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HOMEWORK AND INDEPENDENT STUDY
In addition to helping students gain mastery of content and skills, will-conceived homework assignments
can help students develop independent study skills and habits. The following guidelines will apply for
homework assignments in the School District:
1.
Teachers are responsible for helping students and parents understand the reasons for homework
and their procedures for giving and evaluating homework assignments. The care with which a
homework assignment is given, the quality of the responses of students, and the nature of the
follow-up activities in the classroom are of greater importance than the quality of work involved
in a homework assignment.
2.
The amount of homework and the length of time available to the student to complete the
assignment should be appropriate to the age and maturity of the student. Inasmuch as students
within the same class differ in their abilities, interests and educational needs, teachers are
encouraged to develop several different homework assignments for the same class. At times,
instructions and guidelines from the teacher to parents should accompany homework
assignments where appropriate. Homework assignments for similar grade level classes should be
consistent in length and difficulty.
3.
Due recognition should be given to the fact that there are other institutions and groups besides
school -the family, the church, Boy Scouts, etc.; -which have a claim on the out-of-school time
of students. And indeed, the school itself, through after-school sports, clubs and recreation
programs competes against itself for the after-school time of students. Teachers should be aware
of homework in classes other than their own. Perhaps at the middle and high school levels,
homework days per subject might be put in effect when necessary.
4.
One justification for a homework assignment is that it cannot be done within a classroom setting.
Students should not be given homework assignments which require resources and references
which are not accessible to them. Homework should never be given to an individual student or to
a class for disciplinary reasons. Homework for the sake of homework should not be given. If it
serves no useful purpose --developing study skills or reviewing content in a way not possible or
unlikely in a classroom setting, for example --homework is best not assigned.
The directives listed under Administrative Policy #IKB on homework and independent study provide
general, but adequate, guidelines for the teachers in the Mansfield Public Schools. Neither the School
Committee nor administration wishes to impose or enforce standardization homework requirements to
which staff will be held accountable. That would be non-productive, for homework does not lend itself
to such regulation. Teacher differences, varying expectations depending on subject material to be
covered, and difficulty of assignment --among subject material to be covered, and difficulty of
assignment --among many other factors --are reasons enough to avoid rigid uniformity.
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However, as the policies imply, homework should be a productive enterprise. Some reasonable
expectations, therefore, regarding homework in the Mansfield schools must be established if the
beneficial qualities of homework are to be felt.
ELEMENTARY GRADES
At these grades levels, it is important that homework be used with great discretion. Certainly good work
habits and study skills are desired outcomes, and these early years are the ones most important for
reaching these goals. But students and parents should see homework as an outgrowth of and connective
link to the educational activities of the children. Individual and group needs should play a large part in
determining what out-of-class/school activities should be. Another major purpose of homework during
these years is to bring school and home into as close a partnership as possible. Homework gives the
parent(s) the opportunity to understand school expectations and to provide necessary help and support
for the child. An example of parent-school linkage is the involvement of parents in reading to their
children on a daily basis.
The homework times that follow are not meant to be a literal accounting, but they offer reasonable
guidelines for assignments to cover all areas of the curriculum grades 1-5.
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
1/2 --1 hr. per wk.
1 --1-1/4 hrs. per wk.
1 --1-1/2 hrs. per wk.
1-1/2 --2-1/2 hrs. per wk.
2-1/2 --3 hrs. per wk.
MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARS
Homework in the middle school years must again be assigned with a high degree of discretion. These
youngsters, both physically and mentally, are going through the most profound changes of their young
lives. The middle school student has already begun to move from basically concrete modes of learning
to act on a set of growing ideals and to be interested in the process of learning itself. The student is in an
in-between stage: no longer in the more self-contained setting of the elementary school, nor quite yet in
the extreme departmentalization of the high school. Those assigning homework during these years must
be especially cognizant of these and many other factors that can affect the lives of these students.
