need refs on lack of benefits of homework in the lower grades
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Sharon Fitzgerald safi...@attglobal.net
At the parent-teacher conference last Friday, I mentioned to my girls' teacher how I thought the infrequently-***igned book reports were an excellent exercise. I thought my girls really benefited from doing and I wished she would ***ign them more often but I realize she couldn't possibly because they get so much other homework.
Anyway, I remembered someone here posted about some refs or the refs themselves on studies showing no benefit whatsoever for homework in the lower grades. I couldn't hold myself back and I asked her if she was familiar with those.
She wasn't aware of them and I said I'd send her the cites. I thought I had saved the post but I hadn't. Can someone repost those if you have them?
Thank you so much in advance, sharon
Ericka Kammerer e...@comcast.net
Hooo boy! That was a long time ago ;-) I'll see what I can dig up...
Here's one: http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/1/cu1.html and some ERIC abstracts: EJ540787 EA532925 The Truth about Homework.
Black, Susan American School Board Journal, v183 n10 p48-51 Oct 1996 ISSN: 0003-0953 Document Type: REVIEW LITERATURE (070); JOURNAL ARTICLE (080) Researcher Harris Cooper examined studies on homework and student achievement and found that homework substantially raises high school students' achievement; in junior high, homework raises students' achievement only about half as much; and in elementary grades, homework has no discernible effect on students' achievement. (MLF) EJ370262 EA522188 The Effect of Homework Policies on Student Achievement.
Palardy, J. Michael N***P Bulletin, v72 n507 p14-17 Apr 1988 Document Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE (080); PROJECT DESCRIPTION (141) Most research shows no correlation between homework and student achievement and finds homework for primary grades inappropriate and counterproductive. After summarizing major purposes and types of homework and ***ociated problems, the article provides seven recommendations for developing a workable school policy. (MLH) Descriptors: *Academic Achievement; Elementary Secondary Education; *Homework; *Research Needs; *School Policy ED293108 CS009114 Homework and Reading Achievement in NAEP Data on Thirteen-Year-
Olds.
Levine, Daniel U.
Apr 1988 19p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research ***ociation (New Orleans, LA, April 5-9, 1988).
Document Type: EVALUATIVE REPORT (142); CONFERENCE PAPER (150) In order to ***ess relationships and problems in drawing conclusions regarding productive school practices, a study analyzed the 1984 National ***essment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data on homework and reading achievement among 13-year-olds. A previous study (Lange, 1987) examining the NAEP data set concluded that the number of hours spent on homework is significantly and positively related to reading achievement, and the NAEP's publication, "The Reading Report Card," portrays an overall positive relationship between homework and achievement. However, a series of cross-
tabulations, taking into account type of community and level of parental education, revealed that the relationship between amount of homework and reading achievement was not consistent, but varied with type of community and parental education. The absence of a consistent relationship between homework and reading achievement is even more apparent when one conducts cross-tabulations taking into account type of community and percent of minority students in schools attended. In sum, cross-sectional data such as those collected by the NAEP are not likely to reflect sophisticated efforts to improve the effectiveness of homework, and analyses of such data frequently fail to consider other related variables that may affect or mediate relationships between homework and achievement. (Four tables and an excerpt from the NAEP's "The Reading Report Card" are attached.) (ARH) Descriptors: Community Influence; *Data Interpretation; *Homework; Parent Influence; *Reading Achievement; *Reading Improvement; *Reading Research; Secondary Education Identifiers: National ***essment of Educational Progress Homework as a Learning Experience. What Research Says to the Teacher.
LaConte, Ronald T.
1981 33p.
Available From: NEA Professional Library, P. O. Box 509, West Haven, CT 06516 (Stock No. 1036-1-10, $1.50).
Document Type: PROJECT DESCRIPTION (141); REVIEW LITERATURE (070); NON-CL***ROOM MATERIAL (055) Three types of homework ***ignments are commmon in schools in the United States: practice, preparation, and extension. To be effective, practice exercises must be highly individualized and based on the progress of each student. Preparation normally refers to reading ***ignments given prior to cl*** meetings. Homework of this sort should be carefully ***igned to ensure that the student receives a clear idea of the ***ignment's purpose. Extension homework attempts to take the student beyond the work done in cl***. Research into the effectiveness of homework in improving academic achievement is inconclusive. The role of homework as a link between home and school is vital, and ***ignments can serve as a means of providing a bond of common effort between parent, child, and teacher.
Inappropriate or badly explained ***ignments, however, can just as readily serve as a source of antagonism between parent, teacher, and child. The emergence of cable television, home computers, videotape and videodiscs, and information utilities is changing the role and format of home study, and, for the teacher interested in the question of homework, the primary significance of these trends lies not in their suggestions for present homework practices but rather their implications for future practices. A list is provided in this pamphlet of basic guidelines and principles that can help the cl***room teacher arrive at a feasible homework policy. (JD) Descriptors: ****ignments; *Educational Television; Elementary Secondary Education; *Home Study; *Homework; Parent Attitudes; Parent Teacher Cooperation; Student Attitudes; Student Teacher Relationship; *Teaching Methods There were more, as I recall, but that's what I can turn up right now. Hope it helps a bit.
Best wishes, Ericka
Sharon Fitzgerald safi...@attglobal.net
I *thought* it was you! Thank you so much!
Although I will give her and the grade school principal this info, I suspect they will never be able to stop conflating "lots of homework" with "college-prep" but I'm leaving anyway so I thought I'd try to blow one past their bow on my way out...
sharon
Ericka Kammerer e...@comcast.net
Never hurts! ;-) I think the worst thing is that even if they did it, they'd probably have a horde of parents at the door convinced their kids would no longer be competitive, so they'd probably change back so fast it'd make your head spin.
