he argues , show the benefits may not even materialize during high school.

In the Marlborough Public Schools, a suburban district 45 minutes west of Boston, school policy committee chair Katherine Hennessy described getting kids to complete their homework during remote education as “a challenge, to say the least.” Teachers found that students who spent all day on their computers didn’t want to spend more time online when the day was over. So, for a few months, the school relaxed the usual practice and teachers slashed the quantity of nightly homework.

Online learning made the preexisting divides between students more apparent, she said. Many students, even during normal circumstances, lacked resources to keep them on track and focused on completing take-home assignments. Though Marlborough Schools is more affluent than PS 55, Hennessy said many students had parents whose work schedules left them unable to provide homework help in the evenings. The experience tracked with a common divide in the country between children of different socioeconomic backgrounds.

So in October 2021, months after the homework reduction began, the Marlborough committee made a change to the district’s policy. While teachers could still give homework, the assignments had to begin as classwork. And though teachers could acknowledge homework completion in a student’s participation grade, they couldn’t count homework as its own grading category. “Rigorous learning in the classroom does not mean that that classwork must be assigned every night,” the policy stated . “Extensions of class work is not to be used to teach new content or as a form of punishment.”

Canceling homework might not do anything for the achievement gap

The critiques of homework are valid as far as they go, but at a certain point, arguments against homework can defy the commonsense idea that to retain what they’re learning, students need to practice it.

“Doesn’t a kid become a better reader if he reads more? Doesn’t a kid learn his math facts better if he practices them?” said Cathy Vatterott, an education researcher and professor emeritus at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. After decades of research, she said it’s still hard to isolate the value of homework, but that doesn’t mean it should be abandoned.

Blanket vilification of homework can also conflate the unique challenges facing disadvantaged students as compared to affluent ones, which could have different solutions. “The kids in the low-income schools are being hurt because they’re being graded, unfairly, on time they just don’t have to do this stuff,” Pope told me. “And they’re still being held accountable for turning in assignments, whether they’re meaningful or not.” On the other side, “Palo Alto kids” — students in Silicon Valley’s stereotypically pressure-cooker public schools — “are just bombarded and overloaded and trying to stay above water.”

Merely getting rid of homework doesn’t solve either problem. The United States already has the second-highest disparity among OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations between time spent on homework by students of high and low socioeconomic status — a difference of more than three hours, said Janine Bempechat, clinical professor at Boston University and author of No More Mindless Homework .

When she interviewed teachers in Boston-area schools that had cut homework before the pandemic, Bempechat told me, “What they saw immediately was parents who could afford it immediately enrolled their children in the Russian School of Mathematics,” a math-enrichment program whose tuition ranges from $140 to about $400 a month. Getting rid of homework “does nothing for equity; it increases the opportunity gap between wealthier and less wealthy families,” she said. “That solution troubles me because it’s no solution at all.”

A group of teachers at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, made the same point after the school district proposed an overhaul of its homework policies, including removing penalties for missing homework deadlines, allowing unlimited retakes, and prohibiting grading of homework.

“Given the emphasis on equity in today’s education systems,” they wrote in a letter to the school board, “we believe that some of the proposed changes will actually have a detrimental impact towards achieving this goal. Families that have means could still provide challenging and engaging academic experiences for their children and will continue to do so, especially if their children are not experiencing expected rigor in the classroom.” At a school where more than a third of students are low-income, the teachers argued, the policies would prompt students “to expect the least of themselves in terms of effort, results, and responsibility.”

Not all homework is created equal

Despite their opposing sides in the homework wars, most of the researchers I spoke to made a lot of the same points. Both Bempechat and Pope were quick to bring up how parents and schools confuse rigor with workload, treating the volume of assignments as a proxy for quality of learning. Bempechat, who is known for defending homework, has written extensively about how plenty of it lacks clear purpose, requires the purchasing of unnecessary supplies, and takes longer than it needs to. Likewise, when Pope instructs graduate-level classes on curriculum, she asks her students to think about the larger purpose they’re trying to achieve with homework: If they can get the job done in the classroom, there’s no point in sending home more work.

At its best, pandemic-era teaching facilitated that last approach. Honolulu-based teacher Christina Torres Cawdery told me that, early in the pandemic, she often had a cohort of kids in her classroom for four hours straight, as her school tried to avoid too much commingling. She couldn’t lecture for four hours, so she gave the students plenty of time to complete independent and project-based work. At the end of most school days, she didn’t feel the need to send them home with more to do.

