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The Pros and Cons of Homework

Updated: November 27, 2024

Published: January 23, 2020

In this article

Remember those nights when you’d find yourself staring at a mountain of homework, eyes drooping, wondering if you’d ever see the light at the end of the tunnel? The debate over homework’s role in education is as old as time. Is it a crucial tool for reinforcing learning or just an unnecessary burden?

For college students, this question takes on new dimensions. Juggling homework with the endless amount of classes, part-time jobs, and social lives can feel like walking on thin ice. The pressure to maintain grades, meet deadlines, and still find time for friends and relaxation can be overwhelming. So, is homework a friend or foe?

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The homework dilemma.

A large amount of college students report feeling overwhelmed by their academic workload, leading to high levels of stress and anxiety. According to Research.com , 45% of college students in the U.S. experience “more than average” stress, with 36.5% citing stress as a major impediment to their academic performance. This stress often stems directly from the homework load, leading to symptoms like headaches, exhaustion, and difficulty sleeping. The intense pressure to manage homework alongside other responsibilities makes us question the true impact of homework on students’ overall well-being.

And then there’s the digital twist. A whopping 89% of students confessed to using AI tools like ChatGPT for their assignments. While these tools can be a godsend for quick answers and assistance, they can also undermine the personal effort and critical thinking necessary to truly understand the material.

On the brighter side, homework can be a powerful ally. According to Inside Higher Ed , structured assignments can actually help reduce stress by providing a clear learning roadmap and keeping students engaged with the material. But where’s the balance between helpful and harmful? 

With these perspectives in mind, let’s dive into the pros and cons of homework for college students. By understanding both sides, we can find a middle ground that maximizes learning while keeping stress at bay.

The Pros of Homework

When thoughtfully assigned, homework can be a valuable tool in a student’s educational journey . Let’s explore how homework can be a beneficial companion to your studies:

Enhances Critical Thinking

Homework isn’t just busywork; it’s an opportunity to stretch your mental muscles. Those late-night problem sets and essays can actually encourage deeper understanding and application of concepts. Think of homework as a mental gym; each assignment is a new exercise, pushing you to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information in ways that strengthen your critical thinking skills .

Time Management Skills

Do you ever juggle multiple deadlines and wonder how to keep it all together? Regular homework assignments can be a crash course in time management . They teach you to prioritize tasks, manage your schedule, and balance academic responsibilities with personal commitments. The ability to juggle various tasks is a skill that will serve you well beyond your college years.

Reinforcement of Learning

There’s a reason why practice makes perfect. Homework reinforces what you’ve learned in class, helping to cement concepts and theories in your mind. Understanding a concept during a lecture is one thing, but applying it through homework can deepen your comprehension and retention. 

Preparation for Exams

Think of homework as a sound check and warm-up for exams. Regular assignments keep you engaged with the material, making it easier to review and prepare when exam time rolls around. By consistently working through problems and writing essays, you build a solid foundation that can make the difference between cramming and confident exam performance.

Encourages Independent Learning

Homework promotes a sense of responsibility and independence. It pushes you to tackle assignments on your own, encouraging problem-solving and self-discipline. This independence prepares you for the academic challenges ahead and the autonomy required in your professional and personal life.

The Cons of Homework

Despite its potential benefits, homework can also have significant downsides. Let’s examine the challenges and drawbacks of homework:

Impact on Mental Health

Homework can be a double-edged sword when it comes to mental health . While it’s meant to reinforce learning, the sheer volume of assignments can lead to stress and anxiety. The constant pressure to meet deadlines and the fear of falling behind can create a relentless cycle of stress. Many students become overwhelmed, leading to burnout and negatively impacting their overall well-being. 

Limited Time for Other Activities

College isn’t just about hitting the books. It’s also a time for personal growth, exploring new interests, and building social connections. Excessive homework can eat into the time you might otherwise spend on extracurricular activities, hobbies, or simply hanging out with friends. This lack of balance can lead to a less fulfilling college experience. Shouldn’t education be about more than just academics?

Quality Over Quantity

When it comes to homework, more isn’t always better. Piling on assignments can lead to diminished returns on learning. Instead of diving deep into a subject and gaining a thorough understanding, students might rush through tasks just to get them done. This focus on quantity over quality can undermine the educational value of homework. 

Inequity in Education

Homework can sometimes exacerbate educational inequalities. Not all students can access the same resources and support systems at home. While some might have a quiet space and access to the internet, others might struggle with distractions and lack of resources. This disparity can put certain students at a disadvantage, making homework more of a burden than a learning tool. 

Dependence on AI Tools

With the advent of AI tools like ChatGPT , homework has taken on a new dimension. While these tools can provide quick answers and assistance, they also pose the risk of students becoming overly reliant on technology. This dependence can take away from the actual learning process, as students might bypass the critical thinking and effort needed to truly understand the material. Is convenience worth the potential loss in learning?

Finding the Balance

Finding the right balance with homework means tackling assignments that challenge and support you. Instead of drowning in a sea of tasks, focus on quality over quantity. Choose projects that spark your critical thinking and connect to real-world situations. Flexibility is key here. Recognize that your circumstances are unique, and adjusting your approach can help reduce stress and create a more inclusive learning environment. Constructive feedback makes homework more than just a chore; it turns it into a tool for growth and improvement.

It’s also about living a well-rounded college life. Don’t let homework overshadow other important parts of your life, like extracurricular activities or personal downtime. Emphasize independent learning and use technology wisely to prepare for future challenges. By balancing thoughtful assignments with your personal needs, homework can shift from being a burden to becoming a helpful companion on your educational journey, enriching your academic and personal growth.

Homework has its pros and cons, especially for college students. It can enhance critical thinking, time management, and learning, but it also brings stress, impacts mental health, and can become overwhelming. Finding the right balance is key. 

Focus on quality assignments, maintain flexibility, and make sure your homework complements rather than dominates your life. With a thoughtful approach, homework can support your educational journey, fostering both academic success and personal growth.

How can I manage my time effectively to balance homework and other activities?

Create a schedule that allocates specific times for homework, classes, and personal activities. Use planners or digital calendars to keep track of deadlines and prioritize tasks. Don’t forget to include breaks to avoid burnout.

How can I reduce the stress associated with homework?

To manage stress, practice mindfulness techniques like meditation or deep breathing exercises. Break assignments into smaller, manageable tasks and tackle them one at a time. If needed, seek support from classmates, tutors, or mental health professionals.

Is using AI tools for homework cheating?

While AI tools like ChatGPT can be helpful for quick assistance, relying on them too much can hinder your learning process. Use them as a supplement rather than a replacement for your own effort and critical thinking.

How can teachers make homework more equitable?

Teachers can offer flexible deadlines, provide resources for students who lack them, and design assignments that account for different learning styles and home environments. Open communication between students and teachers can also help address individual challenges.

What are some strategies to make homework more meaningful?

Focus on quality over quantity by designing assignments that encourage deep thinking and application of knowledge. Integrate real-world problems to make homework more relevant and engaging. Provide constructive feedback to help students learn and grow from their assignments.

At UoPeople, our blog writers are thinkers, researchers, and experts dedicated to curating articles relevant to our mission: making higher education accessible to everyone. Read More

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15 Surprising Benefits of Homework for Students

• The importance of homework for students
• 3 Helpful tips to do your homework effectively
• 15 benefits of homework

Homework is an important component of the learning and growing process. It is a common practice for students to develop their skills and learn new information.

Homework is simply a general term that we use to describe work that you have to do at home. Typically, it’s assigned by the teacher during school hours and meant to be completed after school in the evenings or weekends.

Homework is loved and hated by many, but it is an integral part of education. It is not just a boring part of the learning process. It has a lot to offer!

The Importance of Homework for Students

So, why should students have homework? According to research conducted by Duke University psychology professor Harris Cooper , there was a positive relation between homework and student achievement. He found out that homework can help students perform better in school.

This shows the importance of homework in a student’s life. Homework is not always popular with students because it takes away their free time at home.

However, there are many benefits associated with homework.  Homework helps students understand the material in greater depth. Moreover, it allows teachers to assess how much the student has learned.

Tips for Doing Your Homework Faster

It is important to have a homework routine. A routine will help you know what to expect at the end of the day, and it will give you time to digest what you learned.

In addition, a routine will help you to be stress-free because you won’t be worrying about when to start your homework or whether you’re going to finish it on time.

So, here are some tips on how to set up a good homework routine:

• Find a place in the house where you can study without interruption.
• Set a timer for how long each assignment should take.
• Make sure your table is neat and that you have all of your materials ready before starting.

These tips will surely make your student life easier and put you on the right track towards higher grades!

The Benefits of Homework for Students

There are numerous reasons why homework is given in schools and colleges. Students can reap the benefits even in their professional lives.

But what exactly are the benefits of homework and how can it help students? Let us take a look at some of them:

1. Students Learn the Importance of Time Management

They will learn to balance play and work. Students will also learn to complete assignments within deadlines by learning to prioritize their time.

It helps them understand the importance of time management skills . When they are assigned a project or a test, they will know when it is due, how much time they have to complete it, and what they need to do.

This also helps them in their future careers. Employees must be able to manage their time efficiently in order to be successful.

If a project is due soon, employees should take effective steps to get it done on time. Homeworks in the schooling years teaches this practice of time management.

