Lots of homework set but never ever marked - is this usual for secondary?

[homeworkhellraiser]

DD has just moved up to secondary so this is all new to us. They are set a lot of homework - in my (I admit totally uninformed) opinion it is far too much. DD has SEN so finds this hard and it is a real battle to get through it all and causes a lot of stress at home. Added to that the school is very quick to give detentions if work isn't done/completed or is forgotten etc so a lot of the children (not just my DD) get stressed about this.

However, despite all this not a single piece of her homework has been marked.
Why is so much set if it isn't even looked at? All this pain and stress and no feedback whatsoever. Is this normal? And, if so, can anyone explain the rationale - it is steadily making my DD increasingly stressed and hate school and learning even more.

Odd. Are you sure it's not being marked on an app somewhere?

@avocadoandchill A couple (Maths and French) are on-line so are marked by the computer programme if that makes sense - I have no problem with that as she can see how she has done. Other subjects are on a piece of paper handed in or waved at the teacher to show they have done it. No feedback.

It will all depend on the schools marking policy but a lot of feedback is given verbally rather than written feedback on the individual piece of work so it isn't that work isn't being marked.

DD is in Yr7 and I have seen written stuff in her exercise books (but not the traditional /10 marks like 20 years ago). Plenty of stuff also done online and other times its preparing stuff for class/finishing class work(which DD never seems to have to do as she finishes in class)

Not sure how you can say ‘not a single piece of her homework has been marked’ and then go on to say Maths and French is actually marked?

@Butterflyfluff okay maybe I was exaggerating somewhat 😀. Not a single piece of homework has been marked by a 'human being' 😂. I actually have no problem with the maths/french work for this reason and that is normally takes the allotted time. It is the longer written work/work sheets that seems to take ages and go into a blackhole.

I also don't blame the teachers as they probably have much more useful things to do with their time than do a ton of marking. But why not just set a bit less homework if that is the case. It is so soul destroying for DD to have sweated away on all this work - often getting upset as she finds it hard to do/understand. You get punished if you don't do it. But no comments on it at all.

It's only now,in year 10,that my son is getting any written homework. I remember at his age sitting writing essays in the eve but when I spoke to his teacher at parents evening she said it's all quick tests online these days.
My older two,in their twenties had a lot of written homework on paper that they had to take back and the teacher( hopefully) marked.

I would want to speak to the teachers, what’s the point in doing it if you’re not getting feedback? You have no idea if you’re doing great or appallingly. Completely pointless.

You're saying there are no comments but how do you know the teacher hasn't given verbal feedback to your daughter? Just because it isn't covered in ticks and comments saying well done doesn't mean they haven't looked at it.

@funtycucker thanks for your posts re the verbal feedback - that would be great if that is what they do. I agree it doesn't need to be covered in ticks. I really hope that she has been given verbal feedback by the teacher. DD doesn't seem to think she has though (I will check with her again) and half the time they just wave the sheet at the teacher to show they have done it and it isn't looked at.

At my DD’s school homework is all done online via google classroom. They then get an email notification once the teacher has marked it.
Some teachers don’t mark anything though.

My oldest laughed last week as she got an email that one of her homework assignments had been marked.
She completed it in January and she left school after her exams in May as she was 6th year !

If she has SEN then they need to make some allowances. You need to speak to the teacher and explain due to SEN this is all too much for your DD and there needs to be a reduction as its making her hate school etc etc. Easily sorted I'm sure but you need to have a conversation.

Peer marking seems to be more popular than in my day.

@FamKeNekson yes you are right I will go back to the school as you suggest.
Is interesting to know what other schools do re marking and feedback.

There are different philosophies about homework but one is that the task is more for the student's benefit in just doing it..learning the discipline of time management, focus, independent learning etc. Whether or not the end result is marked individually with feedback might be less important. I vary homeworks and some are looked at together in class, some I take in and mark in the traditional way, some I look at and mark in passing as I do a general book check. Research has shown the kids below GCSE level take v v little notice of any feedback comment other than an actual mark and certainly don't look back and act on that feedback for the next task so given the squeeze on teachers' time, it's not surprising.

Last school I worked at didn’t mark home work but teachers used it to shape students understanding and comprehension of the subject. So it was verbal, but students might not have been aware of that

What sort of homework is it? With maths it's a wrong/right thing and easy enough to do some sums online and get an automatic mark from it. For other subjects is it more like do this reading to reinforce what we've done in class, make notes about what your understanding of XYZ is, go and research something about this related topic? If so then doing it is good, deepens understanding of the subject. But it's not so much a right/wrong, marks out of 10 kind of situation. And if teachers are giving feedback on written work elsewhere already then that should be the opportunity to address areas for improvement.

Verbal feedback is more effective than written feedback. More and more schools are moving onto verbal feedback. The whole point of feedback is to have an impact on learning. What impact on learning does a tick have? None.

YANBU, they shouldn’t be setting that much homework if they’re too lazy to actually mark it.

In my day sometimes you got an A and a positive few lines from a teacher, then as if by magic this positive feedback made you warm to a subject and help you feel good about yourself. Then a miracle happened, just like it does in "Dead Poets Society" you become inspired to achieve and feel transformed by an academic subject.. university beckons....
Now? NOTHING.

It isn't about being lazy at all. Feedback is meant to have an impact on learning. Speaking to a child and going over where they went wrong verbally has more impact on improving their work than a bunch of crosses and ticks. It actually explains the concept again instead of saying - you got it wrong but I'll not tell you how to do it right as that is what a cross does. Learning how to give effective feedback is one of the most important things. Understanding ticks and crosses give no feedback on how to improve is one of the basics.

Marking policies at Primary are generally bonkers, so it does take some adjustment when you move to Secondary.

Sounds mad to me OP. I teach and where we are we have to mark something substantial and input a mark at least once a fortnight. Most of us mark weekly. The odd thing like a poster might just be quickly checked in the classroom.

I agree with the theory that the point of the homework is in the completion of it, not in the validation of the teacher. When I hear my children read every night, or practise their spellings or number bonds, we're not doing it for the teacher to check, we're doing it so that they'll be better at the stuff they do in class. Surely it's about independent practice?

Meh. Homework has limited value.

Marking a set of books just quickly takes me around two hours. A set of exam papers last week took me more like 5 and a half (sob). The value, even collectively, for the students, is not as much as that. Yes my exam students must have their exam papers marked, but for a class set, are they getting two hours worth of value out of my marking? Nope.

I have 5 classes. My school, which is 'outstanding' requires two pieces of work marked each half term per class. These are regulated, and pieces which must be completed during class time. I can set preparation for those as homework, but I am discouraged from setting anything which needs marking- because anything on top of the 20+ hours (at least!) of compulsory marking per half term seems silly.

But sometimes just the completion of a task is all I or the students need. What is my feedback going to achieve?