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Easily distribute, analyze, and grade student work with Assignments for your LMS

Assignments is an application for your learning management system (LMS). It helps educators save time grading and guides students to turn in their best work with originality reports — all through the collaborative power of Google Workspace for Education.

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Save time distributing and grading classwork

Distribute personalized copies of Google Drive templates and worksheets to students

Grade consistently and transparently with rubrics integrated into student work

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Examine student work to ensure authenticity

Compare student work against hundreds of billions of web pages and over 40 million books with originality reports

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“Assignments enable faculty to save time on the mundane parts of grading and...spend more time on providing more personalized and relevant feedback to students.” Benjamin Hommerding , Technology Innovationist, St. Norbert College

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Types of Assignment: Creative and Different Academic

Assignments in the academic world come in various forms and serve different purposes. They can be broadly categorized into different types of assignments written assignments, practical or experimental assignments, presentations, and group projects. Each type of assignment has its unique requirements and aims to evaluate specific skills and knowledge of students.

Academic assignments are an integral part of education and play a crucial role in assessing a student’s understanding, knowledge, and skills in various subjects. Assignments are designed to challenge students , enhance their critical thinking abilities, and encourage creativity. In this article, we will delve into the different types of assignments, and their definitions, and focus on creative writing assignments and reflective journal or diary entry assignments. Additionally, we will explore how group projects differ from individual assignments and shed light on the diverse landscape of academic assignments. 

What is Assignment?

An assignment refers to a specific task or project given to individuals or groups with designated objectives and a set timeframe for completion. These tasks are a fundamental component of academic, professional, and personal development , serving distinct purposes in each context. In academics, assignments assess students’ comprehension and application of course materials through various forms such as essays, research papers, exams, or group projects. On the professional front, assignments align with job roles, contributing to organizational objectives. These tasks may range from individual projects to collaborative endeavors, often involving reports, proposals, or presentations. 

Assignments serve several key purposes. Grades or performance evaluations often stem from these assessments. The structure of an assignment typically encompasses an introduction that clearly outlines the objectives, a body that presents the main content or analysis, a conclusion summarizing key points, and a reference section listing sources used, following a specified citation style. To excel in assignments, adhering to best practices is essential. This includes understanding the assignment requirements thoroughly, planning and organizing tasks effectively, conducting comprehensive research, drafting and revising iteratively, seeking feedback for improvement, and rigorously reviewing and editing before final submission. 

What is a Creative Writing Assignment?

A creative writing assignment is a task that prompts individuals to engage in expressive and imaginative writing, often with the aim of fostering creativity, exploring personal thoughts, and honing literary skills. These assignments are prevalent in educational settings, particularly in courses focused on creative writing or literature. They can also be given in workshops, writing groups, or as personal projects. The essence of a creative writing assignment lies in the freedom and flexibility it offers to the writer, encouraging the use of their unique voice, perspective, and creativity.

These assignments can take various forms, such as short stories, poetry, essays, plays, or even experimental prose. The topic or theme is usually broad, allowing for interpretation and creative exploration. The instructions may involve specific elements like character development, setting, dialogue, or the incorporation of certain literary techniques . 

In crafting a creative writing assignment, instructors or supervisors often consider the objectives they aim to achieve. They design prompts that stimulate creativity, challenge the writer’s skills, or align with a specific theme or literary genre. The assessment of creative writing assignments typically focuses on the writer’s ability to develop a captivating narrative, use language effectively, portray emotions, and adhere to the guidelines while embracing creativity.

Types of Assignment

• Essays: Essays are a common form of academic assignment, requiring students to articulate their ideas, arguments, and insights on a specific topic. Essays can range from persuasive, descriptive, narrative, or expository, and often follow a structured format with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
• Reports: Reports are detailed documents that present information, findings, or analyses related to a particular subject or research. They typically include an introduction, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion sections.
• Case Studies: Case studies involve in-depth analysis of a particular case, situation, or individual. They aim to demonstrate a student’s ability to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios.
• Experiments and Practical Assignments: These assignments require students to perform experiments or practical tasks related to a subject, record observations, analyze results, and draw conclusions.
• Literature Reviews: Literature reviews involve summarizing and analyzing existing research and literature on a specific topic. It helps in understanding the current state of knowledge in a particular field.

What are the Different Academic Types of Assignments?

Academic assignments vary based on the subject, level of study, and specific course requirements. Some common types of academic assignments include:

• Research Papers: Research papers involve a deep investigation and analysis of a topic, supported by scholarly sources and evidence. They demonstrate a student’s ability to conduct comprehensive research and present their findings coherently.
• Thesis and Dissertations: Theses and dissertations are extensive research projects completed at the undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral levels. They require original research and contribute new knowledge to the academic field.
• Book Reviews: Book reviews assess a student’s understanding and critical evaluation of a particular book. They typically involve summarizing the book’s content, analyzing its themes, and providing an informed opinion.
• Homework Assignments: These are short tasks assigned regularly to reinforce learning and understanding of class material. Homework assignments are usually completed outside of regular class hours.

How do Group Projects Differ from Individual Assignments?

Group projects and individual assignments differ in several aspects, including the nature of work, collaboration, and individual responsibility.

– Nature of Work: In group projects, the work is distributed among team members, leveraging each member’s strengths. In contrast, individual assignments require a single student to complete the entire task independently.

– Collaboration: Group projects encourage collaboration and teamwork, where members contribute their ideas and skills to achieve a common goal. Individual assignments, on the other hand, rely solely on the efforts and capabilities of a single student.

– Decision Making: Group projects involve collective decision-making and consensus building, considering the input from all team members. Individual assignments allow for personal decision-making without the need for external input.

– Accountability: In group projects, team members are collectively accountable for the project’s success or failure. In individual assignments, the student is solely responsible for the outcome.

What is a Reflective Journal or Diary Entry Assignment?

A reflective journal or diary entry assignment is a structured or unstructured task that prompts individuals to record their thoughts, experiences, and reflections on a specific topic, event, or period of time in a personal journal-like format. This assignment encourages introspection, critical thinking, and the exploration of personal growth, emotions, and learning through written expression. Reflective journal entries can vary in terms of length, frequency, and format based on the assignment’s guidelines or the individual’s preferences.

The primary purpose of a reflective journal or diary entry assignment is to encourage self-awareness and deeper understanding. It provides a platform to articulate and organize thoughts and emotions, helping individuals make sense of their experiences and connect them to broader concepts or theories. This reflective process often leads to personal insights, enhanced learning , and an improved ability to deal with future situations.

The structure of a reflective journal entry typically involves recording the experience or event, followed by a thoughtful reflection on how the experience made the individual feel, what was learned from it, and how it relates to past experiences or future actions. The reflection may include self-assessment, analysis of strengths and weaknesses, and considerations of alternative perspectives or approaches.

In educational contexts, instructors may assign reflective journal entries to students in various disciplines such as psychology, education, nursing, or business. The topics for reflection can range from practical experiences in a field or clinical setting to responses to readings, lectures, or specific assignments. The assessment of reflective journal entries often focuses on the depth of reflection, the ability to connect experiences to relevant concepts or theories, and the clarity and coherence of the writing.