2. Promotes Self-Learning

Students get more time to review the content and this promotes self-learning . This is a big advantage of homework.

It also promotes continuous learning as students can revise their syllabus on their own. Homework gives them an opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities.

3. Helps Teachers Assess a Student’s Learning

Homeworks help teachers track how well the students are grasping the content . They can modify their teaching methods based on the responses they receive from their students.

4. Teaches Students to Be Responsible

Students learn to become independent learners as they do their homework without any help from the teacher.

Studying at home also motivates students to study harder in order to achieve better results. This encourages them to take up more responsibilities at home too.

5. Boosts Memory Retention

Homework provides practice time to recall concepts discussed in class, thereby enabling students to memorize facts and figures taught at school.

One of the advantages of homework is that it sharpens memory power and concentration.

6. Enables Parents to Track a Student’s Performance

Parents can assess how well their children are doing with regard to academic performance by checking their homework assignments.

This gives parents a chance to discuss with teachers about improving their child’s performance at school .

7. Allows Students to Revise Content

Revising together with other students can also help with understanding  information because it gives you another perspective, as well as an opportunity to ask questions and engage with others.

8. Practice Makes Perfect

Doing homework has numerous benefits for students. One of them is that it helps students learn the concepts in depth.

Homework teaches them how to apply the concepts to solve a problem. It gives them experience on how to solve problems using different techniques.

9. Develops Persistence

When students do their homework, they have to work hard to find all the possible solutions to a problem.

They have to try out different methods until they reach a solution that works. This teaches them perseverance and helps them develop their determination and grit to keep working hard.

10. Helps Them to Learn New Skills

Homework is important because it helps students to learn new and advanced skills. It promotes self-study, research and time management skills within students.

It also builds their confidence in tackling problems independently without constant help from teachers and parents.

11. Helps in Building a Positive Attitude Towards Learning

12. Students Can Explore Their Areas of Interest

Homework helps in building curiosity about a subject that excites them. Homework gives students an opportunity to immerse themselves in a subject matter.

When they become curious, they themselves take the initiative to learn more about it.

13. Encourages In-Depth Understanding of The Concepts

Homeworks allow students to learn the subject in a more detailed manner. It gives students the chance to recall and go over the content.

This will lead to better understanding and they will be able to remember the information for a long time.

14. Minimizes Screen Time:

Homework is not only a great way to get students to do their work themselves, but it can also encourage them to reduce screen time.

Homework gives students a good reason to stay off their computers and phones. Homework promotes the productive use of time .

15. Helps Develop Good Study Habits

The more they do their homework, the better they will get it. They will learn to manage their time in a more effective way and be able to do their work at a faster rate.

Moreover, they will be able to develop a good work ethic, which will help them in their future careers.

We all know that too much of anything can be bad. Homework is no different. If the workload of the students is too much, then it can lead to unnecessary stress .

Therefore, it is necessary for teachers to be mindful of the workload of students. That way, students will be able to enjoy their free time and actually enjoy doing homework instead of seeing it as a burden.

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Why homework is important: Get The Most Genuine Reasons

• Post author By admin
• October 4, 2022

Why homework is important? As you know that every student goes to school and college, and every student has homework. 

Homework has been a topic of interest for a long time. Many students believe that homework is not beneficial for them. 

And some students think that without homework they can’t remember what they learn in class. If you have enough amount of homework, it is very beneficial for you. 

You should do homework because it will help you to learn life skills and also help you master a skill. 

Homework should be a positive experience for all students that help them to learn properly and improve their final grades. Why homework is important for students? 

In this blog, we will learn what is homework and why homework is important. So, let’s get started.

Table of Contents

What is homework?

Homework can be defined as the task assigned to students by the teacher extra from the classwork. For exploring new things regarding a subject or topic. If we learn something in the classroom. We need to revise the topic otherwise we will forget. So homework is the best practice to learn new things and it helps to remind us. To move forward we need to understand a few things like what is the difference between Homework and Assignment.

Why Do Teachers Give Homework To The Students?

Here are some reasons why teachers give homework to the students:

• It helps to understand how to do work independently.
• With homework, students can learn to make schedules for all work. 
• It helps students to solve the problem on their own. 
• It helps students to find, and organize good information. 
• Homework can help to develop a good sense of personal responsibility for learning.
• It also helps to learn using libraries and other resources. 

Importance Of Doing Homework

Why homework is important? This is a very popular question. Many students think that homework is not fun to do. 

You should do more research to get more information about the basic reason why homework is good for students.

When you do your homework it teaches you how to work and study on your own. With homework, you can learn using different resources like text, libraries, book chapters and other resources. 

It will also help you to deal with difficult challenges. Students can take benefit from homework because it helps to develop their learning beyond the classroom. You should also read this (2022) Best Homework Songs to Listen While Study .

Reason Why Homework Is Important?

Here is some reason why homework is important:

Improve Thinking

It can help students to improve their memory and thinking. 

Use Time Wisely

With the help of homework, students learn to utilize time wisely. 

Work Independently

While doing homework, students can work independently. They can do their work on their own.

Responsible For Work

It helps students to take responsibility for work on their own. 

Get Ready For The Next Day In Class

With the help of homework, students can get ready for the next day’s class.

Learn To Use Resources

It helps students to learn using resources such as websites to find information, libraries, reference materials, and others. Also, read this Is Homework Illegal AnyWhere? .

Help Students Explore The Subject

Homework help students to explore the topic more carefully than class time permits. 

Homework Increases a Student’s Confidence

Homework improves knowledge. This always results in improving confidence also. 

The more you learn, understand, and practice, the more you will improve your confidence. This is also important for your exams too as it can help you to remember the concepts. 

As a result, you can easily write the answers on your exam sheet. This will increase your confidence to score good grades in exams.

Homework Helps Parents Know What Their Children Are Learning

Homework is the best opportunity for teachers and parents to connect with their children. 

While doing homework it is the best way to observe students about their strengths and weaknesses. Like in which subject they are good or poor. 

Parents can track their performance easily. Also, read this Who Invented Homework And Why? Best Facts You Should Know .

Enhance Problem-Solving Skills

Whenever any student does their homework there are so many hard questions they have to encounter so it is helpful for brainstorming the solutions. 

They make every effort to complete it, whether it is taking help from the internet or from their parents. 

Due to this, the problem-solving skills of the students increase and they can easily solve any problem in their life.

Help Us Prioritize The Topics/Time Management Skill

As we know that if we complete any task it is a pleasurable moment for us. 

So when the student completes their homework sometimes it is difficult to solve any problem. Sometimes students are stuck after finding the solution. It is an achievement for them. 

It motivates us to do more work and boosts our confidence. 

Regular basis homework makes the student capable of grabbing more knowledge which is beneficial for scoring well in exams.

Increases The Concentration Of Students In The Classroom

When the teacher reads a topic in the class, then the students think that this topic will be very easy. 

Due to this, the students do not study the topic carefully. But when the teachers give homework based on the same topic to the students, they understand how important it is to listen to the teacher in the class. 

In this way, the students feel their responsibility. That’s why homework is important for students. 

How To Do Homework In An Interesting Way?

Follow the strategy to complete your homework effectively How to do homework in an interesting way:

• Group Study: Do work together with your friends. 
• Make it visual: Use video animations for learning.
• Don’t cram, try to learn from the basics.
• Give a Reward to yourself by completing targets. 
• Create a homework space.
• Set a Proper schedule for work. 
• Don’t hesitate to ask questions.
• Try different learning applications or websites.
• Set a goal for achievements.
• Take a short break between homework tasks to refresh your mind.
• Arrange all books and supplies in advance to save your time.

Why Is Homework Useful For Teachers?

If teachers use homework correctly, it can be very effective for determining what they understand from the lesson. 

It gives teachers a clear idea of which topics may require more attention because some students find them difficult. It goes further than that.

Homework should be assigned by experienced teachers who can provide specific feedback. 

They should only give students assignments that are beneficial to their learning needs. And they should utilise them as a tool to address specific areas where they are struggling.

As Parents, They Must Help Their Children With Their Homework!

Although we’ve discussed the benefits of doing regular homework, some kids may struggle to stay motivated. These are some ways parents can encourage their children with their homework because they can play a significant part.

Study-friendly Environment

It will be easier for youngsters to focus if they have a designated area to complete their schoolwork. Ensure it has everything they will need for their assignments and is well-lit.

Regular Study Time

Children who work from home become accustomed to the regularity of it. While some kids may like to work in the morning, others favor the afternoon. Establish a schedule that allows your youngster to be most productive.

Verify That They Are Learning

If kids use their homework time to learn, then it is crucial. They won’t experience the advantages described above if you do the labor instead of them. You must be there to support them and ensure they comprehend the task to complete it independently.

Encourage Hard Work and Effort

A fantastic strategy to encourage kids to enjoy their schoolwork is to acknowledge and compliment the effort they put in. To further motivate students, display their stellar test results at home.

Develop a Plan

If they have a lot of homework, kids can become overworked. On nights when they have a lot of homework, assist them in developing a strategy and segmenting the work. The workload will become more manageable as a result. If this works well with your child, try it every time they sit down to work at home.

Young children’s motivation and productivity are enhanced when they comprehend the significance of homework and why it is frequently required. Additionally, it educates parents on how they can help their children. At Nord Anglia Education, we strongly emphasize bringing parents, teachers, and kids together to enhance student learning via homework. Explore our schools to learn more about what we teach and how we operate.

sometimes not only the students but their parents also start wondering why the teachers of the school and coaching institute give homework to their children. 

