Current Event #4
Theory and Research in Science Teaching
SED 625
Carole Smith
For my fourth current event, I read “Grade Inflation in
Elementary or Secondary Students’ Progress Reports: The Contribution
of Homework or Extra-Credit Projects”, published in American
Secondary Education, v24 1996. The paper investigates why some
students receive good grades in class yet perform below average on outof-class standardized tests. It was written by C. Leon Knore, who is a
high school principal in Ohio. He conducted a survey, with results from
362 teachers from 21 middle and high schools. As a principal, he was
observing that many students were achieving average, or above average
grades in classes that they were unable to show proficiency in during
state standardized testing. An informal poll at his school showed that
these same students were regularly turning in homework that was neat,
complete, and on time; and that this was contributing to their good
grades. His research then became formal focused on the following areas:
 What percent of students’ grades were determined by homework
 What were the means used to grade homework
 What were the types of homework assignments
 What were the teacher’s reasons for assigning homework
 What were the teachers grading scales
I found this article, and its research, very interesting and welldone. As my panel is exploring the question of whether homework
should be considered part of student’s academic grade, I have read
several different research articles and educational articles on the
subject of homework. Most of these articles look at such factors as
the amount of time students spend on their homework, the purpose or
need for homework, the correlation between students academic
achievement and amount of time spent on homework, or how parents
should (or not) be involved with homework. The premise – that out of
class work that may not reflect understanding or mastery of material –
can greatly improve a students’ academic grade, thus “inflating” it is
one that I agree with. More to the point of this paper, however, is the
fact that the research was sound. The research included teachers from
grades 5-12, covering both middle and high school. The volume of
the response from the 362 surveyed gives what I consider to be a very
fair representation of data. Teachers from all academic areas
(language arts, math, science, and social studies) were surveyed. In
addition, the research looked at teacher factors too: how many years
had they been teaching, what was their educational background, etc.
85% of the teachers surveyed had the academic freedom and latitude
to use discretion in assigning homework, and 99% assigned
homework regularly. I was interested to learn that on average,
homework accounted for a third of students’ grades, and that new
teachers incorporated homework into students’ grades more
extensively than veteran teachers. The data collected more than
supported the premise, which is that homework can contribute
towards grade inflation. Extra Credit alone accounted for on average
5.55% of students grades among those surveyed. As the majority of
teachers surveyed did not grade students’ homework, teachers learn
little about students’ lack of understanding. The article was
abundantly clear about its results, in fact included at the end tables
illustrating its findings. Many research articles focus in on only the
points that support their premise. This article was not only thorough
in its questioning, broad in its data collection, but was also explicit
about questions that its own research had raised.
As a teacher, and one how does assign homework regularly, I
found this article very educational for me specifically. As I
mentioned, I have read several articles on the subject of homework
recently. Many question its value at all. I do believe that students
need to develop independent study skills for life-long learning and
that there are benefits to homework. But I also believe that a student’s
grade should be a measure of their understanding of course material
and reflect that. Student’s and parent’s have asked me in the past why
homework does not count for more in my class (it is only 5% of their
total weighted grade in my classes), and this article gives me an
ability to more effectively answer those questions. It was an
insightful look at teacher accountability and how grades should be a
true reflection of student progress and learning. I now feel stronger
about my personal beliefs about assigning homework, expecting
students to do it, and yet not giving them “much credit” for it.