A similar limited-homework philosophy worked at a public middle school in Chelsea, Massachusetts. A couple of teachers there turned as much class as possible into an opportunity for small-group practice, allowing kids to work on problems that traditionally would be assigned for homework, Jessica Flick, a math coach who leads department meetings at the school, told me. It was inspired by a philosophy pioneered by Simon Fraser University professor Peter Liljedahl, whose influential book Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics reframes homework as “check-your-understanding questions” rather than as compulsory work. Last year, Flick found that the two eighth grade classes whose teachers adopted this strategy performed the best on state tests, and this year, she has encouraged other teachers to implement it.

Teachers know that plenty of homework is tedious and unproductive. Jeannemarie Dawson De Quiroz, who has taught for more than 20 years in low-income Boston and Los Angeles pilot and charter schools, says that in her first years on the job she frequently assigned “drill and kill” tasks and questions that she now feels unfairly stumped students. She said designing good homework wasn’t part of her teaching programs, nor was it meaningfully discussed in professional development. With more experience, she turned as much class time as she could into practice time and limited what she sent home.

“The thing about homework that’s sticky is that not all homework is created equal,” says Jill Harrison Berg, a former teacher and the author of Uprooting Instructional Inequity . “Some homework is a genuine waste of time and requires lots of resources for no good reason. And other homework is really useful.”

Cutting homework has to be part of a larger strategy

The takeaways are clear: Schools can make cuts to homework, but those cuts should be part of a strategy to improve the quality of education for all students. If the point of homework was to provide more practice, districts should think about how students can make it up during class — or offer time during or after school for students to seek help from teachers. If it was to move the curriculum along, it’s worth considering whether strategies like Liljedahl’s can get more done in less time.

Some of the best thinking around effective assignments comes from those most critical of the current practice. Denise Pope proposes that, before assigning homework, teachers should consider whether students understand the purpose of the work and whether they can do it without help. If teachers think it’s something that can’t be done in class, they should be mindful of how much time it should take and the feedback they should provide. It’s questions like these that De Quiroz considered before reducing the volume of work she sent home.

More than a year after the new homework policy began in Marlborough, Hennessy still hears from parents who incorrectly “think homework isn’t happening” despite repeated assurances that kids still can receive work. She thinks part of the reason is that education has changed over the years. “I think what we’re trying to do is establish that homework may be an element of educating students,” she told me. “But it may not be what parents think of as what they grew up with. ... It’s going to need to adapt, per the teaching and the curriculum, and how it’s being delivered in each classroom.”

For the policy to work, faculty, parents, and students will all have to buy into a shared vision of what school ought to look like. The district is working on it — in November, it hosted and uploaded to YouTube a round-table discussion on homework between district administrators — but considering the sustained confusion, the path ahead seems difficult.

When I asked Luis Torres about whether he thought homework serves a useful part in PS 55’s curriculum, he said yes, of course it was — despite the effort and money it takes to keep the school open after hours to help them do it. “The children need the opportunity to practice,” he said. “If you don’t give them opportunities to practice what they learn, they’re going to forget.” But Torres doesn’t care if the work is done at home. The school stays open until around 6 pm on weekdays, even during breaks. Tutors through New York City’s Department of Youth and Community Development programs help kids with work after school so they don’t need to take it with them.

As schools weigh the purpose of homework in an unequal world, it’s tempting to dispose of a practice that presents real, practical problems to students across the country. But getting rid of homework is unlikely to do much good on its own. Before cutting it, it’s worth thinking about what good assignments are meant to do in the first place. It’s crucial that students from all socioeconomic backgrounds tackle complex quantitative problems and hone their reading and writing skills. It’s less important that the work comes home with them.

Jacob Sweet is a freelance writer in Somerville, Massachusetts. He is a frequent contributor to the New Yorker, among other publications.

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• Classroom Management

No Homework Policy: One Year Later

By Mary Montero

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.Last school year was a really big year in my classroom. We started flexible seating (you can read more about that adventure  HERE ), we implemented a Bring Your Own Device program, and we did away with homework. Like I said– BIG year!

While each of those three changes contributed to a very different feel in my classroom than years prior, I was particularly nervous about doing away with homework. I know that homework has its place, and I know there are concepts and skills (especially in 4th grade!) that require repetition to really grasp. Yet, I still felt like the reasons to do away with homework were more important than the benefits of homework itself.

Throughout the school year, I had many colleagues pop in and ask how our no-homework policy was going. “It’s going well!” I would respond, but I wouldn’t give many details. Now, after a full school year without it, I definitely have some reflections on how it went, what changes I would make, and if I would do it again!