They think that homework is a burden for students but once they understand why homework is important, they start paying more attention to it. 

Also, they encourage their loved ones or kids to do homework.

Every coin has two faces. Similarly, some students consider homework as a burden while others take it as an interesting way to improve their knowledge. 

So, what do you think about the same? Let us know your answer through your comments. I hope it will help you to learn why homework is important for us. 

FAQs Related To Why Homework Is Important?

Is homework only beneficial for students.

No, it is not only beneficial for students. It also helps parents and teachers to cooperate with the students. This will help students to develop successfully. 

Is homework mandatory?

The majority of schools have made homework a requirement of their curriculum. It was implemented as part of reforms and modernization policies designed to provide the best possible outcomes to the students.

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Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

A conversation with a Wheelock researcher, a BU student, and a fourth-grade teacher

“Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives,” says Wheelock’s Janine Bempechat. “It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.” Photo by iStock/Glenn Cook Photography

Do your homework.

If only it were that simple.

Educators have debated the merits of homework since the late 19th century. In recent years, amid concerns of some parents and teachers that children are being stressed out by too much homework, things have only gotten more fraught.

“Homework is complicated,” says developmental psychologist Janine Bempechat, a Wheelock College of Education & Human Development clinical professor. The author of the essay “ The Case for (Quality) Homework—Why It Improves Learning and How Parents Can Help ” in the winter 2019 issue of Education Next , Bempechat has studied how the debate about homework is influencing teacher preparation, parent and student beliefs about learning, and school policies.

She worries especially about socioeconomically disadvantaged students from low-performing schools who, according to research by Bempechat and others, get little or no homework.

BU Today  sat down with Bempechat and Erin Bruce (Wheelock’17,’18), a new fourth-grade teacher at a suburban Boston school, and future teacher freshman Emma Ardizzone (Wheelock) to talk about what quality homework looks like, how it can help children learn, and how schools can equip teachers to design it, evaluate it, and facilitate parents’ role in it.

BU Today: Parents and educators who are against homework in elementary school say there is no research definitively linking it to academic performance for kids in the early grades. You’ve said that they’re missing the point.

Bempechat : I think teachers assign homework in elementary school as a way to help kids develop skills they’ll need when they’re older—to begin to instill a sense of responsibility and to learn planning and organizational skills. That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success. If we greatly reduce or eliminate homework in elementary school, we deprive kids and parents of opportunities to instill these important learning habits and skills.

We do know that beginning in late middle school, and continuing through high school, there is a strong and positive correlation between homework completion and academic success.

That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success.

You talk about the importance of quality homework. What is that?

Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives. It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.

What are your concerns about homework and low-income children?

The argument that some people make—that homework “punishes the poor” because lower-income parents may not be as well-equipped as affluent parents to help their children with homework—is very troubling to me. There are no parents who don’t care about their children’s learning. Parents don’t actually have to help with homework completion in order for kids to do well. They can help in other ways—by helping children organize a study space, providing snacks, being there as a support, helping children work in groups with siblings or friends.

Isn’t the discussion about getting rid of homework happening mostly in affluent communities?

Yes, and the stories we hear of kids being stressed out from too much homework—four or five hours of homework a night—are real. That’s problematic for physical and mental health and overall well-being. But the research shows that higher-income students get a lot more homework than lower-income kids.

Teachers may not have as high expectations for lower-income children. Schools should bear responsibility for providing supports for kids to be able to get their homework done—after-school clubs, community support, peer group support. It does kids a disservice when our expectations are lower for them.

The conversation around homework is to some extent a social class and social justice issue. If we eliminate homework for all children because affluent children have too much, we’re really doing a disservice to low-income children. They need the challenge, and every student can rise to the challenge with enough supports in place.

What did you learn by studying how education schools are preparing future teachers to handle homework?

My colleague, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, at the University of California, Davis, School of Education, and I interviewed faculty members at education schools, as well as supervising teachers, to find out how students are being prepared. And it seemed that they weren’t. There didn’t seem to be any readings on the research, or conversations on what high-quality homework is and how to design it.

Erin, what kind of training did you get in handling homework?

Bruce : I had phenomenal professors at Wheelock, but homework just didn’t come up. I did lots of student teaching. I’ve been in classrooms where the teachers didn’t assign any homework, and I’ve been in rooms where they assigned hours of homework a night. But I never even considered homework as something that was my decision. I just thought it was something I’d pull out of a book and it’d be done.

I started giving homework on the first night of school this year. My first assignment was to go home and draw a picture of the room where you do your homework. I want to know if it’s at a table and if there are chairs around it and if mom’s cooking dinner while you’re doing homework.

The second night I asked them to talk to a grown-up about how are you going to be able to get your homework done during the week. The kids really enjoyed it. There’s a running joke that I’m teaching life skills.

Friday nights, I read all my kids’ responses to me on their homework from the week and it’s wonderful. They pour their hearts out. It’s like we’re having a conversation on my couch Friday night.

It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Bempechat : I can’t imagine that most new teachers would have the intuition Erin had in designing homework the way she did.

Ardizzone : Conversations with kids about homework, feeling you’re being listened to—that’s such a big part of wanting to do homework….I grew up in Westchester County. It was a pretty demanding school district. My junior year English teacher—I loved her—she would give us feedback, have meetings with all of us. She’d say, “If you have any questions, if you have anything you want to talk about, you can talk to me, here are my office hours.” It felt like she actually cared.

Bempechat : It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Ardizzone : But can’t it lead to parents being overbearing and too involved in their children’s lives as students?

Bempechat : There’s good help and there’s bad help. The bad help is what you’re describing—when parents hover inappropriately, when they micromanage, when they see their children confused and struggling and tell them what to do.

Good help is when parents recognize there’s a struggle going on and instead ask informative questions: “Where do you think you went wrong?” They give hints, or pointers, rather than saying, “You missed this,” or “You didn’t read that.”

Bruce : I hope something comes of this. I hope BU or Wheelock can think of some way to make this a more pressing issue. As a first-year teacher, it was not something I even thought about on the first day of school—until a kid raised his hand and said, “Do we have homework?” It would have been wonderful if I’d had a plan from day one.

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Senior Contributing Editor

Sara Rimer A journalist for more than three decades, Sara Rimer worked at the Miami Herald , Washington Post and, for 26 years, the New York Times , where she was the New England bureau chief, and a national reporter covering education, aging, immigration, and other social justice issues. Her stories on the death penalty’s inequities were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and cited in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision outlawing the execution of people with intellectual disabilities. Her journalism honors include Columbia University’s Meyer Berger award for in-depth human interest reporting. She holds a BA degree in American Studies from the University of Michigan. Profile

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There are 81 comments on Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

Insightful! The values about homework in elementary schools are well aligned with my intuition as a parent.

when i finish my work i do my homework and i sometimes forget what to do because i did not get enough sleep

same omg it does not help me it is stressful and if I have it in more than one class I hate it.

Same I think my parent wants to help me but, she doesn’t care if I get bad grades so I just try my best and my grades are great.

I think that last question about Good help from parents is not know to all parents, we do as our parents did or how we best think it can be done, so maybe coaching parents or giving them resources on how to help with homework would be very beneficial for the parent on how to help and for the teacher to have consistency and improve homework results, and of course for the child. I do see how homework helps reaffirm the knowledge obtained in the classroom, I also have the ability to see progress and it is a time I share with my kids

The answer to the headline question is a no-brainer – a more pressing problem is why there is a difference in how students from different cultures succeed. Perfect example is the student population at BU – why is there a majority population of Asian students and only about 3% black students at BU? In fact at some universities there are law suits by Asians to stop discrimination and quotas against admitting Asian students because the real truth is that as a group they are demonstrating better qualifications for admittance, while at the same time there are quotas and reduced requirements for black students to boost their portion of the student population because as a group they do more poorly in meeting admissions standards – and it is not about the Benjamins. The real problem is that in our PC society no one has the gazuntas to explore this issue as it may reveal that all people are not created equal after all. Or is it just environmental cultural differences??????

I get you have a concern about the issue but that is not even what the point of this article is about. If you have an issue please take this to the site we have and only post your opinion about the actual topic

This is not at all what the article is talking about.

This literally has nothing to do with the article brought up. You should really take your opinions somewhere else before you speak about something that doesn’t make sense.

we have the same name

so they have the same name what of it?

lol you tell her

totally agree

What does that have to do with homework, that is not what the article talks about AT ALL.

Yes, I think homework plays an important role in the development of student life. Through homework, students have to face challenges on a daily basis and they try to solve them quickly.I am an intense online tutor at 24x7homeworkhelp and I give homework to my students at that level in which they handle it easily.

More than two-thirds of students said they used alcohol and drugs, primarily marijuana, to cope with stress.

You know what’s funny? I got this assignment to write an argument for homework about homework and this article was really helpful and understandable, and I also agree with this article’s point of view.

I also got the same task as you! I was looking for some good resources and I found this! I really found this article useful and easy to understand, just like you! ^^

i think that homework is the best thing that a child can have on the school because it help them with their thinking and memory.

I am a child myself and i think homework is a terrific pass time because i can’t play video games during the week. It also helps me set goals.

