Quality, not quantity, key for homework

Daily Herald Editorial Board

Homework. How much is too much? What should it entail? And when should it be classroom work rather than completed after school?

Those are questions school districts continually grapple with. And one, Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200, is in the process of answering.

We think what District 200 is attempting to do is a fine example for other suburban school districts. More communication and more discussion about what should and should not constitute homework can only benefit teachers, parents and, most importantly, students.

District 200 is seeking comments from parents on proposed homework guidelines that try to clarify the purpose, quality and quantity of homework, the role of parents regarding homework and the consequences to students through grading of homework.

The recommendations state that homework expectations will be clearly communicated to students and parents; it will have an identified purpose; it will support, but never replace, classroom instruction; it will provide opportunities for independent student practice; it will be recognized by the teacher through the assignment of grades, written feedback or verbal feedback.

In addition, parents will be most happy with the recommendation that states group projects will not be assigned unless time is given in class to coordinate and complete the work.

And finally, teachers will deal with homework completion issues as necessary.

It’s a good, common sense framework for teachers to follow and parents to monitor. Indeed, parents in the Wheaton Warrenville district who want to get involved, should provide their advice to district leaders now.

While the recommendations don’t state how much time should be spent on homework, recent studies show that homework, to be beneficial, should be limited to an average of 10 minutes per night per grade. So, a first-grader would get 10 minutes of homework each night while a sixth-grader should have an hour’s worth of work.

That seems reasonable.

District 200 officials told reporter Robert Sanchez that the amount of homework can have “a negative impact on the positive relationship between homework and student achievement.”

“At the middle school level and at the high school level, there’s a point of diminishing returns,” said Margo Sorrick, District 200’s assistant superintendent for educational services. “If students have too much homework, it no longer contributes to the learning experience.”

It’s a fine line as many parents might feel that their children don’t get enough homework while others complain about too much work mixed in with other activities and family time. It comes down to the quality of the assignments rather than the quantity. To that end, we think District 200’s approach is worth studying,