Madison Homework Committee 2015
Presentation to the Board of Education - 7/21/15
Madison Homework Committee 2015
“We're in this building for more than 6 hours a
day. We do a lot of work while we're here.
When we go home we need time to ourselves
and to relax. Doing homework draws away from
time that we should be spending with
friends/family. These are supposedly the
'greatest years of our lives’ but we spend
them doing pointless school work that'll be
forgotten within a month.”
~DHHS Sophomore
“We're in this building for more than 6 hours a
day. We do a lot of work while we're here.
When we go home we need time to ourselves
and to relax. Doing homework draws away from
time that we should be spending with
friends/family. These are supposedly the
'greatest years of our lives’ but we spend
them doing pointless school work that'll be
forgotten within a month.”
~DHHS Sophomore
Committee Members
● All staff invited to participate
Bryan Augustine
David Buller, Chair
Kristen Cinque
● Representatives from all grade
elementary, middle and high
school
Gail Dahling Hench
Kathryn Hart
Julie Johnson
Laleh Karimi
Greg Pfaffenbichler
Carol Sullivan
● Representatives included
teachers and administrators
Cathy Williams
Objectives of the Committee
To inform homework policy and practice
through the examination of current research,
practices and stakeholder perspectives in order
to meet the needs of all students in a
developmentally appropriate manner.
Timeframe
1985:
Madison BOE approved existing policy
1985 - 2015:
Practices varied and changed over time
March 2015:
Committee convened and began process
Spring 2015:
Chair presented progress to Planning Committee of BOE
Summer 2015:
Committee presented summary and policy draft to BOE
Summer 2015:
Review proposed policy; move policy to Board
August 2015:
Share policy with faculty, students, families
2015-16 school year:
Development and implementation of Regulations
Timeframe
1985:
Madison BOE approved existing policy
1985 - 2015:
Practices varied and changed over time
March 2015:
Committee convened and began process
Spring 2015:
Chair presented progress to Planning Committee of BOE
Summer 2015:
Committee presented summary and policy draft to BOE
Summer 2015:
Board review, revise, and adopt policy
August 2015:
Share policy with faculty, students, families
2015-16 school year:
Development and implementation of Regulations
Policy & Practice
1985:
Madison BOE approved existing policy
1985 - 2015:
Practices varied and changed over time
The policy is 30 years old.
Our practices and beliefs have changed, therefore the policy should
change too.
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Process
March 2015:
Spring 2015:
Committee convened and began process
Chair presented progress to Planning Committee of BOE
●
Reviewed existing policy
●
Conducted research
○ Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse
Needs By Cathy Vatterott
○ The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn
○ Various articles - all perspectives
○ Policies from other districts and CABE
●
Collected data
○ Surveys
○ Focus groups
●
Summarized information and identified themes from all sources
Data Sources
❖ Faculty
➢ K-12 survey
(190 responses)
❖ Parents/Guardians
➢ 3 focus groups
(85 participants)
❖ Students
➢ 3 focus groups
➢ 9-12 Survey
(~100 elementary, middle & high school students)
(296 responses)
Percentage of core* subject teachers
who assign homework
*Includes World Language
Source: 2015 DHHS Teacher Survey
Percentage of teachers who assign
homework (all subjects)
*Includes World Language
Source: 2015 DHHS Teacher Survey
The amount of homework I am assigned is…
source: 2015 survey of 291 DHHS students
How much time SHOULD high school students spend
on HW each week?
sources: 2015
surveys of 291 DHHS
students
and 74 DHHS
teachers
Student-reported time spent on homework in average
week...
sources: 2015 surveys of 291 DHHS students and 74 DHHS teachers
Time spent on homework in an average weeknight...
none
2%
less than 1 hour
10%
approx. 1 hour
7%
approx. 2 hours
32%
approx. 3 hours
26%
approx. 4 or
more hours
23%
source: 2015 survey of 291 DHHS students
Percentage of core* subject teachers who
assign homework over vacations
*Includes World Language
Source: 2015 Teacher Survey
Key Results
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Parents:
balance/family/stress
quality vs quantity - meaningful
consistency/coordination
flexibility/differentiation
feedback
good for reading and math skills
communication
technology
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Students:
balance/activities/stress
quality vs quantity - meaningful
consistency/coordination
flexibility/optional
grading practices
independent practice vs new
learning
●
Staff:
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balance
meaningful/purposeful
consistency
levels/differentiation
important for skills
study habits
developmentally appropriate
Themes
Homework should…
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be purposeful and meaningful
be considered a valuable tool when used in a thoughtful manner
enhance or further student learning
require minimal assistance
be developmentally appropriate and differentiated as appropriate
not be used as punishment or solely to teach responsibility
involve student choice
be consistent across grade/course levels
Educators should…
● be cognizant of the need for balance in students’ lives
● recognize that homework has a positive effect on student achievement ONLY when
there is a high likelihood of it being completed independently
● not make assumptions about the availability of technology in the home
● permit flexibility in scheduling
Revised Policy for MPS
Summer 2015:
Committee presented summary and policy draft to BOE
Summer 2015:
Board review, revise, and adopt policy
It is with confidence and after a considerable amount of
time, research, and discussion that this committee presents
you with our draft of the Madison Public Schools
Homework Policy.
Next Steps
August 2015:
Share policy with faculty, students, families
2015-16 school year:
Development and implementation of Regulations
❖ Draft regulations by grade level bands
❖ Refine regulations with administrative team
❖ Begin implementation in 2015-16 school year
➢ Share with staff
➢ Revise Student Handbook, Program of Studies,
course practices, report card indicators, etc.
➢ Communicate to students, parents and community
❖ Re-evaluate in Spring 2016
Thank you