Homework is not harmful ,but it will if there is too much

I feel like, from a minors point of view that we shouldn’t get homework. Not only is the homework stressful, but it takes us away from relaxing and being social. For example, me and my friends was supposed to hang at the mall last week but we had to postpone it since we all had some sort of work to do. Our minds shouldn’t be focused on finishing an assignment that in realty, doesn’t matter. I completely understand that we should have homework. I have to write a paper on the unimportance of homework so thanks.

homework isn’t that bad

Are you a student? if not then i don’t really think you know how much and how severe todays homework really is

i am a student and i do not enjoy homework because i practice my sport 4 out of the five days we have school for 4 hours and that’s not even counting the commute time or the fact i still have to shower and eat dinner when i get home. its draining!

i totally agree with you. these people are such boomers

why just why

they do make a really good point, i think that there should be a limit though. hours and hours of homework can be really stressful, and the extra work isn’t making a difference to our learning, but i do believe homework should be optional and extra credit. that would make it for students to not have the leaning stress of a assignment and if you have a low grade you you can catch up.

Studies show that homework improves student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicates that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” On both standardized tests and grades, students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school.

So how are your measuring student achievement? That’s the real question. The argument that doing homework is simply a tool for teaching responsibility isn’t enough for me. We can teach responsibility in a number of ways. Also the poor argument that parents don’t need to help with homework, and that students can do it on their own, is wishful thinking at best. It completely ignores neurodiverse students. Students in poverty aren’t magically going to find a space to do homework, a friend’s or siblings to help them do it, and snacks to eat. I feel like the author of this piece has never set foot in a classroom of students.

THIS. This article is pathetic coming from a university. So intellectually dishonest, refusing to address the havoc of capitalism and poverty plays on academic success in life. How can they in one sentence use poor kids in an argument and never once address that poor children have access to damn near 0 of the resources affluent kids have? Draw me a picture and let’s talk about feelings lmao what a joke is that gonna put food in their belly so they can have the calories to burn in order to use their brain to study? What about quiet their 7 other siblings that they share a single bedroom with for hours? Is it gonna force the single mom to magically be at home and at work at the same time to cook food while you study and be there to throw an encouraging word?

Also the “parents don’t need to be a parent and be able to guide their kid at all academically they just need to exist in the next room” is wild. Its one thing if a parent straight up is not equipped but to say kids can just figured it out is…. wow coming from an educator What’s next the teacher doesn’t need to teach cause the kid can just follow the packet and figure it out?

Well then get a tutor right? Oh wait you are poor only affluent kids can afford a tutor for their hours of homework a day were they on average have none of the worries a poor child does. Does this address that poor children are more likely to also suffer abuse and mental illness? Like mentioned what about kids that can’t learn or comprehend the forced standardized way? Just let em fail? These children regularly are not in “special education”(some of those are a joke in their own and full of neglect and abuse) programs cause most aren’t even acknowledged as having disabilities or disorders.

But yes all and all those pesky poor kids just aren’t being worked hard enough lol pretty sure poor children’s existence just in childhood is more work, stress, and responsibility alone than an affluent child’s entire life cycle. Love they never once talked about the quality of education in the classroom being so bad between the poor and affluent it can qualify as segregation, just basically blamed poor people for being lazy, good job capitalism for failing us once again!

why the hell?

you should feel bad for saying this, this article can be helpful for people who has to write a essay about it

This is more of a political rant than it is about homework

I know a teacher who has told his students their homework is to find something they are interested in, pursue it and then come share what they learn. The student responses are quite compelling. One girl taught herself German so she could talk to her grandfather. One boy did a research project on Nelson Mandela because the teacher had mentioned him in class. Another boy, a both on the autism spectrum, fixed his family’s computer. The list goes on. This is fourth grade. I think students are highly motivated to learn, when we step aside and encourage them.

The whole point of homework is to give the students a chance to use the material that they have been presented with in class. If they never have the opportunity to use that information, and discover that it is actually useful, it will be in one ear and out the other. As a science teacher, it is critical that the students are challenged to use the material they have been presented with, which gives them the opportunity to actually think about it rather than regurgitate “facts”. Well designed homework forces the student to think conceptually, as opposed to regurgitation, which is never a pretty sight

Wonderful discussion. and yes, homework helps in learning and building skills in students.

not true it just causes kids to stress

Homework can be both beneficial and unuseful, if you will. There are students who are gifted in all subjects in school and ones with disabilities. Why should the students who are gifted get the lucky break, whereas the people who have disabilities suffer? The people who were born with this “gift” go through school with ease whereas people with disabilities struggle with the work given to them. I speak from experience because I am one of those students: the ones with disabilities. Homework doesn’t benefit “us”, it only tears us down and put us in an abyss of confusion and stress and hopelessness because we can’t learn as fast as others. Or we can’t handle the amount of work given whereas the gifted students go through it with ease. It just brings us down and makes us feel lost; because no mater what, it feels like we are destined to fail. It feels like we weren’t “cut out” for success.

homework does help

here is the thing though, if a child is shoved in the face with a whole ton of homework that isn’t really even considered homework it is assignments, it’s not helpful. the teacher should make homework more of a fun learning experience rather than something that is dreaded

This article was wonderful, I am going to ask my teachers about extra, or at all giving homework.

I agree. Especially when you have homework before an exam. Which is distasteful as you’ll need that time to study. It doesn’t make any sense, nor does us doing homework really matters as It’s just facts thrown at us.

Homework is too severe and is just too much for students, schools need to decrease the amount of homework. When teachers assign homework they forget that the students have other classes that give them the same amount of homework each day. Students need to work on social skills and life skills.

I disagree.

Beyond achievement, proponents of homework argue that it can have many other beneficial effects. They claim it can help students develop good study habits so they are ready to grow as their cognitive capacities mature. It can help students recognize that learning can occur at home as well as at school. Homework can foster independent learning and responsible character traits. And it can give parents an opportunity to see what’s going on at school and let them express positive attitudes toward achievement.

Homework is helpful because homework helps us by teaching us how to learn a specific topic.

As a student myself, I can say that I have almost never gotten the full 9 hours of recommended sleep time, because of homework. (Now I’m writing an essay on it in the middle of the night D=)

I am a 10 year old kid doing a report about “Is homework good or bad” for homework before i was going to do homework is bad but the sources from this site changed my mind!

Homeowkr is god for stusenrs

I agree with hunter because homework can be so stressful especially with this whole covid thing no one has time for homework and every one just wants to get back to there normal lives it is especially stressful when you go on a 2 week vaca 3 weeks into the new school year and and then less then a week after you come back from the vaca you are out for over a month because of covid and you have no way to get the assignment done and turned in

As great as homework is said to be in the is article, I feel like the viewpoint of the students was left out. Every where I go on the internet researching about this topic it almost always has interviews from teachers, professors, and the like. However isn’t that a little biased? Of course teachers are going to be for homework, they’re not the ones that have to stay up past midnight completing the homework from not just one class, but all of them. I just feel like this site is one-sided and you should include what the students of today think of spending four hours every night completing 6-8 classes worth of work.

Are we talking about homework or practice? Those are two very different things and can result in different outcomes.

Homework is a graded assignment. I do not know of research showing the benefits of graded assignments going home.

Practice; however, can be extremely beneficial, especially if there is some sort of feedback (not a grade but feedback). That feedback can come from the teacher, another student or even an automated grading program.

As a former band director, I assigned daily practice. I never once thought it would be appropriate for me to require the students to turn in a recording of their practice for me to grade. Instead, I had in-class assignments/assessments that were graded and directly related to the practice assigned.

I would really like to read articles on “homework” that truly distinguish between the two.

oof i feel bad good luck!

thank you guys for the artical because I have to finish an assingment. yes i did cite it but just thanks

thx for the article guys.

Homework is good

I think homework is helpful AND harmful. Sometimes u can’t get sleep bc of homework but it helps u practice for school too so idk.

I agree with this Article. And does anyone know when this was published. I would like to know.

It was published FEb 19, 2019.

Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college.

i think homework can help kids but at the same time not help kids

This article is so out of touch with majority of homes it would be laughable if it wasn’t so incredibly sad.

There is no value to homework all it does is add stress to already stressed homes. Parents or adults magically having the time or energy to shepherd kids through homework is dome sort of 1950’s fantasy.

What lala land do these teachers live in?

Homework gives noting to the kid

Homework is Bad

homework is bad.

why do kids even have homework?

Comments are closed.

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What Are the Benefits of Homework?

The vast majority of students think that homework is extremely essential and value the time they spend on it. It helps students review what they’ve learned and get ready for what’s to come in class.

Nonetheless, there are still those students who consistently struggle to do their homework on time or to the expected standard. The benefits of giving students homework will be discussed, and strategies for getting it done quickly will be offered.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the amount of schoolwork you have to perform, keep reading. Possibly, the benefits might justify the effort.

There are millions of youngsters all across the world that are having trouble in school. Help your child get ahead with one of the many online learning and tutoring programmes offered by Dr. Study.

The Benefits & Drawbacks Of Having Homework

Benefits of homework, teaching students how to manage their time.

There is no better instrument than homework to teach a child how to manage his or her time wisely. This means that teaching and practising efficient use of one’s time is a responsibility shared by the family and the school.

Even if your kid has other obligations, like playing or doing some minor chores, you should always give them plenty of time to finish their homework. Homework is best accomplished when one is in a calm, focused state of mind. It’s important to make sure your kid is fed and rested before you start anything.

