CCHS Homework Committee Essential Practices & Recommendations School Committee Meeting January 26 , 2016
Homework Committee: Purpose • Determine what the best balance is, regarding homework, to promote both well-being and high levels of achievement for students and teachers • Conduct a program review of homework practices and make recommendations
Homework Committee - Rationale • CCHS School Improvement Plan 2015-2016 – “Engage in action-research on best practices for homework.” • 56% of our students experience somewhat or very high stress as a result of academic workload (Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2014) • Longitudinal anecdotal reports to educators from parents & students about academic stress
YRBS Data
Process • Homework Committee – Group comprised of admin, guidance, SPED, members of all large departments and students – Met 5 ½ days to review research-based practices, CCHS’s & sister schools’ practices, generated recommendations • DCG: Received updates after Homework Group multiple meetings • Teacher Input: Fluid process – Faculty Meetings – “DCG loop”
Process (cont.) ● Principal implemented recommendations ● DCG (June): Evaluate implemented items to- date; make suggestions for refinements, with faculty input.
The Basis for the Homework Committee’s Recommendations: ● Data from student and parent surveys ● Teacher/committee member input ● Research on homework practices
Student and Parent Survey Results • 1072 students and 544 parents took the surveys • Data was analyzed and used by the Homework Committee to inform formulation of recommendations
Summary of Key Findings from Student and Parent Survey • When asked to rank their #1 top source of stress, “Tests” and “Balancing it All” were the categories most often selected by students. • “Tests” and “Homework” were the two categories that were most often selected as one of the top four sources of stress.
Summary of Key Findings from Student and Parent Survey Reported Time Spent on Nightly Homework: Students : 52% - 3 or more hours per night 19% - 4 or more hours per night Parents: 51% - 3 or more hours per night 19% - 4 or more hours per night *Time reported was CONSISTENT across all grades.
Summary of Key Findings from Student and Parent Survey • Time spent on homework was slightly lower for students taking 0 or 1 Honors/AP classes • Time spent on homework was the same for students taking 2, 3, 4 + Honors/AP classes • A high homework load (4 hours or more) is not unique to students taking 6 or more classes
Summary of Key Findings from Student and Parent Survey • Parents indicated that 1-2 hours per night is the appropriate amount of homework • Support for greater amounts of homework increases with students’ honors/AP Load, but generally peaks at 2 hours
Sources of Student Stress
51% of our Students Report Having Three or More Hours of Homework Per Night (CCHS Homework Survey)
The Amount of Time Spent on Homework is Similar Across All Grades
Most Parents Consider 1-2 Hours the Appropriate Amount of HW
Parental Support for More HW Increases Slightly with Students AP/Honors Load
Common Themes from Parent Survey (Open Response Comments) Does your child struggle to complete HW? If yes, why? • 33 exhaustion/ lack of sleep • 24 extracurricular conflicts • 20 volume (simply too much) • 14 child not engaged by “busywork”
Common Themes from Parent Survey (Open Response Comments) 47 Too much homework 41 My child is too tired/ doesn’t get enough sleep 26 Child is overloaded because of school obligations and extracurriculars 22 Too much of the assigned homework is “busywork”/ not purposeful 10 Assignment postings are too difficult to find 10 There is a lack of coordination across disciplines (many large assignments are due at once) 9 Everything is fine as is
Key Findings from Research • Benefits of homework diminish after 2-2.5 hours for high school students • Removal of all homework decreases student performance
Key Findings • Teachers clearly stating the purpose of homework increases its value • To ensure that students understand homework, start and/or preview it in class when possible • It is important to communicate with parents regarding effective ways to help their students with homework
Recommendations The Homework Committee broke down their recommendations into three categories: 1. Essential School-Wide Practices 2. Recommended Practices 3. For the Future/Next Steps
Essential School-Wide Practices • Homework is announced before the end of block • Homework is written/displayed on the board in class • Homework is posted online in a single common place and platform for all courses, using Google Calendar (Projected Implementation: 04/04/16)
Essential Practices ● No practices begin before 2:45 pm. to allow time for academic support (Projected Implementation: 03/28/16) ● Pilot school-wide coordination of major assignments/assessments in weeks prior to vacations/end of quarter/exams (Projected Implementation: 03/28/16) ● Homework-free vacations are observed both in practice and spirit / no major assignments due until Thursday after a vacation
Recommended Best Practices for Individual Teachers • Differentiated homework practices (e.g. volume, reading levels, selected questions) • Teachers communicate expected time estimates for homework/projects and what to do if a student is having difficulties or taking more time than expected. Teachers are encouraged to consider 30 minutes per course per night as a guideline.
Recommended Best Practices for Individual Teachers • Explain purpose of homework in both the course expectations and for specific projects or assignments • Provide students more than one day to complete longer assignments (and check on incremental progress)
Recommended Best Practices for Individual Teachers • Teachers frontload the teaching of skills necessary to complete assignments • Communicate to parents that moderating co- curriculars to balance student workload and stress is important
Next Steps • Professional Development Day - 01/25/16 – Google Calendar training – Group work: Differentiation of HW practices • 8th to 9th grade transition – Meeting held with Middle Schools (Concord & Carlisle) 1/12/16 – More this spring • Review homework practices for consistency on a departmental level (teacher to teacher, and subdepartment by subdepartment)
Next Steps • Follow up on specific survey results • Seek feedback from faculty and students about the implementation of essential practices and recommended best practices • Pursue Challenge Success grant to explore the bigger issue of student stress
Challenge Success Program Rationale • Our work in the Homework Committee uncovered that student stress is a multifaceted issue, with homework playing one part • The Committee felt strongly that a more in- depth review of student wellbeing is essential to creating a more supportive school community
Challenge Success Program • Working on Concord Ed Fund grant in conjunction with Middle Schools – School-wide professional development – Coaching for CCHS as well as professional development for faculty members – Presentation by the Challenge Success faculty, tailored for parents
Summary ● While the committee has recommended a variety of changes to CCHS’s current homework practice, the committee believes strongly that more work is needed in the area of student well-being and stress reduction. ● This work will require “buy-in” from several constituencies within the community.
Questions?
Appendix: Parent and Student Survey Results
Links to PDF of Parent and Student Survey Results & Article Surveys https://drive.google.com/a/concordps. org/file/d/0B2uWXM_ZDRfhMG5yd3NvaWRiUjlGQUV0TW5rX1Npc0s4SXYw/view Article http://www.challengesuccess.org/blog/what-teaching-8th-graders-has-taught-me- about-homework-and-stress-by-paul-franz/
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