Should Kids Get Homework?
Homework gives elementary students a way to practice concepts, but too much can be harmful, experts say.
Effective homework reinforces math, reading, writing or spelling skills, but in a way that's meaningful. (Getty Images)
How much homework students should get has long been a source of debate among parents and educators. In recent years, some districts have even implemented no-homework policies, as students juggle sports, music and other activities after school.
Parents of elementary school students, in particular, have argued that after-school hours should be spent with family or playing outside rather than completing assignments. And there is little research to show that homework improves academic achievement for elementary students.
But some experts say there's value in homework, even for younger students. When done well, it can help students practice core concepts and develop study habits and time management skills. The key to effective homework, they say, is keeping assignments related to classroom learning, and tailoring the amount by age: Many experts suggest no homework for kindergartners, and little to none in first and second grade.
Value of Homework
Homework provides a chance to solidify what is being taught in the classroom that day, week or unit. Practice matters, says Janine Bempechat, clinical professor at Boston University 's Wheelock College of Education & Human Development.
"There really is no other domain of human ability where anybody would say you don't need to practice," she adds. "We have children practicing piano and we have children going to sports practice several days a week after school. You name the domain of ability and practice is in there."
Homework is also the place where schools and families most frequently intersect.
"The children are bringing things from the school into the home," says Paula S. Fass, professor emerita of history at the University of California—Berkeley and the author of "The End of American Childhood." "Before the pandemic, (homework) was the only real sense that parents had to what was going on in schools."
Harris Cooper, professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University and author of "The Battle Over Homework," examined more than 60 research studies on homework between 1987 and 2003 and found that — when designed properly — homework can lead to greater student success. Too much, however, is harmful. And homework has a greater positive effect on students in secondary school (grades 7-12) than those in elementary.
"Every child should be doing homework, but the amount and type that they're doing should be appropriate for their developmental level," he says. "For teachers, it's a balancing act. Doing away with homework completely is not in the best interest of children and families. But overburdening families with homework is also not in the child's or a family's best interest."
Negative Homework Assignments
Not all homework for elementary students involves completing a worksheet. Assignments can be fun, says Cooper, like having students visit educational locations, keep statistics on their favorite sports teams, read for pleasure or even help their parents grocery shop. The point is to show students that activities done outside of school can relate to subjects learned in the classroom.
But assignments that are just busy work, that force students to learn new concepts at home, or that are overly time-consuming can be counterproductive, experts say.
Homework that's just busy work.
Effective homework reinforces math, reading, writing or spelling skills, but in a way that's meaningful, experts say. Assignments that look more like busy work – projects or worksheets that don't require teacher feedback and aren't related to topics learned in the classroom – can be frustrating for students and create burdens for families.
"The mental health piece has definitely played a role here over the last couple of years during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the last thing we want to do is frustrate students with busy work or homework that makes no sense," says Dave Steckler, principal of Red Trail Elementary School in Mandan, North Dakota.
Homework on material that kids haven't learned yet.
With the pressure to cover all topics on standardized tests and limited time during the school day, some teachers assign homework that has not yet been taught in the classroom.
Not only does this create stress, but it also causes equity challenges. Some parents speak languages other than English or work several jobs, and they aren't able to help teach their children new concepts.
" It just becomes agony for both parents and the kids to get through this worksheet, and the goal becomes getting to the bottom of (the) worksheet with answers filled in without any understanding of what any of it matters for," says professor Susan R. Goldman, co-director of the Learning Sciences Research Institute at the University of Illinois—Chicago .
Homework that's overly time-consuming.
The standard homework guideline recommended by the National Parent Teacher Association and the National Education Association is the "10-minute rule" – 10 minutes of nightly homework per grade level. A fourth grader, for instance, would receive a total of 40 minutes of homework per night.
But this does not always happen, especially since not every student learns the same. A 2015 study published in the American Journal of Family Therapy found that primary school children actually received three times the recommended amount of homework — and that family stress increased along with the homework load.
Young children can only remain attentive for short periods, so large amounts of homework, especially lengthy projects, can negatively affect students' views on school. Some individual long-term projects – like having to build a replica city, for example – typically become an assignment for parents rather than students, Fass says.
