Homework and Assessments

Homework - How much? How often?

I've been asked very often by teachers about homework and testing so I feel it's time to address these important issues. I assign homework almost everyday and on weekends. I try to give homework that matches what I've taught and is meaningful. Homework should be for practice and never used to intimidate students or given for busy work. Please never say: "If you are not quiet, you'll get a lot more homework." Homework should never be a punishment. No matter what philosophy of math you subscribe to, students need to practice what they learn. Some students need that more than others. I assign about a half hour of math homework per night, sometimes more or less depending on the topic or the class. I sometimes give students about ten minutes to start their homework in class. This helps me answer questions as I walk around the room if students need help. Often homework which is started in class gets finished (but not always).

I always go over homework in class. Often I have the answers on the overhead projector or on the board. I do often assign the odd exercises if I use the book and have them check their answer before they come to class. Students love to put homework problems on the board and I often record their names for class participation. How do I prevent cheating? I expect work to be shown and I walk around the room enough to know who did their homework and who did not.

Going over homework should never take more than about 15 minutes. If you are taking too long to go over homework then you need to revise your teaching, or assign problems that match better what you have taught. Many teachers get into the cycle of spending all period going over homework and never having enough instructional time. You need to break that cycle immediately. If you have taught the lesson well and most of the students are in the appropriate class and paying attention, then students should be able to do the homework on their own without seeking outside help all the time! It's a good idea to give a bonus question which can challenge students, but the entire homework should not be a frustrating experience.

Don't let one or two students manipulate you into going over every homework problem. Sometimes, you can also choose which problems you feel are important to go over, take one or two more questions and then those who need more help can seek help from you in study hall, if that is possible.

After twenty plus years of teaching math, I still collect homework. I used to grade homework with a check plus, check, or check minus and began to drop the student's average if 4 or 5 assignments were missing. This is the quickest way and often what I recommend for new teachers. You want a simple way to deal with homework when you are first starting out. I know some teachers that never collect homework and I still don't understand how they fully know what types of mistakes their students are making. After I collect homework (remember they have checked it in class already) I spend time looking over their errors. I expect students to correct their mistakes on their homework. This is the grading method I curently use: 2 points for every worksheet I've assigned if completed and if errors are corrected, 1 point if late or incomplete, and 0 if not turned in. It's an efforts grade. I don't accept homework that is more than two days late unless the student has been ill or there is another good reason. You don't want to get swamped with a bunch of homework that comes in the day before the quarter is over. At that late date, it's hard to tell if the student has copied from others or not. That's the time to do your grades and not have to spend hours grading old work and then having to rush doing the grades.

I've been using Gradekeeper to do my grades which is a grading software I highly recommend. I count homework between 18-20% of their grade. This software lets you set your own percentages for any categories you want.

I have a homework board where I write the students' assignments each day. I don't hand out a sheet with their assignments for the week. Some teachers do that and it works for them. I find that I would have to make changes constantly if I did that. I assign homework that matches what I've taught and what I teach may vary from day to day and from class to class.

If a student does not do homework, talk to the student first and find out what the problem is. Don't hesitate to contact the parents immediately.

Assessments

I give quizzes and tests (two quizzes = one test) but I always announce them. I hated pop quizzes when I was in school so often if I really need to give a quiz and I didn't announce it, I'll give an OP quiz, which is an "optional quiz." Everyone must take it but the grade is optional. I use OP quizzes mostly to help me know if students are learning what I'm teaching before I give a test.

In some classes I've taught, like in Course I Accelerated classes, I don't allow for any make-ups unless the student was absent at any time during that unit. In other classes I allow make-ups but only if the student comes for extra help before coming to take the make-up. Those that care for get the extra help get to take the make-up (a different test on the same material) and those that don't bother to get the help, don't get the chance to improve their grade. Any extra credit (or extra challenge as I call it) that I give counts towards a student's homework average. I don't believe extra credit should erase or add to a low test score.

I often assign projects during each quarter. I have some individualized packets where students get a list of assignments (some are worksheets that hang on the wall), some are from the textbook or other resources, others are extra challenge or extra credit. Students for two weeks work on their own in groups (usually for no more than two weeks) and then turn in their packet of work with a nice cover they create. These individualized units are great for units that are mostly review of topics they've had the previous year. Students work at their own rate and come to me to initial their work done before they proceed to the answer box. On certain days during the individualized unit, I still give notes which students later show me for a grade. They check their own work and make corrections if needed. Other projects you can grade as tests or quizzes can be poster projects, constructions they have made, like mobiles, or geometric figures they have built. It's always good to give students choices when you assign projects.

I do Problem Solving Day at least once a week throughout the year, but I don't grade problem solving when done this way. Students love to solve problems (word problems, challenge problems, puzzles tied to the unit we are studying) when the fear of a grade is taken away. If you want to know more about how to set up a Problem Solving Day session in your class, consider buying one of my workbooks Math Ties. The introduction explains how to set up your class to make Problem Solving Day your students' favorite day of the week!

Remember, whatever policies you create for homework and testing, what is most important is that you inform the students in writing at the beginning of the year of how your policy works. You will need to remind them during the year as well. If your policies are fair and if you are consistent in following them, you will be much more successful. Also, set up a system that works for YOU. If you are overloaded and can't keep up with the system you create, the time that you need to create good lessons will suffer. Don't ever be afraid to change what doesn't work. Let your students know, but try not to make too many changes all the time!