After a Full Year of No Homework

You can see that we didn’t COMPLETELY do away with homework, but we did do away with 99% of it. We still STRONGLY encouraged students to be reading each night, and they were required to have a novel in progress at all times. We also continued our weekly letter writing, where students had to respond to us in letter form by the end of the week. You can read more about that idea  HERE . I’ll never have a classroom where I don’t do it!

We also had a disclaimer that if students did not complete their classwork in a reasonable period of time or were excessively off task during an assignment, they would need to bring it home to complete it.

How I Broke The News To My Students

Of course, when we first told students about this change, there was hooting and hollering and cheers galore! I let them have their moment and then gently pulled them back together. I reassured them that it was totally possible that they wouldn’t have homework, but that it would mean they had to give me their all every. single. minute of every. single. day. Their eyes got big, they sat up taller, and an air of confidence washed over them. “We’ve got this, Mrs. M.!” I remember one kiddo saying. In the beginning, it was as if they would do anything to keep this privilege.  We floated on clouds of no-homework bliss for a solid week…

And then here’s what really happened when I did away with homework…

I expected more from my students than ever before.

When I was planning my lessons this year, I packed in more than I ever had before. While that might send like a negative effect of this little experiment, it was actually one of the best parts for me.

The Monster That Is Math

In math, in particular, this was a game changer for me. I knew that my students needed to deeply and fully understand these concepts and be able to compute with automaticity. I also knew they wouldn’t be going home and doing 20 extra problems each night like they had in the past. This meant that 1) I had to make sure they understood the concept like the back of their hand and 2) They could apply that understanding to a wide variety of problems…. Of course, these are two non-negotiables that any math classroom should have, but I was going to be doing it with less practice and repetition than before.

Therefore, when I was planning, I ended up with FAR more inquiry-based lessons and practice (so that they would really get the meat of the concept), and far less direct teacher instruction. I jammed as much as I could into my whole group time (10-15 minutes a day) and then jammed even more into their workshop time. Kids were collaborating, practicing, and learning more than ever… Simply because I had this sense of urgency that I was missing before.

But What About Spelling

A few people have asked about spelling and how this worked without homework and studying at home. We use a word study philosophy, similar to Words Their Way , which means that students are studying patterns in words rather than the words themselves. I incorporated this into my reading rotations and would occasionally devote some of our writing to it, and I would highly recommend it!

Another option to fit in what would have previously been homework is to rethink your morning routine. I usually use my  Think It Through  critical thinking packet as morning work, and when I did away with homework this year and had to give them some more “intense” morning work, I started using the packet during Morning Meeting instead. I used our morning work time this year to review and reteach grammar concepts some days and math skills other days. It was the perfect balance!

This brought out the best in some kids

When I say it brought out the best in them, I mean it changed their study habits permanently. They created habits that I hope will continue on with them for years and years to come. They knew that in order to continue having no homework, they truly had to give me their all during the day. It wasn’t easy. They had to not only complete their assignments, but complete them well. We had very, very little down time, and I expected more from this group of kids than ever before.  Some rose to the challenge and THRIVED under the challenge…

…and some kids didn’t care.

I did have a handful of students who were not at all motivated by a lack of homework. These were the kids who repeatedly ended up taking work home because they weren’t completing it in class. Usually due to them being distracted and not on-task. Some kids learned quickly that this isn’t what they wanted, and a few kids never did quite learn.

Some parents loved it. Others hated it.

On Back to School Night, when we handed out this homework policy, the general consensus was all the praise hands in the world! Parents thanked us for giving them FREEDOM in the evenings to take their kids to gymnastics without worrying about homework and some parents thanked us for eliminating the nightly homework battle they had fought for the past few years.

We also had a small number of parents who wanted their kids to have homework. They worried that they would become accustomed to not having homework and have a difficult time next year when their teacher required it again. They worried they wouldn’t get enough skill practice. These were valid concerns, and we reassured parents that, if they requested it, we would send home supplemental practice. Not one of the parents who initially expressed concern over the policy ever ended up asking for homework.

…but some KIDS asked for homework!

I’ll never forget the first time one of my kids ASKED for homework! It was about a month into the school year, and we were working on  Error Analysis  in small groups. One of my students looked up and said, “I LOVE this. Can you PLEASE give us some more to do at home!?” How could I deny them that opportunity!? 🙂 The rest of the kids in the small group chimed in that they wanted to bring some home too. During my lunch break, I printed a few more tasks out for those kids, and guess what? Every single student in that group brought it home and returned it the next day– BY CHOICE!

This happened multiple times throughout the year, primarily with my  math projects  and error analysis tasks. I never, ever denied them when they asked to bring something home for homework.

Some kids NEED homework.

