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Four Components to Ensure Quality Homework

The word homework elicits an emotional response in most students, parents, and teachers, for different reasons. Some students, often those who are successful, have positive experiences and thoughts about homework. Others experience negative feelings. Students may be confused about what they are being asked to do or have no confidence in their ability to successfully complete the task. Some may not be aware of the purpose of the task or see the relevance of skill building and competence in the subject area. Homework may be seen as repetitious and a waste of time or as a punishment—as opposed to an experience provided for their benefit. Failure to complete homework might lead to punishment by parents, teachers, or both. Homework also limits the time available for activities such as sporting events, music lessons, or activities specific to relaxation outside of the school day. In some schools, participating in extracurricular events, sports, and clubs is only allowed when homework is completed.

Worlds can collide when parents seek to provide an atmosphere supportive of academic achievement while raising well-rounded children who participate in a variety of activities outside of the school day. Supporting both their children and the teachers can lead to a no-win situation, especially when an imbalance of home-identified activities and homework time occurs. In some cases, parents are unavailable or unable to assist children with their homework.

Some situations simply don’t provide an atmosphere conducive to homework success. Poverty and English learner (EL) levels have an impact on the ability to successfully complete homework. Students do not have a level playing field, and circumstances beyond their control impact their opportunity for success. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2011) reports that 21 percent of school-age students live in poverty in the United States—nearly eleven million children between the ages of five and seventeen. Reports show that poverty levels in all regions of the United States have increased since the year 2000. Poverty often inhibits students’ ability to do homework successfully for several reasons, including lack of resources, limited background knowledge, and limited access to technology. About 10 percent of school-age children are ELs (NCES, 2013). Because these children are at various stages of learning English, they are likely to have more difficulty both understanding and meeting the expectations of assignments unless someone within the home is able to clarify.

In the classroom, the teacher is in total control when assigning homework, yet little guidance is given as to what, why, and how much. Very few teacher education courses highlight specific information on what types of homework, if any, are needed when students are developing valuable practices. The homework views of the teacher might simply be based on those the teacher experienced as a student. When students don’t complete homework and significant amounts of class time are consumed correcting and collecting homework, homework can become a frustrating and difficult issue.

If we believe that homework is important to academic success, then a quality approach to homework design is essential. Although such an approach may not completely eliminate the negativity associated with homework, it will limit it. When students and parents (and even teachers) view student work as purposeful and relevant, a positive attitude—and dare I say enthusiasm—can result. This chapter will demonstrate how teachers can design quality homework assignments by focusing on four aspects.

1 Purpose

2 Relevance

3 Doability

4 Quantity

Purpose

Standards identify the knowledge, skills, and applications that will allow students to experience academic success, while the curriculum outlines the content and time line during which the standards will be achieved. Diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments, with the help of introductory work, assist in measuring the path toward achieving the desired outcome. Thus, standards, curriculum, and assessment collectively are crucial components of lesson development. However, the identification of purposeful student work is equally essential.

It is not uncommon for students to ask, “Why do we need to do this?” It’s an excellent question. Students are asking us to clearly identify the purpose of the tasks we expect them to perform. They are asking for clear, purposeful targets—a reason to learn. A MetLife (2007) study on homework reveals that parents and students do not often understand the relationship between the assignment and its academic purpose. Although that connection is clear to us as educators, students do not always understand the benefit or the relationship; therefore, we must state the connection. To ensure that students clearly understand the connection, ask them what that connection is prior to having them begin the assignment.