Still, a good deed is a good deed ;-) Best wishes, Ericka
Sharon Fitzgerald safi...@attglobal.net
You must be omniscient. I was told this school never used to give lots of homework UNTIL one of the other english-language college prep schools here in San Juan went to that format. Some time soon after that, they started handing out lots more homework and they lost some students. I've always wondered why when we live practically next to this school, so many other kids in the neighborhood, some of whom used to go to this school, get up at the crack of dawn to fight traffic and go to another school downtown. Our former neighbors just moved downtown for the express reason to be closer to the other school after pulling their kids out of this school. Things that make you say hmmmmm...
Thanks again Ericka! You're a pal.
sharon
Ericka Kammerer e...@comcast.net
Ha ha! ;-) Wish I could take credit, but unfortunately, I think it's all too common a phenomenon. Now, if I could predict the stock market... ;-) Indeed. There's a lot of that around here too, particularly in some of the private schools. I'm nervous about next year. Now that we have Adrian's test scores, it seems likely he'll be in the GT program, and I think it will be good for him (long story, but I don't think his educational needs are being met in the regular cl***room), but I'm a little worried that it will mean *tons* of homework and I'm worried what that will do to all his other interests that he enjoys so much and that I think are an important part of his broader education. But of course there are all those parents hell bent on making sure little Johnny or Jane gets into TJHS (local high end public magnet school for science and tech). We'll see...
Best wishes, Ericka
Sharon Fitzgerald safi...@attglobal.net
First, I just noticed I left off the "ed" on "expressed"...
Second, maybe the GT program professionals will be familiar with the homework debate literature and not pile it on the students. Oe can always hope.
Third, if TJHS is anything like the public magnet schools in NYC, I suspect you will not find a better private school. And also following the example of the NYC magnet high schools, (Bronx Science, Stuvesant, Brooklyn Tech), even though they drew from the entire city population, they weren't *that* competitive in my opinion. One reason is, taking the people in my junior high school cl*** in Queens as a example, there were at least some kids who could have tested in but were not interested in taking two busses or a bus and a subway to school when they could just walk to the local school.
FWIW, sharon
Ericka Kammerer e...@comcast.net
That'll be nice, but I'm not totally betting on it. I've heard the homework load is significant. I'm just hoping it isn't waaay out of line.
Some families are like that here too and don't bother with it, but *plenty* do. TJ is right up there with Stuyvesant et al., but it is very competitive. TJ draws from several No. VA counties (I think there's something like a 1100 sq. mile territory), so the pool of applicants is huge. Every year there's a huge ruckus over admissions, and whether their policies are fair and whether so-and-so's kid should have gotten in and so on and so forth (some legitimate, some not, of course). There are parents who start grooming their children from kindergarten for TJ. I don't know any current students, so I couldn't give a personal opinion on what it takes to get in, but I do know it's highly competitive and that many *parents*, at least, are minded to have their kids taught in a way they believe will enhance their chances of getting in (whether their beliefs align with reality or not ;-) Alas, in this as in so many other things, it's really perception that drives things more than reality!
Best wishes, Ericka
Sharon Fitzgerald safi...@attglobal.net
Hmmm. The territory sounds large but I wonder what the ratio of available slots to potential applicants would be. In the case of the NYC magnet schools, with a total population of 9 million plus people in NYC (over 2 million in Queens alone), I suspect the ratio of tenth grade slots in the three top magnet schools to the total number of ninth graders who take the entrance exam is small. Perhaps the population density in the N. Virginia drawing area is such that the ratios begin to match, I don't know but I would be kind of surprised. On the other hand, there is only the one school in your area and NYC has at least three... I think some people include a few other schools in the top tier magnet schools like Cardozo, and the like.
Anyway, life's a rat race, any way you slice it.
sharon
Ericka Kammerer e...@comcast.net
Hmmm...it's pretty densely populated here, though not as densely populated as NYC, I'm sure. NYC is far and away the largest school district in the country. From what I can tell from their website, they admit around 2500 students to Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Science, and Stuyvesant per year. Fairfax County ranks somewhere in the 10-14th range, IIRC, and admits a total of 420 students per year from a population of around 2 million (well, Ffx Co has a population of around 1 million, but if you add up all the other counties you get closer to 2 million--but then again, TC reserves slots for a proportional number of Ffx Co students since Ffx Co funds the school, so it's a little hard to tell how to compare apples to apples here). But you're absolutely right--a rat race regardless ;-) Best wishes, Ericka
Sharon Fitzgerald safi...@attglobal.net
That sounds about right... there were approximately 700 kids in my Bronx Science graduating cl*** and I believe the other two schools were somewhat larger.
***uming both populations have a similar percentage of junior high school students interested in attending a magnet school...
TJHS - 420/2 x 10^6 = 0.00021 NYC - 2500/9 x 10^6 = 0.00027 These ratios are indistinguishable in my opinion.
But you bring up another point that I forgot to mention last time... I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure all the NYC magnet schools had to accept kids in their district irrespective of their test scores. In other words, they don't make you travel to another school district just because you live near a magnet school. If true in your area, I imagine the housing prices in the TJHS district are somewhat higher than in adjoining districts. sharon
Ericka Kammerer e...@comcast.net
Nope, TJ has no "community school" within it. You only get in through the admissions process. For other schools with high test scores, however, it's definitely true that housing prices are significantly higher (not that they aren't already through the roof around here anyway ;-) Most of the schools (including the other magnet schools) in Ffx Co work as you describe, but TJ is a special case.
Best wishes, Ericka
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