Conclusion: Types of Assignment

Assignments serve a dual purpose: assessing academic knowledge and fostering a spectrum of critical skills crucial for a well-rounded education. Beyond being tools of evaluation, they are platforms for the development of critical thinking, research abilities, effective communication, and creativity. Each type of assignment offers a unique avenue for students to demonstrate their understanding and enhance specific skills. Understanding the diverse types of academic assignments is fundamental for students embarking on their educational journey.

Creative writing assignments stand as the epitome of fostering creativity and self-expression. These tasks invite students to venture into the realms of imagination, shaping characters, plots, and narratives. Through these assignments, students not only get to showcase their literary prowess but also refine their ability to craft engaging stories that captivate readers. Moreover, they encourage originality and innovation, nurturing an environment where unique voices and styles can flourish.

Approaching each assignment with diligence is paramount. Students should carefully analyze the requirements, align their efforts with the objectives, and adopt effective planning and organizational strategies. Assignments should not be viewed merely as tasks to be completed but as opportunities for learning and personal development. By dedicating time and effort to each assignment, students can extract maximum educational benefits, ultimately enriching their academic journey.

In essence, academic assignments, in their varied forms, are essential components of the educational process. They are not only gateways to academic success but also catalysts for the development of critical life skills. Encouraging students to embrace these assignments with enthusiasm, creativity, and introspection can significantly enhance their overall learning experience and equip them for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in their academic and professional pursuits.

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Why Assignments Matter

The room was buzzing with the energy of September, although it was late spring. For two days, more than 100 educators came together in Baltimore at our Equity In Motion convening to dig deep into the anatomy of challenging, engaging assignments, to re-energize their practice, and to take their assignments — and their students — to new heights.

Beneath the sexy work of sweeping legislation — of passionate speeches by big names extolling the power of education to elevate — is the real, deep, daily, “unsexy” work of classroom practice and day-to-day instruction. The teaching and assignments that draw students in to school and their own learning.

Assignments in and of themselves don’t change kids’ lives, but the compilation of assignments signal to young people what educators think they are capable of, what teachers’ expectations of them are, and what their commitment to ensuring kids meet those expectations is.

Just ask students.

That is why assignments matter.

Every day, with every assignment educators give their students, they are sending messages about what they believe about their students and what they are capable of doing. Educators need to make sure those messages are the ones they intend.

Click here for more on Ed Trust’s assignment analysis work.

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Because differences are our greatest strength

Common accommodations and modifications in school

By Amanda Morin

Expert reviewed by Donna Volpitta, EdD

There are many ways teachers can help kids who are struggling in school. Here are some common accommodations and modifications that schools and families can discuss as possible options for kids.

Common accommodations

Presentation accommodations (changes the way information is presented)

Listen to audio recordings instead of reading text

Learn content from audiobooks, movies, videos, and digital media instead of reading print versions

Work with fewer items per page or line

Work with text in a larger print size

Have a “designated reader” — someone who reads test questions aloud to students

Hear instructions spoken aloud

Record a lesson, instead of taking notes

Get class notes from another student

See an outline of a lesson

Use visual presentations of verbal material, such as word webs

Get a written list of instructions

Response accommodations (changes the way kids complete assignments or tests)

Give responses in a form (spoken or written) that’s easier for them

Dictate answers to a scribe who writes or types

Capture responses on an audio recorder

Use a spelling dictionary or digital spellchecker

Use a word processor to type notes or give answers in class

Use a calculator or table of “math facts”

Setting accommodations

Work or take a test in a different setting, such as a quiet room with few distractions

Sit where they learn best (for example, near the teacher)

Use special lighting or acoustics

Take a test in a small group setting

Use sensory tools such as an exercise band that can be looped around a chair’s legs (so fidgety kids can kick it and quietly get their energy out)

Timing accommodations

Take more time to complete a task or a test

Have extra time to process spoken information and directions

Take frequent breaks, such as after completing a worksheet

Scheduling accommodations

Take more time to complete a project

Take a test in several timed sessions or over several days

Take sections of a test in a different order

Take a test at a specific time of day

Organization skills accommodations

Use an alarm to help with time management

Mark texts with a highlighter

Use a planner or organizer to help coordinate assignments

Receive study skills instruction

Common modifications

Assignment modifications

Complete different homework problems than peers

Answer different test questions

Create alternate projects or assignments

Curriculum modifications

Learn different material (such as continuing to work on multiplication while classmates move on to fractions)

Get graded or assessed using a different standard than other students

Be excused from particular projects

Learn about the difference between accommodations and modifications . For kids who have specific struggles, check out accommodation guides for dyslexia, ADHD, and more . And find out why some kids might refuse to use accommodations .

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How to Get Students to Use Their Planners

Mentally tracking assignments and activities is difficult—here’s a way to guide students to use paper or digital tools to ease that cognitive load.

As the initial excitement of the school year fades, we may notice a pile-up of once-exciting, now-ignored office supplies—student planners among them. While many students have been given or instructed to use a planner, only some have been taught how to use one. 

Empowering students to use and benefit from planners takes some strategic teaching, yet the executive function growth (and ease of work management for students and teachers) is well worth the effort. Let’s explore a few strategies to get students to actually use a planner or similar system. 

Explore How You Work and Consider Options for Students

Start by thinking backward from the goal: How do planners serve students? Do you personally use a planner, and if so, how? If not, how do you manage your work and schedule? You may find that although you’ve recommended that your students use personal planners, maybe you’ve individualized a system of work management that best serves you—all digital, all on a traditional paper planner, or a hybrid of both. 

Once you’ve identified the purposes of using a planner, you can expand your thinking about what planning tools could look like. Broadly, we rely on planners (or other work management systems) to do three things:  capture our to-do lists and activities, schedule our actions and represent time, and remind us of future tasks.

1. Capture to-do lists and activities: Other tools to do so could be the Google Classroom list, a note on their device, a photo of the whiteboard, or calendar additions.

2. Schedule actions and represent time: Main calendar in classroom, personal paper or digital calendars, digital calendars linked to teaching platforms (Google Classroom, etc.), timers, visual schedules, or steps of a project calendared each day.

3. Remind yourself of future tasks: Attention-grabbing visuals, like sticky notes or colors and highlighters, alarms on devices, countdowns in classrooms, and automatic emails or notifications.

You can always make modifications for students of any readiness level. Students with moderate to severe learning challenges absolutely benefit from learning planning systems, and their engagements may look different. Maybe they’ll choose icons to build their daily schedules, or they are managing their daily to-do list with visual representations of their tasks. Be mindful to consider that every brain gains self-efficacy and builds new neural pathways by practicing executive function.

Emphasize How Planners Help Students

Consider getting buy-in by having students engage with planning tools in the context of fun; they can learn the capture, schedule, and remind systems by adding activities and dates for school assemblies, birthdays, sports games, and field trips. They will be learning the systems in an enjoyable way, increasing the likelihood that they will remember and continue to use them. Establish that you’ll expect students to capture, schedule, and remind themselves about their tasks. One tool to do so is their planners, and you can honor that they may find other tools and test them out, too.

You can also share some interesting brain science to sell them on the need: Our working memories can hold three to five things at a time , so having a system to capture, schedule, and remind is really a brain hack—it’s a way to make students’ lives easier, saving them frustration and time.

Model the Steps and Empower Students to Use Planners Independently

Allow time in class for students to capture, schedule, and remind—make it part of your routine each day. You can prompt with directives in the beginning and fade to questions as students show more mastery.

