Does Homework Encourage Cheating?

For decades I have been encouraging teachers to take a second look at homework policies and its place in effective instruction. In case you don’t know, my view of homework is generally negative for various reasons. I believe homework can damage instruction primarily because teachers fail to use it formatively and, as such, it should not be graded.

But many teachers grade it (or attach a grade to it) to “encourage” students to complete it. The problem is that students who are not prone to be bribed by grades simply watch their averages decay. When teacher continue the grading of homework despite continued refusal by some students to complete it one might conclude that homework, as a graded practice, if defective. Simply put, if any instructional practice always negatively affects a certain group of students why would a teacher want to continue using it?

The answer to this question may lie in a teacher attitude that refusal to do homework is personal as it demonstrates (to the teacher) disobedience. After all, students were “told” to do their homework, and are continually told and some (usually the same ones) don’t obey. The zero recorded is the punishment they get for being insubordinate.

Desperation

As additional pressure is applied by calling parents of assigning detention, some students may ask for help from parents who may comply by offering too much assistance. I.e., they complete all or most of an assignment. This is helpful to parents as well because it gets the teacher off their back and helps bring their child’s grade up, but their actions send a message that “help” on homework is sanctioned. The teacher records a positive grade, smile in approbation and reinforces the developing belief.

Too much homework can create desperation.

Of course, some parents help out of desperation caused by too much homework. It's due! It has to be done! My child needs help! Under these circumstances one can understand why parents simply pitch in to get their children into bed for a good night's sleep.

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The pressure applied in essential to the tendency to find help with homework. For some students nothing will get them to budge, but for others the solution is easy – find friends who will allow them to copy and assignment and avoid a wrathful teacher. After all, the teacher doesn't know who did the work, unless it is taken up and corrected. For teachers who check homework off and literally give some kind of grade cheating can work well.

The really sad thing is that for students who cheat grades on summative assessments may continue to drop if homework addresses items on future tests and quizzes, because it is on these summative assessments that knowledge should be assessed and graded. If the students have merely copied homework, they will not likely have learned it and will continue to fail.

That is the tragic flaw is stressing grades above learning. The message from the teacher should be that homework assists the learning process which will be assessed. Consequently, the student faces a double or triple threat: fail the homework and fail the same thing on tests and quizzes. So, some might say, they deserve to fail.

The issue of fairness might arise? Is it fair for obedient students who do homework to not receive a grade for their efforts while those who don’t do homework are not penalized? I say, “Yes, it is fair, because students who don’t do well-conceived, relevant homework are missing a chance to prepare for assessment. Consequently, their grades will suffer.”

Bottom line: de-emphasize grades as the goal of education and reemphasize learning. Missing homework should not be offensive, but a cry for help.