United Effort Campaign, BSCPTA

Homework

Quizzes, Tests and Overall Grade

Attendance & Tardies

Classwork

The Essential 7

"...we have to tell our children that education is not a passive activity. You have to be actively engaged in it."

---President Barack Obama

There are seven essential activities students must put effort toward in order to achieve success in school. The seven essential activities are: attendance, tardies, classwork, homework, quizzes, tests and overall grade.

You must be present. Students who are absent or tardy regularly often struggle in school. Why? When you are not there you:

• miss instruction

• fall behind

• may have more homework

• disrupt the learning environment

"Students who are absent 20% of their eighth grade year (1 day per week) are also likely to drop out in highschool." ----Kate Convissor Read more of Kate's article

Homework is assigned so that the student can practice what he/she learned in class. Mastery requires focused practice over days and weeks. It may take close to 30 or more sessions for a student to reach mastery. Although some of the focused practice will occur in the classroom, independent practice at home is crucial if mastery is the intended outcome. Homework also provides an opportunity for feedback and informed instruction. This type of formative assessment allows the teacher to monitor the student's progress and adjust his/her instruction to effectively meet the needs of the student.

The new Common Core Standards emphasize instruction that meets student's specific academic needs. In elementary, this type of instruction is contingent on intentional formative assessment. The formative assessment may be formal or informal. The intent is to gauge the student's understanding of the concept taught. A quiz can act as a formative assessment.

In highschool, grades are calculated using a weighted average. Quizzes, along with homework, participation and tests, are a part of the weighted average that will determine your overall grade. It is very important that parents and students are aware of the weight each component carries toward determining their overall grade. For the highschool student, performance on a quiz helps the student determine how much studying will be necessary to do well on upcoming tests.

Classwork is the part of the student's work that is done in class. During instruction, most teachers practice the gradual release of responsibility. In the gradual release of responsibility model the teacher demonstrates the new skill, provides guided practice and supervises independent practice. As the name suggests, the teacher is attempting to gradually release the responsibility of the task, skill or strategy to the learner. It is the responsibility fo the student to pay attention, participate and make a sincere effort to apply the learning. One benefit of classwork is that the teacher is available for support if needed. Independent practice provides the opportunity for the teacher to evaluate, coach, clarify, scaffold and encourage. In addition, it helps the student solidify their understanding of the content. However, if the student does not demonstrate behaviors that are conducive to learning (i.e. listening attentively, following directions, particpating, etc.), it will be difficult, if not impossible, to guide students toward mastery.