For example, when you assign work or a deadline, prompt students to capture their commitment. You can model writing it in an example planner or entering it in a digital list. If you give a larger project, consider backward-planning it (creating chunks, with mini-deadlines) as part of your project’s introduction. The time you invest in planning the project will pay off when you don’t have to chase down missing student work.

You can expect students to make mistakes or even forget to use their systems throughout the year. After all, their brains are doing double duty of managing the content and learning and honing a new system.

Your students with ADHD, autism, or other learning differences may have more significant executive function needs. They may rely on your model or more frequent prompts before they independently use a planning system. However, be careful not to assume lack of effort or motivation on their part. Their brains may just need more exposure and opportunities to test-drive strategies until they’ve found the just-right system for them—think of how many years we allow for students to learn how to read.

As you plan your planner lessons, add some time to celebrate growth. Many teachers love to showcase systems that students create and iterate, and you may find that you learn from their planning tools, too.

Types of Assignments and Assessments

Assignments and assessments are much the same thing: an instructor is unlikely to give students an assignment that does not receive some sort of assessment, whether formal or informal, formative or summative; and an assessment must be assigned, whether it is an essay, case study, or final exam. When the two terms are distinquished, "assignment" tends to refer to a learning activity that is primarily intended to foster or consolidate learning, while "assessment" tends to refer to an activity that is primarily intended to measure how well a student has learned. 

In the list below, some attempt has been made to put the assignments/assessments in into logical categories. However, many of them could appear in multiple categories, so to prevent the list from becoming needlessly long, each item has been allocated to just one category. 

Written Assignments:

• Annotated Bibliography : An annotated bibliography is a list of citations or references to sources such as books, articles, websites, etc., along with brief descriptions or annotations that summarize, evaluate, and explain the content, relevance, and quality of each source. These annotations provide readers with insights into the source's content and its potential usefulness for research or reference.
• Summary/Abstract : A summary or abstract is a concise and condensed version of a longer document or research article, presenting the main points, key findings, and essential information in a clear and brief manner. It allows readers to quickly grasp the main ideas and determine whether the full document is relevant to their needs or interests. Abstracts are commonly found at the beginning of academic papers, research articles, and reports, providing a snapshot of the entire content.
• Case Analysis : Case analysis refers to a systematic examination and evaluation of a particular situation, problem, or scenario. It involves gathering relevant information, identifying key factors, analyzing various aspects, and formulating conclusions or recommendations based on the findings. Case analysis is commonly used in business, law, and other fields to make informed decisions and solve complex problems.
• Definition : A definition is a clear and concise explanation that describes the meaning of a specific term, concept, or object. It aims to provide a precise understanding of the item being defined, often by using words, phrases, or context that distinguish it from other similar or related things.
• Description of a Process : A description of a process is a step-by-step account or narrative that outlines the sequence of actions, tasks, or events involved in completing a particular activity or achieving a specific goal. Process descriptions are commonly used in various industries to document procedures, guide employees, and ensure consistent and efficient workflows.
• Executive Summary : An executive summary is a condensed version of a longer document or report that provides an overview of the main points, key findings, and major recommendations. It is typically aimed at busy executives or decision-makers who need a quick understanding of the content without delving into the full details. Executive summaries are commonly used in business proposals, project reports, and research papers to present essential information concisely.
• Proposal/Plan : A piece of writing that explains how a future problem or project will be approached.
• Laboratory or Field Notes:  Laboratory/field notes are detailed and systematic written records taken by scientists, researchers, or students during experiments, observations, or fieldwork. These notes document the procedures, observations, data, and any unexpected findings encountered during the scientific investigation. They serve as a vital reference for later analysis, replication, and communication of the research process and results.
• Research Paper : A research paper is a more extensive and in-depth academic work that involves original research, data collection from multiple sources, and analysis. It aims to contribute new insights to the existing body of knowledge on a specific subject. Compare to "essay" below.
• Essay : A composition that calls for exposition of a thesis and is composed of several paragraphs including an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. It is different from a research paper in that the synthesis of bibliographic sources is not required. Compare to "Research Paper" above. 
• Memo : A memo, short for memorandum, is a brief written message or communication used within an organization or business. It is often used to convey information, provide updates, make announcements, or request actions from colleagues or team members.
• Micro-theme : A micro-theme refers to a concise and focused piece of writing that addresses a specific topic or question. It is usually shorter than a traditional essay or research paper and requires the writer to present their ideas clearly and concisely.
• Notes on Reading : Notes on reading are annotations, comments, or summaries taken while reading a book, article, or any other written material. They serve as aids for understanding, retention, and later reference, helping the reader recall essential points and ideas from the text.
• Outline : An outline is a structured and organized plan that lays out the main points and structure of a written work, such as an essay, research paper, or presentation. It provides a roadmap for the writer, ensuring logical flow and coherence in the final piece.
• Plan for Conducting a Project : A plan for conducting a project outlines the steps, resources, timelines, and objectives for successfully completing a specific project. It includes details on how tasks will be executed and managed to achieve the desired outcomes.
• Poem : A poem is a literary work written in verse, using poetic devices like rhythm, rhyme, and imagery to convey emotions, ideas, and experiences.
• Play : A play is a form of literature written for performance, typically involving dialogue and actions by characters to tell a story or convey a message on stage.
• Choreography : Choreography refers to the art of designing dance sequences or movements, often for performances in various dance styles.
• Article/Book Review : An article or book review is a critical evaluation and analysis of a piece of writing, such as an article or a book. It typically includes a summary of the content and the reviewer's assessment of its strengths, weaknesses, and overall value.
• Review of Literature : A review of literature is a comprehensive summary and analysis of existing research and scholarly writings on a particular topic. It aims to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge in a specific field and may be a part of academic research or a standalone piece.
• Essay-based Exam : An essay-based exam is an assessment format where students are required to respond to questions or prompts with written, structured responses. It involves expressing ideas, arguments, and explanations in a coherent and organized manner, often requiring critical thinking and analysis.
• "Start" : In the context of academic writing, "start" refers to the initial phase of organizing and planning a piece of writing. It involves formulating a clear and focused thesis statement, which presents the main argument or central idea of the work, and creating an outline or list of ideas that will support and develop the thesis throughout the writing process.
• Statement of Assumptions : A statement of assumptions is a declaration or acknowledgment made at the beginning of a document or research paper, highlighting the underlying beliefs, conditions, or premises on which the work is based. It helps readers understand the foundation of the writer's perspective and the context in which the content is presented.
• Summary or Precis : A summary or precis is a concise and condensed version of a longer piece of writing, such as an article, book, or research paper. It captures the main points, key arguments, and essential information in a succinct manner, enabling readers to grasp the content without reading the full text.
• Unstructured Writing : Unstructured writing refers to the process of writing without following a specific plan, outline, or organizational structure. It allows the writer to freely explore ideas, thoughts, and creativity without the constraints of a predefined format or order. Unstructured writing is often used for brainstorming, creative expression, or personal reflection.
• Rough Draft or Freewrite : A rough draft or freewrite is an initial version of a piece of writing that is not polished or edited. It serves as an early attempt by the writer to get ideas on paper without worrying about perfection, allowing for exploration and creativity before revising and refining the final version.
• Technical or Scientific Report : A technical or scientific report is a document that presents detailed information about a specific technical or scientific project, research study, experiment, or investigation. It follows a structured format and includes sections like abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion to communicate findings and insights in a clear and systematic manner.
• Journal article : A formal article reporting original research that could be submitted to an academic journal. Rather than a format dictated by the professor, the writer must use the conventional form of academic journals in the relevant discipline.
• Thesis statement : A clear and concise sentence or two that presents the main argument or central claim of an essay, research paper, or any written piece. It serves as a roadmap for the reader, outlining the writer's stance on the topic and the key points that will be discussed and supported in the rest of the work. The thesis statement provides focus and direction to the paper, guiding the writer's approach to the subject matter and helping to maintain coherence throughout the writing.

