For the 2023-2024 school year, DCPS has introduced a new policy requiring teachers to have two “revision days” each term set aside for correcting and making up work. According to DCPS, each revision day needs to be at least 45 minutes long, taking up half of a class period. Out of the many new policies and regulations set by DCPS for this school year, this one is highly beneficial to students and their learning experience.
Revision days can be especially valuable to those who participate in extracurriculars. Extracurriculars can cause learners to miss class and limit time to revise classwork or homework. Having a dedicated period for revisions in each class can give students the time to not only improve their grades, but also to fully understand the content in the classes, while continuing to participate in extracurriculars.
A period devoted to revisions also offers the added advantage of one-on-one assistance from teachers. During regular office hours, teachers have to help students from their various subjects and periods, however, in a designated period, the teacher can solely focus on the limited number of students in that class. Furthermore, putting time and effort into revisions allows students to deepen their understanding of the subject and fully learn the content.
However, these planned revision periods are sometimes seen as harmful to student development and a waste of time. A common argument is that students don’t try their best on assignments when they know that they can revise them. Why put the effort into studying for a test when you know you have the option to fix your score later? Per DCPS policy, students are given the opportunity to achieve up to an 86% in revisions which effectively acts as a deterrent, since the maximum grade they can achieve is a B. Furthermore, many have to study if they want to successfully revise their work.
The Revision Day policy should be maintained for the foreseeable future, as it contributes significantly to an enriched education for students, while fostering a more engaged and supportive environment. This support is essential for those who may not have the additional resources, tutoring, or time to visit teachers during office hours. Revision days encourage many students to continue to put in effort to learn and improve their academic performance, an obligation schools are expected to carry for their scholars.
