homework, a teacher asked, “What will
we do about retakes now that all grades
will be tests?”
What to Do Instead
When justifying why homework should
be graded, teachers often say “But
homework is important.” Yes it is, but
behaviorist solutions such as grades fail
to validate the most important purpose
of homework—to help students reach
their learning goals. The Texas story
tells us that educators have failed to
make the connection for students
between doing homework and reaching
particular learning goals. It’s not about
homework’s value for the grade, but
homework’s value for learning. It’s not
about the student’s responsibility for a
FIGURE 1. Sample Monthly Feedback Form for English 11
This form shows a partial list of the assessment tasks one student performed
while taking English 11 at McNally High School. The middle columns show the
student’s score on each task, the number of points possible on each task, and
the percent this student got correct. The final column shows the class’s average
score on each task. These formative tasks count as “0” toward the final grade,
but the form gives students an overall picture of their performance. Summative
tasks are weighted at the end of term based on teachers’ professional judgment.
Classroom formative
Class
assessment
Weight
Points
earned
Points
possible
Percent
correct average on
this task
Reading comprehension
0.0
25
45
56%
53%
Forrest Gump persuasive 0.0
15
57%
Personal response to
poetry
0.0
5
5
100%
78%
task, but the student’s responsibility for
Catch Me If You Can
his or her learning.
literary exploration
0.0
19
25
76%
66%
In schools in which homework isn’t
graded, it is still marked for correctness,
Summative assessments
and students still receive specific feed-
Persuasive response
0.0
12
15
80%
65%
back. Students are still responsible for
completing assignments outside class—
Literary response to text
0.0
20
25
80%
65%
and some students still fail to complete
Oral presentation
0.0
11. 5
12
96%
69%
them. Such schools use interventions
similar to those employed by schools
Source: McNally High School, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Used with permission.
that grade homework. Teachers may
call parents, pull students from other
classes to complete their work, or make
available after-school programs in which
students can catch up on homework.
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.
the Responsibility for learning section. In
social studies, for instance, students are
evaluated on note taking, number and
quality of homework assignments com-
Even though teachers at Glenn West-
pleted, and group projects.
lake Middle School in Lombard, Illinois,
The first draft of Glenn Westlake’s
If teachers are to move away from
no longer count homework in students’ new report card gave students a grade
grading homework, they must take a
grades, students still understand that
for their academic work in each subject fresh look at the purpose of homework.
homework must be done, teachers still
and an O, W, or N for homework, partic- Three practices, which some pioneer-
document which work has been com-
ipation, and organization in that subject ing schools are now trying, can help
pleted and when, and teachers still give (O indicated often demonstrated skill, W
us move toward a learning-focused
learners feedback about their home-
indicated working on development of skill, mind-set.
work. Explaining this fact to parents
and N indicated needs improvement). The
was a big part of the transition. Glenn
school has now switched to one column Practice 1. Evaluate each assignment
Westlake’s principal, Phil Wieczorek,
for the academic grade and one column to determine whether to grade it.
met with parent groups several times:
labeled Responsibility for learning, in
Schools that still wish to grade some
The parents had a lot of misconceptions. which students receive a 1, 2, or 3. Each homework should separate homework
We had to explain to them this did not
department at each grade level decides
into formative and summative assess-
mean there was not going to be
which learning tasks are included in
ments. Formative assessments, such as
