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Why homework doesn't seem to boost learning--and how it could.

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Some schools are eliminating homework, citing research showing it doesn’t do much to boost achievement. But maybe teachers just need to assign a different kind of homework.

In 2016, a second-grade teacher in Texas delighted her students—and at least some of their parents—by announcing she would no longer assign homework. “Research has been unable to prove that homework improves student performance,” she explained.

The following year, the superintendent of a Florida school district serving 42,000 students eliminated homework for all elementary students and replaced it with twenty minutes of nightly reading, saying she was basing her decision on “solid research about what works best in improving academic achievement in students.”

Many other elementary schools seem to have quietly adopted similar policies. Critics have objected that even if homework doesn’t increase grades or test scores, it has other benefits, like fostering good study habits and providing parents with a window into what kids are doing in school.

Those arguments have merit, but why doesn’t homework boost academic achievement? The research cited by educators just doesn’t seem to make sense. If a child wants to learn to play the violin, it’s obvious she needs to practice at home between lessons (at least, it’s obvious to an adult). And psychologists have identified a range of strategies that help students learn, many of which seem ideally suited for homework assignments.

For example, there’s something called “ retrieval practice ,” which means trying to recall information you’ve already learned. The optimal time to engage in retrieval practice is not immediately after you’ve acquired information but after you’ve forgotten it a bit—like, perhaps, after school. A homework assignment could require students to answer questions about what was covered in class that day without consulting their notes. Research has found that retrieval practice and similar learning strategies are far more powerful than simply rereading or reviewing material.

One possible explanation for the general lack of a boost from homework is that few teachers know about this research. And most have gotten little training in how and why to assign homework. These are things that schools of education and teacher-prep programs typically don’t teach . So it’s quite possible that much of the homework teachers assign just isn’t particularly effective for many students.

Even if teachers do manage to assign effective homework, it may not show up on the measures of achievement used by researchers—for example, standardized reading test scores. Those tests are designed to measure general reading comprehension skills, not to assess how much students have learned in specific classes. Good homework assignments might have helped a student learn a lot about, say, Ancient Egypt. But if the reading passages on a test cover topics like life in the Arctic or the habits of the dormouse, that student’s test score may well not reflect what she’s learned.

The research relied on by those who oppose homework has actually found it has a modest positive effect at the middle and high school levels—just not in elementary school. But for the most part, the studies haven’t looked at whether it matters what kind of homework is assigned or whether there are different effects for different demographic student groups. Focusing on those distinctions could be illuminating.

A study that looked specifically at math homework , for example, found it boosted achievement more in elementary school than in middle school—just the opposite of the findings on homework in general. And while one study found that parental help with homework generally doesn’t boost students’ achievement—and can even have a negative effect— another concluded that economically disadvantaged students whose parents help with homework improve their performance significantly.

That seems to run counter to another frequent objection to homework, which is that it privileges kids who are already advantaged. Well-educated parents are better able to provide help, the argument goes, and it’s easier for affluent parents to provide a quiet space for kids to work in—along with a computer and internet access . While those things may be true, not assigning homework—or assigning ineffective homework—can end up privileging advantaged students even more.

Students from less educated families are most in need of the boost that effective homework can provide, because they’re less likely to acquire academic knowledge and vocabulary at home. And homework can provide a way for lower-income parents—who often don’t have time to volunteer in class or participate in parents’ organizations—to forge connections to their children’s schools. Rather than giving up on homework because of social inequities, schools could help parents support homework in ways that don’t depend on their own knowledge—for example, by recruiting others to help, as some low-income demographic groups have been able to do . Schools could also provide quiet study areas at the end of the day, and teachers could assign homework that doesn’t rely on technology.

Another argument against homework is that it causes students to feel overburdened and stressed.  While that may be true at schools serving affluent populations, students at low-performing ones often don’t get much homework at all—even in high school. One study found that lower-income ninth-graders “consistently described receiving minimal homework—perhaps one or two worksheets or textbook pages, the occasional project, and 30 minutes of reading per night.” And if they didn’t complete assignments, there were few consequences. I discovered this myself when trying to tutor students in writing at a high-poverty high school. After I expressed surprise that none of the kids I was working with had completed a brief writing assignment, a teacher told me, “Oh yeah—I should have told you. Our students don’t really do homework.”

If and when disadvantaged students get to college, their relative lack of study skills and good homework habits can present a serious handicap. After noticing that black and Hispanic students were failing her course in disproportionate numbers, a professor at the University of North Carolina decided to make some changes , including giving homework assignments that required students to quiz themselves without consulting their notes. Performance improved across the board, but especially for students of color and the disadvantaged. The gap between black and white students was cut in half, and the gaps between Hispanic and white students—along with that between first-generation college students and others—closed completely.

There’s no reason this kind of support should wait until students get to college. To be most effective—both in terms of instilling good study habits and building students’ knowledge—homework assignments that boost learning should start in elementary school.

Some argue that young children just need time to chill after a long day at school. But the “ten-minute rule”—recommended by homework researchers—would have first graders doing ten minutes of homework, second graders twenty minutes, and so on. That leaves plenty of time for chilling, and even brief assignments could have a significant impact if they were well-designed.

But a fundamental problem with homework at the elementary level has to do with the curriculum, which—partly because of standardized testing— has narrowed to reading and math. Social studies and science have been marginalized or eliminated, especially in schools where test scores are low. Students spend hours every week practicing supposed reading comprehension skills like “making inferences” or identifying “author’s purpose”—the kinds of skills that the tests try to measure—with little or no attention paid to content.

But as research has established, the most important component in reading comprehension is knowledge of the topic you’re reading about. Classroom time—or homework time—spent on illusory comprehension “skills” would be far better spent building knowledge of the very subjects schools have eliminated. Even if teachers try to take advantage of retrieval practice—say, by asking students to recall what they’ve learned that day about “making comparisons” or “sequence of events”—it won’t have much impact.

If we want to harness the potential power of homework—particularly for disadvantaged students—we’ll need to educate teachers about what kind of assignments actually work. But first, we’ll need to start teaching kids something substantive about the world, beginning as early as possible.

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Is homework a necessary evil?

After decades of debate, researchers are still sorting out the truth about homework’s pros and cons. One point they can agree on: Quality assignments matter.

By Kirsten Weir

March 2016, Vol 47, No. 3

Print version: page 36

• Schools and Classrooms

Homework battles have raged for decades. For as long as kids have been whining about doing their homework, parents and education reformers have complained that homework's benefits are dubious. Meanwhile many teachers argue that take-home lessons are key to helping students learn. Now, as schools are shifting to the new (and hotly debated) Common Core curriculum standards, educators, administrators and researchers are turning a fresh eye toward the question of homework's value.

But when it comes to deciphering the research literature on the subject, homework is anything but an open book.

The 10-minute rule

In many ways, homework seems like common sense. Spend more time practicing multiplication or studying Spanish vocabulary and you should get better at math or Spanish. But it may not be that simple.

Homework can indeed produce academic benefits, such as increased understanding and retention of the material, says Duke University social psychologist Harris Cooper, PhD, one of the nation's leading homework researchers. But not all students benefit. In a review of studies published from 1987 to 2003, Cooper and his colleagues found that homework was linked to better test scores in high school and, to a lesser degree, in middle school. Yet they found only faint evidence that homework provided academic benefit in elementary school ( Review of Educational Research , 2006).

Then again, test scores aren't everything. Homework proponents also cite the nonacademic advantages it might confer, such as the development of personal responsibility, good study habits and time-management skills. But as to hard evidence of those benefits, "the jury is still out," says Mollie Galloway, PhD, associate professor of educational leadership at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. "I think there's a focus on assigning homework because [teachers] think it has these positive outcomes for study skills and habits. But we don't know for sure that's the case."

Even when homework is helpful, there can be too much of a good thing. "There is a limit to how much kids can benefit from home study," Cooper says. He agrees with an oft-cited rule of thumb that students should do no more than 10 minutes a night per grade level — from about 10 minutes in first grade up to a maximum of about two hours in high school. Both the National Education Association and National Parent Teacher Association support that limit.

