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Creating Meaningful IEP Goals for Homework: Strategies for Parents and Educators

Introduction:

Creating meaningful Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals for homework is crucial for supporting students with IEPs in their academic journey. By collaborating with parents and educators, we can ensure that these goals are tailored to the unique needs of each student, setting them up for success in completing their homework assignments. In this blog post, we will explore strategies and best practices for creating effective IEP goals for homework.

I. Understanding the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

A. Definition and purpose of an IEP:

An IEP is a legally binding document that outlines the educational plan for students with disabilities. It is designed to ensure that these students receive the necessary support and accommodations to access the curriculum and make progress in their learning. The purpose of an IEP is to provide a roadmap for educators, parents, and other professionals involved in the student’s education to work together in meeting their unique needs.

B. Components of an IEP:

An IEP typically includes information about the student’s present levels of performance, annual goals, accommodations and modifications, related services, and progress monitoring. Each component is carefully crafted to address the student’s academic, social-emotional, and functional needs.

C. Importance of aligning IEP goals with academic and functional needs:

When setting goals for homework, it is essential to align them with the student’s academic and functional needs. By doing so, we can ensure that the goals are relevant and meaningful, promoting the development of skills that will support the student’s overall growth and independence.

II. Identifying Homework Challenges

A. Common difficulties students with IEPs may face during homework:

Students with IEPs may encounter various challenges when it comes to completing homework assignments. These challenges can include difficulties with organization, time management, task initiation, attention, and comprehension. It is crucial to identify these challenges to create targeted goals that address the specific areas of need.

B. Recognizing individual strengths and weaknesses:

Every student has unique strengths and weaknesses. By recognizing and leveraging these strengths, we can create goals that build upon the student’s existing abilities. Additionally, identifying weaknesses allows us to provide targeted support and interventions to address areas that require improvement.

C. Collaborating with teachers to gather information about homework challenges:

Teachers play a vital role in understanding the specific homework challenges faced by students with IEPs. By collaborating with teachers, parents and educators can gain valuable insights into the student’s performance in the classroom and identify areas where additional support may be needed. This collaboration helps in setting realistic and effective goals for homework.

III. Setting Meaningful IEP Goals for Homework

A. Using the SMART framework for goal-setting:

When setting IEP goals for homework, it is essential to use the SMART framework. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Goals that adhere to these criteria are more likely to be effective and meaningful. For example, a SMART goal for homework could be “The student will independently complete math homework assignments with 80% accuracy by the end of the semester.”

B. Incorporating student interests and preferences into goals:

Engagement and motivation are key factors in achieving success with homework. By incorporating the student’s interests and preferences into the goals, we can increase their motivation and investment in completing assignments. For example, if a student is interested in animals, a goal could be “The student will research and write a short report on an animal of their choice for their science homework.”

C. Focusing on building skills and independence:

Homework provides an opportunity for students to practice and reinforce skills learned in the classroom. Setting goals that focus on building specific skills and promoting independence can help students become more confident and capable learners. For example, a goal could be “The student will use a planner to independently manage their homework assignments and due dates.”

D. Considering the student’s current abilities and progress:

When setting goals, it is important to consider the student’s current abilities and progress. Goals should be challenging yet attainable, taking into account the student’s individual circumstances. By setting goals that are within reach, we can foster a sense of achievement and promote continued growth.

IV. Strategies for Parents and Educators

A. Communication and collaboration between parents and educators:

Open and ongoing communication between parents and educators is essential for supporting students with IEPs in completing their homework. Regular check-ins, sharing of progress, and addressing any concerns or challenges that arise can help ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the student’s success.

B. Providing clear instructions and expectations for homework:

Clear instructions and expectations are crucial for students with IEPs to understand what is required of them for their homework assignments. Providing step-by-step instructions, breaking down tasks, and using visual supports can help students better comprehend and complete their assignments.