Sitting down with your kid and working through their schoolwork together is a great way to instill in them a sense of responsibility and teach them how to prioritise tasks.

As a consequence, with your help, your kid should be able to set his or her own priorities for the tasks. Using this strategy, you can more easily do multiple activities in a limited amount of time.

​​Teachers Can Gauge Their Students’ Progress in Their Lessons by Checking Their Homework

Ask yourself whether you’ve ever worried that your students didn’t grasp the concepts you gave to them. Then perhaps you might think about giving them some homework.

Based on the students’ answers, you’ll have a good idea of how much they’ve retained from the lesson. If the answers aren’t what you were hoping for, it’s time to review the chapter and break it down into smaller, more digestible chunks.

Some of your students likely struggled to keep track of more technical terms because they didn’t grasp them. The single most effective thing you can do is to encourage your students to seek clarification by asking questions about difficult ideas.

Additionally, feel free to incorporate a range of learning methods if you wish to ensure that the specific topic is grasped. Example: teaching pupils how to play an instrument requires direct interaction with the instrument itself. However, using real-world examples is the most effective method of visual education.

Looking for tutoring options for your kids in Australia? Let us help.

Prepares them to take on challenges and find solutions.

• Problem-solving skills are crucial for success in school, and teachers will use them to gauge your child’s reasoning and decision-making prowess.

When your kid is in a classroom, they can work on projects with other students and get feedback from their teacher. But when they’re at home, they have to rely on what they’ve already learned to solve their problems in the most efficient way possible.

However, putting this plan into effect is not easy. Ability to focus and the willingness to get instant help with difficult concepts are needed.

• However, if your kid is successful at school and learns how to solve difficulties, they’ll be well-equipped to use those same skills at home.

Parents must start instilling a sense of confidence in their children from a young age. Confidence is essential for both boosting pupils’ self-esteem and allowing them to raise enquiries without fear of ridicule from their classmates.

Offers a Second Chance for Students to Review Course Content

There is no limit to learning, despite what you may have been taught in school. If you’re a student who takes their studies seriously, you should do your best to do them at the comfort of your own home.

• If your child does their homework on a regular basis, they will have a unique chance to revisit the material they learned in class.

By reviewing material on a regular basis, students are able to learn more, remember details more quickly, and see more options for how to tackle the same problem.

Your child’s knowledge is more deeply embedded in their mind when he or she has had ample opportunity to revisit it through homework.

Consequently, the more students do the exercises, the easier it will be for them to respond to similar questions in the future.

Parents Can View Their Children’s Lessons.

In addition to the student, the instructor also stands to gain from homework assignments.

• If a parent is interested in their child’s growth and academic progress across a range of topics, they can learn just as much as their child.
• In just ten or twenty minutes, you can quickly brush up on your child’s schoolwork and be up to speed on what they’re learning.

Based on the assessment’s findings, you can help your child work towards building a range of strategies for responding to different types of enquiries.

However, it is essential that you encourage your child to research solutions independently in order to be appropriately prepared for examinations that measure individual comprehension.

Students Develop a Sense of Responsibility by Taking Ownership of Their Learning

There’s a school of thought that says giving kids homework will help them grow up to be responsible adults. Regular homework assignments serve as a subtle reminder to students of the value of their schoolwork.

Additionally, with each completed assignment, your child will be one step closer to achieving their educational goals and accepting responsibility for the decisions they make in their lives.

• In a nutshell, assigning your child homework helps them acquire the skills they’ll need to take on adult responsibilities that are considerably more challenging and time-consuming than schoolwork.

Furthermore, your kid will have a growth attitude, which is a powerful tool for overcoming challenges and accomplishing ambitions.

When Students Are Forced to Do Something They Don’t Want to Do, They Learn to Do It

Most students dislike having homework to accomplish at home since it takes time away from their preferred pastimes.

However, if you give your kid homework and insist that he or she does it, you might help them learn an important lesson: that they have to do things even if they don’t want to. Your kid should be ready to take part in the kinds of things that will be the norm for them by the time they’re adults.

The emphasis is on prioritising long-term happiness over short-term satisfaction and learning to tolerate sacrifice.

The onus of being willing to make sacrifices in the name of success rests not only on the parents, but also on the offspring.

If your child is prepared to accept the rewards that come with making sacrifices, he or she will be in a better position to eliminate distractions and focus on the work at hand.

• Although it may be difficult, asking someone to turn off their TV and mobile phone is a great test of their focus and dedication.

It’s Great for Instilling Self-Discipline in the Form of Regular Practice

It’s true that solving the same issues over and over again can be a real drag, yet doing so has long-term benefits for your discipline. Oftentimes, hearing something more than once is necessary to really get it.

With continued training, you eventually reach a higher level of proficiency. Especially if it’s for a difficult subject, completing your homework every night will make the material much easier to understand.

The student will benefit from this in the future when applying for jobs in the student’s chosen vocational field.

This Helps Bring Parents Into Their Children’s Lives

Occasionally, parents may feel lost when attempting to understand the Common Core’s mathematical standards.

For instance, the answer that appears to be accurate if the mathematical problem known as 53 is recast as an additional problem is the three-digit sum 5+5+5.

Three times three times three times three is the correct solution, though.

• Students can get their parents interested in their children’s education by giving them homework to do at home.

Many parents ask for their children’s assignments to be sent to them through email so that they can keep up with class.

The early education programme offered by Dr. Study is individualised to meet the requirements of each child. We ensure that children have a positive first experience with school, one that helps them develop self-esteem and a passion for learning.

You’ll Learn How to Better Manage Your Time.

Homework is more than just a checklist item. As a result, teaching children (and parents) to effectively manage their time is essential.

Planning up your day in advance is essential for getting everything done. It encourages creative problem-solving and the development of one’s own unique cognitive processes.

Research capacity is bolstered as a result. Furthermore, it requires both parents and children to practise excellent decision-making, which can be difficult for all parties involved.

Having Homework Establishes a Common Ground for Conversation

Students’ personal lives at home are rarely discussed during class. Similarly, parents rarely see their children’s classroom environments.

Through the completion of homework, there is tridirectional contact between the home, the classroom, and the school.

That way, people can meet and get to know one another better. Educators benefit from a deeper understanding of their student populations’ needs thanks to this tool.

This is a great way for parents to find out what their child is capable of and where they may have some challenges. Collectively, we can create a curriculum that provides the best possible conditions for learning.

This Creates an Ideal Atmosphere for Serious Academic Work

While classrooms have certainly improved throughout the years, they still can’t compare to the comfort and safety of one’s own home or another trusted environment.

• When a youngster is given the freedom to learn in a setting where they feel most comfortable, they are more likely to retain material that could be forgotten in a more formal classroom.

It Gives You More Time to Finish off the Learning Process

Each academic subject is sometimes given only an hour a day, if that, in schools, especially those serving pupils in grades K-12.

In most cases, more time is required for students to grasp the underlying concepts and principles of the topic completely.

We can lessen the impact of time constraints by compensating for missed study time with homework assignments tailored to individual student’s areas of weakness. Over time, this will benefit students greatly.

It’s Perfectly Fine to Treat It Like Any Other Extracurricular Activity

When children in a household are involved in too many extracurricular activities , everyone’s time and energy are spread too thin.

More than 40 hours a week can be spent on clubs and sports teams outside of the regular school day.

When there is ample downtime, schoolwork can be included as one of these tasks. Some of the required preparation work can even be completed on the way to or from specific events.

The Downsides of Homework

Play is important for kids’ development.

• Learning can take place both inside and outside the classroom; both indoor and outdoor activities have their merits.
• Too much homework can stunt a child’s development in cognitive and social areas since it cuts into their leisure time.
• A lack of play is associated with a number of negative outcomes, including underachievement in school, a lack of attention to safety, stunted character growth, and poor health as an adult.

It Encourages A Sedentary Lifestyle

It’s possible that putting in the time and effort required for homework will pay dividends in terms of improved knowledge retention and skill acquisition, but this may come at a price.

We Can’t Assume That Everyone’s House Is a Safe Haven

The education of young children is a priority for some households. In some households, parents are actively involved in helping their kids with homework, while in others, tutors are available to help with more complex assignments.

On the other hand, there are some families that place little to no value on their children’s education, which can be detrimental to their growth. Some parents refuse to help their kids with schoolwork, claiming that the school is to fault.

There are times when a parent would like to help and support their child, but they are unable to do so because of many factors. Ultimately, home life is not the same for every family.

For Most Kids, Schooling Already Constitutes Full-Time Work

Timetables for elementary schools often run from 9:00 am to 3:20 pm.

Children as young as five are devoting almost six hours daily to their schooling.

Schools actively encourage students to participate in extracurricular activities like athletics, musicals, and after-school programming, which can easily add another two hours to a student’s daily instructional time.

Plus, you still have to do your homework?

Doing additional work or finishing homework early is a lot to expect of any kid, but especially younger ones.

No Research Has Shown That Assigning Homework Leads to Better Grades

• Studies have shown that assigning homework does nothing but make kids cynical about their schooling.
• On a nationwide scale, homework completion is also unrelated to student success in school.

According to certain sources[not in citation given] There is anecdotal evidence that students who have access to a knowledgeable tutor or parent perform better in certain areas, but no data to demonstrate that this has a widespread effect.