Beyond that point, kids don't absorb much useful information, Cooper says. In fact, too much homework can do more harm than good. Researchers have cited drawbacks, including boredom and burnout toward academic material, less time for family and extracurricular activities, lack of sleep and increased stress.

In a recent study of Spanish students, Rubén Fernández-Alonso, PhD, and colleagues found that students who were regularly assigned math and science homework scored higher on standardized tests. But when kids reported having more than 90 to 100 minutes of homework per day, scores declined ( Journal of Educational Psychology , 2015).

"At all grade levels, doing other things after school can have positive effects," Cooper says. "To the extent that homework denies access to other leisure and community activities, it's not serving the child's best interest."

Children of all ages need down time in order to thrive, says Denise Pope, PhD, a professor of education at Stanford University and a co-founder of Challenge Success, a program that partners with secondary schools to implement policies that improve students' academic engagement and well-being.

"Little kids and big kids need unstructured time for play each day," she says. Certainly, time for physical activity is important for kids' health and well-being. But even time spent on social media can help give busy kids' brains a break, she says.

All over the map

But are teachers sticking to the 10-minute rule? Studies attempting to quantify time spent on homework are all over the map, in part because of wide variations in methodology, Pope says.

A 2014 report by the Brookings Institution examined the question of homework, comparing data from a variety of sources. That report cited findings from a 2012 survey of first-year college students in which 38.4 percent reported spending six hours or more per week on homework during their last year of high school. That was down from 49.5 percent in 1986 ( The Brown Center Report on American Education , 2014).

The Brookings report also explored survey data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which asked 9-, 13- and 17-year-old students how much homework they'd done the previous night. They found that between 1984 and 2012, there was a slight increase in homework for 9-year-olds, but homework amounts for 13- and 17-year-olds stayed roughly the same, or even decreased slightly.

Yet other evidence suggests that some kids might be taking home much more work than they can handle. Robert Pressman, PhD, and colleagues recently investigated the 10-minute rule among more than 1,100 students, and found that elementary-school kids were receiving up to three times as much homework as recommended. As homework load increased, so did family stress, the researchers found ( American Journal of Family Therapy , 2015).

Many high school students also seem to be exceeding the recommended amounts of homework. Pope and Galloway recently surveyed more than 4,300 students from 10 high-achieving high schools. Students reported bringing home an average of just over three hours of homework nightly ( Journal of Experiential Education , 2013).

On the positive side, students who spent more time on homework in that study did report being more behaviorally engaged in school — for instance, giving more effort and paying more attention in class, Galloway says. But they were not more invested in the homework itself. They also reported greater academic stress and less time to balance family, friends and extracurricular activities. They experienced more physical health problems as well, such as headaches, stomach troubles and sleep deprivation. "Three hours per night is too much," Galloway says.

In the high-achieving schools Pope and Galloway studied, more than 90 percent of the students go on to college. There's often intense pressure to succeed academically, from both parents and peers. On top of that, kids in these communities are often overloaded with extracurricular activities, including sports and clubs. "They're very busy," Pope says. "Some kids have up to 40 hours a week — a full-time job's worth — of extracurricular activities." And homework is yet one more commitment on top of all the others.

"Homework has perennially acted as a source of stress for students, so that piece of it is not new," Galloway says. "But especially in upper-middle-class communities, where the focus is on getting ahead, I think the pressure on students has been ratcheted up."

Yet homework can be a problem at the other end of the socioeconomic spectrum as well. Kids from wealthier homes are more likely to have resources such as computers, Internet connections, dedicated areas to do schoolwork and parents who tend to be more educated and more available to help them with tricky assignments. Kids from disadvantaged homes are more likely to work at afterschool jobs, or to be home without supervision in the evenings while their parents work multiple jobs, says Lea Theodore, PhD, a professor of school psychology at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. They are less likely to have computers or a quiet place to do homework in peace.

"Homework can highlight those inequities," she says.

Quantity vs. quality

One point researchers agree on is that for all students, homework quality matters. But too many kids are feeling a lack of engagement with their take-home assignments, many experts say. In Pope and Galloway's research, only 20 percent to 30 percent of students said they felt their homework was useful or meaningful.

"Students are assigned a lot of busywork. They're naming it as a primary stressor, but they don't feel it's supporting their learning," Galloway says.

"Homework that's busywork is not good for anyone," Cooper agrees. Still, he says, different subjects call for different kinds of assignments. "Things like vocabulary and spelling are learned through practice. Other kinds of courses require more integration of material and drawing on different skills."

But critics say those skills can be developed with many fewer hours of homework each week. Why assign 50 math problems, Pope asks, when 10 would be just as constructive? One Advanced Placement biology teacher she worked with through Challenge Success experimented with cutting his homework assignments by a third, and then by half. "Test scores didn't go down," she says. "You can have a rigorous course and not have a crazy homework load."

Still, changing the culture of homework won't be easy. Teachers-to-be get little instruction in homework during their training, Pope says. And despite some vocal parents arguing that kids bring home too much homework, many others get nervous if they think their child doesn't have enough. "Teachers feel pressured to give homework because parents expect it to come home," says Galloway. "When it doesn't, there's this idea that the school might not be doing its job."

Galloway argues teachers and school administrators need to set clear goals when it comes to homework — and parents and students should be in on the discussion, too. "It should be a broader conversation within the community, asking what's the purpose of homework? Why are we giving it? Who is it serving? Who is it not serving?"

Until schools and communities agree to take a hard look at those questions, those backpacks full of take-home assignments will probably keep stirring up more feelings than facts.

Further reading

• Cooper, H., Robinson, J. C., & Patall, E. A. (2006). Does homework improve academic achievement? A synthesis of research, 1987-2003. Review of Educational Research, 76 (1), 1–62. doi: 10.3102/00346543076001001
• Galloway, M., Connor, J., & Pope, D. (2013). Nonacademic effects of homework in privileged, high-performing high schools. The Journal of Experimental Education, 81 (4), 490–510. doi: 10.1080/00220973.2012.745469
• Pope, D., Brown, M., & Miles, S. (2015). Overloaded and underprepared: Strategies for stronger schools and healthy, successful kids . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Homework – Top 3 Pros and Cons

Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates

From dioramas to book reports, from algebraic word problems to research projects, whether students should be given homework, as well as the type and amount of homework, has been debated for over a century. [ 1 ]

While we are unsure who invented homework, we do know that the word “homework” dates back to ancient Rome. Pliny the Younger asked his followers to practice their speeches at home. Memorization exercises as homework continued through the Middle Ages and Enlightenment by monks and other scholars. [ 45 ]

In the 19th century, German students of the Volksschulen or “People’s Schools” were given assignments to complete outside of the school day. This concept of homework quickly spread across Europe and was brought to the United States by Horace Mann , who encountered the idea in Prussia. [ 45 ]

In the early 1900s, progressive education theorists, championed by the magazine Ladies’ Home Journal , decried homework’s negative impact on children’s physical and mental health, leading California to ban homework for students under 15 from 1901 until 1917. In the 1930s, homework was portrayed as child labor, which was newly illegal, but the prevailing argument was that kids needed time to do household chores. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 45 ] [ 46 ]

Public opinion swayed again in favor of homework in the 1950s due to concerns about keeping up with the Soviet Union’s technological advances during the Cold War . And, in 1986, the US government included homework as an educational quality boosting tool. [ 3 ] [ 45 ]

A 2014 study found kindergarteners to fifth graders averaged 2.9 hours of homework per week, sixth to eighth graders 3.2 hours per teacher, and ninth to twelfth graders 3.5 hours per teacher. A 2014-2019 study found that teens spent about an hour a day on homework. [ 4 ] [ 44 ]

Beginning in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic complicated the very idea of homework as students were schooling remotely and many were doing all school work from home. Washington Post journalist Valerie Strauss asked, “Does homework work when kids are learning all day at home?” While students were mostly back in school buildings in fall 2021, the question remains of how effective homework is as an educational tool. [ 47 ]

Is Homework Beneficial?