"It's one thing to assign a project like that in which several kids are working on it together," she adds. "In (that) case, the kids do normally work on it. It's another to send it home to the families, where it becomes a burden and doesn't really accomplish very much."
Private vs. Public Schools
Do private schools assign more homework than public schools? There's little research on the issue, but experts say private school parents may be more accepting of homework, seeing it as a sign of academic rigor.
Of course, not all private schools are the same – some focus on college preparation and traditional academics, while others stress alternative approaches to education.
"I think in the academically oriented private schools, there's more support for homework from parents," says Gerald K. LeTendre, chair of educational administration at Pennsylvania State University—University Park . "I don't know if there's any research to show there's more homework, but it's less of a contentious issue."
How to Address Homework Overload
First, assess if the workload takes as long as it appears. Sometimes children may start working on a homework assignment, wander away and come back later, Cooper says.
"Parents don't see it, but they know that their child has started doing their homework four hours ago and still not done it," he adds. "They don't see that there are those four hours where their child was doing lots of other things. So the homework assignment itself actually is not four hours long. It's the way the child is approaching it."
But if homework is becoming stressful or workload is excessive, experts suggest parents first approach the teacher, followed by a school administrator.
"Many times, we can solve a lot of issues by having conversations," Steckler says, including by "sitting down, talking about the amount of homework, and what's appropriate and not appropriate."
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The end of homework? Why some schools are banning homework
Fed up with the tension over homework, some schools are opting out altogether.
No-homework policies are popping up all over, including schools in the U.S., where the shift to the Common Core curriculum is prompting educators to rethink how students spend their time.
“Homework really is a black hole,” said Etta Kralovec, an associate professor of teacher education at the University of Arizona South and co-author of “The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning.”
“I think teachers are going to be increasingly interested in having total control over student learning during the class day and not relying on homework as any kind of activity that’s going to support student learning.”
College de Saint-Ambroise, an elementary school in Quebec, is the latest school to ban homework, announcing this week that it would try the new policy for a year. The decision came after officials found that it was “becoming more and more difficult” for children to devote time to all the assignments they were bringing home, Marie-Ève Desrosiers, a spokeswoman with the Jonquière School Board, told the CBC .
Kralovec called the ban on homework a movement, though she estimated just a small handful of schools in the U.S. have such policies.
Gaithersburg Elementary School in Rockville, Maryland, is one of them, eliminating the traditional concept of homework in 2012. The policy is still in place and working fine, Principal Stephanie Brant told TODAY Parents. The school simply asks that students read 30 minutes each night.
“We felt like with the shift to the Common Core curriculum, and our knowledge of how our students need to think differently… we wanted their time to be spent in meaningful ways,” Brant said.
“We’re constantly asking parents for feedback… and everyone’s really happy with it so far. But it’s really a culture shift.”
It was a decision that was best for her community, Brant said, adding that she often gets phone calls from other principals inquiring how it’s working out.
The VanDamme Academy, a private K-8 school in Aliso Viejo, California, has a similar policy , calling homework “largely pointless.”
The Buffalo Academy of Scholars, a private school in Buffalo, New York, touts that it has called “a truce in the homework battle” and promises that families can “enjoy stress-free, homework-free evenings and more quality time together at home.”
Some schools have taken yet another approach. At Ridgewood High School in Norridge, Illinois, teachers do assign homework but it doesn’t count towards a student’s final grade.
Many schools in the U.S. have toyed with the idea of opting out of homework, but end up changing nothing because it is such a contentious issue among parents, Kralovec noted.
“There’s a huge philosophical divide between parents who want their kids to be very scheduled, very driven, and very ambitiously focused at school -- those parents want their kids to do homework,” she said.
“And then there are the parents who want a more child-centered life with their kids, who want their kids to be able to explore different aspects of themselves, who think their kids should have free time.”
So what’s the right amount of time to spend on homework?
National PTA spokeswoman Heidi May pointed to the organization’s “ 10 minute rule ,” which recommends kids spend about 10 minutes on homework per night for every year they’re in school. That would mean 10 minutes for a first-grader and an hour for a child in the sixth grade.
But many parents say their kids must spend much longer on their assignments. Last year, a New York dad tried to do his eight-grader’s homework for a week and it took him at least three hours on most nights.