Usually, these aren’t the kids who were requesting the extra homework, but I had another handful of students who needed homework. They needed skill practice, they needed reading fluency practice, and they needed fact practice. I talked to each of those students individually and contacted those parents privately. They (both students and parents) understood why I needed to send supplemental work home. Once a quarter, I put together packets based on those kids’ needs. I gave them free reign to complete it at any time throughout the quarter, and every single packet came back completed by the end of the quarter.

I would do it all over again.

At the end of the year, I had parents come up to me and thank me for this policy, telling me how they had enjoyed a better relationship with their student this year without the nightly homework battle. They had taken more walks, participated in more after school activities, and were generally so thankful for the reprieve.

As a teacher, I saw happy kids coming in every day and relaxed kids leaving every afternoon. There were no battles over missing homework, and kids worked hard to keep the privilege. I had no noticeable (anecdotally or with data) drop in achievement or growth over the course of the year. I felt like a better teacher because I worked even harder during the school day to make sure they were getting exactly what they needed while they were with me.

…Oh, and I had a lot less grading to do, too! 🙂 🙂

I would do it again a heartbeat!

Homework Policy

We strongly believe in the power of play and the importance of letting children be children. Further, research does not indicate significant benefits of homework at the elementary level. We believe that when students give us all of their day, they deserve to have all of their night. Therefore, we have eliminated the majority of our standing homework assignments. Eat dinner as a family and ask them how their day was, enjoy your child’s extracurricular activities without worrying about homework, and know that your child is working hard at school each day and has earned their evening playtime!

To foster community and self-reflection, your student will have a weekly letter from their teacher (more about that below!) to respond to, and we highly encourage you to read a book of choice with your child each evening. Please Note: If a student exhibits off-task behaviors during the school day and fails to complete an assignment, the assignment will be sent home for completion.

Mary Montero

I’m so glad you are here. I’m a current gifted and talented teacher in a small town in Colorado, and I’ve been in education since 2009. My passion (other than my family and cookies) is for making teachers’ lives easier and classrooms more engaging.

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We have spelling and vocabulary programs that each have a workbook. I've used those as homework assignments with the test on Fridays. Would you have the kids do these assignments in class rather than as homework? What homework did you use to give for Language Arts and how did that change? Do your kids take tests and do you have them study at home for those? I'm interested in having no homework – I'm just not sure how to fit everything in a short class period. Thanks in advance for providing more information!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! My team and I have been thinking through this possibility for us. I am wondering if you give spelling tests? If not, can you tell me did this go away at the same time or previously? Thanks!

I did not do homework in my fourth grade classroom last year either. I had very much the same reactions from parents and results with my class. I also felt that sense of urgency to get things accomplished and to make sure that kids really knew what they were doing in the time we had at school. I am definitely planning on implementing this again this year in my third grade classroom! I do like your idea of making it a privilege. Putting it to them that way also creates a sense of urgency with them to succeed. Thanks so much for sharing!

That was a fascinating read. Good to hear that most of the kids stepped up their game!

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The impact of no homework policy: a comprehensive analysis.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The No Homework Policy, a revolutionary concept in the education sector, has been a subject of intense debate among educators, parents, and students alike. This policy, which aims to eliminate or significantly reduce homework, has been met with both applause and criticism. This article delves into the impact of the No Homework Policy, drawing from personal experiences of teachers and students who have been significantly affected by it.

The Traditional Role of Homework

Historically, homework has been viewed as an essential tool for reinforcing what students learn during the school day, preparing for upcoming lessons, and providing parents with a window into their children’s academic progress. However, critics argue that homework often leads to stress and burnout, infringes on students’ personal time, and exacerbates social inequalities.

The Student Perspective

From a student’s perspective, the No Homework Policy has had a profound impact. Many students have reported feeling less stressed and more able to balance their academic responsibilities with extracurricular activities and family time. However, some students feel that the policy has made it more difficult for them to retain information and fully understand the material taught in class.

The Teacher Perspective

Teachers, too, have had mixed reactions to the No Homework Policy. Some teachers feel that the policy allows them to focus more on in-class instruction and less on grading homework. However, others worry that without homework, students may not be getting enough practice with new concepts.

The Impact on Learning

Research has shown that homework can play a significant role in reinforcing the concepts taught in class. However, excessive homework can lead to burnout and stress, negatively impacting a student’s ability to learn and retain information. The No Homework Policy aims to strike a balance, reducing the burden of homework while ensuring that students still have opportunities to practice and reinforce what they’ve learned.

The Impact on Family Time

One of the significant benefits of the No Homework Policy is the potential for increased family time. With less homework to complete, students have more time to spend with their families, engage in hobbies, and simply relax and recharge. This can lead to improved mental health and overall well-being for students.