C. Breaking down tasks into manageable steps:

Students with IEPs may benefit from breaking down tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. This approach helps prevent overwhelm and allows students to focus on one task at a time. Breaking down tasks also provides opportunities for students to experience success and build confidence as they complete each step.

D. Utilizing visual supports and organizational tools:

Visual supports and organizational tools can greatly assist students with IEPs in managing their homework. Visual schedules, checklists, and timers can help students stay organized, track their progress, and manage their time effectively. These tools provide structure and support, promoting independence and task completion.

E. Implementing effective reinforcement and motivation strategies:

Reinforcement and motivation strategies can play a significant role in supporting students with IEPs in completing their homework. Positive reinforcement, such as praise, rewards, and incentives, can help motivate students and reinforce desired behaviors. Understanding the student’s individual preferences and interests can guide the selection of effective reinforcement strategies.

V. Monitoring and Adjusting IEP Goals

A. Regularly assessing progress towards goals:

Regular assessment of progress towards goals is essential to ensure that students are making meaningful strides in their homework. Ongoing monitoring allows parents and educators to identify areas of strength and areas that may require additional support or adjustment.

B. Collecting data and tracking performance:

Data collection and performance tracking provide objective evidence of a student’s progress. By collecting data on homework completion, accuracy, and independence, parents and educators can gain insights into the effectiveness of the current goals and make informed decisions about any necessary adjustments.

C. Collaborating with the IEP team to make necessary adjustments:

The IEP team, which includes parents, educators, and other professionals, should collaborate to review and adjust goals as needed. This collaborative approach ensures that the goals remain relevant and effective, taking into account the student’s changing needs and circumstances.

D. Celebrating achievements and recognizing growth:

Celebrating achievements, no matter how small, and recognizing growth is essential for fostering a positive mindset and maintaining motivation. By acknowledging and celebrating the student’s progress, parents and educators can reinforce the importance of their efforts and encourage continued growth.

VI. Conclusion

A. Recap of key strategies for creating meaningful IEP goals for homework:

Creating meaningful IEP goals for homework involves understanding the individual student’s needs, setting SMART goals, incorporating student interests, and focusing on building skills and independence. Effective strategies for parents and educators include communication, providing clear instructions, breaking down tasks, utilizing visual supports, and implementing reinforcement strategies.

B. Importance of ongoing collaboration and support for students with IEPs:

Ongoing collaboration and support between parents and educators are crucial for the success of students with IEPs in completing their homework. By working together, we can ensure that the goals are aligned with the student’s needs and provide the necessary support and accommodations for their academic growth.

C. Encouragement for parents and educators to advocate for their child’s needs in the IEP process:

Parents and educators play a vital role in advocating for the needs of students with IEPs. By actively participating in the IEP process and voicing concerns or suggestions, they can contribute to the development of meaningful goals and ensure that the student’s needs are met.

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Grading homework problems on completion vs. correctness, and overall grading

I taught Calculus 2 at my institution the past two semesters and several students have left comments in their course evaluations that advocate grading homework problems based on whether they were completed, not whether they were correct. For instance, when asked, "What changes to the course would you recommend?", one student wrote:

grade homework on completeness and not correctness because we are putting in the effort even if we don't necessarily understand it yet

I think they have a good point here. I view homework as required practice of the course material. Furthermore, I've realized that grading every problem carefully for correctness is prohibitively time-consuming for me!

I would like to implement a new grading scheme next year wherein homework problems will be assigned and I will give a grade based on whether they were done, and add some helpful comments about what students should work on. Ideally, everyone will get just about full credit on this component of their grade. (Perhaps someone will skip an assignment during a busy week, but if someone actually puts in effort, they will get credit.)

However, I'm not sure how to synthesize this new idea with the overall grading scheme. Previously, I made homework assignments were 15-20% of a student's final grade. It feels strange, though, to essentially make this a "gimme" portion of their grade just for doing the problems. But if I lower this to 10%, what should I do ... Have another in-class exam? That eats up class meeting time. Have regular quizzes? That also takes up some time, and should I grade those carefully on correctness, even though the students are not used to that? Should I have a once-a-month "take home exam" that amounts to being a difficult homework assignment of sorts?