Pro 1 Homework improves student achievement. Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicated 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.” [ 6 ] Students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework on both standardized tests and grades. 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. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] 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. [ 10 ] Read More

Pro 2 Homework helps to reinforce classroom learning, while developing good study habits and life skills. Students typically retain only 50% of the information teachers provide in class, and they need to apply that information in order to truly learn it. Abby Freireich and Brian Platzer, co-founders of Teachers Who Tutor NYC, explained, “at-home assignments help students learn the material taught in class. Students require independent practice to internalize new concepts… [And] these assignments can provide valuable data for teachers about how well students understand the curriculum.” [ 11 ] [ 49 ] Elementary school students who were taught “strategies to organize and complete homework,” such as prioritizing homework activities, collecting study materials, note-taking, and following directions, showed increased grades and more positive comments on report cards. [ 17 ] Research by the City University of New York noted that “students who engage in self-regulatory processes while completing homework,” such as goal-setting, time management, and remaining focused, “are generally more motivated and are higher achievers than those who do not use these processes.” [ 18 ] Homework also helps students develop key skills that they’ll use throughout their lives: accountability, autonomy, discipline, time management, self-direction, critical thinking, and independent problem-solving. Freireich and Platzer noted that “homework helps students acquire the skills needed to plan, organize, and complete their work.” [ 12 ] [ 13 ] [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 49 ] Read More

Pro 3 Homework allows parents to be involved with children’s learning. Thanks to take-home assignments, parents are able to track what their children are learning at school as well as their academic strengths and weaknesses. [ 12 ] Data from a nationwide sample of elementary school students show that parental involvement in homework can improve class performance, especially among economically disadvantaged African-American and Hispanic students. [ 20 ] Research from Johns Hopkins University found that an interactive homework process known as TIPS (Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork) improves student achievement: “Students in the TIPS group earned significantly higher report card grades after 18 weeks (1 TIPS assignment per week) than did non-TIPS students.” [ 21 ] Homework can also help clue parents in to the existence of any learning disabilities their children may have, allowing them to get help and adjust learning strategies as needed. Duke University Professor Harris Cooper noted, “Two parents once told me they refused to believe their child had a learning disability until homework revealed it to them.” [ 12 ] Read More

Con 1 Too much homework can be harmful. A poll of California high school students found that 59% thought they had too much homework. 82% of respondents said that they were “often or always stressed by schoolwork.” High-achieving high school students said too much homework leads to sleep deprivation and other health problems such as headaches, exhaustion, weight loss, and stomach problems. [ 24 ] [ 28 ] [ 29 ] Alfie Kohn, an education and parenting expert, said, “Kids should have a chance to just be kids… it’s absurd to insist that children must be engaged in constructive activities right up until their heads hit the pillow.” [ 27 ] Emmy Kang, a mental health counselor, explained, “More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies.” [ 48 ] Excessive homework can also lead to cheating: 90% of middle school students and 67% of high school students admit to copying someone else’s homework, and 43% of college students engaged in “unauthorized collaboration” on out-of-class assignments. Even parents take shortcuts on homework: 43% of those surveyed admitted to having completed a child’s assignment for them. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] Read More

Con 2 Homework exacerbates the digital divide or homework gap. Kiara Taylor, financial expert, defined the digital divide as “the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology and those that don’t. Though the term now encompasses the technical and financial ability to utilize available technology—along with access (or a lack of access) to the Internet—the gap it refers to is constantly shifting with the development of technology.” For students, this is often called the homework gap. [ 50 ] [ 51 ] 30% (about 15 to 16 million) public school students either did not have an adequate internet connection or an appropriate device, or both, for distance learning. Completing homework for these students is more complicated (having to find a safe place with an internet connection, or borrowing a laptop, for example) or impossible. [ 51 ] A Hispanic Heritage Foundation study found that 96.5% of students across the country needed to use the internet for homework, and nearly half reported they were sometimes unable to complete their homework due to lack of access to the internet or a computer, which often resulted in lower grades. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] One study concluded that homework increases social inequality because it “potentially serves as a mechanism to further advantage those students who already experience some privilege in the school system while further disadvantaging those who may already be in a marginalized position.” [ 39 ] Read More

Con 3 Homework does not help younger students, and may not help high school students. We’ve known for a while that homework does not help elementary students. A 2006 study found that “homework had no association with achievement gains” when measured by standardized tests results or grades. [ 7 ] Fourth grade students who did no homework got roughly the same score on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math exam as those who did 30 minutes of homework a night. Students who did 45 minutes or more of homework a night actually did worse. [ 41 ] Temple University professor Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek said that homework is not the most effective tool for young learners to apply new information: “They’re learning way more important skills when they’re not doing their homework.” [ 42 ] In fact, homework may not be helpful at the high school level either. Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth, stated, “I interviewed high school teachers who completely stopped giving homework and there was no downside, it was all upside.” He explains, “just because the same kids who get more homework do a little better on tests, doesn’t mean the homework made that happen.” [ 52 ] Read More

Discussion Questions

1. Is homework beneficial? Consider the study data, your personal experience, and other types of information. Explain your answer(s).

2. If homework were banned, what other educational strategies would help students learn classroom material? Explain your answer(s).

3. How has homework been helpful to you personally? How has homework been unhelpful to you personally? Make carefully considered lists for both sides.

Take Action

1. Examine an argument in favor of quality homework assignments from Janine Bempechat.

2. Explore Oxford Learning’s infographic on the effects of homework on students.

3. Consider Joseph Lathan’s argument that homework promotes inequality .

4. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? If so, how? List two to three ways. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the “other side of the issue” now helps you better argue your position.

5. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives .

More School Debate Topics

Should K-12 Students Dissect Animals in Science Classrooms? – Proponents say dissecting real animals is a better learning experience. Opponents say the practice is bad for the environment.

Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms? – Proponents say uniforms may increase student safety. Opponents say uniforms restrict expression.

Should Corporal Punishment Be Used in K-12 Schools? – Proponents say corporal punishment is an appropriate discipline. Opponents say it inflicts long-lasting physical and mental harm on students.

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Natalie Leppard Managing Editor [email protected]

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Homework Has A Negative Impact on Well Being

In December 2021 the Surgeon General issued a public health advisory of a youth mental health crisis . Most of this conclusion was based on pre-pandemic data. Our children’s mental health is struggling and it seems like homework loads are not helping.

Denise Pope, co-author of a study on homework and mental health published in the Journal of Experimental Education found that 56% of the students in the study cited homework as a primary stressor in their lives.“We found a clear connection between the students’ stress and physical impacts – migraines, ulcers and other stomach problems, sleep deprivation and exhaustion, and weight loss,” Pope mentions.

Diminishing Returns of Homework

There is research which supports the diminishing returns of homework. The idea is as the amount of homework increases, the effectiveness of that homework decreases. Kohn believes homework kills curiosity, something that can be detrimental to gifted and talented students . He states, “If all you want is to cram kids’ heads with facts for tomorrow’s tests that they’re going to forget by next week, yeah…But if you’re interested in kids who know how to think or enjoy learning, then homework isn’t merely ineffective, but counterproductive.”

Quality Over Quantity

Most studies in support of homework focus on test scores and quantity of homework, not on the quality of the homework being assigned. How much information did you actually retain from the tests you crammed for? Probably not much. However, if a research project was assigned where you had to seek out information for yourself, chances are, you retained much more of the information. Bottom line, children’s cognitive abilities will benefit more from going to the zoo, a museum, or exploring a park near their house more after school than sitting at the kitchen table doing two hours of homework.

Alternatives to Homework

Alternatives to homework at Rainard include techniques such as project based learning , hands on activities, and in class discussions. All of these techniques have been proved to engage students more effectively and may lead to better understanding and thus retention of material.

Want to learn more about Rainard School for Gifted Students?

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The Problem With Homework: Not Much Evidence on Whether It Works

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Why Homework Should Not Be Banned: 10 Compelling Reasons

by Michael Johnson | Mar 26, 2024

So I’m sure you’re asking the question of why homework should not be banned? As experts in education and student development, we understand the vital role homework plays in reinforcing classroom learning, honing essential skills, and preparing students for the challenges of higher education and the workforce. Despite ongoing debates on its effectiveness, banning homework would deprive students of valuable opportunities to deepen their understanding, enhance critical thinking abilities, and cultivate a strong work ethic. In this article, we delve into the myriad benefits of homework in education, shedding light on why it remains an indispensable tool for academic success. Let’s breakdown 10 compelling reasons for why homework should not be banned.

