Nottingham East Academy, slated to open next year, will be England’s largest school with 3570 students, from nursery school to age 19. The school will have no homework, but instead will have an extra lesson a days. According to the principal-to-be, “If you ask most heads what most detentions are for, they will tell youContinue reading “England’s Newest (and Largest) School Won’t Have Homework”
Category Archives: In the News
Washington Post Reporter Admits that Many Students Study Algebra Before They’re Ready
In a piece called, Recalculating the 8th-Grade Algebra Rush, Washington Post education reporter Jay Mathews admits that he has second thoughts about pushing all math students into algebra by 8th grade. The reason: a new study by the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, which found that almost 1/3 of the studentsContinue reading “Washington Post Reporter Admits that Many Students Study Algebra Before They’re Ready”
Boys’ School near London, England Cuts Way Back on Homework
The Tiffin School, ranked as the 2nd best boys’ state school in England, has limited homework to 40 minutes per night–a huge drop from the four hours a night the boys had been doing. After spending two years examining its teaching and learning in class, the school concluded that much of the homework was “mechanistic”Continue reading “Boys’ School near London, England Cuts Way Back on Homework”
New Survey: 43 Percent of Parents Have Done Their Kids’ Homework
In a survey conducted by AskKids and released in late August, 43 percent of parents admitted to having done their kids’ homework. According to the Los Angeles Times, here’s what the survey found: Forty-three percent of parents queried in a survey this month admit to doing their children’s homework at least once to ease theContinue reading “New Survey: 43 Percent of Parents Have Done Their Kids’ Homework”
New Study: Piling on Homework Doesn’t Work
According to a study released in mid-August by researchers at Binghamton University and the University of Nevada, math homework may not be useful for average achieving students. While it may help high and low achievers, homework for the bulk of students is a waste of time. Here’s what the press release states: Published in theContinue reading “New Study: Piling on Homework Doesn’t Work”
Canadian Elementary School Bans Homework
Welcome back to Stop Homework. And what better way to start off the school year than with encouraging news from an elementary school in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, north of Toronto, which just banned homework. Among the reasons: * there is no clear link between homework and academic achievement * poor students are at a distinctContinue reading “Canadian Elementary School Bans Homework”
Seattle Middle School Teacher Suspended for Refusing to Administer WASL
According to seattlepi.com, a Seattle middle school science teacher has been suspended for two weeks without pay for refusing to administer the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). The teacher, Carl Chew, who has been teaching for about eight years, said he has seen kids struggle through the test with few positive results to showContinue reading “Seattle Middle School Teacher Suspended for Refusing to Administer WASL”
Hooray for Toronto, Canada
The Toronto School Board has just implemented the best homework policy I’ve seen. The policy, which will affect close to 300,000 students, focuses on quality, not quantity, suggests that homework in the early grades be limited to reading, talks at length about the value of family time, and recommends that all homework assignments be differentiated.Continue reading “Hooray for Toronto, Canada”
Homework Abolished in First and Second Grade in Shanghai
According to shanghaidaily.com, the Shanghai Education Commission has cancelled homework for first and second graders. The move is part of a push to ease the study burden on young students.
Proposal to Scale Back on Homework in Toronto Unanimously Passes Committee Vote
The Toronto committee formed to reassess homework unanimously passed the proposed new policy. The proposal will be put to a vote before the entire School Board on April 16. Frank Bruni, a parent who has been a driving force for change, made a presentation in support of the proposed policy at the Committee meeting. Here’sContinue reading “Proposal to Scale Back on Homework in Toronto Unanimously Passes Committee Vote”
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