Essentially, my question boils down to this: I fully intend to take these students' suggestion and assign regular homework problems to be graded solely on completion, and not correctness. I am curious about how to modify the rest of my grading scheme so that the students' final grades are still accurate and fair, and without too much extra class time taken away.

I am interested in personal suggestions/anecdotes here, as well as any education research (if there is any). I am particularly interested if you have made a similar change and can explain some observed differences in the two schemes.

(Note: There is a great answer here to the question, "Is it worth grading calculus homework?". My question is not the same; I have already decided to implement this "grade for completion and add suggestive comments" method, partly based on that answer I linked to. I am curious about adjusting other components of the course to account for this decision.)

• undergraduate-education
• course-design

• 4 $\begingroup$ I would find it unacceptable to give a 100% mark to a solution which is incorrect. An utter gibberish submission should get a lower score independent of students efforts. Where's the line between hard work with errors and lorem ipsum with a note "I don't understand it"? If you distinguish between these two, then you do include correctness in your grading. $\endgroup$ –  dtldarek Commented Jun 5, 2014 at 22:53
• 2 $\begingroup$ @dtldarek: I would consider gibberish to be equivalent to a non-submission. I won't just be reading to see that they wrote something but rather that they wrote something relevant . $\endgroup$ –  Brendan W. Sullivan Commented Jun 6, 2014 at 2:12
• 2 $\begingroup$ If you do not assign grades based on correctness, then this necessarily makes your grades less accurate and fair as measures of performance in the class. I think a better way to address the student's objection would be note that effort will be correlated with correctness, so it will be rewarded even if grading is based on correctness rather than effort. $\endgroup$ –  Trevor Wilson Commented Jun 6, 2014 at 6:31
• 1 $\begingroup$ @TrevorWilson: That's circular---it assumes that how correct their answers are on the homework is part of their performance. One could instead decide that homework correctness isn't meaningful (it may reflect people who learn quickly rather than people who ultimately learn the mateiral), and that performance on the class means how much they can do on exams or other assignments which come later when they've had more time to absorb the material. $\endgroup$ –  Henry Towsner Commented Jun 6, 2014 at 14:05

4 Answers 4

There's a compromise between "correctness" and "completion" called "Standards-based grading". Here's a few links about it with various people who have tried using it for Calculus: http://blogs.cofc.edu/owensks/2014/01/08/sbg-calculus2/ , http://alwaysformative.blogspot.com/p/standards-based-grading-implementation.html , http://speced.fivetowns.net/lcs/content/Standards%20Based.pdf , http://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings/fie/2012/1353/00/06462211-abs.html

You can implement it in a variety of ways, but the general idea is that associate all problems you give in the course with one or more "standard(s)" that you expect students who pass to achieve, and you give students (effectively) infinite attempts to "pass" each standard. In general, this means that, for students who don't need the extra practice, they can do very few problems, but for the students who need significant practice, they can keep on trying until they're solid.

Often, courses that use SBG do it on exams too, but you could probably only do it on the homework if you wanted. And you can still give students significant credit for attempting the problems, but this way, still making the homework a "gimme"--they still have to try, but only until they get it.

One clear concern here is the overhead of keeping all this information (since you now need to record which standards students are passing, possibly review more [but smaller!] batches of hw, etc.). In general, I think the benefits outweigh the extra overhead though, particularly, because there should be (a) fewer grading overall and (b) more significant learning overall.

My standard breakdown for calculus courses is:

• 10% total for homework outside of class (on a 0,1,2 scale: 0 means they didn't turn it in, 1 means they turned in a partially complete assignment and 2 means they turned in a complete one)
• 15% total for two or three (depending on the size of the class) problem presentations on which I call pairs of students randomly to present a homework and they are given a few "I didn't get that one" kind of chances during the course of the semester
• 15% for each of three midterms that are 90% based on homework or simple extensions of the homework and whose remaining 10% are somewhat different that what they've seen (e.g., more theoretical, repeated application of the same method)
• 30% for a final exam

In the end, with this kind of break down, the median grade for a typical calculus course of mine is a B-, which is where my department would like it to be.