It Discourages Creative Endeavours

Each hour a pupil spends on homework is an hour they can’t spend on something else.

Even if students enjoy these activities, schoolwork inhibits them from devoting the time necessary to improve their talents in areas like art, photography, and musical instrument performance.

Although original thought may be called for in completing some of the homework, this is usually not the case.

Enforcing Students to Complete Their Homework Might Be Challenging

Some pupils simply don’t care if they finish their assignments. They know they can get good grades without it, so they choose not to bother.

For some students, no amount of encouragement from a parent or teacher will be enough to get them to do their homework.

Truth be told, you will need to put up some effort if you expect to finish your schoolwork successfully. Sometimes kids just don’t want to put in the work that’s needed.

Time Spent in Class Does Not Translate to Academic Success

Students in the United States spend over 100 hours more time in school than students in other high-performing countries throughout the world, but the educational gap between the two has not been closed.

The United States continues to slip behind other developed nations in a number of key educational indicators, even though kids are spending more time in class than ever before.

• Quality, not quantity, is what matters most while studying or completing assignments like homework.

It’s Possible That Realistic Training Is Unattainable

If students have homework, it is their responsibility (or that of a responsible adult) to acquire materials that will help them learn the concepts being discussed in class. Homework is assigned so that students may get some much-needed practice, but this serves no useful purpose if the students don’t fully grasp the concepts behind the material they’re working on.

Incorrect student practice requires the teacher to intervene, fix the problem, and then re-teach the material, lengthening the learning process.

Multiple Forms of Cheating Could Be Encouraged

• Some students may decide they can get away with cheating in class rather than doing their homework because of the time it would take them to finish it.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of using Google or another online resource instead of thinking creatively and independently these days.

In order to save time and energy, families with multiple children may decide to manufacture copies.

Benchmarks Are Often Incorporated Into Homework Assignments

Homework is commonly offered to help students prepare for and perform better on upcoming assessments.

While this may have some positive outcomes, such as improved study abilities or habits, it ignores the reality that children’s learning is impaired when they are sleepy.

The results of standardised tests tend to suffer when children are given more homework than is considered healthy. The stress level increases. The concept of burnout is addressed in class.

In search of primary school program? Dr. Study is an English , Math , Science, and Humanities education programme for youngsters that is available both online and in-person.

Homework is essential for many students, but there are still those who struggle to do their homework on time or to the expected standard.

The benefits of homework include teaching students how to manage their time wisely, giving them plenty of time to finish their homework, and gauging their students’ progress in their lessons by checking their homework.

Homework is best accomplished when one is in a calm, focused state of mind, and sitting down with your kid and working through their schoolwork together is a great way to instil in them a sense of responsibility and teach them how to prioritise tasks.

Help your child get ahead with one of the many online learning and tutoring programmes offered by Dr. Study.

The most important details in this text are that parents should encourage their students to seek clarification by asking questions about difficult ideas, incorporate a range of learning methods, prepare them to take on challenges and find solutions, and provide a second chance for students to review course content.

Additionally, parents should start instilling a sense of confidence in their children from a young age, which is essential for both boosting pupils’ self-esteem and allowing them to raise enquiries without fear of ridicule from their classmates.

Finally, parents can view their children’s lessons, and the instructor also stands to gain from homework assignments.

Giving kids homework can help them develop a sense of responsibility by taking ownership of their learning.

It also helps them acquire the skills they’ll need to take on adult responsibilities that are more challenging and time-consuming than schoolwork.

When students are forced to do something they don’t want to do, they learn to do it. The emphasis is on prioritising long-term happiness over short-term satisfaction and learning to tolerate sacrifice.

Homework is a great way to instil self-discipline in the form of regular practice. It also helps to bring parents into the students’ lives by providing them with homework to do at home.

It also encourages creative problem-solving and the development of one’s own unique cognitive processes, and it requires both parents and children to practise excellent decision-making.

Additionally, it establishes a common ground for conversation between the home, the classroom, and the school.

Finally, it teaches children how to manage their time better.

Homework is a great tool for educators to gain a deeper understanding of their student populations’ needs and create a curriculum that provides the best possible conditions for learning.

It provides the comfort and safety of one’s own home or another trusted environment, gives students more time to finish off the learning process, and encourages a sedentary lifestyle.

However, too much homework can stunt a child’s development in cognitive and social areas, leading to negative outcomes such as underachievement in school, a lack of attention to safety, stunted character growth, and poor health as an adult.

It is important to treat homework like any other extracurricular activity, as it can be completed on the way to or from specific events.

The education of young children is a priority for some households, while others place little to no value on their children’s education. ome parents refuse to help their kids with schoolwork, claiming that the school is to fault.

For most kids, schooling already constitutes full-time work, and homework can add another two hours to their daily instructional time.

No research has shown that assigning homework leads to better grades, and homework completion is unrelated to student success in school. It discourages creative endeavours, and forcing students to complete their homework can be challenging.

Some pupils simply don’t care if they finish their assignments, so they choose not to bother.

Students in the United States spend more time in school than in other high-performing countries, but the educational gap between the two has not been closed. Quality, not quantity, is what matters most when studying or completing assignments like homework.

• Homework is assigned so that students may get some much-needed practice, but this serves no useful purpose if the students don’t fully grasp the concepts behind the material they’re working on.

Additionally, multiple forms of cheating could be encouraged.

Benchmarks are often incorporated into homework assignments to help students prepare for and perform better on upcoming assessments, but this ignores the reality that children’s learning is impaired when they are sleepy.

The concept of burnout is addressed in class, and Study is an English, Math, Science, and Humanities education programme for youngsters that is available both online and in-person.

Content Summary

• The vast majority of students think that homework is extremely essential and value the time they spend on it.
• Nonetheless, there are still those students who consistently struggle to do their homework on time or to the expected standard.
• The benefits of giving students homework will be discussed, and strategies for getting it done quickly will be offered.
• There is no better instrument than the homework to teach a child how to manage his or her time wisely.
• This means that teaching and practising efficient use of one’s time is a responsibility shared by the family and the school.
• Even if your kid has other obligations, like playing or doing some minor chores, you should always give them plenty of time to finish their homework.
• Sitting down with your kid and working through their schoolwork together is a great way to instil in them a sense of responsibility and teach them how to prioritise tasks.
• Then perhaps you might think about giving them some homework.
• The single most effective thing you can do is to encourage your students to seek clarification by asking questions about difficult ideas.
• Additionally, feel free to incorporate a range of learning methods if you wish to ensure that the specific topic is grasped.
• However, using real-world examples is the most effective method of visual education.
• But when they’re at home, they have to rely on what they’ve already learned to solve their problems in the most efficient way possible.
• It’s crucial for parents to start instilling a sense of confidence in their children from a young age.
• There is no limit to learning, despite what you may have been taught in school.
• There’s a school of thought that says giving kids homework will help them grow up to be responsible adults.
• Regular homework assignments serve as a subtle reminder to students of the value of their schoolwork.
• However, if you give your kid homework and insist that he or she does it, you might help them learn an important lesson: that they have to do things even if they don’t want to.
• It’s true that solving the same issues over and over again can be a real drag, yet doing so has long-term benefits for your discipline.
• Especially if it’s for a difficult subject, completing your homework every night will make the material much easier to understand.
• We ensure that children have a positive first experience with school, one that helps them develop self-esteem and a passion for learning.
• As a result, teaching children (and parents) to effectively manage their time is essential.
• Planning up your day in advance is essential for getting everything done.
• Educators benefit from a deeper understanding of their student populations’ needs thanks to this tool.
• This is a great way for parents to find out what their child is capable of and where they may have some challenges.
• Collectively, we can create a curriculum that provides the best possible conditions for learning.
• In most cases, more time is required for students to completely grasp the underlying concepts and principles of the topic.
• We can lessen the impact of time constraints by compensating for missed study time with homework assignments tailored to individual students’ areas of weakness.
• When children in a household are involved in too many extracurricular activities, everyone’s time and energy is spread too thin.
• The education of young children is a priority for some households.
• In some households, parents are actively involved in helping their kids with homework, while in others, tutors are available to help with more complex assignments.
• On the other hand, there are some families that place little to no value on their children’s education, which can be detrimental to their growth.
• Some parents refuse to help their kids with schoolwork, claiming that the school is to fault.
• Ultimately, home life is not the same for every family.
• Truth be told, you will need to put up some effort if you expect to finish your schoolwork successfully.
• Sometimes kids just don’t want to put in the work that’s needed.
• If students have homework, it is their responsibility (or that of a responsible adult) to acquire materials that will help them learn the concepts being discussed in class.
• The results of standardised tests tend to suffer when children are given more homework than is considered healthy.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Does Homework Help Students?

– Homework teaches students how to set priorities. – Homework helps teachers determine how well their students understand the lessons. – Homework teaches students how to problem-solve. – Homework teaches students the importance of planning, staying organised, and taking action.

Is Homework Important?

– Homework allows students to revise classroom learnings and builds the habit of self-study. – It helps them to score better. – Increases concentration: While doing homework, students find an isolated place to study to concentrate more.

How Often Should Homework Be Given?

– This rule recommends that students are assigned a daily maximum of 10 minutes of homework per grade level. – For example, a third-grader should do 30 minutes of homework each night. – When they reach high school, this goes up to about two hours each night.