Effects on Educators

Educators have also experienced a variety of reactions to the No Homework Policy. For some, the policy has allowed them to shift their focus towards more in-depth in-class instruction, reducing the time spent on grading homework. However, there are concerns among others that the absence of homework may limit students’ opportunities to practice new concepts.

Influence on the Educational Landscape

The No Homework Policy has also left its mark on the broader educational landscape. It has challenged conventional norms and prompted educators to reconsider their teaching methodologies. While some educational institutions have welcomed the policy, others have shown resistance, resulting in a diverse array of practices across different schools and districts.

The Impact on Parent-Teacher Relationships

The No Homework Policy has also affected the relationships between parents and teachers. With less homework to monitor, parents may feel less involved in their child’s education. On the other hand, some parents have welcomed the policy, appreciating the reduced stress and increased family time it provides.

Implications for Student Success

The debate around the No Homework Policy’s influence on student success is ongoing. Some studies indicate that homework can boost academic outcomes, particularly for older students. Conversely, other research highlights that an overabundance of homework can lead to student burnout and disengagement, potentially negatively affecting academic success in the long term.

Final Thoughts

In wrapping up, the No Homework Policy is a complex issue with a broad range of implications. It’s evident that this policy has instigated significant changes in the experiences of both educators and learners. As we continue to navigate this conversation, it’s crucial to consider these personal experiences and aim for a balanced approach that encourages learning while also prioritizing the wellbeing of students and teachers.

Looking Forward

As we cast our gaze towards the future of education, it’s important to continually assess the effects of the No Homework Policy. As an increasing number of schools adopt this policy, we’ll gain a more comprehensive understanding of its impact on students, teachers, and the educational landscape as a whole. It’s also key to explore other strategies that can offer the benefits of homework, such as practice and reinforcement of learning, without leading to undue stress and burnout.

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Getting students to work on their homework assignments is not always a simple task. Teachers need to take the initiative to create homework policies that encourage students to work hard to improve their achievement in the classroom setting. Educational leadership starts with making a policy that helps students learn and achieve while competing with extracurricular activities and the interests of students.

Set high standards

Homework policies need to have high standards to encourage students to work hard on achieving the best possible results. Student achievement in school improves when teachers set high standards and tell students that they are expected to meet the standards set in the classroom.

By setting high standards for the homework policy, teachers are ensuring that the students will be more willing to work on getting assignments done. The policies for homework that teachers and parents create can help improve student understanding of materials and result in better grades and scores on standardized tests.

Focus on study skills

Teaching students in their early education is a complicated task. Teachers need to balance the age of the students with the expected school, state and federal educational standards. Although the temptation to create a homework policy that focuses on repetition and traditional assignments can make the policy easy to create, it also removes the focus from establishing strong study skills and habits to engage students in education.

Creating a homework policy for younger students in the elementary grades should avoid traditional assignments and focus on building study skills and encouraging learning. Older students after elementary school are ready to take on written assignments rather than using technology and other tools.

Putting more focus on study skills will set a stronger foundation for homework in the future. As students get into higher grades, the type of assignments will focus on writing with a pen or pencil. The age of the student must be considered and the goal is to create a strong foundation for the future.

Involve the parents

Getting parents involved in the homework policy will encourage students to study and complete the assigned tasks. Asking parents to get involved to facilitate assignments will ensure students are learning without the parents completing the assignment for their child.

The goal of involving the parents in the homework policy is getting the family to take an interest in ensuring the assignments are completed. The best assignments will allow the student to manage the work without seeking answers from a parent. That allows parents to supervise and encourage their child without giving the answers.

Give consequences for incomplete assignments

Homework is an important part of providing educational leadership in the classroom. Although parental involvement and high standards can help encourage students to study, it is also important to clearly state the consequences if assignments are incomplete or not turned in on time.

A clear homework policy will lay out the possible consequences of avoiding assignments or turning in incomplete work. Consequences can vary based on the student grade level and age, but can include lowering the grades on a report card or taking away classroom privileges.

Although it is important to provide details about the consequences of avoiding the assignments, teachers can also use a reward system to motivate students to complete their work. Rewards can focus on the entire class or on individual rewards, depending on the situation. For example, teachers can give a small candy when students complete five assignments in a row.

Consequences and rewards can serve as a motivating factor when it comes to the homework policy. By clearly stating the potential downsides and the benefits to the student, it is easier for students to focus on the work.

Creating homework policies is part of educational leadership in the classroom. Although homework must focus on helping students achieve, it also needs to clearly state the expectations and give details about the benefits and consequences of different actions. By giving a clear policy from the first day of school, the students will know what to expect and can gain motivation to work on achieving the best results.

