Boulder Valley School District

IKB

IKB

File: IKB (pdf)
Adopted:   Adopted prior to 1969
Revised: May 8, 2001

HOMEWORK

General

The term "homework" refers to tasks assigned to students by teachers to be completed during non-school hours. When designed well by teachers and done carefully by students, it is an effective instructional activity that should have a positive effect on student achievement. Homework is not, however, a substitute for in-class instruction.

In order to be beneficial to students, assigned tasks should be meaningful to purposes that can be served by independent work outside of class. These tasks vary with the grade level and are discussed in File IKB-R.

In addition to supporting student learning, well-designed homework provides teachers with important feedback on student progress in achieving District standards.

The value of homework and its positive effects on student learning are not primarily a function of the amount of homework assigned. More is not better. Rather, the value of homework is a function of the appropriateness of assignments, their quality, and their relevance to classroom instruction. In designing homework policies, schools should focus their attention on these qualitative issues while insuring that the actual amount of homework assigned considers the needs and demands of family life and the health of students.

District Expectations Regarding Homework

  1. Homework is an instructional activity and should be planned as carefully as other instructional activities. It consists of quality assignments with clear learning objectives for students.  
  2. The assignment of homework at each grade level shall be in accordance with District grade level guidelines.
  3. Homework assignments will take into consideration individual differences of students related to disability conditions, English language proficiencies, and/or specific abilities

Building Responsibilities Regarding Homework

  1. Each school will develop specific written homework guidelines in accordance with this policy. These guidelines should encourage consistency among teachers at the same grade levels, within the same subject areas, or within the same programs (such as Tech, IB, ESL, IB, AP, honors).  
  2. Each year schools will notify parents of their written homework guidelines.  
  3. Principals and teachers are responsible for addressing parent concerns and mitigating undesirable homework loads.  
  4. Teachers will use a variety of techniques for providing meaningful feedback on homework to students.  
  5. Schools within feeder systems will meet to address consistency of homework guidelines and expectations.

Reference: Cooper, Harris, The Battle Over Homework (Corwin Press, 1994).

End of File:  IKB