Visual Representation

• Brochure : A brochure is a printed or digital document used for advertising, providing information, or promoting a product, service, or event. It typically contains a combination of text and visuals, such as images or graphics, arranged in a visually appealing layout to convey a message effectively.
• Poster : A poster is a large printed visual display intended to catch the attention of an audience. It often contains a combination of text, images, and graphics to communicate information or promote a particular message, event, or cause.
• Chart : A chart is a visual representation of data or information using various formats such as pie charts, bar charts, line charts, or tables. It helps to illustrate relationships, trends, and comparisons in a concise and easy-to-understand manner.
• Graph : A graph is a visual representation of numerical data, usually presented using lines, bars, points, or other symbols on a coordinate plane. Graphs are commonly used to show trends, patterns, and relationships between variables.
• Concept Map : A concept map is a graphical tool used to organize and represent the connections and relationships between different concepts or ideas. It typically uses nodes or boxes to represent concepts and lines or arrows to show the connections or links between them, helping to visualize the relationships and hierarchy of ideas.
• Diagram : A diagram is a visual representation of a process, system, or structure using labeled symbols, shapes, or lines. Diagrams are used to explain complex concepts or procedures in a simplified and easy-to-understand manner.
• Table : A table is a systematic arrangement of data or information in rows and columns, allowing for easy comparison and reference. It is commonly used to present numerical data or detailed information in an organized format.
• Flowchart : A flowchart is a graphical representation of a process, workflow, or algorithm, using various shapes and arrows to show the sequence of steps or decisions involved. It helps visualize the logical flow and decision points, making it easier to understand and analyze complex processes.
• Multimedia or Slide Presentation : A multimedia or slide presentation is a visual communication tool that combines text, images, audio, video, and other media elements to deliver information or a message to an audience. It is often used for educational, business, or informational purposes and can be presented in person or virtually using software like Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides.
• ePortfolio : An ePortfolio, short for electronic portfolio, is a digital collection of an individual's work, accomplishments, skills, and reflections. It typically includes a variety of multimedia artifacts such as documents, presentations, videos, images, and links to showcase a person's academic, professional, or personal achievements. Eportfolios are used for self-reflection, professional development, and showcasing one's abilities to potential employers, educators, or peers. They provide a comprehensive and organized way to present evidence of learning, growth, and accomplishments over time.

Multiple-Choice Questions : These questions present a statement or question with several possible answer options, of which one or more may be correct. Test-takers must select the most appropriate choice(s). See CTE's Teaching Tip "Designing Multiple-Choice Questions."  

True or False Questions : These questions require test-takers to determine whether a given statement is true or false based on their knowledge of the subject.

Short-Answer Questions : Test-takers are asked to provide brief written responses to questions or prompts. These responses are usually a few sentences or a paragraph in length.

Essay Questions : Essay questions require test-takers to provide longer, more detailed written responses to a specific topic or question. They may involve analysis, critical thinking, and the development of coherent arguments.

Matching Questions : In matching questions, test-takers are asked to pair related items from two lists. They must correctly match the items based on their associations.

Fill-in-the-Blank Questions : Test-takers must complete sentences or passages by filling in the missing words or phrases. This type of question tests recall and understanding of specific information.

Multiple-Response Questions : Similar to multiple-choice questions, but with multiple correct options. Test-takers must select all the correct choices to receive full credit.

Diagram or Image-Based Questions : These questions require test-takers to analyze or interpret diagrams, charts, graphs, or images to answer specific queries.

Problem-Solving Questions : These questions present real-world or theoretical problems that require test-takers to apply their knowledge and skills to arrive at a solution.

Vignettes or Case-Based Questions : In these questions, test-takers are presented with a scenario or case study and must analyze the information to answer related questions.

Sequencing or Order Questions : Test-takers are asked to arrange items or events in a particular order or sequence based on their understanding of the subject matter.

Projects intended for a specific audience :

• Advertisement : An advertisement is a promotional message or communication aimed at promoting a product, service, event, or idea to a target audience. It often uses persuasive techniques, visuals, and compelling language to attract attention and encourage consumers to take specific actions, such as making a purchase or seeking more information.
• Client Report for an Agency : A client report for an agency is a formal document prepared by a service provider or agency to communicate the results, progress, or recommendations of their work to their client. It typically includes an analysis of data, achievements, challenges, and future plans related to the project or services provided.
• News or Feature Story : A news story is a journalistic piece that reports on current events or recent developments, providing objective information in a factual and unbiased manner. A feature story, on the other hand, is a more in-depth and creative piece that explores human interest topics, profiles individuals, or delves into issues from a unique perspective.
• Instructional Manual : An instructional manual is a detailed document that provides step-by-step guidance, explanations, and procedures on how to use, assemble, operate, or perform specific tasks with a product or system. It aims to help users understand and utilize the item effectively and safely.
• Letter to the Editor : A letter to the editor is a written communication submitted by a reader to a newspaper, magazine, or online publication, expressing their opinion, feedback, or comments on a particular article, topic, or issue. It is intended for publication and allows individuals to share their perspectives with a broader audience.

Problem-Solving and Analysis :

• Taxonomy : Taxonomy is the science of classification, categorization, and naming of organisms, objects, or concepts based on their characteristics, similarities, and differences. It involves creating hierarchical systems that group related items together, facilitating organization and understanding within a particular domain.
• Budget with Rationale : A budget with rationale is a financial plan that outlines projected income and expenses for a specific period, such as a month or a year. The rationale provides explanations or justifications for each budget item, explaining the purpose and reasoning behind the allocated funds.
• Case Analysis : Case analysis refers to a methodical examination of a particular situation, scenario, or problem. It involves gathering relevant data, identifying key issues, analyzing different factors, and formulating conclusions or recommendations based on the findings. Case analysis is commonly used in various fields, such as business, law, and education, to make informed decisions and solve complex problems.
• Case Study : A case study is an in-depth analysis of a specific individual, group, organization, or situation. It involves thorough research, data collection, and detailed examination to understand the context, challenges, and outcomes associated with the subject of study. Case studies are widely used in academic research and professional contexts to gain insights into real-world scenarios.
• Word Problem : A word problem is a type of mathematical or logical question presented in a contextual format using words rather than purely numerical or symbolic representations. It challenges students to apply their knowledge and problem-solving skills to real-life situations.

