Hillview Middle School Administrators Say Teachers Are Not Assigning Too Much Homework

After receiving several concerned letters and phone calls from parents, the Menlo Park school board is reviewing its homework policy to discern whether teachers are assigning too much of it.

Maria Hilton, President of the Menlo Park City School District Board of Education, said numerous parents told her that they perceive the amount of time their children spend on homework as greater than necessary.

However, she also said that the challenge of getting teachers to change their lesson plans may be insurmountable.

"Some teachers will say, 'Well I’m within the bounds of the policy' and then we’re at an impasse," Hilton said.

School administrators from throughout the district on Tuesday presented data to the school board detailing the actual amount of time pupils spend on homework.

Michael Melton, Hillview Middle School Principal, verbalized his appreciation for the role of homework in a curriculum, and proceeded to present data that said students at Hillview spend less time on homework than the maximum amount the district that the district allows teachers to assign.

“We don’t want students to spend their whole life doing homework,” Melton said. “We want to challenge them and get them the best education they can handle,” he said. Melton said that the student body can handle the rigor.

Recognized as one of the top schools in the nation by the U.S. Department of Education, Hillview Middle School has earned seven Distinguished School awards from the California School Recognition program.  The district spent $6,710 on each of the 669 students who were enrolled in the 2008-2009 school year, according to the School Accountability Report Card.  The most recent SARC data was published during the 2009-2010 school year.

Last month, some middle-schoolers at Hilllview had a bit of extra homework — filling out surveys about how much homework they do.  School administrators selected 90 at random and asked them to log the amount of time they spent on learning activities outside of the classroom every night for a few weeks.

“We didn’t want students to write down homework that they had done at school,” Melton said, clarifying an aspect of the methodology used to compile the report. The students surveyed consisted of 26 eighth graders, 28 seventh graders, and 36 sixth graders. 49 were girls, 41 were boys. 

The district’s board policy states that “the maximum weekly time that middle school students should expect for homework Monday through Thursday, in core academic subjects, unless students are engaged in accelerated academic programs” is:

Grade 6: 400 minutes
Grade 7: 480 minutes
Grade 8: 540 minutes

The results of the survey said the average amount of time that sixth graders spent on homework was 289 minutes per week.  Seventh graders spent an average of 276 minutes each week, while eighth graders spent 384 minutes per week. 

Melton found that 77 of the 90 students did the maximum minutes or fewer.  The students who completed more than that were students who devoted extra time to musical instrument practice, accelerated math placement exercises, and third enrollment in a foreign language, Melton said.

This last statement was met with cheers from one of the Spanish teachers in the boardroom, which held more than 45 teachers and parents during Tuesday night’s board meeting.

Subsequently, Melton said, “By and large, I think the students are doing just fine with the work.”

The amount of work that teachers assign students is assessed every year to see if the practices in the schools align with the district’s policy, which was designed to facilitate the achievement of specific curriculum goals. Principals assess the situation at the schools and present that to the Board of Education. The Superintendent, who is present during the meeting, would be tasked with revising the homework policy if necessary and relaying that information to the teachers. The information from Hillview, as well as other schools in the district, will be used to modify the policy if necessary.

Before changing the policy, Hilton wants to ask students how their experience with homework affects them.

“The questions we’re asking are quantitative,” Hilton said.  “We need to look at the social and emotional development of students and see how that translates to their success in the longer term, so we can give the students the tools they need to navigate higher education.”

Board Member Joan Lambert also wanted more information about the issue before discussing the policy further.

“Clearly we’re hearing a lot from parents, and I think we need to be responsive to that,” Lambert said. “But we also need to take a look at the research that’s been done in this area.”

Board Member Laura Linkletter Rich said her children would not have been able to handle college, or high school, if they hadn’t learned time management skills and done a level of homework that prepared them for it. 

“It falls under the category of vegetables,” Linkletter Rich said. “Would you give your kids ice cream as regular meals to make them happy?”

No action was taken at the meeting Tuesday night. The policy may be modified at a later, unspecified date to address the community's needs.