More than 80 percent of respondents in a TODAY.com poll complained kids have too much homework. For homework critics like Kralovec, who said research shows homework has little value at the elementary and middle school level, the issue is simple.
“Kids are at school 7 or 8 hours a day, that’s a full working day and why should they have to take work home?” she asked.
Follow A. Pawlowski on Google+ and Twitter .
Our No Homework Policy
At The Country School, children have no homework until the second trimester of 5th grade. There is no evidence of a clear connection between homework, improved test scores and academic achievement in the lower grades. Traditional homework also limits valuable family time, and may even be detrimental to students’ mental health. Once homework is introduced in the latter part of 5th grade, teachers are conscientious about balancing the homework load, teaching students the skills to manage the work, and making sure that the homework assigned always serves a purpose and is connected to helping students achieve the highest academic standards
“ We want kids to spend their afternoons playing, exploring and getting recharged for the next day. We want to give our students their lives back, and our parents their kids back. This is a bold move, and we have our work cut out for us, but we don’t want to spend another minute tied to traditional ways of doing things when we know they are not right for our kids. With our roots firmly planted in progressive education, we place an emphasis on learning by doing, through hands on projects and teachers who engage students in understanding and experiencing – rather than just memorizing and regurgitating for tests. I believe this approach creates students with a lifelong love of learning, and the skills and confidence to succeed both inside and outside the classroom – academically, socially, and emotionally. ”
The Parent/School Partnership
Learning should still take place at home with or without homework. Our policy gives families the freedom to let their interests and passions guide their learning. Science experiments, playing outside, cooking and reading books together become an equally important part of a child’s development, along with the curriculum they learn at school. At the elementary level, it is expected that parents will support their child’s learning through nightly reading, reviewing math facts, practicing spelling words, etc. Teachers are happy to help provide ideas and resources for continuing the learning at home if needed.
Our no homework policy in lower grades allows you to be a partner in your child’s education. While our rigorous academic standards are fostered in the classroom, your family is empowered to explore and create your own path for learning at home.
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Opinion: your kid is right, homework is pointless. here’s what you should do instead..
Editor’s Note: Elissa Strauss writes about the politics and culture of parenthood. The views expressed in this commentary are her own.
We live, for the most part, fairly similar lives to our next-door neighbors. Both households have two working parents, two kids and an appreciation for the way California weather affords them unscripted, outdoor play year-round.
We are all busier than we want to be, but our neighbors have an extra, unnecessary hurdle that makes life more difficult.
Next door, the kids have homework. This involves 30 minutes of child-wrangling and patience-testing five days a week, pressure-cooking the little downtime they have together as a family.
Meanwhile, our family takes that time to enjoy our kids. No efficiency, no productivity, no agenda; just parents and children hanging out.
There’s been a lot of research and debate on the academic value of homework for school-aged children. The results, although somewhat mixed, generally conclude that homework provides no advantage for kids in elementary grades. As children get older, the potential benefits of homework grow, but less than you probably think.
Too much homework? Not in this class. None at all. None all year
Missing from the homework conversation is how no-homework policies benefit the whole family – parents and caregivers included.
School schedules and cultures were created for a different time, when moms were expected to be available to children during non-school hours. But today, the majority of families have either dual-working or single parents. Reconfiguring the education system to adapt to this current reality is a big project. We need to accommodate for the fact that nobody’s home to watch kids after school and during holiday breaks, or to spend four hours building a “Bridge to Terabithia” diorama on a Thursday afternoon.
The remedy to this would likely involve an overhaul of our paid leave and vacation policies, as well as modifications to our daily and yearly school schedules. This is not a quick fix.
Ending homework for elementary school-aged kids is, on the other hand, relatively easy. We just have to stop doing it.
We need to do less
Feeling overwhelmed is a defining trait of today’s parents and caregivers. We have too much to do, our kids have too much to do, and leisure and happiness are the prices we pay for it.
One recent survey of 2,000 parents commissioned by Crayola Experience found that more than half of parents feel they are too busy to enjoy the fun of parenting. A similar number told Pew Research Center they struggle to balance the responsibilities of home with the responsibilities of a family. We feel guilty, and we feel tired. We lack the energy to make it through the week, let alone figure out how to get ourselves out of this mess.