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How to Write the Perfect Homework Policy

Author: Naimish Gohil

Posted: 10 May 2017

Estimated time to read: 4 mins

Homework is an integral part to the learning process and as such, each school should have a clear homework policy readily available to teachers, students and parents that sets out your expectations when it comes to home-learning .

A clear and effective homework policy will mean that quality and quantity of homework can be easily tracked and all stakeholders are on the same page. We've created our own Homework Policy that you can adapt for use in your school or use as an outline when creating your own policy:

1‭. ‬Introduction

This is the school’s policy for the provision of homework to pupils and has been drawn up in accordance with guidance from the DFE and Sutton Education Trust‭.‬ It must be recognised that parents play a vital role in the education of their child‭, ‬therefore it is important and valuable to‭ ‬have a good home-school partnership‭, ‬of which a homework policy must address‭.‬

2‭. ‬Homework‭ - ‬A definition

Homework is defined as any work or activity that students are asked to undertake outside of lesson time‭, ‬either on their own or‭ ‬with the aid of parents and carers‭. ‬Homework doesn’t necessarily have to be completed at home but can be completed in free periods and after-school homework clubs‭. ‬We see work completed outside of lesson time as a valuable part of a student’s learning‭.‬

3‭. ‬The purpose of homework‭ ‬

The school regards the purpose of homework as being to‭:‬

• ‭ Provide learners with the opportunity to work on an activity that is relevant to learning outcomes‭, ‬or that contributes to gaining qualifications/accreditations‭.‬
• Develop an effective partnership between the school‭, ‬parents and carers in pursuing the academic aims of the school and the development of their child‭.‬
• Consolidate and reinforce skills and understanding prior to the following lesson‭, ‬particularly in English and Mathematics‭.‬
• Extend learning across the curriculum‭, ‬for example through additional reading‭.‬
• Encourage pupils as they get older to develop the confidence‭, ‬self-discipline and independence to develop organisational skills‭.‬

As a school‭, ‬we encourage children to pursue out-of-school activities‭. ‬Homework should be used to effectively reinforce and/or extend what is learned in school‭. ‬We hope that children will feel a sense of personal satisfaction in a task completed well and that their efforts will be recognised and praised both at home and at school‭. ‬

Homework tasks should be undertaken to the best of‭ ‬their ability‭. ‬We hope that parents and carers will be willing and able to give their active support to ensure that work completed at home is done so conscientiously and in the best possible conditions‭.‬

4‭. ‬Current practice‭ ‬

At the beginning of the academic year‭, ‬each year group will be informed about what is expected of them with regards to homework‭.‬

5‭. ‬Time to be spent completing homework

Based on current good practice‭, ‬we ask pupils to spend the following amount of time on homework‭:‬

Years 7‭ ‬to 9‭:                   ‬1‭ - ‬2‭ ‬hours per day

Years 10‭ ‬&‭ ‬11‭:                ‬1‭ - ‬3‭ ‬hours per day‭ ‬

Pupils may be expected to undertake a variety of homework activities‭. ‬These activities will differ depending on the teacher and‭ ‬subject‭. ‬Examples include‭: ‬Reading tasks‭, ‬numeracy tests‭, ‬spelling tests‭, ‬quizzes‭, ‬project work‭, ‬classwork extensions‭, ‬coursework‭, ‬essays and research activities‭.‬ As a general rule‭, ‬teachers will not usually set substantial homework tasks to be completed for the next day‭, ‬pupils will have at least two days to complete any work set‭.‬

6‭. ‬Pupil feedback

The school recognises the importance of providing prompt and actionable feedback to pupils‭, ‬parents and carers‭. ‬Feedback will include how well homework tasks have been tackled‭, ‬and the knowledge‭, ‬skills and understanding developed‭.

‬A variety of methods will be used to provide feedback‭, ‬such as an appropriate comment of praise‭, ‬appreciation or area for improvement‭. ‬Any given feedback will vary according to the age of the pupil‭.‬

7‭. ‬Where to access the school homework policy

The school will use newsletters to inform parents and carers about the school’s homework policy and secure their involvement‭. ‬The homework policy‭, ‬as well as useful information for parents in supporting their child’s learning‭, ‬is displayed on the school website‭. ‬

Parents’‭ ‬Evenings and New Intake Evenings will be used to promote this partnership and obtain feedback‭ (‬e.g‭. ‬English and Mathematics workshops‭). ‬Homework questionnaires will be used where appropriate to ascertain parent views‭. ‬Parents will be consulted about any significant changes to the policy that are being considered by the governing body‭.‬