1. Reinforces Learning:

Let’s start with number 1. Not only does homework reinforce classroom learning, but it also cultivates essential skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and time management. By engaging with homework assignments, students are able to delve deeper into the material, make connections between different concepts, and develop a sense of independence in their learning journey. This active participation in their education not only enhances their academic performance but also prepares them for success in future endeavors.

2. Builds Responsibility and Accountability:

In addition, homework also helps students develop crucial time management and organizational skills. By planning their study schedules and prioritizing tasks, students not only become more efficient in their academic pursuits but also set a strong foundation for future success in their careers and personal lives. Learning to juggle multiple responsibilities and deadlines through homework assignments ultimately prepares students for the challenges they will face in the real world.

3. Develops Time Management Skills:

In addition to honing time management skills, homework also teaches students the importance of discipline and perseverance. By facing challenges and overcoming obstacles, students build resilience and develop a strong work ethic. These qualities not only benefit them in their academic pursuits but also prepare them for success in their future careers and personal endeavors.

4. Encourages Independent Learning:

Furthermore, by tackling homework assignments independently, students develop valuable problem-solving skills that will benefit them in their academic and professional journeys. This hands-on approach to learning not only enhances comprehension but also cultivates a sense of responsibility and self-reliance. In essence, homework serves as a stepping stone towards fostering a well-rounded and intellectually curious individual.

5. Prepares Students for Tests and Exams:

Homework plays a crucial role in preparing students for tests and exams. It allows them to review material, practice problem-solving, and assess their understanding. This preparation can lead to better performance on assessments and reduce test anxiety, as students feel more confident in their abilities.

6. Fosters Positive Study Habits:

Furthermore, to enhancing academic performance, homework also cultivates essential skills such as time management, self-discipline, and critical thinking. By engaging with homework assignments, students can develop a deeper level of comprehension and retention of the material. This not only boosts their confidence but also fosters a sense of independence and responsibility in their learning journey. Ultimately, homework serves as a valuable tool in empowering students to achieve success in their educational pursuits.

7. Provides Feedback for Improvement:

In addition, homework allows teachers to track students’ progress over time, pinpointing strengths and weaknesses in their comprehension. This detailed insight enables educators to tailor their instruction to meet individual learning needs, fostering a more effective and engaging educational experience. Ultimately, the feedback loop created by homework assignments plays a crucial role in guiding students towards academic success and personal growth.

8. Engages Parents in the Learning Process:

Engaging parents in their child’s learning process through homework not only strengthens the bond between home and school but also empowers parents to actively participate in their child’s education. By actively reviewing assignments, parents can identify areas where their child may need extra support and guidance, ultimately enhancing the learning experience. This collaboration between home and school creates a supportive environment that nurtures student success and growth.

9. Encourages a Lifelong Love of Learning:

Having homework assignments not only deepens students’ understanding of a subject but also ignites a sense of wonder and enthusiasm for learning. By delving into various topics, following their curiosity, and drawing connections between different ideas, students develop a genuine passion for knowledge. This drive towards intrinsic motivation is crucial for continuous personal development and a lifelong journey of discovery. This is one of the reasons why it’s so important for homework to not be banned.

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10. Prepares Students for the Real World:

Furthermore, by completing homework assignments, students also learn valuable time management and organizational skills that are essential in both their academic and professional lives. These tasks teach students how to prioritize their responsibilities, set goals, and efficiently allocate their time, all of which are crucial abilities for success in any field. Overall, homework acts as a bridge between the classroom and the real world, equipping students with the necessary tools to thrive in their future endeavors.

To conclude, homework also serves as a means to enhance time management skills, instill a sense of discipline, and promote a strong work ethic in students. By completing assignments outside of the classroom, students have the opportunity to delve deeper into the material, seek clarification on any areas of confusion, and ultimately reinforce their understanding of the subject matter. These additional opportunities for practice and engagement not only contribute to academic success but also lay the foundation for lifelong learning habits.

By embracing the positive aspects of homework and working together to address any concerns, educators can ensure that it remains a valuable tool in the educational journey of students. I hope we were able to give you the 10 compelling reasons on why homework should not be banned. Have your own reasons? Have an argument against homework? Make your opinion known in the comments below and lets start a discussion!

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Why Students Shouldn’t Have Homework?

• August 15, 2023
• Learning Techniques

Picture this: it’s the end of a long school day, and all you want to do is relax, play with friends, or pursue your own interests. But wait, there it is, looming over you like a dark cloud – homework. The centuries-old practice of assigning homework has become the norm in education, but have you ever stopped to wonder why students shouldn’t have homework? Well, get ready to join the conversation because we’re about to dive into the reasons why homework may not be as beneficial as it seems.

Now, let’s face it, after spending hours at school, the last thing students need is more work waiting for them at home. Homework can feel like an overwhelming burden, preventing students from enjoying their free time and pursuing other enriching activities. But why should students be deprived of the chance to recharge and explore their passions outside the classroom walls? In this article, we’ll uncover some compelling arguments against homework and explore how it may impact students’ overall well-being.

So, grab a seat, kick back, and get ready to explore the fascinating world of homework-free evenings, where students have the freedom to explore, relax, and nurture their creative and social development. Welcome to the discussion on why students shouldn’t have homework!

Homework has long been debated among educators, parents, and students. While there are arguments in favor of homework, there are also valid reasons why students shouldn’t have homework. Research shows that excessive homework can lead to stress, burnout, and decreased academic performance. It can also limit opportunities for socializing, pursuing hobbies, and getting enough sleep. Additionally, some educators argue that homework may not always be an effective way to reinforce learning. Ultimately, finding a balance between school work and personal well-being is crucial for students.

In today’s fast-paced and demanding educational landscape, the issue of homework has become a contentious topic. While homework has traditionally been seen as a crucial part of the learning process, there is growing evidence that suggests that students should not have homework. This article delves into the arguments against homework, exploring its potential negative impacts on students’ well-being, mental health, and overall academic performance. By examining the drawbacks of homework, we can gain a deeper understanding of the importance of finding alternative approaches to promote effective learning and a healthy work-life balance for students.

The Detrimental Effects of Homework on Students

• Homework can cause stress and burnout in students.
• Without homework, students can pursue other interests and hobbies.
• Homework limits family time and can strain relationships.
• Students need time to relax and recharge after a long day at school.
• Homework can hinder creativity and independent thinking.

Frequently Asked Questions

As students, it’s no surprise that many of us have wondered about the necessity of homework. Here are some commonly asked questions that shed light on why students shouldn’t have homework.

Question 1: Do students really need homework to learn?

Answer: While practice is important for learning, excessive homework can lead to burnout. Studies have shown that alternative methods such as hands-on activities and group projects can be just as effective in helping students grasp concepts. By promoting active learning in the classroom, students are more likely to retain information and develop a genuine interest in the subject matter.

Furthermore, excessive homework can leave students with little time for extracurricular activities, hobbies, or simply relaxing. A well-rounded education includes not just academic learning, but also the development of social, emotional, and physical skills. By reducing homework, students can have a more balanced lifestyle, leading to better overall well-being.

Question 2: Does homework hinder creativity?

Answer: Unfortunately, yes. Homework often involves repetitive tasks and rigid guidelines, leaving little room for creative thinking. Students who are constantly burdened by homework may become conditioned to simply regurgitate information instead of engaging in critical thinking and problem-solving. This limits their ability to think outside the box and stifles their creativity.

Without the pressure of homework, students can explore their creative interests, pursue hobbies, and engage in activities that nourish their imagination. This freedom allows for personal growth and the development of critical skills that are essential for success in the modern world.

Question 3: Can excess homework negatively affect mental health?

Answer: Absolutely. The heavy workload and constant pressure from homework can significantly impact a student’s mental health. Excessive stress can lead to anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders. It is crucial for students to have time for relaxation and self-care, which is often compromised by demanding homework assignments.

Reducing or eliminating homework can alleviate some of these mental health issues and allow students to focus on their overall well-being. School should be a place where students can flourish academically and emotionally, and excessive homework can hinder that growth.

