Homework is not uncommonly taken for a grade at our school. Teachers have taken grades for completion, grades for accuracy, grades for attempting half the problems; but some teachers are doing something different. They are not taking a grade for homework at all. Many students ask their teachers on the first day of school if homework will be for a grade, and anticipating the a great year when their teacher announces, no, homework is not for a grade.

However, homework helps students learn, so some may wonder, should it be for a grade so students are forced to practice?

We all know that if there is no grade attached, the likelihood of getting an assignment complete is small. It is an accepted belief that if there is no reward, there will be no effort.

LiveScience reports that high school students in grades 10-12 gain from doing their homework. There is no problem in giving students homework, or requiring it for a grade. However, this does not mean homework cannot become a problem.

The anti-homework website stophomework.com published a fact sheet in 2006 that states even though homework helps some high school students, giving too much homework can “become counterproductive.” Duke TODAY published research backing up this claim, saying that giving more than the expected 90 minutes of homework can “diminish test scores.”

This creates a strong case that teachers are assigning too much homework, not that students should not be getting a grade for their work.  

Homework should be seen as enrichment, and students should be rewarded for being studious, as well as encouraged to succeed. High school students have no drive to do the homework in the first place, meaning test scores drop. No one wants high schoolers to do bad on standardized tests, right?