What is the verb tense in the sentence 'They walked home from school today'?

The sentence "They walked home from school today" is in the past tense. This is indicated by the verb "walked," which is the past simple form of "walk." The use of "walked" signifies that the action of walking home has already taken place.

In examining the other options, the present tense would use a form like "walk" or "is walking," indicating an action that is currently happening. The future tense would employ a structure such as "will walk," indicating that the action has yet to occur. The past perfect tense would require a form like "had walked," which implies that the action was completed before another action in the past, but that is not applicable in this context. Thus, the identification of the past tense is correct, confirming that the action occurred in the past distinctly and is now finished.