Question 4: Does homework hinder family time?

Answer: Often, yes. Homework assignments, especially those that are time-consuming, can eat into valuable family time. This can create a sense of detachment and strain on family relationships. Families play a vital role in a student’s growth, and quality time spent together is instrumental in building strong bonds.

By minimizing homework, students can have more opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations, participate in family activities, and enjoy the support and guidance of their parents or guardians. This not only strengthens family relationships but also contributes to the overall well-being and happiness of the student.

Question 5: Is there evidence that shows homework isn’t effective?

Answer: Yes, there is growing evidence suggesting that excessive homework is not necessarily beneficial. Many studies have found a weak correlation between the amount of homework assigned and academic performance. Factors such as teacher quality, classroom environment, and student motivation play a more significant role in determining academic success.

Moreover, well-designed classroom instruction provides the opportunity for students to practice and reinforce what they have learned, rendering excessive homework redundant. With properly structured lessons and engaging teaching methods, students can thrive academically without the need for excessive homework.

Is Homework Necessary?

So, why shouldn’t students have homework? Here’s a summary of what we’ve learned:

First, homework can be overwhelming and cause stress. It takes up valuable free time and leaves us feeling drained.

Second, it doesn’t always help us learn better. Sometimes we just rush through it to get it done, and it doesn’t stick in our minds.

Third, without homework, we could have more time for fun activities and hobbies. We could explore our interests and learn in different ways.

Also, teachers could use class time more effectively by focusing on interactive lessons and discussions.

Lastly, with less homework, we might feel less pressure and anxiety, leading to better overall mental health.

In conclusion, while homework has its benefits, there are valid reasons why students shouldn’t have too much of it. It’s important for teachers and schools to find a balance and ensure that students can enjoy their childhood while still learning and growing.

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This post has been updated as of December 2017.

It’s not uncommon to hear students, parents, and even some teachers always complaining about homework. Why, then, is homework an inescapable part of the student experience? Worksheets, busy work, and reading assignments continue to be a mainstay of students’ evenings.

Whether from habit or comparison with out-of-class work time in other nations, our students are getting homework and, according to some of them, a LOT of it. Educators and policy makers must ask themselves—does assigning homework pay off?

Is there evidence that homework benefits students younger than high school?

The Scholastic article Is Homework Bad? references Alfie Kohn’s book The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing , in which he says, “There is no evidence to demonstrate that homework benefits students below high school age.”

The article goes on to note that those who oppose homework focus on the drawbacks of significant time spent on homework, identifying one major negative as homework’s intrusion into family time. They also point out that opponents believe schools have decided homework is necessary and thus assign it simply to assign some kind of homework, not because doing the work meets specifically-identified student needs.

“Busy work” does not help students learn

Students and parents appear to carry similar critiques of homework, specifically regarding assignments identified as busy work—long sheets of repetitive math problems, word searches, or reading logs seemingly designed to make children dislike books.

When asked how homework can negatively affect children, Nancy Kalish, author of The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It , says that many homework assignments are “simply busy work” that makes learning “a chore rather than a positive, constructive experience.”

Commenters on the piece, both parents and students, tended to agree. One student shared that on occasion they spent more time on homework than at school, while another commenter pointed out that, “We don’t give slow-working children a longer school day, but we consistently give them a longer homework day.”

Without feedback, homework is ineffective

The efficacy of the homework identified by Kalish has been studied by policy researchers as well. Gerald LeTendre, of Penn State’s Education Policy Studies department points out that the shotgun approach to homework, when students all receive the same photocopied assignment which is then checked as complete rather than discussed individually with the student, is “not very effective.”  He goes on to say that, “If there’s no feedback and no monitoring, the homework is probably not effective.”

Researchers from the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia had similar findings in their study, “ When Is Homework Worth The Time ?” According to UVAToday, these researchers reported no “substantive difference” in the grades of students related to homework completion.

As researcher Adam Maltese noted, “Our results hint that maybe homework is not being used as well as it could be.” The report further suggested that while not all homework is bad, the type and quality of assignments and their differentiation to specific learners appears to be an important point of future research.

If homework is assigned, it should heighten understanding of the subject

The Curry School of Education report did find a positive association between standardized test performance and time spent on homework, but standardized test performance shouldn’t be the end goal of assignments—a heightened understanding and capability with the content material should.

As such, it is important that if/when teachers assign homework assignments, it is done thoughtfully and carefully—and respectful of the maximum times suggested by the National Education Association, about 10 minutes per night starting in the first grade, with an additional 10 minutes per year after.

Continue reading — The Homework Debate: How Homework Benefits Students

Monica Fuglei is a graduate of the University of Nebraska in Omaha and a current adjunct faculty member of Arapahoe Community College in Colorado, where she teaches composition and creative writing.

You may also like to read

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• Ending the Homework Debate: Expert Advice on What Works
• Advice on Creating Homework Policies
• Elementary Students and Homework: How Much Is Too Much?
• Homework in Middle School: Building a Foundation for Study Skills
• Homework Helps High School Students Most — But it Must Be Purposeful

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School of education study: homework doesn’t improve course grades but could boost standardized test scores.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

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Homework: Unnecessary stress or useful learning tool?

Hudson Chou , Investigative Reporter

November 7, 2019

She’s at her desk, writing a report that’s due tomorrow. Her arm is resting on her table, at a ninety-degree angle on the table. The lights are off in her room, save for the white light issuing from her Ikea lamp. Her black lab nuzzles the fuzzy pink carpet behind her. The only sound is from her mechanical pencil that scratches out the last of a paragraph. She glances at her phone, wanting a break. 

Indulging herself, she grabs her phone, resting her forearms on her desk. She checks her messages first, then connects her Bluetooth speaker. She presses play and gets up from her chair, needing some activity besides the monotonous report that was so time-consuming. The upbeat music that flows out of her speaker washes thoughts of her report away – and then Margareta wonders what her life would be like with less homework.

Most teachers, students and scientists feel like homework is best in small amounts, about 15-30 minutes of review of what was covered in the lesson.

. According to Mr. Jones, who teaches iLearn, “Some classes are so content-heavy that there is no way you can pack everything a student needs to know into a few lessons, but I would like to encourage other teachers to think about what the purpose of the homework is, and is it moving students forward in their learning, or is it simply regurgitation of ideas of the work that they already learned.”

When questioned further about how  other teachers might perceive his statements, he said:

“My suspicion is that it is difficult for them to envision a scenario in which they don’t assign homework because it is such a traditional component of education. And for a lot of people, students and teachers I think, and parents sometimes, think that the class surely must not be very rigorous if there is no homework involved. Sometimes, pressure from parents, even students, makes teachers afraid to try not assigning homework, because then it looks like they’ve lowered their expectations.” 

This is the culmination of why most of the world’s school systems give homework – they feel as if parents will not want to send their child to a school that does not give much homework – and many students think the same way. 

To move the world’s school systems away from the ideas and ideals of homework, separating the stigmas of homework and workload equal to how much a student learns is essential.

According to Ms. Strasssler, who has just reached 20 years of teaching, “Many people believe that the more work you do, the more you learn, and that’s just not true.” 

Mr. Jones agrees. He said, “I think the people are aware, to a certain extent that more work does not equal more learned, but they maintain that homework is part of the equation. And without homework, it is not really school. I think it has something to do with the rugged individualist mentality of Americans. This sort of idea, it’s a very European idea, it’s a very white idea. It’s basically that ‘we founded this country, we are pioneers, if we were able to do that, what it means to be great, what it means to be American – it’s working really hard, and having a lot of grit.’ And I think that trickles down to our ideals of homework, that students should be working a specific amount in school. In the classroom and beyond it. And it’s a hard mentality to break.”

Research may show that less homework seems like it is the best choice for students.

But what good can come of homework?

The benefits of having homework

Teachers all around the world give homework. But how much is it benefiting students?

According to Cornell University research , there is “Evidence of a positive correlation between homework and student achievement.” 

According to an interview with John Hattie, an education researcher, he said that “The worst thing you can do with homework is give kids projects; the best thing you can do is reinforce something you have already taught.” 

