This article explains how to customise homework settings for individual students to better support their learning needs.

Changing a student's homework length

You may sometimes want individual students to receive a shorter homework than the rest of their class, for example if they're catching up after absence

From Student Manager, click the blue pencil icon next to the student that you want to work with
Under the 'Sparx Maths settings' section, choose 'half length' to reduce the student's homework from the class default to half the set length
Click 'Save' which will apply the new homework length from the next hand-out onwards

Please note: research verified by Cambridge University shows that working in Sparx Maths is positively and significantly associated with higher outcomes in Maths. Completing the recommended 60 minutes of homework per week for one whole school year on average yields a 0.24 level improvement in GCSE grades.

Changing a student to always receive optional homework

If you don't want a student to receive compulsory homework, for example because they are experiencing difficulties at home, they're poorly, or they have a special education need that makes compulsory homework difficult or stressful for them, you can set them to always receive optional homework.

For individual students

From Student Manager, click the blue pencil icon next to the student that you want to work with
Under the 'Homework type' drop-down, choose 'Optional'
Click 'Save' which will apply the change from the next hand-out onwards

When you do this:

The student will still receive the same homework, but it will be clearly marked to them that the homework is optional to compelte.
You will still be able to see if the student is completing any of the optional homework package in various reports (e.g. Hand in, Student activity report, student profile).
The student's parents won't receive homework update emails
The student will be excluded from any hand-in rate calculations (e.g. Homework statistics, Homework completion bars on the dashboard).

This is how the homework will appear for students

For multiple students in the class

From Student Manager, select the students that you want to edit by clicking on the boxes next to their name.
Select 'Edit selected students' above the table
Select the 'Homework type' drop-down and change to 'Optional'
Click 'Save' which will apply the change from the next hand-out onwards

Changing a student's homework difficulty level

You may sometimes want to override the homework difficulty level that Sparx Maths automatically sets for a student, for example if they've been receiving help at home.
We recommend waiting to change any student's level until they have completed around 100 questions (4-5 weeks of 60 minute homework) as this is how long it takes our algorithm to determine the level they are working at.

From Student Manager, click the blue pencil icon next to the student that you want to work with
Under the Sparx Maths settings, select the 'Homework level' drop-down, choose the level that you want to set the student to.
Click 'Save' which will apply the change for any unopened existing homework and all future homeworks. All future consolidation questions will also be at the new level.
You can move the student back to Automatic leveling at any time
See Key concepts of a Sparx Maths homework for more information on difficulty levels.

Excluding higher-only topics from a student's homework

Schemes of learning will sometimes include topics labelled 'Higher only'. These are only suitable for students who will be sitting the higher tier of KS4 assessments
If you have classes that will sit a mixed tier of assessments (some foundation, some higher), you can exclude Higher only topics from the homeworks of students that are sitting the foundation paper

From Student Manager, click the blue pencil icon next to the student that you want to work with
Under the Sparx Maths settings, select the 'Set higher questions" drop-down, and select No. Click 'Save' which will apply the change from the next hand-out onwards

Adding or removing times tables practice from a student's homework

You may sometimes want to override the class default times tables setting for individual students

From Student Manager, click the blue pencil icon next to the student that you want to work with
Under the 'Sparx Maths settings', click on the 'Times tables' drop-down, choose whether or not you want the student to receive a times tables task
Click 'Save' which will apply the change from the next hand-out onwards
Students can still practice Times Tables in Independent Learning even if turned off

Frequently asked questions

How do I make the same change to multiple students?

You may sometimes want to make changes to multiple students in a class (but not the whole class).

From Student Manager, select the class that you want to work with from the class selector in the header
Tick the blue checkbox next to all students that you want to change
Click the 'Edit selected students' button
From here, you can change the following settings for the selected students:
- Homework type (off; half-length; full-length)
- Homework level
- Whether higher only topics should be excluded from the students' homework
Click 'Save' which will apply the change for all future homeworks.

One of my students is receiving longer homeworks than I've set for their class. Should I reduce their homework length?

Every time a student completes their homework, Sparx Maths learns more about their working speeds. You might find that students spend a long time on their homework every now and again. If this is the case, be assured that Sparx Maths will adjust the length of their future homework accordingly.

You don't need to change the homework length in this case. Instead, you can support students by checking their Answer history from the Hand-in page and helping them with any topics or questions that they significantly struggled with.

When I make changes to a student's homework settings, when will they take affect?

Changes will apply to the next homework that's set for the student. They won't affect any current or previously set homework.

How do I cancel homework for an individual student after it has already been set?

Once a homework has been set, you can cancel this for individual students by following these steps:

Go to that homework week in Planner
Click "Cancel this homework"
Select "Select individual students"
The homework task will then show as cancelled in the student's task list

If I make changes to a student's homework settings, can I change them back again later?

Yes, you can return to Student Manager at any time to adjust settings or return them to defaults.

If I make changes to a student's homework settings, will it affect other students in the same class?

No, changes made for individual students only affect their homework and won't impact other students in the class.

What happens if I make changes to both class and individual student homework settings?

Individual student settings always take precedence over class settings.

Changing homework for an individual student