How Much Homework Is A Good Amount?

– The maximum amount should be approximately one to two hours a day for high school students. – For elementary and middle school students, it should be about one hour a day. – The amount of homework assigned should be gradually increased by around ten minutes with each grade.

How Does Homework Help Students In The Future?

– Homework allows students to practice or extend the material learned in the classroom. – Research shows that doing homework increases students’ learning. – It helps them learn important life skills such as organisation, problem-solving, goal-setting, and perseverance.

Dr. Olga Abeysekera

Dr Olga Abeysekera, founder of Dr Study Tutoring and the Dr Progress Group Pty Ltd, is passionate about transforming education through innovative and personalised tutoring. With a PhD in Management from Monash University and a background in both academic research and private tutoring, she has a deep commitment to helping students excel. Her holistic approach at Dr Study Tutoring emphasises not only academic success but also the development of lifelong skills, ensuring that each student receives the best education and support possible. Dr Olga’s dedication to continuous improvement drives her mission to inspire a love for learning that lasts a lifetime.

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Science of mind

Why is homework good for your brain?

Did you know that homework has a profound impact on brain development? It’s not just about completing assignments; homework can actually improve brain function and enhance cognitive abilities.

Homework is designed to help students prepare for the future and develop skills that are essential for success in life. It offers several cognitive benefits, including the development of memory and critical thinking skills. By practicing and repeating new skills through homework, students can enhance their memory and retain knowledge for exams and future tests.

But that’s not all. Homework also helps students build suitable study habits, learn time management, realize personal responsibility, work independently, and improve their ability to use resources and conduct research.

Key Takeaways:

• Homework improves brain function and enhances cognitive abilities.
• By practicing and repeating new skills through homework, students can enhance their memory and retain knowledge.
• Homework helps students build suitable study habits, learn time management, and realize personal responsibility.
• Homework fosters independence and the ability to use resources effectively.
• Research shows that designing and assigning homework correctly can optimize its effectiveness as a learning tool.

The Cognitive Benefits of Homework

Homework is not just a task assigned by teachers to keep students occupied after school; it has far-reaching cognitive benefits and contributes to brain growth and development. Through various homework assignments, students have the opportunity to enhance critical thinking skills, memory retention, and problem-solving abilities.

One essential cognitive benefit of homework is its ability to challenge and develop critical thinking skills. By applying the concepts they’ve learned in class to real-life situations, students can deepen their understanding and improve their analytical thinking abilities. This practice fosters a deeper level of comprehension and encourages students to actively engage with the material.

Another cognitive benefit of homework is its positive impact on memory retention. Through practice and repetition of new skills and knowledge, students reinforce the neural connections in their brains, making the information more accessible and easier to recall. This improved memory retention helps students perform better on exams and enhances their overall academic performance.

Homework also plays a crucial role in developing problem-solving abilities. Assignments that require students to think critically and find innovative solutions to complex problems help cultivate their analytical and logical thinking skills. These problem-solving abilities are essential for success in various aspects of life, from academic pursuits to professional careers.

Overall, homework has a profound impact on cognitive development, providing students with opportunities to enhance critical thinking, memory retention, and problem-solving abilities. By engaging in regular homework assignments, students can nurture these essential cognitive skills and lay a solid foundation for their future academic and professional success.

Building Essential Skills Through Homework

Homework plays a vital role in building essential skills that are crucial for academic success and beyond. It provides students with the opportunity to develop effective study habits, learn time management, cultivate personal responsibility, and engage in independent work.

One of the key benefits of homework is the development of study habits. Through regular homework assignments, students learn how to plan their study sessions, set realistic goals, and effectively organize their time. By following consistent study routines, students can maximize their learning potential and improve their overall academic performance.

Time management is another vital skill that homework helps students develop. By juggling multiple assignments and deadlines, students learn to prioritize tasks, allocate their time effectively, and meet their academic obligations. These skills are essential not only for academic success but also for managing responsibilities in other areas of life.

Homework also fosters a sense of personal responsibility. Being accountable for completing assignments on time and to the best of their ability teaches students the importance of taking ownership of their education. It instills a work ethic that can significantly impact their future success, both inside and outside the classroom.

Furthermore, homework promotes independent work and critical thinking skills. Through assignments that require students to apply concepts learned in class, they develop their problem-solving abilities and deepen their understanding of the subject matter. This type of independent work encourages students to think creatively, analyze information critically, and develop their own perspectives.

By engaging in homework, students are actively building these essential skills that will benefit them throughout their education and beyond. The combination of effective study habits, time management, personal responsibility, and independent work fosters self-discipline, resilience, and a lifelong love of learning.

Testimonial:

“Homework has been instrumental in developing my study habits and time management skills. It has taught me the importance of setting goals and staying organized. Through homework, I’ve become more accountable and independent in my learning.” – Jane Smith, High School Student

Homework and Research Skills

When it comes to homework, research skills are essential for academic success. Homework assignments often require students to explore various resources, such as research papers, books, websites, and videos. By delving into these resources, students develop the ability to effectively use different information sources and enhance their understanding of the subject matter.

Research skills acquired through homework not only improve students’ academic performance but also prepare them to navigate the vast amount of information available in the digital age. By honing their research skills, students become adept at finding relevant and reliable information, analyzing different sources, and critically evaluating the credibility and validity of the information they come across.

Research skills acquired through homework contribute to academic success and prepare students for future challenges.

Through homework, students develop the persistence and resilience necessary to delve deep into a topic, locate relevant information, and synthesize their findings in a coherent manner. These skills are not only valuable during their academic journey but will also benefit them throughout their lives as they continue to learn and grow.

Moreover, conducting research for homework assignments instills a sense of curiosity and a thirst for knowledge in students. It encourages them to explore beyond the textbook and develop a broader perspective on the topics they are studying. They learn to ask questions, seek answers, and develop a lifelong love for learning.

Overall, homework assignments that require research skills play a vital role in shaping students’ intellectual growth, fostering critical thinking, and preparing them for the challenges they will face in their future academic and professional endeavors.

The Science of Homework Efficiency

When it comes to homework, there is a science behind ensuring its maximum effectiveness as a learning tool. Research has shown that the way homework is designed and assigned can have a significant impact on student performance. To optimize learning outcomes, homework should provide independent learning opportunities and present challenges that facilitate deliberate practice of essential content and skills.

One factor that can greatly affect the efficiency of homework is task switching. Constantly switching between homework and distractions like social media can significantly prolong the time spent on assignments. To overcome this, it is crucial to encourage students to delay gratification by using social media as a reward after completing their assignments. By eliminating distractions and focusing on the task at hand, students can deepen their learning and complete their homework more efficiently.

Adopting a scientific approach to tackling homework can lead to improved academic performance. By implementing strategies that optimize learning, such as organizing study sessions, setting goals, and utilizing resources effectively, students can enhance their understanding of the subject matter and improve their overall learning outcomes. By prioritizing uninterrupted focus and disciplined work, students can transform homework into a valuable learning experience that prepares them for success in their academic endeavors.

Source Links

• https://www.crispebooks.org/
• http://www.math.usf.edu/~mccolm/pedagogy/HWgood.html
• https://www.edutopia.org/blog/homework-sleep-and-student-brain-glenn-whitman

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Are You Down With or Done With Homework?

• Posted January 17, 2012
• By Lory Hough

The debate over how much schoolwork students should be doing at home has flared again, with one side saying it's too much, the other side saying in our competitive world, it's just not enough.

It was a move that doesn't happen very often in American public schools: The principal got rid of homework.

This past September, Stephanie Brant, principal of Gaithersburg Elementary School in Gaithersburg, Md., decided that instead of teachers sending kids home with math worksheets and spelling flash cards, students would instead go home and read. Every day for 30 minutes, more if they had time or the inclination, with parents or on their own.

"I knew this would be a big shift for my community," she says. But she also strongly believed it was a necessary one. Twenty-first-century learners, especially those in elementary school, need to think critically and understand their own learning — not spend night after night doing rote homework drills.

Brant's move may not be common, but she isn't alone in her questioning. The value of doing schoolwork at home has gone in and out of fashion in the United States among educators, policymakers, the media, and, more recently, parents. As far back as the late 1800s, with the rise of the Progressive Era, doctors such as Joseph Mayer Rice began pushing for a limit on what he called "mechanical homework," saying it caused childhood nervous conditions and eyestrain. Around that time, the then-influential Ladies Home Journal began publishing a series of anti-homework articles, stating that five hours of brain work a day was "the most we should ask of our children," and that homework was an intrusion on family life. In response, states like California passed laws abolishing homework for students under a certain age.

But, as is often the case with education, the tide eventually turned. After the Russians launched the Sputnik satellite in 1957, a space race emerged, and, writes Brian Gill in the journal Theory Into Practice, "The homework problem was reconceived as part of a national crisis; the U.S. was losing the Cold War because Russian children were smarter." Many earlier laws limiting homework were abolished, and the longterm trend toward less homework came to an end.

The debate re-emerged a decade later when parents of the late '60s and '70s argued that children should be free to play and explore — similar anti-homework wellness arguments echoed nearly a century earlier. By the early-1980s, however, the pendulum swung again with the publication of A Nation at Risk , which blamed poor education for a "rising tide of mediocrity." Students needed to work harder, the report said, and one way to do this was more homework.