Collaborative Activities

• Debate : A debate is a structured discussion between two or more individuals or teams with differing viewpoints on a specific topic or issue. Participants present arguments and counterarguments to support their positions, aiming to persuade the audience and ultimately reach a resolution or conclusion. Debates are commonly used in academic settings, public forums, and formal competitions to foster critical thinking, communication skills, and understanding of diverse perspectives.
• Group Discussion : A group discussion is an interactive conversation involving several individuals who come together to exchange ideas, opinions, and information on a particular subject. The discussion is typically moderated to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate, and it encourages active listening, collaboration, and problem-solving. Group discussions are commonly used in educational settings, team meetings, and decision-making processes to promote dialogue and collective decision-making.
• An oral report is a form of communication in which a person or group of persons present information, findings, or ideas verbally to an audience. It involves speaking in front of others, often in a formal setting, and delivering a structured presentation that may include visual aids, such as slides or props, to support the content. Oral reports are commonly used in academic settings, business environments, and various professional settings to share knowledge, research findings, project updates, or persuasive arguments. Effective oral reports require clear organization, articulation, and engaging delivery to effectively convey the intended message to the listeners.

Planning and Organization

• Inventory : An inventory involves systematically listing and categorizing items or resources to assess their availability, quantity, and condition. In an educational context, students might conduct an inventory of books in a library, equipment in a lab, or supplies in a classroom, enhancing their organizational and data collection skills.
• Materials and Methods Plan : A materials and methods plan involves developing a structured outline or description of the materials, tools, and procedures to be used in a specific experiment, research project, or practical task. It helps learners understand the importance of proper planning and documentation in scientific and research endeavors.
• Plan for Conducting a Project : This learning activity requires students to create a detailed roadmap for executing a project. It includes defining the project's objectives, identifying tasks and timelines, allocating resources, and setting milestones to monitor progress. It enhances students' project management and organizational abilities.
• Research Proposal Addressed to a Granting Agency : A formal document requesting financial support for a research project from a granting agency or organization. The proposal outlines the research questions, objectives, methodology, budget, and potential outcomes. It familiarizes learners with the process of seeking funding and strengthens their research and persuasive writing skills.
• Mathematical Problem : A mathematical problem is a task or question that requires the application of mathematical principles, formulas, or operations to find a solution. It could involve arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or other branches of mathematics, challenging individuals to solve the problem logically and accurately.
• Question : A question is a sentence or phrase used to elicit information, seek clarification, or provoke thought from someone else. Questions can be open-ended, closed-ended, or leading, depending on their purpose, and they play a crucial role in communication, problem-solving, and learning.

More Resources

CTE Teaching Tips

• Personal Response Systems
• Designing Multiple-Choice Questions
• Aligning Outcomes, Assessments, and Instruction

Other Resources

• Types of Assignments . University of Queensland.

If you would like support applying these tips to your own teaching, CTE staff members are here to help.  View the  CTE Support  page to find the most relevant staff member to contact.

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Why I Think All Schools Should Abolish Homework

H ow long is your child’s workweek? Thirty hours? Forty? Would it surprise you to learn that some elementary school kids have workweeks comparable to adults’ schedules? For most children, mandatory homework assignments push their workweek far beyond the school day and deep into what any other laborers would consider overtime. Even without sports or music or other school-sponsored extracurriculars, the daily homework slog keeps many students on the clock as long as lawyers, teachers, medical residents, truck drivers and other overworked adults. Is it any wonder that,deprived of the labor protections that we provide adults, our kids are suffering an epidemic of disengagement, anxiety and depression ?

With my youngest child just months away from finishing high school, I’m remembering all the needless misery and missed opportunities all three of my kids suffered because of their endless assignments. When my daughters were in middle school, I would urge them into bed before midnight and then find them clandestinely studying under the covers with a flashlight. We cut back on their activities but still found ourselves stuck in a system on overdrive, returning home from hectic days at 6 p.m. only to face hours more of homework. Now, even as a senior with a moderate course load, my son, Zak, has spent many weekends studying, finding little time for the exercise and fresh air essential to his well-being. Week after week, and without any extracurriculars, Zak logs a lot more than the 40 hours adults traditionally work each week — and with no recognition from his “bosses” that it’s too much. I can’t count the number of shared evenings, weekend outings and dinners that our family has missed and will never get back.

How much after-school time should our schools really own?

In the midst of the madness last fall, Zak said to me, “I feel like I’m working towards my death. The constant demands on my time since 5th grade are just going to continue through graduation, into college, and then into my job. It’s like I’m on an endless treadmill with no time for living.”

My spirit crumbled along with his.

Like Zak, many people are now questioning the point of putting so much demand on children and teens that they become thinly stretched and overworked. Studies have long shown that there is no academic benefit to high school homework that consumes more than a modest number of hours each week. In a study of high schoolers conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), researchers concluded that “after around four hours of homework per week, the additional time invested in homework has a negligible impact on performance.”

In elementary school, where we often assign overtime even to the youngest children, studies have shown there’s no academic benefit to any amount of homework at all.

Our unquestioned acceptance of homework also flies in the face of all we know about human health, brain function and learning. Brain scientists know that rest and exercise are essential to good health and real learning . Even top adult professionals in specialized fields take care to limit their work to concentrated periods of focus. A landmark study of how humans develop expertise found that elite musicians, scientists and athletes do their most productive work only about four hours per day .

Yet we continue to overwork our children, depriving them of the chance to cultivate health and learn deeply, burdening them with an imbalance of sedentary, academic tasks. American high school students , in fact, do more homework each week than their peers in the average country in the OECD, a 2014 report found.

It’s time for an uprising.

Already, small rebellions are starting. High schools in Ridgewood, N.J. , and Fairfax County, Va., among others, have banned homework over school breaks. The entire second grade at Taylor Elementary School in Arlington, Va., abolished homework this academic year. Burton Valley Elementary School in Lafayette, Calif., has eliminated homework in grades K through 4. Henry West Laboratory School , a public K-8 school in Coral Gables, Fla., eliminated mandatory, graded homework for optional assignments. One Lexington, Mass., elementary school is piloting a homework-free year, replacing it with reading for pleasure.

More from TIME

Across the Atlantic, students in Spain launched a national strike against excessive assignments in November. And a second-grade teacher in Texas, made headlines this fall when she quit sending home extra work , instead urging families to “spend your evenings doing things that are proven to correlate with student success. Eat dinner as a family, read together, play outside and get your child to bed early.”

It is time that we call loudly for a clear and simple change: a workweek limit for children, counting time on the clock before and after the final bell. Why should schools extend their authority far beyond the boundaries of campus, dictating activities in our homes in the hours that belong to families? An all-out ban on after-school assignments would be optimal. Short of that, we can at least sensibly agree on a cap limiting kids to a 40-hour workweek — and fewer hours for younger children.

Resistance even to this reasonable limit will be rife. Mike Miller, an English teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., found this out firsthand when he spearheaded a homework committee to rethink the usual approach. He had read the education research and found a forgotten policy on the county books limiting homework to two hours a night, total, including all classes. “I thought it would be a slam dunk” to put the two-hour cap firmly in place, Miller said.

But immediately, people started balking. “There was a lot of fear in the community,” Miller said. “It’s like jumping off a high dive with your kids’ future. If we reduce homework to two hours or less, is my kid really going to be okay?” In the end, the committee only agreed to a homework ban over school breaks.

Miller’s response is a great model for us all. He decided to limit assignments in his own class to 20 minutes a night (the most allowed for a student with six classes to hit the two-hour max). His students didn’t suddenly fail. Their test scores remained stable. And they started using their more breathable schedule to do more creative, thoughtful work.

That’s the way we will get to a sane work schedule for kids: by simultaneously pursuing changes big and small. Even as we collaboratively press for policy changes at the district or individual school level, all teachers can act now, as individuals, to ease the strain on overworked kids.