Many teachers at the iSchool agree with this as well. In an interview with Ms. Behar, who teaches chemistry, she said that she “Only gives review or study homework.” 

This is really the core of how students learn – reviews. 

The main blocks in a student’s learning are not remembering topics that were covered in class, then failing the test because of that. 

Memorization shouldn’t be why students learn. That system especially does not make sense when students who have learning needs are not acknowledged.

According to Procon.org , homework can lead to higher test scores and a better chance for students to attend college. Procon.org also claims that “[students] need to apply information that teachers give them to truly learn it.” 

To further prove this point, according to Edutopia , students typically retain about 66% of what they learn in class.” This shows that having a review of what the students have learned can be a very good way to make sure the students learn the information.

John Hattie also believes that homework has almost no effect on students in elementary and middle school – students should be focused on making friends and having a social life, as this is one of the best ways to relieve stress, according to HuffPost . 

According to Newsweek , a study done at the University of Tubingen in Germany, homework can make students better people. The study also showed that “After-school assignments don’t just have academic effects-they are also linked to kids’ motivation to do the right thing and work hard.” 

Homework may not be the most enjoyable thing for students, but it shows that it can seriously benefit their future if they complete homework. 

According to senior Annemarie Alms, “[iSchool] can be unsupportive homework wise. As long as you do your best, you should be fine.”

Annemarie receives about two hours of homework a night, and “I feel like I’ve learned a good amount from homework, and I can tell why they give it to me, although sometimes it’s a lot.” 

But is it worth it?

The cons of homework

Not all people think that homework is beneficial. What does the research show?

According to Procon.org , a survey of high school students in California, 43% of the students polled said that homework was their greatest source of stress, and 59% said they receive too much homework. They also say “Whenever homework crowds out social experience, outdoor recreation, creative activities, and whenever it usurps time that should be devoted to sleep, it is not meeting the basic needs of children and adolescents.” Many students interviewed by Procon.org say that too much homework can lead to sleep deprivation, headaches, exhaustion, weight loss, and stomach problems. 

Homework can also lead to problems with lower-income families. 

A poll by the L.A. times shows that about 73% of students need the internet for homework. According to the Department of Education , 14% of children do not have access to the internet. Many students have reported that they have had late or missing assignments because they did not have access to the internet. This puts families with low income at risk for lower grades and lower GPA. According to Procon.org , students who took the National assessment of educational progress (math exam), students who did 30 minutes of homework got roughly the same score as those who did not do any of the homework. Students who did 45 minutes did worse. 

Too much homework can take away from a student’s social life.

According to The Valedictorian’s guide , “The tight bonds created with friends serve as powerful forces that impact choices, behavior, and attitudes. They can also provide valuable support systems for the tumultuous teenage years. Sometimes these friendships may even last a lifetime.” 

This shows that having a social life can be more important than pulling that all-nighter – not to mention the health effects that going all night has on a teenage body.  

Sleep deprivation can lead to depression, according to a study done by the Sleep Foundation . In schools like New York City’s Stuyvesant High School , students have been known to commit suicide as a result of stress or work-related reasons. 

So is homework at that level worth risking students’ safety? 

A study by the University of Michigan found that reading, not for homework, but for pleasure is associated with higher achievement in tests for younger children.

This can show that having less homework is better. This can lead to more free time, and according to Ms. Gray, who teaches English, “I think it is really important for students to have a life outside of school.”

Is the iSchool’s mastery system: beneficial to student’s learning?

Known for its uniqueness, the iSchool uses a one-of-a-kind grading technique, the mastery system. 

On paper, this system is supposed to encourage students to do well on tests, and demonstrate their educational prowess instead of their worth being boiled down to a single number on a piece of paper.

Mr. Jones said that “I think [the mastery system] in theory it’s exactly what we should be doing.”

But is this really true?

According to Ms. Alms, “The mastery system creates an environment that I don’t really focus on studying too much, because I can just take the test as many times as I want.” 

Some students have not studied for a test, then simply took it a few times until they are satisfied with their grade. 

This was not the intended usage of the mastery system, and there seems to be no consequence for students who do this. 

But students that don’t take advantage of this system could seriously benefit from the mastery system. 

Margareta Stern said that “I’m not a very good test taker, and the mastery system has helped me learn what I need to in order to pass with a high score.”

Some teachers operate the system differently. Ms. Guzman, who used to teach math (but left the school at the end of last year), only gave back the questions that the students missed, and according to Margareta, “It really helped me, because then I pushed myself to really understand the questions that I missed previously.” 

According to an anonymous source, Mr. Jay “Makes you retake the entire test, and makes you keep that score, regardless of it was lower than the first one. That happened to me once, and that was really frustrating.”

Mr. Jones does not think there is an actual alternative to the mastery system, although he feels like sometimes it can be unhelpful in some classes that “Focus more on content as opposed so skill-building.”

So for students who simply want to avoid homework, the mastery system allows them to do that. 

So what might it be like for students without homework?

Finnish students: a success story 

Students in Finland might be considered lucky by some people – they don’t start school until they are seven, they don’t get homework, yet they have higher test scores and better college graduation rates. 

So what happens behind the scenes? 

In an article written by C.J. Westberg, a journalist for the Daily Riff , he explores his time spent in Finland touring schools all with one thing in common: the mentality that students should come to school and learn skills that will be useful in later life. 

At one school that C.J. visited, he saw the students learning how to cook breakfast. In another classroom, he found students learning how to make bathing suits. In Finnish schools, students still learn the basics of what we learn here in the U.S., like math, reading, and writing.

However, the difference is that students don’t receive homework – they simply go home and spend time reading, outside, or being with friends. 

When C.J. was interviewing an Education Chief (a principal), and he asked: “Do you think all these other activities in school takes time away from academics?” He responded with “Academics isn’t all kids need. Kids need so much more. School should be where we teach the meaning of life; where kids learn they are needed; where they can learn community skills. We like to think that school is also important for developing a good self-image, a strong sensitivity to other people’s feelings… and understanding it matters to take care of others.”

This is really the core of why students in the U.S. can become stagnant in their learning – they grow annoyed with having to wake up early in the morning just to memorize information and have their worth as a student boiled down to a simple test score and homework load.

To prove this point, Finnish schools rarely test their students.

If they do, they are usually only assessments to judge where a student is in the content and the results do not affect the student’s grade. In the rare times when students in Finland take tests, their averages are much better than those in America.

Students who took the PISA test in Finland got a 531/600, while other countries (who give homework) got a 493/600. 

This trend does not end at test scores.

Finnish student’s college attendance/graduation rate is 63% (the highest in the world) compared to the U.S.’s 52.8%. Not only that, but students in Finland (right out of college) can expect to earn 74,000 – 119,000$ a year according to Emolument.com , and Americans can expect to earn 50,000 – 90,000$ a year according to CNBC .

While this may be true, some may argue that Finland is a smaller, richer country than the United States. 

While they are absolutely correct, it is possible for the Finnish system to work here. America would have to downsize class sizes, which means that the teachers can get to know the students individually and assess their learning first hand rather than through a test. Sure, that may be expensive, but if America can spare 2.4 billion dollars for a border wall, then we can certainly rework the education system, which already needs work. 

Conclusion 

Is homework really worth all the stress?

In short, there needs to be a balance between homework and no homework. 

If a student receives too much homework, they can become overly stressed. With too little homework, students’ learning becomes stagnant and test scores drop. 

The mastery system can help students who don’t take advantage of it – as long as you study, you should do fine on a test.

Hardworking students like Margareta shouldn’t have to work into the night to finish her report – she should not have her social life taken away simply because her teachers hand out unnecessary work. But her grades shouldn’t suffer either – there needs to be a balance. 

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Don’t eliminate homework. Make it more effective 

By Neil T. Heffernan | Feb 25, 2019 | Backtalk

Find ways to give students feedback as they work.  

A 10-year-old in Colorado dialed 911 last April looking for help . . . with his math homework. He was stuck trying to divide 71 by 3,052, and, without his teacher or parents nearby, he didn’t know where else to turn. After listening to the problem, the dispatcher noted that the equation was backward before telling the student the answer. While this is an outlandish example, it nevertheless highlights the lack of support some students have when completing assignments at home.   

