Abby (Opposing homework for a grade):
Out of all the new policies that have been implemented this school year, one that has risen as one of the most notable–and controversial–changes is the weighting of grades in PowerSchools. This school year, assessments, tests, and quizzes account for 80% of a student’s grade, while homework and classwork count for a whole 20%. Many students at OHS are in agreement that the new grading system has been a huge source of stress for them. This is especially true because it has been a drastic jump from last year’s grading to this year’s.
During the 22-23 school year, students had a lot less work on their plates due to the fact that homework and classwork were not absolutely “mandatory.” This was especially true for student athletes trying to juggle their school with their practice, games, and training. Also, athletes cannot participate in their sports games if they have just one F overall in a class in PowerSchools. Students had more time to do extracurricular activities because they were not loaded with hours and hours of homework that would have a large impact on their grades. It is hard to say that it is the same story this year.
The argument that homework is harming the mental health of students is valid. Homework is meant to be practice, and topics should only be counted towards a student’s grade if they are a reflection of a student’s genuine knowledge. Many students rush through their homework assignments because they feel like they have better things to do, retaining none of the information that the homework was meant to implement in their heads.
The harshness of a teacher’s grading may also come into play when they grade their student’s homework, and that may affect their student’s grade. The way homework assignments are graded, homework, and the amount assigned is all dependent on the class and teacher. Some students, if they rush through homework assignments and do not try their very best, will get away with this; likewise, other teachers may not be as lenient and could dock points for every slightly incorrect problem. These classes where teachers look at every last answer on the homework are the classes that may be the root of more stress for students who do not have time for the details of every assignment.
In previous years, students were still able to do the amount of work that they felt comfortable with, but if a class assignment did not get completed, it was not the end of the world. They could also turn in assignments late and still get full credit because of the two-week grace period. This year, students are racing with time to get homework and classwork done on time. This is because of the fear of an F going in the homework section of the gradebook and bringing their grades down.
While 20% may not seem like a huge chunk of a student’s grade, the amount of assignments within that category adds up if students are unable to get all the work completed.
Some teachers this year will not put as many homework assignments in as others, weighting each homework assignment as a higher percentage of a student’s grade. For example, if a teacher was only to put ten homework assignments in the entire semester, each assignment would be worth 2% overall of that student’s grade. If a student was unable to get 3 of those assignments turned in, that would already be 6% deducted from that student’s grade. On the opposing side of this, if a teacher were to assign an unreasonable amount of homework, a big percentage of a student’s grade could be chipped off if they were to not submit all their assignments. Homework should not count for a grade because it causes a plethora of issues in the day to day lives of students.
Aakarsh (For homework for a grade):
Last year at OHS the admin decided to make homework not a grade. It was a complete disaster for the students. One of the main reasons that students did not like that homework was not for a grade was because no one did it unless they had to. If the students got a poor grade on the test, they would do the homework, which would take a long time for them to do. Then, even if they did complete the homework assignments, which did not count for a grade, and you did not do well on your exam, their grade would go down, and the assignments did nothing to help the overall grade.
People needed those couple extra percent’s to raise their grade from a 79 to an 80 but could not get that boost because the assignments did not count for a grade. Also, people did not like that homework was not for a grade because of many students’ procrastination. Many people did not do their homework because it did not count for a grade, and people would be lazy and not do much work. Another reason why students did not like homework not being a grade was because, for the students, it was a headache to get the work done if they did poorly on the test.
When the students did badly on the test, they would have to complete the assignments they did not do, and some teachers would check if the questions were correct. It was overall a headache for the students because if the student’s just wanted to retake the test, and if we got a question wrong or anything like that, the student’s would have to do it and get it right, then we could retake the test. Additionally, the one thing that students did not like was that homework was not counted for a grade because it could drastically affect your grades. It affected students’ grades; overall, it was not the greatest for them.
Then, we would have to retake the test and hope that we do well because if student’s do not, student’s cannot retake the test. It was a lot of struggle for the students, because of the amount of homework students would have when we did not do the homework and also the amount of stress the student’s would have to study for the exam.