• $\begingroup$ How many students are in your course, on average? How do you assess/keep track of these "problem presentations"? $\endgroup$ –  Brendan W. Sullivan Commented Jun 5, 2014 at 19:14
• 1 $\begingroup$ Each section of calculus where I am has between 20 and 30 students. I assess the presentations using a rubric that they know about beforehand, part of which is peer evaluation (I hand out index cards and ask the students in the audience to answer three standard questions for each pair which then goes into the evaluation of the pair -- this could be done more quickly if you used clickers). You might think: this is so much work. But the homework is done via WebWork, so I've essentially replaced homework grading with presentation grading. $\endgroup$ –  ncr Commented Jun 5, 2014 at 19:22
• 1 $\begingroup$ @ncr call on students randomly with or without replacement? I can see major pitfalls to both. With replacement - some students are never called on, without replacement - previously called on students stop working. $\endgroup$ –  WetlabStudent Commented Jun 11, 2014 at 17:01
• $\begingroup$ @ncr I created a new question for this, that you can see here matheducators.stackexchange.com/questions/2651/… $\endgroup$ –  WetlabStudent Commented Jun 11, 2014 at 17:39

You should ask yourself what the homework is for (check they do work, check they can do the problems correctly, ...), and grade according to that.

In my Discrete Math class I give many (some 6 to 8) homework problems, which check if they know how to work carefully on problems related to what is seen in class. This is 30% of the grade. With the TAs, we select 3 problems each week. One is to be solved by the TA, asking for input from the class; one is solved by the class, perhaps asking the TA for guidance; and one is solved individually, graded as turned in or not. This is 5%. And a midterm (30%) and a final (35%).

In homework they have time, and can consult external sources and use whatever tools they want, grading is according to work done carefully and completely. What I want is that they understand what they turn in, even if they got it off MSE, so a "random" selection of students get their grade from explaining to the TA what they turned in, not by grading what was turned in. The sessions with the TAs are geared towards not having them cram the day before the exams (which has shown time and again leads to a masacre), the exams are meant so see if they understand the material (apply it in situations at most mildly ouside what was seen in class/homework, do not ask for careful development but e.g. just explain how to set up or solve a problem, or why something is done a specific way).

I've had professors do a hybrid approach. A small set of problems would be graded and returned with detailed comments on errors. This was to help us know if we were understanding the material well enough for the exams.

A larger set of problems would be turned in and graded mainly on completeness. This was to encourage a lot of practice, which, despite everyone's best intentions, just doesn't happen unless the work has to be turned in. We knew in advance which set was which, and we received solutions after-the-fact for both sets.

To answer your main question, homework was still 15-20% of the grade. Each graded answer was a larger portion, but I didn't hear any of my fellow students complain about that. (Although, perhaps the ones who didn't do well on the homework didn't have the math skills to figure that out. evil grin )

• $\begingroup$ In a class I took we had weekly homework. Four questions, only one was graded (announced on turn-in), all solutions where published. Cuts down on grading, but requires equally hard/interesting problems. $\endgroup$ –  vonbrand Commented Jun 6, 2014 at 11:27

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5 Ways to Make Homework More Meaningful

Use these insights from educators—and research—to create homework practices that work for everyone.

Homework tends to be a polarizing topic. While many teachers advocate for its complete elimination, others argue that it provides students with the extra practice they need to solidify their learning and teach them work habits—like managing time and meeting deadlines—that have lifelong benefits. 

We recently reached out to teachers in our audience to identify practices that can help educators plot a middle path. 

