Listen to the full episode about making homework equitable.
I put a poll on my Instagram stories asking teachers if they give homework. Of the almost 200 teachers who responded, here’s what the data showed:
Obviously, homework causes a HUGE divide in the education space. So I wanted to do some further digging. What was the reason for teachers either assigning or not assigning homework?
For teachers who said yes here’s the breakdown:
- 53% said students need practice
- 22% said to learn responsibility
- 21% said school policy
- 3% said other
For teachers who said no here’s the breakdown:
- 41% said they don’t believe in HW
- 39% said they don’t want to overwhelm students
- 14% said they don’t have time to make it
- 5% said other
And of the teachers who said no, I got several replies talking about how homework is inequitable. This is my standpoint as well.
But what does the research say? Is homework effective? Is there a way to make it equitable? Let’s take a look!
The Pros of Homework
According to over 60 studies done by Duke University researchers, homework has a positive impact on student success. In addition, students who completed homework, had higher academic scores.
My response: NO DUH!
When we have time to practice, the better we are going to become at it. Practice helps students progress in their understanding. And this aligns with one of the main reasons why teachers said they give homework: students need practice.
But here’s what else it said:
In order for homework to be advantageous for students, it needs to be academically enriching and developmentally appropriate.
If we keep that in mind plus we want to help students progress in their understanding and become a better mathematician and person as a whole…how does homework fit in…and should it?
The Cons of Homework
While completed homework has a strong correlation with academic success, studies lack a wider lens. Most don’t take into consideration socioeconomic status, race, internet access, home life, and ability level. All of those matter in this conversation of is homework equitable.
Think about this too:
What percentage of students are TRULY completing homework with integrity? Meaning they aren’t using PhotoMath, coping from someone else, or just putting in fake work to make it seem like they tried? Or for that matter, how many students are ACTUALLY doing the homework?
To prove this point, a study done is 2013 by Peter Liljedahl and Darien Allan show that only 12% of students actually completed homework with integrity and didn’t mimic procedures. The rest of the students either didn’t do it, cheated, mimicked procedures from notes or got help on the questions.
ONLY 12%!
How to Make Homework Equitable
How do we mesh the two worlds of “practice improve academic success” and “not every student can do homework”? What do we need to do, in terms of homework to make that a reality?
1. Homework cannot be graded.
This means it cannot get a completion score, it isn’t turned in, and it does not go in the gradebook. Homework should have zero impact on students’ academic marks.
Hearing that, one might ask, “If it’s not graded, how are students incentivized to complete it?” I challenge you to think about this: If students are just doing it because of the consequences of not doing it, they are way more likely to cheat, get help, or mimic. And that right there defeats the purpose of giving the homework in the first place.
2. Homework is 100% optional.
Making homework optional relieves the pressure of having to do it right. Yes, some students will then not do it because there’s no “consequence” for not doing it. But think about all the students who might do it because the focus isn’t on completion and a grade, it’s truly about practicing to understand and gain mastery in the concept.
3. Homework should be a self-reflection tool.
This idea transforms homework from a “must do” to a “how well am I doing?” It becomes an opportunity for students to check their own understanding.
With this in mind, homework should then reflect whatever is going on in class. I’d say it’s okay to add in spiral review, but homework is NOT the place for concepts students haven’t learned yet. Students can’t reflect on something they haven’t learned. That’s also why I dislike the traditional pre-assessments.
With homework being a self-reflection tool, I encourage my students to work through the same problems over and over again. This works because I post the answers, the bare minimum answers, for them to check their work. This helps students see if they are on the right path without giving away the whole shebang.
4. Homework needs to be academically enriching.
I love that phrase, academically enriching. It implies so much in only two words.
What academically enriching means is that whatever questions you put on the homework need fall under these categories:
- high cognitive demand
- meaningful
- connects them to their world and/or community
- not procedure based
- attainable
This is not the place for 100 plug-and-chug problems. That’s not going to be helpful to anyone. We want them to truly think about and use their brain power to solve a problem.
I know that what I have just said, is a high demanding order on us as teachers. I know we already have so much on our plates as it is. And this is just adding one more thing to it. Think about this:
What is your goal as a teacher?
For me, it’s to academically engaged students to help them deeply understand and love math.
If I’m giving them and forcing them to do homework every single night that has no tangible benefit that they see, not me, that my students see, how is that working towards my goal? What I shared with you is what I am striving for, and definitely not perfect at yet. You can only change so much every school year. But that change starts with us.
If our goal is to truly academically enrich our students to benefit them as a whole human being. Then that change needs to start with us. And it starts in the classroom.
