Just like the athlete’s training practice, the musician/actor’s rehearsal or the experimental dry run, the completion of homework is a beneficial experience in its own right. In many instances homework produces no tangible educational artefact. The improvement exists in the student’s ability to do things they could not do before. In the same way an examination candidate can’t take their revision books with them into the exam, students completing homework only need demonstrate new understanding, greater accuracy and improved confidence in their class work. In this way, homework is designed to inform and enhance pupil performance in lessons. It is intended as a development of their skills-base and should not be regarded as a discrete pursuit with a single outcome. That said, students are encouraged to bring completed and assessed tests back to school where they will be stored with the rest of their work. Reading and spoken tasks do not lend themselves to this kind of storage but extended writing tasks must, by their nature, be returned to teachers for assessment against criteria.