In the United States, there is an ongoing debate about whether homework is worthwhile, with critics saying that it’s busywork at best and, at worst, it’s detrimental to student learning. Only, the problem isn’t homework itself but how homework is done. Instead of implementing “no homework” policies, we can and should use technology to improve how students do their homework — or at least their math homework.  

Students learn best through interaction with teachers, who provide feedback throughout the day. When it comes to homework, though, students tend to be on their own. I believe they could learn more if they received immediate feedback showing whether they reached the right answer and, if not, where they missed the mark. As research makes clear, effective feedback is one of the most powerful tools for increasing student learning (Hattie, 2009).   

At Worcester Polytechnic Institute, we developed a free online program that provides hints and explanations when the student needs them, as well as providing teachers with timely information about their students’ performance. In a randomized controlled trial, researchers found that Maine students in schools that used the free tool scored roughly 75% higher than students in schools that did not use the program (Roschelle et al., 2016). And thanks to the immediate feedback at home, along with online progress reports that helped teachers focus their instruction, low-performing students caught up to their higher-performing peers.  

Not all online homework platforms are so effective, of course. For instance, I suggest caution when it comes to so-called “student-paced differentiated technology” — in which the computer provides the instruction and students move ahead on their own schedule. In a recent study of highly personalized online programs, researchers saw no positive results from using such technology, noting that these programs may even worsen achievement gaps, given that some students race ahead while low-performing students fall further behind (Steenbergen-Hu & Cooper, 2013).  

Given the range of tools on the market, then, what should school leaders look for in a tech-based homework solution? I suggest three ground rules:  

• Find a program that provides immediate feedback, including the ability to try a few times. This way, students will not repeat mistakes and then have to wait for their teacher to hand back their work to learn that they did everything wrong.
• Find a program that lets teachers set the pace, allowing them to adopt the technology in a way that doesn’t interfere with their established curriculum.
• Find a tool that saves teachers’ time and helps them plan classroom instruction. With internet-enabled systems, teachers can instantly see how students did on their homework and what concepts they might need help with in class.

Providing students with immediate feedback on their homework assignments, while providing their teachers with information they can use for course planning, is a powerful practice that’s proven to increase student learning and is easy to implement. It’s time we demand smarter ways to use homework.   

References  

Hattie, J. (2009).  Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement.  New York, NY: Routledge.  

Roschelle, J., Feng, M., Murphy, R. & Mason, C. (2016). Online mathematics homework increases student achievement.  AERA Open 2  (4), 1–12.  

Steenbergen-Hu, S. & Cooper, H. (2013). A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of intelligent tutoring systems on K–12 students’ mathematical learning.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 105  (4), 970-987.  

Citation: Heffernan, N.T. (2019). Backtalk: Don’t eliminate homework. Make it more effective.  Phi Delta  Kappan , 100  (6), 80.   

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Neil T. Heffernan

NEIL T. HEFFERNAN is a professor of computer science and director of the Learning Sciences and Technologies Program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He and his wife, Christina, are the developers of ASSISTments, a free web-hosted digital platform that provides teachers with specific insight into their students’ progress on math homework.

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Does Homework Help Improve Grades?

29 November 2022

8 minutes to read

• 01. The Homework Study Abstract
• 02. What's the Point of Homework?
• 03. Homework Through the Ages
• 04. Is There Any Benefit to Doing Homework?

It's axiomatic. Kids go to school and then, go home and do homework. They turn their homework in the next day. If it's a longer assignment, they hand it in by the due date. Is anybody really happy about that?

Students aren't. They've already ' done their time' in the classroom for the day; why should they continue classroom activity outside of school? Teachers aren't. They teach when school's in session so the only time left to grade homework is on their own time. Put that way, it seems that the practice conflicts with labour laws. Perhaps parents are the only party happy with homework. After all, they too have been led to believe that much work is the only path to success. Meet the scientists proving them wrong:

• Adam Maltese, Assistant Professor of Science Education at Indiana University
• Robert H. Tai, Associate Professor of Science Education at the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education
• Fan Xitao, Dean of Education at the University of Macau

Their groundbreaking work has provoked a shift in attitude about homework. Their findings have prompted the French government to proclaim a homework ban ! Spoiler: it's not yet come to pass but other countries are striding in that direction.

Here at Superprof, we’ve been keeping a close eye on doing homework. We're tuned in to the ongoing debate surrounding the topic of homework and how beneficial the practice really is to learning outcomes . Read on to discover what we've found so far.

The Homework Study Abstract

Did you know that not a single academic study has ever been able to prove a positive correlation between academic success and homework? Me neither. All the way back in 2012, the Huffington Post reported on a then-new study. This work added more weight to the growing body of evidence about homework benefits. It concluded that homework has little or no effect on academic success.

The researchers listed in this article's introduction conducted that study. It surveyed more than 18,000 high-school maths and science students. The objective was to investigate the relationship between homework and academic performance. Specifically, whether more time spent on homework shows a net-positive effect on overall learning and grades.

They asked thousands of students one question: How much time do you spend on homework?’. The study found a very modest correlation between the amount of homework students said they did and their scores on standardised tests . It further disclosed that there was no relationship whatsoever between time spent on homework and course grades. Most shockingly, the study revealed "no substantive difference in grades between students who complete homework and those who do not.”

One of the paper's co-authors, Robert Tai said: “In today’s current educational environment, with all the activities taking up children’s time both in school and out of school, the purpose of each homework assignment must be clear and targeted. With homework, more is not better.”

So if homework is increasingly proven to be a waste of time, perhaps government bodies are right to consider ditching the practice. Incorporating homework back into the classroom where learning outcomes are best demonstrated could work to improve grades. After all, parents who homeschool their learners generally don't assign additional work after the formal learning time ends.

But perhaps only time will tell. If the responses to the study question are to be believed, it would mean class time could stretch to include 100 to 180 extra 50-minute class periods per year. Granted, it's more time in school. But then, it leaves our kids more time to explore other interests and develop in other ways after school.

What's the Point of Homework?

Let's apply a bit of critical thinking to the homework question. The point of school is to learn. Learning is measured through academic performance. Formal performance assessments - exams, are graded. Those grades reflect only marginal improvement for students who (state they) regularly complete their home assignments. That can hardly even be called a correlation.

Passionate educators insist that homework builds a bridge between school and home. But does it, really? And is parental involvement beneficial? Here again, evidence is stacking up. Studies show that parental involvement actually reduces learners' academic success. That's only in part because parents do the work. Another reason points to parents not fully understanding modern educational initiatives.

And then, there's busy work . Let's say that a primary school group just studied a significant historical epoch or science fact. They're assigned project work; maybe building or drawing a model of that event or writing their thoughts about what they just learned in science. These activities are related to the topic but don't necessarily reinforce learned knowledge.

This takes us to another point. Those who advocate for homework believe those exercises repeat concepts introduced in class. Repetition leads to consolidation (of knowledge), as the theory goes. We all know that's true for physical activity; everyone knows about muscle memory. But is it the same for intellectual work?

We'd argue not. For homework to be true repetition, it would have to be done in the same conditions as the original work. In other words, in the classroom. Students, particularly the younger ones may not be aware that they code-switch between school and home. That means they let go of their learner persona and adopt their child persona. It's a completely different psychological state.

Learners in a Montessori setting have less of an issue switching between the school and home environments. Traditional schools have a completely different setup than Montessori schools. They are far more structured and competitive than the more relaxed Montessori setting. And traditional schools mainly follow a teacher-led instruction model. By contrast, Montessori education revolves around the student-led model.

Homework Through the Ages

It's safe to say that, for as long as there have been schools, there has been homework. These extracurricular assignments' origins are hard to pin down. However, we can say, with a measure of authority, that all the internet pages claiming an evil teacher created the concept are (most likely) wrong. Roberto Nevelis (probably) wasn't angry at lazy students. He didn't intend to punish them by giving them extra work.