On Facebook , elementary school teacher John Thomas responded that the best homework is often no-strings-attached encouragement to read or play academically adjacent games with family members. “I encourage reading every night,” Thomas said, but he doesn’t use logs or other means of getting students to track their completion. “Just encouragement and book bags with self selected books students take home for enjoyment.” 

Thomas said he also suggests to parents and students that they can play around with “math and science tools” such as “calculators, tape measures, protractors, rulers, money, tangrams, and building blocks.” Math-based games like Yahtzee or dominoes can also serve as enriching—and fun—practice of skills they’re learning.

At the middle and high school level, homework generally increases, and that can be demotivating for teachers, who feel obliged to review or even grade halfhearted submissions. Student morale is at stake, too: “Most [students] don’t complete it anyway,” said high school teacher Krystn Stretzinger Charlie on Facebook . “It ends up hurting them more than it helps.”    

So how do teachers decide when to—and when not to—assign homework, and how do they ensure that the homework they assign feels meaningful, productive, and even motivating to students? 

1. Less is More

A 2017 study analyzed the homework assignments of more than 20,000 middle and high school students and found that teachers are often a bad judge of how long homework will take. 

According to researchers, students spend as much as 85 minutes or as little as 30 minutes on homework that teachers imagined would take students one hour to complete. The researchers concluded that by assigning too much homework , teachers actually increased inequalities between students in exchange for “minimal gains in achievement.” Too much homework can overwhelm students who “have more gaps in their knowledge,” the researchers said, and creates situations where homework becomes so time-consuming and frustrating that it turns students off to classwork more broadly.

To counteract this, middle school math teacher Crystal Frommert said she focuses on quality over quantity. Frommert cited the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics , which recommends only assigning “what’s necessary to augment instruction” and adds that if teachers can “get sufficient information by assigning only five problems, then don’t assign fifty.” 

Instead of sending students home with worksheets and long problem sets from textbooks that often repeat the same concepts, Frommert recommended assigning part of a page, or even a few specific problems—and explaining to students why these handpicked problems will be helpful practice. When students know there’s thought behind the problems they’re asked to solve at home, “they pay more attention to the condensed assignment because it was tailored for them,” Frommert said. 

On Instagram , high school teacher Jacob Palmer said that every now and then he condenses homework down to just one problem that is particularly engaging and challenging: “The depth and exploration that can come from one single problem can be richer than 20 routine problems.” 

2. Add Choice to the Equation 

Former educator and coach Mike Anderson said teachers can differentiate homework assignments without placing unrealistic demands on their workload by offering students some discretion in the work they complete and explicitly teaching them “how to choose appropriately challenging work for themselves.” 

Instead of assigning the same 20 problems or response questions on a given textbook page to all students, for example, Anderson suggested asking students to refer to the list of questions and choose and complete a designated number of them (three to five, for example) that give students “a little bit of a challenge but that [they] can still solve independently.” 

To teach students how to choose well, Anderson has students practice choosing homework questions in class before the end of the day, brainstorming in groups and sharing their thoughts about what a good homework question should accomplish. The other part, of course, involves offering students good choices: “Make sure that options for homework focus on the skills being practiced and are open-ended enough for all students to be successful,” he said. 

Once students have developed a better understanding of the purpose of challenging themselves to practice and grow as learners, Anderson also periodically asks them to come up with their own ideas for problems or other activities they can use to reinforce learning at home. A simple question, such as “What are some ideas for how you might practice this skill at home?” can be enough to get students sharing ideas, he said. 

Jill Kibler, a former high school science teacher, told Edutopia on Facebook that she implemented homework choice in her classroom by allowing students to decide how much of the work they’ve recently turned in that they’d like to redo as homework: “Students had one grading cycle (about seven school days) to redo the work they wanted to improve,” she said. 

3. Break the Mold 

According to high school English teacher Kate Dusto, the work that students produce at home doesn’t have to come in the traditional formats of written responses to a problem. On Instagram , Dusto told Edutopia that homework can often be made more interesting—and engaging—by allowing students to show evidence of their learning in creative ways. 