8‭. ‬Reviewing the policy

The homework policy will be reviewed every year‭. ‬Where significant changes to the policy are felt to be required‭, ‬proposals will‭ ‬be presented to the governing body and parents consulted‭.‬

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Home — Essay Samples — Education — Homework — The Meaning Of No Homework Policy

The Meaning of No Homework Policy

• Categories: Education System Homework

About this sample

Words: 582 |

Published: Apr 29, 2022

Words: 582 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Works Cited

• Cooper, H. (2007). The Battle Over Homework: Common Ground for Administrators, Teachers , and Parents (3rd ed.). Corwin Press.
• Kohn, A. (2006). The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing. Da Capo Press.
• National Education Association. (2020). NEA Policy Brief: Student Homework. Retrieved from https://www.nea.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/Student%20Homework%20-%20Policy%20Brief.pdf
• National PTA. (2019). National PTA Position Statement: Homework. Retrieved from https://www.pta.org/home/family-resources/back-to-school/homework-help/homework-resolution
• Paschal, R. A., Weinstein, T., & Walberg, H. J. (1984). The Effects of Homework on Learning: A Quantitative Synthesis. Journal of Educational Research, 78(2), 97-104.
• Pope, D. (2014). Overloaded and Underprepared: Strategies for Stronger Schools and Healthy, Successful Kids. Jossey-Bass.
• Ravitch, D. (2010). The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education. Basic Books.
• Trautwein, U. (2007). The Homework-Achievement Relation Reconsidered: Differentiating Homework Time, Homework Frequency, and Homework Effort. Learning and Instruction, 17(3), 372-388.
• Trautwein, U., & Koller, O. (2003). The Relationship Between Homework and Achievement: Still Much of a Mystery. Educational Psychology Review, 15(2), 115-145.
• Xu, J. (2021). Homework and Academic Achievement : A Meta-Analytic Review of Research. Review of Educational Research, 91(2), 341-376.

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DepEd: No-homework plan to help students attain school-life balance

DepED Secretary Leonor Briones. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) has expressed support to the proposed no-homework policy from kindergarten to high school, stressing it would help students achieve a school-life balance.

DepEd in a statement Wednesday cited Memorandum No. 392 issued in 2010, which advised teachers to limit assignments to a “reasonable quantity” and eliminating it during the weekends. 

“The said issuance aims to enable learners to have more quality time with their parents, family, and friends by limiting the homework/assignment to a reasonable quantity on school days and by eliminating the same during weekends,” Deped said.

“By ensuring that they complete all assignments and projects in school, the no-homework policy enables our learners to find a balance between their academic development and personal growth by having ample time for enjoyable activities with family,” it added.

DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones earlier expressed its support to the proposed legislation, stressing that formal education should be done inside schools. 

“Ang gusto natin, lahat ng pormal na pag-aaral, assignments, projects, whatever, gawin sa loob ng eskwelahan. Pag-uwi nila, libre na sila, free time na nila to be with their parents, with their friends,” Briones said in a recent radio interview. 

Separate bills calling for a no-homework policy were filed at the House of Representatives by Deputy Speaker Evelina Escudero and Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas.

Escudero’s bill seeks to eliminate homework and limit school activities within the campus while Vargas’ measure wants to stop teachers from assigning homework during weekends. /kga

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DepEd issues statement on the no-homework policy bills

The Department of Education recently issued a statement to clarify some points about the bill seeking to ban the practice of giving students home works.

This is in response to several issues being thrown to the proposed measure.

With the issuance of the DepEd Memorandum No. 392, series 2010, also known as “Guidelines on Giving Homework or Assignment to All Public Elementary School Pupils,” the said government agency reiterates its commitment to the holistic development of learners inside and outside the classroom.

In a statement, DepEd emphasized that the said issuance aims to enable learners to have more quality time with their parents, family, and friends by limiting the homework/assignment to a reasonable quantity on school days and by eliminating the same during weekends.

The education department supports the no-homework policy proposed by legislators from the House of Representatives. By ensuring that they complete all assignments and projects in school, the no-homework policy enables our learners to find balance between their academic development and personal growth by having ample time for enjoyable activities with family.

DepEd will further study the other provisions of the bills to determine the repercussions on the current teaching and learning process.