As parents and students, we can also organize to make homework the exception rather than the rule. We can insist that every family, teacher and student be allowed to opt out of assignments without penalty to make room for important activities, and we can seek changes that shift practice exercises and assignments into the actual school day.

We’ll know our work is done only when Zak and every other child can clock out, eat dinner, sleep well and stay healthy — the very things needed to engage and learn deeply. That’s the basic standard the law applies to working adults. Let’s do the same for our kids.

Vicki Abeles is the author of the bestseller Beyond Measure: Rescuing an Overscheduled, Overtested, Underestimated Generation, and director and producer of the documentaries “ Race to Nowhere ” and “ Beyond Measure. ”

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How Much Homework Do American Kids Do?

Various factors, from the race of the student to the number of years a teacher has been in the classroom, affect a child's homework load.

In his Atlantic essay , Karl Taro Greenfeld laments his 13-year-old daughter's heavy homework load. As an eighth grader at a New York middle school, Greenfeld’s daughter averaged about three hours of homework per night and adopted mantras like “memorization, not rationalization” to help her get it all done. Tales of the homework-burdened American student have become common, but are these stories the exception or the rule?

A 2007 Metlife study found that 45 percent of students in grades three to 12 spend more than an hour a night doing homework, including the six percent of students who report spending more than three hours a night on their homework. In the 2002-2003 school year, a study out of the University of Michigan found that American students ages six through 17 spent three hours and 38 minutes per week doing homework.

A range of factors plays into how much homework each individual student gets:

Older students do more homework than their younger counterparts.

This one is fairly obvious: The National Education Association recommends that homework time increase by ten minutes per year in school. (e.g., A third grader would have 30 minutes of homework, while a seventh grader would have 70 minutes).

Studies have found that schools tend to roughly follow these guidelines: The University of Michigan found that students ages six to eight spend 29 minutes doing homework per night while 15- to 17-year-old students spend 50 minutes doing homework. The Metlife study also found that 50 percent of students in grades seven to 12 spent more than an hour a night on homework, while 37 percent of students in grades three to six spent an hour or more on their homework per night. The National Center for Educational Statistics found that high school students who do homework outside of school average 6.8 hours of homework per week.

Race plays a role in how much homework students do.

Asian students spend 3.5 more hours on average doing homework per week than their white peers. However, only 59 percent of Asian students’ parents check that homework is done, while 75.6 percent of Hispanic students’ parents and 83.1 percent of black students’ parents check.

Teachers with less experience assign more homework.

The Metlife study found that 14 percent of teachers with zero to five years of teaching experience assigned more than an hour of homework per night, while only six percent of teachers with 21 or more years of teaching experience assigned over an hour of homework.

Math classes have homework the most frequently.

The Metlife study found that 70 percent of students in grades three to 12 had at least one homework assignment in math. Sixty-two percent had at least one homework assignment in a language arts class (English, reading, spelling, or creative writing courses) and 42 percent had at least one in a science class.

Regardless of how much homework kids are actually doing every night, most parents and teachers are happy with the way things are: 60 percent of parents think that their children have the “right amount of homework,” and 73 percent of teachers think their school assigns the right amount of homework.

Students, however, are not necessarily on board: 38 percent of students in grades seven through 12 and 28 percent of students in grades three through six report being “very often/often” stressed out by their homework.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Assignments For Students

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Advantages of Assignments For Students

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Assignments

• by teachmint@wp

What is assignment in education? Assignment meaning is the tasks given to students by their teachers and tutors to complete in a defined time. They can also be referred to as the work given to someone as a part of learning. Assignments can be in the form of written, practical, art or fieldwork, or even online. Their purpose is to ensure that students understand the subject matter thoroughly.

Generally, students are assigned a task as a part of their homework. The allocation of assignments is not only restricted to a class or subject but this method can be applied at any stage of life. They are a great way to judge the ability and understanding of an individual towards a subject matter.

The culture of providing homework starts from kindergarten in various forms. Small children are asked to read and write what they learn in the class. Students in the higher class are given work as a part of their revision exercise and help them prepare for exams. Individuals doing honors write journals as a part of an assignment that determines their knowledge in that subject.

The structure of assignments depends upon the nature of the task and subject. They must be well-researched, including case studies or examples within a proper framework. These studies are useful for students to achieve the desired examination results. It also helps them to concentrate better on education. Knowing what is assignment in education helps teachers assess students better.

Importance of Assignments

Giving assignments to the students is a crucial part of student assessment. The importance of giving assignments to the students is discussed in detail below:

• Learning practical skills Assignments enable students to develop new skills. In order to complete the assignments, students learn new skills which help them in their academic careers. 
• Enhances time management skills Whenever assignments are allocated to the students, a time limit is set by teachers within which the assignment has to be submitted. What is assignment in education enable students to complete their tasks and learn timely submission of work. 
• Learning researching skills Students tend to do a lot of research about the questions given in the assignment. Assignment meaning is to help them develop their research skills and come in handy in their future careers. 
• Enhance the Writing Caliber Many students have a problem of not being able to put their thoughts into words. Writing assignments can help them develop writing skills and be expressive in real life as well. 

Since assignments are deadline-based, they help students take responsibility and manage time. The work assigned to students may be individual or group activities, or both, to develop teamwork in them. 

The above-mentioned information gives us a context of assignment meaning and its importance to the students. Assignments provide a basis for the student assessment and should be given timely.  

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Research finds troubling teacher-assignment patterns within schools.

Even within the same school, lower-achieving students often are taught by less-experienced teachers, as well as by teachers who received their degrees from less-competitive colleges, according to a new study by researchers from the Stanford  Graduate School of Education  and the World Bank. The study, using data from one of the nation's largest school districts, also shows that student class assignments vary within schools by a teacher's gender and race.

In a  paper  published in this month's issue of  Sociology of Education , the researchers present the results of a comprehensive analysis of teacher assignments in the nation's fourth-largest school district, Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Their findings identify trends that may contribute to teacher turnover and achievement gaps nationwide.

Previous research indicates that high-quality teachers can significantly improve education outcomes for students.  However, not all students have equal access to the best teachers.

"It is well-known that teachers systematically sort across schools, disadvantaging low-income, minority and low-achieving students," said  Demetra Kalogrides , a research associate at the Graduate School of Education's  Center for Education Policy Analysis  and one of the study's three authors. "Our findings are novel because they address the assignment of teachers to classes within schools. We cannot assume that teacher sorting stops at the school doors."

The authors note that more research needs to be done to see whether such patterns exist within schools across the country.

The assignment of teachers to students is the result of a complex process, involving school leaders, teachers and parents. While principals are constrained by teachers' qualifications – not all high school teachers, for instance, can teach physics – they also may use their authority to reward certain teachers with the more desirable assignments or to appease teachers who are instrumental to school operations.

Teachers with more power, due to experience or other factors, may be able to choose their preferred classes. Parents, particularly those with more resources, also may try to intervene in the process to ensure that their children are taught by certain teachers.

"We wanted to understand which teachers are teaching which students," said  Susanna Loeb , a Stanford professor of education and an author of the study.  "In particular, are low-achieving students more likely to be assigned to certain teachers, and if so, why?" Loeb is the director of the Center for Education Policy Analysis.