“Offer choices for how they show their learning,” Dusto said. “Record audio or video? Type or use speech to text? Draw or handwrite and then upload a picture?” The possibilities are endless. 

Former educator and author Jay McTighe noted that visual representations such as graphic organizers and concept maps are particularly useful for students attempting to organize new information and solidify their understanding of abstract concepts. For example, students might be asked to “draw a visual web of factors affecting plant growth” in biology class or map out the plot, characters, themes, and settings of a novel or play they’re reading to visualize relationships between different elements of the story and deepen their comprehension of it. 

Simple written responses to summarize new learning can also be made more interesting by varying the format, McTighe said. For example, ask students to compose a tweet in 280 characters or less to answer a question like “What is the big idea that you have learned about _____?” or even record a short audio podcast or video podcast explaining “key concepts from one or more lessons.”

4. Make Homework Voluntary 

When elementary school teacher Jacqueline Worthley Fiorentino stopped assigning mandatory homework to her second-grade students and suggested voluntary activities instead, she found that something surprising happened: “They started doing more work at home.” 

Some of the simple, voluntary activities she presented students with included encouraging at-home reading (without mandating how much time they should spend reading); sending home weekly spelling words and math facts that will be covered in class but that should also be mastered by the end of the week: “It will be up to each child to figure out the best way to learn to spell the words correctly or to master the math facts,” she said; and creating voluntary lesson extensions such as pointing students to outside resources—texts, videos or films, webpages, or even online or in-person exhibits—to “expand their knowledge on a topic covered in class.”

Anderson said that for older students, teachers can sometimes make whatever homework they assign a voluntary choice. “Do all students need to practice a skill? If not, you might keep homework invitational,” he said, adding that teachers can tell students, “If you think a little more practice tonight would help you solidify your learning, here are some examples you might try.”

On Facebook , Natisha Wilson, a K–12 gifted students coordinator for an Ohio school district, said that when students are working on a challenging question in class, she’ll give them the option to “take it home and figure it out” if they’re unable to complete it before the end of the period. Often students take her up on this, she said, because many of them “can’t stand not knowing the answer.” 

5. Grade for Completion—or Don’t Grade at All  

Former teacher Rick Wormeli argued that work on homework assignments isn’t “evidence of final level of proficiency”; rather, it’s practice that provides teachers with “feedback and informs where we go next in instruction.” 

Grading homework for completion—or not grading at all, Wormeli said—can help students focus on the real task at hand of consolidating understanding and self-monitoring their learning. “When early attempts at mastery are not used against them, and accountability comes in the form of actually learning content, adolescents flourish.” 

High school science teacher John Scali agreed , confirming that grading for “completion and timeliness” rather than for “correctness” makes students “more likely to do the work, especially if it ties directly into what we are doing in class the next day” without worrying about being “100% correct.” On Instagram , middle school math teacher Traci Hawks noted that any assignments that are completed and show work—even if the answer is wrong—gets a 100 from her.

But Frommert said that even grading for completion can be time-consuming for teachers and fraught for students if they don’t have home environments that are supportive of homework or if they have jobs or other after-school activities. 

Instead of traditional grading, she suggested alternatives to holding students accountable for homework, such as student presentations or even group discussions and debates as a way to check for understanding. For example, students can debate which method is best to solve a problem or discuss their prospective solutions in small groups. “Communicating their mathematical thinking deepens their understanding,” Frommert said. 

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Making Homework Central to Learning

Three Reasons Teachers Continue to Grade Homework

"if i don't grade it, they won't do it.", "hard work should be rewarded.", "homework grades help students who test poorly.", what to do instead, practice 1. evaluate each assignment to determine whether to grade it., practice 2. tie homework to assessments., practice 3. focus on demonstration of learning, not task completion..

