An Improved Homework Policy

Improving Student Performance & Mental Health by Setting a Limit on Homework

Our project is advocating for a schoolwide policy that would establish a reasonable limit on the amount of homework assigned per night. A lighter workload after school means students would have more hours in the evening for extracurriculars, time with family, self-care, and sleep.

On behalf of the student body, we propose revising the workload policy, specifically the homework policy.

Ideally, we hope to decrease the amount of time students spend in a single night, in hopes to increase the amount of sleep students get at home and to see an incline in students’ mental health. 

We sent out a schoolwide form to gather some statistics to support our argument (see them below).

We first discussed our idea with our classmates to get some initial feedback, but it was very important to us that we were including ideas not only from our small group, but from as many students and staff members as possible.

To test our idea, we conducted a survey research project by sending out a Google Form that was featured in the Daily News.

The majority of respondents supported the idea. While our response rate wasn't the entire student body, we gathered responses from students of each grade.  

• Any homework assignment given should take no more than 1 hour to complete. This rule excludes projects and essays. 

•   No assignments—readings, homework, assessments, projects, etc.—may be added or increased between class meetings. Teachers may reduce an assignment between class periods. 

• All homework assignments must be incorporated into a class discussion or learning objective before being assigned. Students should have prior knowledge of the content, and not be expected to teach themselves new material. 

• Homework must be graded and returned within two weeks of the due date.  If graded homework is not returned within two weeks, and the homework was turned in on time, the grade will automatically become 100%.  

• Homework can be assigned during holiday breaks, but it cannot exceed 1 hour for the entirety of the break. Breaks cannot be used to assign extra reading or worksheets in order to “get caught up” or a new project or presentation.

• Teachers will be required to communicate homework assignments by 4:30 PM the day the class meets on Google Classroom.

• Quizzes and collected homework should be reviewed or returned in class at least one class period before the summative assessment. If not returned or reviewed, the material is not permitted to be on the summative assessment..

• In order for material to be on a summative assessment, students must've received a classwork or homework assignment that has been graded on the material beforehand. 

Trade-offs

Teachers would have more restrictions on the amount of homework they could assign and how quickly the assignments should be graded. 

Benefits

The homework reduction will allow students to have time in their schedule to participate in extracurriculars, prioritize self care, and get more sleep.