Using extensive data from Miami-Dade, the authors compared the average achievement of teachers' students in the year before the students were assigned to them.  They discovered that certain teachers – those with less experience, those from less-competitive colleges, female teachers, and black and Hispanic teachers – are more likely to work with lower-achieving students than are other teachers in the same school.

They found these patterns at both the elementary and middle/high school levels.

According to the researchers, teachers who have been at a school for a long time may be able to influence the assignment process in order to secure their preferred classes – for instance, classes with higher-achieving students.  The study found that teachers with 10 or more years of experience, as well as teachers who have held leadership positions, are assigned higher-achieving students, on average.

Assigning lower-achieving students to inexperienced teachers could have significant repercussions. According to the researchers, it could increase turnover among new teachers, since novice teachers are more likely to quit when assigned more low-achieving students.

In addition, it could exacerbate within-school achievement gaps – for example, the black-white gap. Since they are lower-achieving on average, minority and poor students are often assigned to less-experienced teachers than white and non-poor students. Less-experienced teachers tend to be less effective, so this pattern is likely to reinforce the relationships between race and achievement and poverty and achievement, the researchers said.

The study also found that lower-achieving students are taught by the teachers who graduated from less-competitive colleges, based on test scores for admission and acceptance rates.  This trend is particularly evident at the middle school and high school levels, possibly due to the more varied demands of middle and high school courses.  Teachers from more competitive colleges may have deeper subject knowledge than their colleagues from less-competitive colleges, leading principals to assign them to more advanced courses, the researchers said.

The researchers noted that assignment patterns vary across schools. Experienced teachers appear to have more power over the assignment process when there are more of them in a school; senior teachers are assigned even higher-achieving students when there is a larger contingent of experienced teachers in the school.

At the same time, schools under more accountability pressure are less likely to assign higher-achieving students to more-experienced teachers than schools that are not under accountability pressure.

Finally, according to the findings, class assignments vary depending on a teacher's gender and race. Since female teachers are more likely to teach special education than male teachers, on average they work with lower achieving students than their male colleagues. Also, black and Hispanic teachers, when compared with white teachers in the same schools, work with more minority and poor students, who tend to be lower-achieving.

Unlike sorting based on experience, the authors said that teacher-student matching based on race could improve student achievement because previous research suggests that minority students may learn more when taught by minority teachers.   

"Our analyses are a first step in describing within-school class assignments, an important, yet often overlooked, form of teacher sorting," said Kalogrides.

The other co-author is Tara Béteille of the World Bank.  The research was supported by a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences.

Rachel O'Brien is a research associate and writer at the Center for Education Policy Analysis.

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Embracing Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom

• Posted July 20, 2023
• By Elizabeth M. Ross
• Learning Design and Instruction
• Teachers and Teaching
• Technology and Media

Although there is a huge amount of interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the consumer world, particularly since the release of OpenAI’s free ChatGPT program last November, in the hallowed halls of academia the response has been more wary. Concerns abound about academic integrity. There are also worries about how AI-generated content can be biased , inaccurate, and sometimes contain entirely false information, dubbed “hallucinations.”  

The cautious response is to be expected according to Houman Harouni , lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a former elementary and high school teacher. He has compassion for educators trying to grapple with a rapidly shifting world shaped by machine learning.

“Technology creates a shock,” he explains. “This shock is sometimes of a magnitude that we cannot even understand it, in the same way that we still haven't absorbed the sharp shock of the mobile phone.”

Harouni has long wrestled with the impact of cutting-edge technology on education, including experimenting in his own classroom , and is convinced that when it comes to teaching  “the medium is part of the message.” He believes that getting school students and those in higher ed to engage with virtual worlds is essential. 

“Where we want to get to is a place where you’re dancing with it, dancing with robots,” he says.

If the idea of waltzing with a robot creates apprehension for educators, Harouni has some advice :

1) Stop pretending that it doesn’t exist

Educators must “help the next generation face the reality of the world and develop instruments and ways of navigating this reality with integrity,” Harouni says. Students are well aware that technologies such as ChatGPT exist and are already experimenting with them on their own, but they need guidance about how to use them responsibly.

Teacher education and professional development programs should not ignore generative artificial intelligence either. 

2) Use AI alongside your students

Engage with generative AI tools with your students in person, when possible. Otherwise, share AI-generated responses to questions during class time and ask students to consider them or have students experiment with the technology at home, document their experiences, and share them with the class. 

3) Teach students how to ask the ChatGPT tool questions 

“The educator's job is to understand what opportunities are left open beside the technology,” Harouni says. 

Teach students to do what artificial intelligence cannot do. For example, unlike robots, we can ask ourselves questions and that is what students need to be trained in: to know how to ask questions and to learn how to critique their own questions, frameworks, and the answers generated by AI, he says. 

Students can start with topics and questions that they are interested in and ask ChatGPT for answers, he suggests. The knack is then getting them excited about asking follow-up questions. Harouni uses a personal experience with his 10-year-old stepdaughter and his newborn baby to illustrate his point. When his stepdaughter asked him why he kept telling her to be careful with the baby, Harouni turned to ChatGPT to help her to get to the bottom of her question. 

“My creativity as the teacher or the parent at that moment is to say, ‘What is it that you're really trying to ask? What is it that you really want to know?’”

While ChatGPT churned out a “whole bunch of answers about the fragility of the baby,” with some patience, Harouni helped his stepdaughter discover the question that she truly wanted to ask which was what she could safely do with the new baby. “At the moment that the exploration [with AI] ends with the answer, you know that your work as a teacher begins,” he explains.

4) Use generative AI tools to spark the imagination 

One frequent concern about generative artificial intelligence is that students will use it to cheat and avoid the hard work of thinking for themselves, but Harouni says that tools like ChatGPT should really challenge teachers and professors to reassess the assignments they give their students. 

“You have to stop thinking that you can teach exactly the way you used to teach when the basic medium has changed,” he explains. If students can turn to ChatGPT or other AI language models for quick and easy answers then there is a problem with the lesson, Harouni believes.

“We have to create assignments that push [students] to the point where they have to question what is the framework that is being used here and what would it mean for me to radically change this framework,” he says.

Harouni recently wrote about how he used ChatGPT to spur higher-level thinking among his students at HGSE when he presented them with a challenging case study that had no easy solutions. The students’ initial responses were no better than the chatbot’s ideas. Instead “it was after ChatGPT reflected to the students their failure of imagination that they could begin to think of options that they, or any automatic language scrawler, would not have readily reached for,” he explained in a co-authored article for Wired .  

Additional Resources:

• "ChatGPT Is Unoriginal — and Exactly What Humans Need" by Houman Harouni and Dana Karout
• Harvard EdCast: Educating in a World of Artificial Intelligence
• Students: AI is Part of Your World
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5 Things Schools Can Do This Summer to Improve Student Attendance Next Year

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It may seem counterintuitive to focus on student attendance during the summer, but the break can give schools crucial time to connect students at risk of disengaging during the school year.

More than 14 million students—about 1 in 4 nationwide —missed at least 10 percent of school days in 2022-23, continuing higher rates of chronic absenteeism since the pandemic. While there are no national data yet for the 2023-24 school year, some districts with improving attendance report last summer helped give them a boost.

Jessica Hull, community outreach coordinator for Roseville, Calif., public schools, watched chronic absenteeism in the district climb from between 5 percent and 6 percent a year before the pandemic, to 26 percent by the end of the 2021-22 school year. That summer, the district launched a massive campaign to identify the most disengaged students and reconnect them and their families with school.