On the other hand, it would be easy to imagine Plato or Confucius assigning their disciples a few moral dilemmas to ponder on their own. But the first recorded instance of homework assignment doesn't reach back that far. Pliny the Younger asked his students to practise speaking at home. As he taught oration, it makes sense that his assignments would be verbal rather than written. And his point was clear. The more students practised speaking, the more fluent they would become.

Strangely enough, the type of homework we know today originated from a political manoeuvre. Horace Mann , a German politician, insisted that students must continue working to learn at home. It was a power move meant to prove that the state had absolute authority over every citizen, regardless of their age.

This power play didn't make students any more talented or gifted in learning . However, it did make other nations jealous and, maybe, a bit fearful. Soon, homework spread across Europe. As for Horace Mann, he imported the concept to US schools.

At first, American educators were ecstatic about homework. It didn't take long for that tide to turn, though. A couple of decades after assigning homework became a thing, the practice suffered massive backlash. It was banned in some states. Women's magazines and prominent newspapers published letters from the medical community describing how detrimental homework was to children.

How much of that might have been because, in those days, children were expected to earn their keep? Whether working around the homestead or out hawking newspapers, families counted on little ones' earnings. If they were doing homework, they could hardly report for duty. We'll never know for sure but the next big homework battle invoked child labour laws. That gives us a rather substantial clue to the sentiments of the time.

In 1930, a now-defunct group called the American Child Health Association insisted that homework is a form of child labour. Thus, those assignments were against the law and should be discontinued. Note that the Great Depression was unravelling American life at that time. Buying school supplies was likely out of the question.

The US has flip-flopped on homework ever since Mr Mann brought it over. From the Depression Era to the mid-50s, homework was supposed to be a personal exploration. When US lawmakers learned that Soviet students were in class practically, homework was back on the table. In the 80s, academics realised American students were falling far behind global educational standards. The practice intensified until the early aughts, when it again fell out of favour.

Is There Any Benefit to Doing Homework?

A growing body of work proves that homework does not substantially contribute to better grades. It does not necessarily reinforce what was learned in the classroom and does not exactly constitute a model for repetition as consolidation . It stresses students out and may cause turmoil at home. And both teachers and students have to labour beyond regular 'working' hours to deal with homework.

Even homework's origins appear odious! They're so bad, in fact, that in 1930, the US declared that homework, after a full school day,  extends study hours beyond the amount of time child labour laws allowed kids to work! Even China, a country notorious for its educational push, is now pushing back against kids spending their childhoods in learning modes. Can homework be redeemed?

Not fully, but these assignments have their good points. For one, it helps learners understand time management . All the fables ever written can't teach kids about the evils of procrastinating quite like having to cram for an exam does. Learning how to manage their schedules prepares them for the adult world, where just about every second of their time will be regimented.

Speaking of time... We all know how taking work home lets people finish it without the boss breathing down their necks. They might have a nice beverage and a snack while they go over some reports or analyses. Students with homework are offered the same deal. They can take their time reviewing what they learned in class. They might search the internet for more information on the topic. They might even go beyond their assignment to read up on materials to be covered in the next lesson.

Homework potentially sets students on the path to discovery. Outside of the classroom, they're free to roam any intellectual field that piques their interest. It's not uncommon for a homework assignment to serve as a springboard into such explorations. In fact, studying numeral systems prompted my mate to ask his dad, a software engineer, about coding .

And, finally, homework teaches discipline. If you want to get good at something, you have to do it over and over again. More importantly, you have to commit to that repetition . Granted, students may not be wild about mastering academics but the process of doing homework itself, even under mandate, instils discipline.

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As an Englishman in Paris, I enjoy growing my knowledge of other languages and cultures. I'm interested in History, Economics, and Sociology and believe in the importance of continuous learning.

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I like it all

what is the point of homework

I don’t understand why your article says “Did you know that not a single academic study has ever been able to prove a positive correlation between academic success and homework?” There have been plenty of studies that prove homework helps academic success. Here’s the one right here https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2019/01/03/why-homework-doesnt-seem-to-boost-learning-and-how-it-could/?sh=47a6a0c968ab And another by Duke University https://today.duke.edu/2006/09/homework_oped.html If you’re going to say things as if they’re factual you need to back it up by where you’re getting your facts.

Agreed, another study here… “The evidence shows that the impact of homework, on average, is five months’ additional progress.” MacBeath and Turner (1990)

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Is Homework Good for Kids? Here’s What the Research Says

A s kids return to school, debate is heating up once again over how they should spend their time after they leave the classroom for the day.

The no-homework policy of a second-grade teacher in Texas went viral last week , earning praise from parents across the country who lament the heavy workload often assigned to young students. Brandy Young told parents she would not formally assign any homework this year, asking students instead to eat dinner with their families, play outside and go to bed early.

But the question of how much work children should be doing outside of school remains controversial, and plenty of parents take issue with no-homework policies, worried their kids are losing a potential academic advantage. Here’s what you need to know:

For decades, the homework standard has been a “10-minute rule,” which recommends a daily maximum of 10 minutes of homework per grade level. Second graders, for example, should do about 20 minutes of homework each night. High school seniors should complete about two hours of homework each night. The National PTA and the National Education Association both support that guideline.

But some schools have begun to give their youngest students a break. A Massachusetts elementary school has announced a no-homework pilot program for the coming school year, lengthening the school day by two hours to provide more in-class instruction. “We really want kids to go home at 4 o’clock, tired. We want their brain to be tired,” Kelly Elementary School Principal Jackie Glasheen said in an interview with a local TV station . “We want them to enjoy their families. We want them to go to soccer practice or football practice, and we want them to go to bed. And that’s it.”

A New York City public elementary school implemented a similar policy last year, eliminating traditional homework assignments in favor of family time. The change was quickly met with outrage from some parents, though it earned support from other education leaders.

New solutions and approaches to homework differ by community, and these local debates are complicated by the fact that even education experts disagree about what’s best for kids.

The research

The most comprehensive research on homework to date comes from a 2006 meta-analysis by Duke University psychology professor Harris Cooper, who found evidence of a positive correlation between homework and student achievement, meaning students who did homework performed better in school. The correlation was stronger for older students—in seventh through 12th grade—than for those in younger grades, for whom there was a weak relationship between homework and performance.

Cooper’s analysis focused on how homework impacts academic achievement—test scores, for example. His report noted that homework is also thought to improve study habits, attitudes toward school, self-discipline, inquisitiveness and independent problem solving skills. On the other hand, some studies he examined showed that homework can cause physical and emotional fatigue, fuel negative attitudes about learning and limit leisure time for children. At the end of his analysis, Cooper recommended further study of such potential effects of homework.

Despite the weak correlation between homework and performance for young children, Cooper argues that a small amount of homework is useful for all students. Second-graders should not be doing two hours of homework each night, he said, but they also shouldn’t be doing no homework.

Not all education experts agree entirely with Cooper’s assessment.

Cathy Vatterott, an education professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, supports the “10-minute rule” as a maximum, but she thinks there is not sufficient proof that homework is helpful for students in elementary school.

“Correlation is not causation,” she said. “Does homework cause achievement, or do high achievers do more homework?”

Vatterott, the author of Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs , thinks there should be more emphasis on improving the quality of homework tasks, and she supports efforts to eliminate homework for younger kids.

“I have no concerns about students not starting homework until fourth grade or fifth grade,” she said, noting that while the debate over homework will undoubtedly continue, she has noticed a trend toward limiting, if not eliminating, homework in elementary school.

The issue has been debated for decades. A TIME cover in 1999 read: “Too much homework! How it’s hurting our kids, and what parents should do about it.” The accompanying story noted that the launch of Sputnik in 1957 led to a push for better math and science education in the U.S. The ensuing pressure to be competitive on a global scale, plus the increasingly demanding college admissions process, fueled the practice of assigning homework.

“The complaints are cyclical, and we’re in the part of the cycle now where the concern is for too much,” Cooper said. “You can go back to the 1970s, when you’ll find there were concerns that there was too little, when we were concerned about our global competitiveness.”

Cooper acknowledged that some students really are bringing home too much homework, and their parents are right to be concerned.

“A good way to think about homework is the way you think about medications or dietary supplements,” he said. “If you take too little, they’ll have no effect. If you take too much, they can kill you. If you take the right amount, you’ll get better.”

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