For the most part, this pro-homework sentiment is still going strong today, in part because of mandatory testing and continued economic concerns about the nation's competitiveness. Many believe that today's students are falling behind their peers in places like Korea and Finland and are paying more attention to Angry Birds than to ancient Babylonia.

But there are also a growing number of Stephanie Brants out there, educators and parents who believe that students are stressed and missing out on valuable family time. Students, they say, particularly younger students who have seen a rise in the amount of take-home work and already put in a six- to nine-hour "work" day, need less, not more homework.

Who is right? Are students not working hard enough or is homework not working for them? Here's where the story gets a little tricky: It depends on whom you ask and what research you're looking at. As Cathy Vatterott, the author of Rethinking Homework , points out, "Homework has generated enough research so that a study can be found to support almost any position, as long as conflicting studies are ignored." Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth and a strong believer in eliminating all homework, writes that, "The fact that there isn't anything close to unanimity among experts belies the widespread assumption that homework helps." At best, he says, homework shows only an association, not a causal relationship, with academic achievement. In other words, it's hard to tease out how homework is really affecting test scores and grades. Did one teacher give better homework than another? Was one teacher more effective in the classroom? Do certain students test better or just try harder?

"It is difficult to separate where the effect of classroom teaching ends," Vatterott writes, "and the effect of homework begins."

Putting research aside, however, much of the current debate over homework is focused less on how homework affects academic achievement and more on time. Parents in particular have been saying that the amount of time children spend in school, especially with afterschool programs, combined with the amount of homework given — as early as kindergarten — is leaving students with little time to run around, eat dinner with their families, or even get enough sleep.

Certainly, for some parents, homework is a way to stay connected to their children's learning. But for others, homework creates a tug-of-war between parents and children, says Liz Goodenough, M.A.T.'71, creator of a documentary called Where Do the Children Play?

"Ideally homework should be about taking something home, spending a few curious and interesting moments in which children might engage with parents, and then getting that project back to school — an organizational triumph," she says. "A nag-free activity could engage family time: Ask a parent about his or her own childhood. Interview siblings."

Instead, as the authors of The Case Against Homework write, "Homework overload is turning many of us into the types of parents we never wanted to be: nags, bribers, and taskmasters."

Leslie Butchko saw it happen a few years ago when her son started sixth grade in the Santa Monica-Malibu (Calif.) United School District. She remembers him getting two to four hours of homework a night, plus weekend and vacation projects. He was overwhelmed and struggled to finish assignments, especially on nights when he also had an extracurricular activity.

"Ultimately, we felt compelled to have Bobby quit karate — he's a black belt — to allow more time for homework," she says. And then, with all of their attention focused on Bobby's homework, she and her husband started sending their youngest to his room so that Bobby could focus. "One day, my younger son gave us 15-minute coupons as a present for us to use to send him to play in the back room. … It was then that we realized there had to be something wrong with the amount of homework we were facing."

Butchko joined forces with another mother who was having similar struggles and ultimately helped get the homework policy in her district changed, limiting homework on weekends and holidays, setting time guidelines for daily homework, and broadening the definition of homework to include projects and studying for tests. As she told the school board at one meeting when the policy was first being discussed, "In closing, I just want to say that I had more free time at Harvard Law School than my son has in middle school, and that is not in the best interests of our children."

One barrier that Butchko had to overcome initially was convincing many teachers and parents that more homework doesn't necessarily equal rigor.

"Most of the parents that were against the homework policy felt that students need a large quantity of homework to prepare them for the rigorous AP classes in high school and to get them into Harvard," she says.

Stephanie Conklin, Ed.M.'06, sees this at Another Course to College, the Boston pilot school where she teaches math. "When a student is not completing [his or her] homework, parents usually are frustrated by this and agree with me that homework is an important part of their child's learning," she says.

As Timothy Jarman, Ed.M.'10, a ninth-grade English teacher at Eugene Ashley High School in Wilmington, N.C., says, "Parents think it is strange when their children are not assigned a substantial amount of homework."

That's because, writes Vatterott, in her chapter, "The Cult(ure) of Homework," the concept of homework "has become so engrained in U.S. culture that the word homework is part of the common vernacular."

These days, nightly homework is a given in American schools, writes Kohn.

"Homework isn't limited to those occasions when it seems appropriate and important. Most teachers and administrators aren't saying, 'It may be useful to do this particular project at home,'" he writes. "Rather, the point of departure seems to be, 'We've decided ahead of time that children will have to do something every night (or several times a week). … This commitment to the idea of homework in the abstract is accepted by the overwhelming majority of schools — public and private, elementary and secondary."

Brant had to confront this when she cut homework at Gaithersburg Elementary.

"A lot of my parents have this idea that homework is part of life. This is what I had to do when I was young," she says, and so, too, will our kids. "So I had to shift their thinking." She did this slowly, first by asking her teachers last year to really think about what they were sending home. And this year, in addition to forming a parent advisory group around the issue, she also holds events to answer questions.

Still, not everyone is convinced that homework as a given is a bad thing. "Any pursuit of excellence, be it in sports, the arts, or academics, requires hard work. That our culture finds it okay for kids to spend hours a day in a sport but not equal time on academics is part of the problem," wrote one pro-homework parent on the blog for the documentary Race to Nowhere , which looks at the stress American students are under. "Homework has always been an issue for parents and children. It is now and it was 20 years ago. I think when people decide to have children that it is their responsibility to educate them," wrote another.

And part of educating them, some believe, is helping them develop skills they will eventually need in adulthood. "Homework can help students develop study skills that will be of value even after they leave school," reads a publication on the U.S. Department of Education website called Homework Tips for Parents. "It can teach them that learning takes place anywhere, not just in the classroom. … It can foster positive character traits such as independence and responsibility. Homework can teach children how to manage time."

Annie Brown, Ed.M.'01, feels this is particularly critical at less affluent schools like the ones she has worked at in Boston, Cambridge, Mass., and Los Angeles as a literacy coach.

"It feels important that my students do homework because they will ultimately be competing for college placement and jobs with students who have done homework and have developed a work ethic," she says. "Also it will get them ready for independently taking responsibility for their learning, which will need to happen for them to go to college."

The problem with this thinking, writes Vatterott, is that homework becomes a way to practice being a worker.

"Which begs the question," she writes. "Is our job as educators to produce learners or workers?"

Slate magazine editor Emily Bazelon, in a piece about homework, says this makes no sense for younger kids.

"Why should we think that practicing homework in first grade will make you better at doing it in middle school?" she writes. "Doesn't the opposite seem equally plausible: that it's counterproductive to ask children to sit down and work at night before they're developmentally ready because you'll just make them tired and cross?"

Kohn writes in the American School Board Journal that this "premature exposure" to practices like homework (and sit-and-listen lessons and tests) "are clearly a bad match for younger children and of questionable value at any age." He calls it BGUTI: Better Get Used to It. "The logic here is that we have to prepare you for the bad things that are going to be done to you later … by doing them to you now."

According to a recent University of Michigan study, daily homework for six- to eight-year-olds increased on average from about 8 minutes in 1981 to 22 minutes in 2003. A review of research by Duke University Professor Harris Cooper found that for elementary school students, "the average correlation between time spent on homework and achievement … hovered around zero."

So should homework be eliminated? Of course not, say many Ed School graduates who are teaching. Not only would students not have time for essays and long projects, but also teachers would not be able to get all students to grade level or to cover critical material, says Brett Pangburn, Ed.M.'06, a sixth-grade English teacher at Excel Academy Charter School in Boston. Still, he says, homework has to be relevant.

"Kids need to practice the skills being taught in class, especially where, like the kids I teach at Excel, they are behind and need to catch up," he says. "Our results at Excel have demonstrated that kids can catch up and view themselves as in control of their academic futures, but this requires hard work, and homework is a part of it."

Ed School Professor Howard Gardner basically agrees.

"America and Americans lurch between too little homework in many of our schools to an excess of homework in our most competitive environments — Li'l Abner vs. Tiger Mother," he says. "Neither approach makes sense. Homework should build on what happens in class, consolidating skills and helping students to answer new questions."

So how can schools come to a happy medium, a way that allows teachers to cover everything they need while not overwhelming students? Conklin says she often gives online math assignments that act as labs and students have two or three days to complete them, including some in-class time. Students at Pangburn's school have a 50-minute silent period during regular school hours where homework can be started, and where teachers pull individual or small groups of students aside for tutoring, often on that night's homework. Afterschool homework clubs can help.

Some schools and districts have adapted time limits rather than nix homework completely, with the 10-minute per grade rule being the standard — 10 minutes a night for first-graders, 30 minutes for third-graders, and so on. (This remedy, however, is often met with mixed results since not all students work at the same pace.) Other schools offer an extended day that allows teachers to cover more material in school, in turn requiring fewer take-home assignments. And for others, like Stephanie Brant's elementary school in Maryland, more reading with a few targeted project assignments has been the answer.

"The routine of reading is so much more important than the routine of homework," she says. "Let's have kids reflect. You can still have the routine and you can still have your workspace, but now it's for reading. I often say to parents, if we can put a man on the moon, we can put a man or woman on Mars and that person is now a second-grader. We don't know what skills that person will need. At the end of the day, we have to feel confident that we're giving them something they can use on Mars."

Read a January 2014 update.

Homework Policy Still Going Strong

Ed. Magazine

The magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education

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