Bringing Homework Into Focus. Eileen Depka

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      The formative assessment cycle (see figure 1.9 on page 14) can be used with summative work as well. Because the goal is for students to learn the standards and gain the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve grade-level success, even summative work needs to be evaluated with an eye on the formative process. Although the intent is that students have had ample practice opportunities and therefore are ready for summative work, that is not always the case. When students struggle, teachers need to analyze the data and formulate a plan to address individual or small-group needs. A response to the results is necessary if the data indicate that students require additional instruction or practice in order to be successful. This is doable during most of the school year. However, this might not be possible at the end of a course or year. That said, the teacher should analyze the results to see what changes might be made prior to the next time the same content is assessed, even if the instruction is with a new group of students.

Final Thoughts

      As previously stated, student work should be categorized by purpose, not location. Figure 1.12 is a review of those purposes and when the work should be administered.

      Teachers should provide students with multiple opportunities to practice a new skill or work with new knowledge so that students are not given only one opportunity to demonstrate understanding within units of study. When deemed appropriate, students are given the opportunity to apply what they have learned in a format identified and structured by the teacher. Performance tasks, quizzes, and projects are a few common methods of assessment used for this purpose. Summative assessments should occur at the end of a few days, a week, or longer, depending on the content being addressed. This allows students to prove they understand small chunks of content prior to being asked to demonstrate understanding on large amounts of content.

Figure 1.12: Purposes of student work.

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Figure 1.13 (page 18) provides a flowchart of the instructional cycle. Learning starts with pinpointing the standards and content to be addressed. The teacher then identifies the knowledge and skills necessary to a successful experience and constructs an ending summative experience. The instruction, formative work, and summative work approaches then begin. The two arrows between instruction and formative work indicate that formative work guides instruction and the two alternate as needed to accommodate student success. When students have been given adequate learning and practice experiences, it is time for summative work. At this point, most students should experience success; however, some students may require additional instruction, practice, and another summative assessment. While another summative experience may not be possible during some points of the year, teachers should make every effort to ensure that students have the basis of understanding needed to proceed to the next level of learning.

Figure 1.13: Instructional cycle flowchart.

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Collaborative Team Discussion Questions

      Discuss the following questions with your collaborative team. Evaluate current practices, identify the positive aspects being employed, and discuss changes or additions that are valuable to student success. Visit go.solution-tree.com/assessment to download a reproducible version of these questions.

      1 What is a benefit of identifying the purpose of the work prior to its design and implementation?

      2 Why is it important for students to understand the purpose of the work and how it will impact their learning?

      3 How do you know that students have had enough practice and are ready for summative work?

      4 What do you do when students are not successful demonstrating understanding on a summative assessment?

      5 What are the benefits and drawbacks of flipped teaching?

      6 Share your experiences with flipped teaching, or share what is needed for you to try the approach.

      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