Deciding Not to Grade Homework

In "Seven Reasons for Standards-Based Grading," high school math teacher Patricia L. Scriffiny describes how adopting a standards-based grading system has transformed her teaching. One big change has been in how she grades homework—she doesn't. And homework completion rates have remained steady, even without homework grades.

What is your philosophy on grading homework? What do you do to motivate students to complete homework assignments?

Comments

[Brian Arnot]

I found this article very interesting. I am curious if anyone has tried standards based grading like this in a middle school math setting? Currently I have a traditional grading system that gives points for homework and participation in part to encourage effort and develop good study skills for high school.

[Matt]

I'm in the midst of implementing standards-based grading in my high school math classroom. Students are given all of the answers to the homework ahead of time and are encouraged to ask questions as they come up. I've always wondered, "why do we force our students to wait until the *next* day to find out if they are doing their homework correctly?" My students often tell me how much they like having access to the answers - despite the fact that they know it does not drastically impact (soon, it will have zero impact) on their 'grade.' In the book "How People Learn" by Bransford, et. al, the importance of feedback is mentioned time and time again. I see grading homework from two different angles:
1) When we give students 'credit' for showing their work, completing the exercises, etc., we are telling students that 'effort' is enough. Later on (i.e. tests) we give them a grade based on how much they know. We're sending mixed signals!
2) To those who give points for proficiency on homework, why not just give a test every night!? Does it really matter if students "get it" the first night...or a week later on the test? Shouldn't two students who "get it" receive the same grade? In the traditional grading system, students who "get it" early on receive better 'grades' due to earning points for perfect homework and formative assessments.

Ultimately, I think we should want our students to "get it" whether that's tonight or two weeks from now and the way we 'grade' students should reflect this rationale. With these thoughts in mind, I fully believe standards-based grading is the first step towards this ideal.