Abstract
Due to changes in educational policies there have been significant shifts with content standards, instructional pedagogy, the manner in which students are assessed, and accountability measures. The one area that has not shifted is homework practices. In today's school atmosphere, districts and sites are pressured to teach to the state standards and prepare students to be college and career ready. More and more educators are using pacing guides to ensure all students are learning the same standards based material, regardless of which teacher they have been scheduled with. Given the manner of how high school juniors are being assessed, the thought still remains, is homework a relevant or effective instructional strategy to increase their skill sets. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the experiences of 11th-grade English teachers when assigning cognitively rigorous homework.