School board member Dan Metzger thanks Shelly Wolfing for her presentation on homework and notes how important it is for the board to discuss it.

WARSAW — Warsaw Community Schools Corporation continues to challenge traditional concepts in schooling, and whether change is needed. Data Analyst Shelly Wilfong opened discussion with the board about homework and its place in school, presenting data on the effectiveness of homework. “What the research shows is that it’s not really necessarily about the quantity of the homework but rather the quality or purpose of the homework that is given,” explained Wilfong.

Homework has been a foundational aspect of schools for decades, but Warsaw Schools has begun to question its effectiveness in the classroom, looking at various research by Rick Wormelli and John Hattie as well as Etta Kralovec and John Buell’s “End Homework Now.” Hattie specifically gauges the effectiveness of homework on a scale of 0—1.2 with the capabilities to go into negatives with most secondary students averaging a .29. Hattie argues “that a .29 difference is barely noticable to the naked eye” with the desired target being .4 or higher.

However, Wormelli does not believe it is necessary to get rid of homework completely but rather less should be handed out with greater purpose in a student’s work. He continues to accuse homework to “knowingly falsify the grade” as its practice of the standards rather than the actual knowledge of the standards. “If your grade for an A is 95 to 100 and the kid does no homework, he’s already down to a 90 percent. He may have already proven that he knows it all, but the best grade he can get is a ‘B’ which is a false report against standards,” stated Wormeli in his video, “How Much Should Homework Count.”

Wilfong continued and argued that homework could have a negative effect on a kid due to a lack of understanding of the work. She pointed out that if a student didn’t “quite understand [the homework] and they practice it at home, then they’re going to have to unlearn and relearn the whole method” correctly to do the homework. Along with the possibility of practicing the material wrong, Wilfong noted the already depleting hours for family time homework may steal from families.

She concluded the presentation by questioning what the school’s options for homework are. Some school districts have turned to a no homework policy while others limit the amount each teacher can assign, but Wilfong pointed out that even if a teacher is forced to only assign 30 minutes of homework a night, a student may accumulate three or four hours from all his or her classes, eating up any family time the parents may have planned with their students. “That part really resonates with me…Are there other things we can do during the school day that we have them that’s a larger effect size that won’t affect family time?”

In other news:

• Brock Rhodes had last year’s sixth graders present on their genius hour projects. Students would work on a project they were passionate about for about one hour once a week during the 2016-17 school year.
• The board received an update on the student athletic complex which was revealed to be scheduled for groundbreaking around April 2018.
• December’s board meeting and work session was combined and will meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec 13.