4 ms·

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.