Once again, a too literal interpretation of the following time notations would not be appropriate. The
notations, however, do give a good indication of general expectations regarding homework during these
years.
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
4 hrs. per wk.; 45 mins.-1 1/4 hrs. per night
5 - 7-1/2 hrs. per wk.; 1-1 1/2 hrs. per night
8 - 10 hrs. per wk.; 1 1/2-2 hrs. per night
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ORANGE AND YELLOW TEAMS -GRADE 6
Language Arts 6
Math 6
Science 6
Reading 6
Social Studies 6
BLUE AND RED TEAMS-GRADE 7
Language Arts 7
Math 7
Science 7
Reading 7
Social Studies 7
Spanish IA
French IA
GREEN AND WHITE TEAMS -GRADE 8
Language Arts 8
Standard Math
Pre-Algebra
Algebra I
Science 8
Reading 8
Spanish IB
French IB
Geography
Career Education
HIGH SCHOOL YEARS
Homework during the high school years is a necessary adjunct of the high school curriculum. Whether
the student is involved in a general, business, or college curriculum, homework should lay a vital part in
helping the student toward his/her goals. Homework should help foster study skills and solid work
habits, as will as reinforce skills, concepts, and ideas addressed in the classroom. Another major purpose
of homework at the high school level is to wean the student away from the dependence of earlier years
to a more independent mode of behavior.
While the amount of time each student devotes to homework will vary, the following guidelines are
offered as a minimum for successful performance at the high school.
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College Curriculum
Business Curriculum
General Curriculum
12- 15 hrs. per wk.
7- 10 hrs. per wk.
4 -7 hrs. per wk.
In the material that follows, only six academic disciplines are noted. This is not meant to imply that one
set of subjects is deemed more valuable than another. Rather, it is a reflection of the uniqueness of
music, home economics, art, and industrial arts that teachers in these areas assign homework on an
independent basis rather than on a set number of hours per week.
ENGLISH
English 9
English 10
College Prep I
College Prep II
English for Work of Work
Essentials of English
College Prep I
College Prep II
English for Work of Work
Essentials of English
English 11
English 12
College Prep I
College Prep II
English for Work of Work
Applications of English I
Advanced Placement
English for Work of Work
Applications of English II
SAT Preparation
SOCIAL STUDIES
Western Civilization
Political Science
Twentieth Century
U.S. History Advanced
Addressing Issues Democratically
U.S. History Standard
Sociology
General Psychology Standard
General Psychology Advanced
The Newspaper and American
Democracy
MATH
General Math
Basic Algebra I
Algebra Standard
Algebra I Academic
Intro. to Computers I
Intro. to Computers II
General Math II
Plane Geometry
Programming I
Programming II
SA T Preparation
General Math III
Basic Geometry
Algebra II Standard
Algebra II Academic
Standard Programming III
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MATH (cont)
Plane and Solid Geometry Academic
Math Life Skills
Basic Algebra II
Analytical Geometry
Pre-Calculus
Advanced Placement Computer Science
Advanced Placement Calculus
Programming IV
Consumer Math
Trigonometry
Probability and Statistics
Introduction to Calculus
SCIENCE
General Science
Biology I Advanced
Biology I Standard
Living Things
Chemistry Advanced
Chemistry Standard
Anatomy and Physiology
Biology II
Advanced Placement Physics
Physics
Physics Advanced
Physics Standard
Survey of Science
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
French I Standard
French I Advanced
French II Standard
French II Advanced
French III Standard
French III Advanced
French IV Advanced
Spanish I Standard
Spanish I Advanced
Spanish II Standard
Spanish II Advanced
Spanish III Standard
Spanish III Advanced
Spanish IV
BUSINESS
Typewriting I
Accounting I
Record Keeping
Typewriting II
Accounting II
Shorthand I
Office Procedures
Business and Personal Law
Typewriting III
Accounting III
Shorthand II and Transcription
Office Training
Business Communications
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