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U.S. teachers lead the world in their predilection for grading homework. In a study of educational practices in 50 countries, almost 70 percent of U.S. teachers said that they used homework assignments to calculate student grades, compared with 20 percent of teachers in Canada, 14 percent in Japan, and 9 percent in Singapore (Baker & LeTendre, 2005). It's worthwhile to ask whether the hours spent scoring student homework and calculating it into grades pay off. This study said no; in fact, it found a negative correlation between grading homework and increased achievement:Not only did we fail to find any positive relationships, the overall correlations between national average student achievement and national averages in the frequency, total amount, and percentage of teachers who used homework in grading are all negative ! (pp. 127–128)

Even though teachers at Glenn Westlake Middle School in Lombard, Illinois, no longer count homework in students' grades, students still understand that homework must be done, teachers still document which work has been completed and when, and teachers still give learners feedback about their homework. Explaining this fact to parents was a big part of the transition. Glenn Westlake's principal, Phil Wieczorek, met with parent groups several times:The parents had a lot of misconceptions. We had to explain to them this did not mean there was not going to be homework. Homework would still be looked at, kept track of, and given feedback. It just wasn't going to be averaged into the student's grade.

Schools that still wish to grade some homework should separate homework into formative and summative assessments. Formative assessments, such as practice with math problems, spelling, or vocabulary, should not be factored into the overall course grade. Summative assessments, such as research papers or portfolios of student work, may be. Many district policies outline these differences in their grading and homework policies, such as this guideline from the Rockwood School District in Eureka, Missouri:Homework is an important part of teaching, learning, and parent involvement in the Rockwood School District. Student work should always receive feedback to further student learning. Teachers will exclude homework from the course grade if it was assigned for pre-assessment or early learning guided practice. Homework assigned as a summative assessment may be included in the course grade based on curriculum guidelines.

The easiest way to tie homework to assessments in students' minds is to allow them to use homework assignments and notes when taking a test. Another method is to correlate the amount of homework completed with test scores. One teacher does this by writing two numbers at the top of each test or quiz—the student's test score and the student's number of missing homework assignments. This not only helps the students see the connection, but also shows the teacher which students are not benefiting from a specific homework task and which students may know the content so well that they don't need to do homework. Patricia Scriffiny (2008), a teacher at Montrose High School in Colorado, makes the connection explicit:When I assign homework, I discuss with my students where and how it applies to their assessments… Some students don't do all of the homework that I assign, but they know that they are accountable for mastering the standard connected to it. (p. 72)

Figure 1. Sample Monthly Feedback Form for English 11

Making Homework Central to Learning- table

Baker, D. P., & LeTendre, G. K. (2005). National differences, global similarities: World culture and the future of schooling . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Cushman, K. (2010). Fires in the mind: What kids can tell us about motivation and mastery . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

O'Connor, K. (2009). How to grade for learning K–12 . (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

O'Donnell, H. (2010, October 8). Grading for learning: Dealing with the student who "won't work" (Revisited) [blog post]. Retrieved from The Thoughtful Teacher at http://repairman.wordpress.com/2010/10/08/grading-for-learning-dealing-with-the-student-who-wont-work-revisited .

Pink, D. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us . New York: Riverhead Books.

Scriffiny, P. L. (2008). Seven reasons for standards-based grading. Educational Leadership, 66 (2), 70–74.

Vatterott, C. (2009). Rethinking homework: Best practices that support diverse needs . Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Cathy Vatterott is professor emeritus of education at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Referred to as the "homework lady," Vatterott has been researching, writing, and speaking about K–12 homework for more than 20 years.

She frequently presents at a variety of state and national educational conferences and also serves as a consultant and workshop presenter for K–12 schools on a variety of topics.

She serves on the Parents magazine advisory board and is author of two ASCD books: Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs, 2nd edition (2018) and Rethinking Grading: Meaningful Assessment for Standards Based Learning   (2015).