The campaign has been gaining traction, Hull said. Chronic absenteeism fell from more than 1 in 4 students in the district in 2022 to just under 1 in 5 in 2022-23, and preliminary results suggest closer to 1 in 10 students were chronically absent in the 2023-24 school year.

“In terms of improving attendance, it can be seen as a combination of prevention, problem-solving, and mitigation,” said Robert Balfanz, research professor at the Center for the Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University, who has been studying a network of school districts working to improve attendance and graduation rates. “So districts can think along all three dimensions in terms of things they can do, to start the year with strong attendance.”

For example, Balfanz noted some districts launch a back-to-school “attendance challenge,” to encourage students to be in school every day in the first month—which studies have found is a key period for students to develop yearlong attendance habits.

Grace Spencer, product manager and an attendance management expert for the technology firm SchoolStatus, said about 30 percent of the districts she works with have launched attendance education campaigns in the past year. Parents and students have responded better, she said, to helping them understand the effect of missed school on grades and social development before students start school, rather than targeting disciplinary notices after students begin to miss class.

“Absences add up faster than you think, and parents don’t realize it,” Spencer said. “Parents need to know the one most important thing they can do to help their kids succeed is to get them to school every day on time.”

Schools can do these five things this summer to improve student attendance in the school year ahead.

1. Review attendance data to target students at risk of absenteeism.

As Roseville schools enter another summer break, Hull said teachers and outreach workers are crunching the school year data to identify which students missed the most school and fine-tune their approach.

“As we go through the data this summer, we’re specializing a lot of our outreach, and we’ll go into more specialization of the [district’s] website ,” she said, to link families to supports to overcome the most common attendance barriers, such as transportation.

While reviewing data, Balfanz urged administrators to consider the size of the attendance workload and broaden responsibility for attendance.

“If a school has 100 to 200 chronically absent students, and a district has thousands, a few people cannot address this,” Balfanz said. “Schools and districts might have a [Positive Behavior Intervention and Support] team for behavior, a [Multi-Tiered System of Supports] team for academics, and an attendance team for attendance, a well-being team for mental health—each with one to three or four people—but if you bring them together into a unified student success team, then you might have eight to 10 people who can take a holistic approach to student success.”

2. Reach out to families at home.

Hedy Chang, executive director of the nonprofit Attendance Works, an advocacy group that partners with districts to reduce absenteeism, said districts that are most successful at reducing chronic absenteeism reach out to high-risk students individually during the summer, with home visits from teachers and staff.

“You don’t go in saying, ‘Hey, you were chronically absent.’ You just go in saying, ‘Hey, how are you? I wanted to see, are you connected to all the summer learning activities?’ You just build a relationship,” Chang said.

For example, the 15 school districts in Connecticut’s Learner Engagement and Attendance Program , or LEAP, conducted home visits with students who had high absenteeism in the prior school year. Students who received home visits in the summer of 2021 improved their attendance by 7 percentage points on average in the following school year.

3. Leverage your summer programs.

While many summer learning programs enroll students based on academic needs, Chang said these programs should also target students who have been chronically absent during the year. A 2023 study of summer learning in San Francisco found programs that blended academic and social-emotional services for low-income students significantly reduced unexcused absences, chronic absenteeism, and suspensions the following year—and greater benefits for students who participated in the summer program for multiple years.

“One of the challenges of why kids might not be showing up to school is that they’ve gotten less engaged in the learning process itself: Learning is becoming boring,” she said. “You could use summer programming to re-instill that joy of learning.”

It’s particularly important to include chronically absent students in “orientation” or “welcome” camps in early grades and in transition years into middle and high school—the years in which absenteeism tends to increase.

“You really give kids and families a chance to get to know a new school, maybe even practice the walking to school, the routine of school, make sure teachers know who they are and that they meet other kids,” Chang said. “That can be an opportunity to connect kids to school and message the importance of showing up every day.”

4. Ensure students return to school healthy.

Years after COVID-19 outbreaks shuttered schools nationwide, Hull said normal childhood illnesses remained one of the leading causes of chronic absenteeism.

“When we talked to families last summer about [absenteeism], one of the biggest pieces we heard was, parents don’t know how sick was too sick for school,” Hull said. “It was such an extreme response during the pandemic—if you had a cough, you went home; if you had a runny nose, you went home; maybe you had to keep a kid home for five days—and as the state relaxed rules people just still didn’t know what to do” during outbreaks of seasonal flu and other respiratory illnesses which have surged in recent years.

Beyond clarifying sick-day rules, Chang urged school districts to do more to ensure students return to school with updated vaccinations for traditional childhood illnesses as well as seasonal influenza and COVID-19. A 2024 study of school nurses suggests better health access—such as school-based clinics and immunization drives—can help reduce the number of illness outbreaks during the year, and help prevent students from missing days at the start of school if they don’t have proper immunization records.

5. Plan to start your school year off right.

Balfanz advised districts to use the summer to “think through what steps they can take at the start of the school year, to build a strong sense of school connectedness among students. Key to this is both supportive adult-student relationships, and student-to-student relationships—both of which often need shared experiences–to cement.”

Class service projects and extracurricular fairs, for example, can introduce students to their teachers and help them form social connections in the school.

Roseville public schools has started scheduling its most popular activities and speakers for the year around the weekdays most associated with absenteeism.

“Friday in general is a low day for attendance; lots of people doing three-day weekends and such,” Hull said. “So we’re creating different assemblies and events, to build more excitement around what happens at school on Friday, making sure students, really do want to be there.”

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Williston High School Band to perform in Washington DC for Independence Day Parade

WILLISTON, N.D. (KUMV) - School may be out for students in the Williston High School Band, but they’re heading back to campus for a very important and patriotic assignment this week.

Marching along the streets of Williston is a tradition for the Williston High School Band. It’s something they enjoy doing.

“The experience, the cheering people and the energy they give off,” said Emily Burg, a clarinet and cymbals player.

You’ll usually see them in the spring practicing for the Band Day parade. However, they’re taking their talents to the nation’s capital.

“I was pretty excited about it because I always wanted to go to D.C.,” said Chase Bogers, a trombone player.

The band was invited to play in the National Independence Day Parade and it’s the second time they’ve received that honor.

“You can get a recommendation from the governor, that’s how we first got started with it in 2019. Once you are in the system, we’re able to get invited back and not have to go through some of the different processes,” said Band Director John Bisbee.

The parade route is a one-mile stretch on Constitution Avenue where they will play with views of the White House and the Washington Monument.

“I’m excited to hear the cheering and everything because bands are quite loved,” said Burg.

The band has spent many hours preparing for this event, memorizing songs and making sure everyone is marching to the same beat.

“I’d say we put in a lot of work, especially with the short amount of time we have to memorize this piece. I think it will go along well,” said Tyler Asprey, a percussionist.

Their hard work will pay off as they play in front of thousands, all to showcase their city and their state.

“It is absolutely wonderful to represent North Dakota and to be able to show them all that Williston has to offer— and North Dakota in general— as far as music,” said Bisbee.

The week-long trip will also provide other experiences as they will also tour the many monuments and museums D.C. has to offer.

The National Independence Day Parade starts at 10:45 a.m. Central Time. It can be viewed online via YouTube .

Copyright 2024 KFYR. All rights reserved.

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