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Homework's largely supposed to be about reinforcing the lesson for math courses. For other courses it's largely about reading which shouldn't be done in class.

Homework's largely supposed to be about reinforcing the lesson for math courses. For other courses it's largely about reading which shouldn't be done in class. Tests/essays are for assessment.

adamnemecek 9y ago
Other countries don't put as much emphasis on hw and seem to do just fine. In some of them hw isn't even graded, it's for you to practice. My high school for example gave out a book with the problem solutions. For some of them, it was only the final result, for some of them it was the whole process. Hw didn't affect your grade at all and it was up to you to decide if you want to do the hw or not. The amount of hw students get in the us is astounding. It's not always productive either (more often that not it's not). And it seems like there's no pushback against it.
xenihn 9y ago
Then why should homework be factored into grades at all?
- treehau5 9y ago
  Incentive to do it.
  - Cumulonimbus 9y ago
    Usually, from the professors Ive interacted with, primarily comes down to "Well, _I_ suffered through my degree, so they will too." As an aside, I see the point in learning new things, sometimes by pure memorization. But this does little to actually understand what's going on. But again, the Professor priesthood sees hazing as a rite of passage.
  - an27 9y ago
    And propping up the grades of compliant students.
- umanwizard 9y ago
  It shouldn't be, and isn't in many countries.
- throwawayjava 9y ago
  1. Homework should absolutely be graded to provide students with feedback, assess learning progress, and tailor instruction to strengths/weaknesses of students in the current iteration of the course. Once all the work goes into grading, it's hard for teachers to throw out that data when assigning grades. 2. It mimics the real world where sitting your butt in a chair and turning in useless reports is valued -- perhaps not as much as actual outcomes, but still valued. Perhaps that's stupid, but in most jobs it's a reality. IMO this isn't a great motivator, but it's one a lot of teachers cite. 3. Helps pad the grades of students who are terrible test takers / have anxiety issues. 4. Students are... students. They don't always know what's best for themselves. Making homework worth a portion of the grade communicates to students that they need to practice. Patronizing? Maybe. But also a reality. 5. It's the easiest way to inflate grades without explicitly lowering standards.

Homework's largely supposed to be about reinforcing the lesson for math courses. For other courses it's largely about reading which shouldn't be done in class. Tests/essays are for assessment.

adamnemecek 9y ago

Other countries don't put as much emphasis on hw and seem to do just fine. In some of them hw isn't even graded, it's for you to practice. My high school for example gave out a book with the problem solutions. For some of them, it was only the final result, for some of them it was the whole process. Hw didn't affect your grade at all and it was up to you to decide if you want to do the hw or not. The amount of hw students get in the us is astounding. It's not always productive either (more often that not it's not). And it seems like there's no pushback against it.

xenihn 9y ago

Then why should homework be factored into grades at all?

treehau5 9y ago
Incentive to do it.
- Cumulonimbus 9y ago
  Usually, from the professors Ive interacted with, primarily comes down to "Well, _I_ suffered through my degree, so they will too." As an aside, I see the point in learning new things, sometimes by pure memorization. But this does little to actually understand what's going on. But again, the Professor priesthood sees hazing as a rite of passage.
- an27 9y ago
  And propping up the grades of compliant students.
umanwizard 9y ago
It shouldn't be, and isn't in many countries.
throwawayjava 9y ago
1. Homework should absolutely be graded to provide students with feedback, assess learning progress, and tailor instruction to strengths/weaknesses of students in the current iteration of the course. Once all the work goes into grading, it's hard for teachers to throw out that data when assigning grades. 2. It mimics the real world where sitting your butt in a chair and turning in useless reports is valued -- perhaps not as much as actual outcomes, but still valued. Perhaps that's stupid, but in most jobs it's a reality. IMO this isn't a great motivator, but it's one a lot of teachers cite. 3. Helps pad the grades of students who are terrible test takers / have anxiety issues. 4. Students are... students. They don't always know what's best for themselves. Making homework worth a portion of the grade communicates to students that they need to practice. Patronizing? Maybe. But also a reality. 5. It's the easiest way to inflate grades without explicitly lowering standards.