Stanley Buenafe Gajete

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House Bill 3611 – No Homework Policy for Kinder to Grade 12

House Bill 3611, otherwise known as An Act Promoting the Holistic Development of Basic Education Students By Establishing a No-Homework Policy for Kinder to Grade 12 and Proscribing the Taking of Textbooks Out of the School for Kinder to Grade 6 Students in all Public and Private Schools, was finally filed before the House of Representatives Bills and Index Division last August 7, 2019.  The short title of the bill is “Taking of Textbooks Out of School and No-Homework Policy of 2019” act.  The said bill was introduced by House Deputy Speaker Evelina G. Escudero.

Under the explanatory note of the bill, House Bill No. 3611 “ seeks the elimination of homework assignments and prohibiting the taking of textbooks outside of the school ” to “lighten the physical burden of schoolchildren and promote quality family interaction” and “to compel schools and teachers to come up with a more holistic and effective pedagogy” .

House Bill No. 3611 was proposed pursuant to the aim of the State to safeguard the general welfare and interests of school children and protect them from conditions that may adversely affect their health and their right to a balanced life .

The pertinent provisions of House Bill No. 3611 provide:

Sec. 4. No-homework Assignment . – All basic education schools shall make sure that their respective teachers shall not give homework assignments to Kinder to Grade 12 students by conducting all lessons and activities in school.

Sec. 5. No Taking of Textbooks Home . – All basic education schools shall ensure that all Kinder to grade 6 students shall deposit and leave their textbooks in school and no textbooks shall be brought home to prevent the adverse effects of carrying heavy bags to-and-from school.

Sec. 6. Lockers . – All basic education schools shall ensure that each student shall have a locker or a dedicated space that will serve as safe depository for students’ textbooks.

On the other hand, Representative Alfred Vargas has also introduced House Bill 3883 entitled An Act Establishing a No Homework Policy for all Elementary and High Schools in the Country. 

The explanatory notes of House Bill 3883 states that in 2018, a study in South Africa shows that “homework is burdensome for students and parents” and it also “undermines learning interest” and does impact family life in a negative way.  Said studies show also that “homework is associated with academic achievement”. 

Section 2 of the said HB 3883 states that “ All Elementary and High Schools in the country shall not allow teachers to give any homework or assignments to their students over the weekend”.

The public has mixed opinions on the move to ban elementary and high school students from doing homework.  Around social media, some welcome this policy, agreeing that homework is a stressor for children that would deprive them of quality time with family at home.  However, the other side of the coin vehemently argues that doing homework teaches the children the value of hard work and diligence and instills discipline in them, which values are helpful when they become adults in the future.  Moreover, it is also contended that taking homework out of the equation does not necessarily equate to more family time because it cannot be discounted that with much free time at home after school, the children will have idle time to hang out in the internet which would be counter- productive, not to mention that their parents may also be busy as well.

The Department of Education has expressed its support on the No-Homework Policy .

Download a copy of House Bill 3611

Download a copy of House Bill 3883

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There is need to be circumspect and judicious, with the no-homework policy bills proposed by lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, welcomed by the Department of Education but slammed by teachers’ groups.

Definitely, those bills will be examined closely and thoroughly during public hearings to be conducted by the committees involved in both chambers, appreciating forwarded arguments and bones of contention from the proponents and those who oppose it.

The bill filed by House Deputy Speaker Evelina Escudero seeks to remove homework as a requirement and have Kinder to Grade 12 students do academic activities entirely within school premises, with the bill’s explanatory note stressing homework assignments “can deprive students and parents (of) precious quality time for rest, relaxation, and interaction after school hours and even on weekend.”

Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas, in a separate bill, wants to eliminate homework on weekends for all elementary and high school students. He goes further by citing a 2018 study that featured discussions on a similar policy in a public school in Western Cape province of South Africa where scholars argued “that homework is a burden for children and parents” which had contributed to the decline of family time and compromised learning interest.

In the Senate, Senator Grace Poe filed a bill titled “No Homework Law” banning teachers to give homework or assignments on weekends, the policy to be applicable to both public and private schools.

Poe also cited a study from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Program for International Student Assessment, and noted that additional time spent on homework had a negligible impact on performance of students.

Some senators like Senator Joel Villanueva have also expressed support for the no-homework policy. Villanueva, who currently chairs the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education, who said school children “should be able to spend more time with their families and explore things outside the regular class curricula. This will encourage our kids to enhance their creativity and deep thinking.”

We note of the knockdowns raised by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, the Teachers Dignity Coalition and the Federation of Associations of Private Schools and Administrators as well as the support extended by the Department of Education.

It is axiomatic that we need to make strategies where students can be responsive to the challenges and demands of a very competitive market.

Let’s have the arguments scrutinized properly during the public hearings. But let’s not slam the door shut at this point on what might be the merits of the proposals.

• Department of Education
• Evelina Escudero
• House of Representatives
• No homework policy

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