Forced to Choose Between Loves

The research indicates that homework in elementary school neither helps nor hurts. It is not associated with increased achievement. Nor does the research show any significant bad effects. School boards have the power to set homework policy. Some have voted for general guidelines. But most leave the details to individual schools, and principals often let individual teachers decide.

I think if you have evidence of harm, your first step should be to raise the issue at the next PTA meeting and see whether you can get other parents on your side. I suggested in a column last year that schools ban elementary school homework of the usual kind in favor of making sure each child reads with an adult -- reading something the child chooses -- at least 30 minutes to an hour each night. The guideline you quote is very common. Many parents and teachers think a little homework, even for young students, establishes good habits. I know some kindergartners who were proud to get their first homework assignments. It was proof they were big kids now. So if you demand an answer to your good question, I would say yes, your quest is doomed.

Dear Extra Credit:

In Charles County, we have a very poor calculus teacher whose students consistently get scores of 2 or below every year on the Advanced Placement exam. Does the principal reassign this guy to teach low-level math? No! Do the valedictorians and salutatorians struggle and do poorly on the AP exam? Yes.

Does this guy know the material? No. Nothing is being done to him, destroying good kids and making an absolute atrocity of the class. Many parents complain like you-know-what, and the school system and the supervisor turn a blind eye to the shenanigans in this class. It's a huge joke.

Arthur Burke

Charles County

As you say, high school principals must make sure AP teachers are meeting the high standards of those courses. In some inner-city schools, just getting students up to the 2 level (5 is tops) is a difficult job, but given the stronger preparation on average of Charles County students, you are right to expect better results. You did not name the school, but I asked Judy Estep, the county's assistant superintendent for instruction, whether she had heard from you, and she said no. If a principal does not respond to a parent's concern about an AP teacher, or any teacher, Estep is a good person to call. She said she and her staff members often work with principals to help teachers learn to handle difficult courses. She knows of many cases in which teachers such as the one you describe have been transferred from AP to a class that does not require such advanced skills.

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