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Designing Effective Homework

Best practices for creating homework that raises student achievement

Homework. It can be challenging…and not just for students. For teachers, designing homework can be a daunting task with lots of unanswered questions: How much should I assign? What type of content should I cover? Why aren’t students doing the work I assign? Homework can be a powerful opportunity to reinforce the Shifts in your instruction and promote standards-aligned learning, but how do we avoid the pitfalls that make key learning opportunities sources of stress and antipathy?

The nonprofit Instruction Partners recently set out to answer some of these questions, looking at what research says about what works when it comes to homework. You can view their original presentation here , but I’ve summarized some of the key findings you can put to use with your students immediately.

Does homework help?

Consistent homework completion has been shown to increase student achievement rates—but frequency matters. Students who are given homework regularly show greater gains than those who only receive homework sporadically. Researchers hypothesize that this is due to improved study skills and routines practiced through homework that allow students to perform better academically.

Average gains on unit tests for students who completed homework were six percentile points in grades 4–6, 12 percentile points in grades 7–9, and an impressive 24 percentile points in grades 10–12; so yes, homework (done well) does work. [i]

What should homework cover?

While there is little research about exactly what types of homework content lead to the biggest achievement gains, there are some general rules of thumb about how homework should change gradually over time.

In grades 1–5, homework should:

• Reinforce and allow students to practice skills learned in the classroom
• Help students develop good study habits and routines
• Foster positive feelings about school

In grades 6–12, homework should:

• Prepare students for engagement and discussion during the next lesson
• Allow students to apply their skills in new and more challenging ways

The most often-heard criticism of homework assignments is that they simply take too long. So how much homework should you assign in order to see results for students? Not surprisingly, it varies by grade. Assign 10-20 minutes of homework per night total, starting in first grade, and then add 10 minutes for each additional grade. [ii] Doing more can result in student stress, frustration, and disengagement, particularly in the early grades.

Why are some students not doing the homework?

There are any number of reasons why students may not complete homework, from lack of motivation to lack of content knowledge, but one issue to watch out for as a teacher is the impact of economic disparities on the ability to complete homework.

Multiple studies [iii] have shown that low-income students complete homework less often than students who come from wealthier families. This can lead to increased achievement gaps between students. Students from low-income families may face additional challenges when it comes to completing homework such as lack of access to the internet, lack of access to outside tutors or assistance, and additional jobs or family responsibilities.

While you can’t erase these challenges for your students, you can design homework that takes those issues into account by creating homework that can be done offline, independently, and in a reasonable timeframe. With those design principles in mind, you increase the opportunity for all your students to complete and benefit from the homework you assign.

The Big Picture

Perhaps most importantly, students benefit from receiving feedback from you, their teacher, on their assignments. Praise or rewards simply for homework completion have little effect on student achievement, but feedback that helps them improve or reinforces strong performance does. Consider keeping this mini-table handy as you design homework:

The act of assigning homework doesn’t automatically raise student achievement, so be a critical consumer of the homework products that come as part of your curriculum. If they assign too much (or too little!) work or reflect some of these common pitfalls, take action to make assignments that better serve your students.

[i] Cooper, H. (2007). The battle over homework (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

[ii] Cooper, H. (1989a). Homework .White Plains, NY: Longman.

[iii] Horrigan, T. (2015). The numbers behind the broadband ‘homework gap’ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/20/the-numbers-behind-the-broadband-homework-gap/ and Miami Dade Public Schools. (2009). Literature Review: Homework. http://drs.dadeschools.net/LiteratureReviews/Homework.pdf

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About the Author: Claire Rivero is the Digital Strategy Manager for Student Achievement Partners. Claire leads the organization’s communications and digital promotion work across various channels including email, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, always seeking new ways to reach educators. She also manages Achieve the Core’s blog, Aligned. Prior to joining Student Achievement Partners, Claire worked in the Communications department for the American Red Cross and as a literacy instructor in a London pilot program. Claire holds bachelor’s degrees in English and Public Policy from Duke University and a master’s degree in Social Policy (with a concentration on Education Policy) from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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