Why we should stop calling it 'screen time' to our kids
When every minute is accounted for, sometimes two or three times over, a reprieve from something as seemingly minor as homework can make a big difference.
“The time families have together is really short; it is much shorter than what people would like. And when you are together everyone is fried,” said Brigid Schulte, author of “ Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time ” and director of the Better Life Lab . “If you are stressed and cranky, and your kid has been in aftercare too long, and then you get home and have to force them to do their homework, it removes the sense that home is a supportive, loving place where you can connect.”
Schulte encourages parents and caregivers to resist homework. This might include fighting for no-homework policies at their children’s schools, and pushing back against unrealistic homework assignments. Reach out to a teacher and tell them why a particular assignment is burdensome or causing unnecessary stress and, if this is the case, why your child won’t be able to meet the teacher’s expectations, she suggested.
“The most important thing is to look for small wins right now,” she said, referring to the battle against busyness. Gaining roughly 30 minutes a night, or two-plus hours a week, has the potential to make a dramatic difference in family well-being, giving us an opportunity to remember why exactly we had children in the first place.
Teach your children, and yourself, to do less
It can feel scary to slow down. Rising income inequality has turned parenting into a competitive sport. It’s a winner-takes-all world and we want our kids to be the winners — unhappy, stressed-out winners.
There is so much out there telling your children they need to do more and be more, and that whatever they think is enough is most definitely not enough. This means that parents and caregivers provide what is likely kids’ only shot at learning about leisure and togetherness. The overwhelming message from decades of research has found these are the main ingredients to happiness and well-being.
Summer isn't a break for kids or parents
Getting rid of homework is a relatively simple way to combat this high-stakes problem. It gives parents and caregivers the opportunity to teach their children these essential – albeit systematically ignored and undervalued – skills.
“Kids should have a chance to just be kids and do things they enjoy, particularly after spending six hours a day in school,” said Alfie Kohn, author of “ The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing .” “After all, we adults need time just to chill out; it’s absurd to insist that children must be engaged in constructive activities right up until their heads hit the pillow.”
This isn’t to say that the downtime has to be mindless. Kohn suggests that parents and caregivers can, with their kids, cook, play board games, read or watch TV and then discuss what they read or watched. (Ideally, it’s something parents would enjoy as well.) All of these activities require logic or analytical skills, and can help uncover kids’ passions, as well as areas in which they might be struggling and need additional help.
Q: Am I a bad parent if I'm on my phone in front of my kids?
These activities can also help kids build the kind of skills we associate with homework, said Josh Cline, a public school teacher in Oakland, California. Perseverance and stamina, for example, are required to sit through a story and then discuss it, to complete a batch of brownies or play a game of checkers or chess. “It’s better to grow those skills doing things kids find interesting than forcing them to slog through worksheets,” he said. That said, if worksheets are your kid’s thing, Cline said to give them a shot — as long as it is clear they have a choice.
From an academic standpoint, Cline’s main interest is for kids to be reading at home. However, he says, forcing it is likely to backfire. Instead, parents and caregivers should try to encourage reading by giving their kids plenty of choices, and, whenever possible, integrating reading into a cozy routine (that may or may not include hot chocolate).
But ultimately, the best replacement for homework is, simply, a parent or caregiver’s attention.
“Spend time with them and see them as people. At school, they operate as a herd, and as hard as I try as a teacher, I can’t give them all the attention they deserve,” Cline said. “At home they should be seen as the unique, individual, interesting and brilliant people they are.”
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A High School Teacher Scrapped Homework. Here's What Happened Next.
Regardless of where you stand on the issue, there's no doubt that the anti-homework movement has been picking up steam. Homework is still a staple in most classrooms, but even teachers who believe it has some value are scaling back. Others, convinced homework is a waste of time and even counterproductive, are phasing it out — a decision that is becoming less and less controversial with parents, school leaders, and researchers.
The scrutiny stems not only from homework's questionable academic value, but also its role as a stressor in students' lives. In particular, the practice of assigning homework to elementary students has been widely criticized.
While most researchers agree that homework in elementary grades has no benefit, many believe it can be useful, in moderation, in high school, particularly in preparing students for college workloads.
But some high school educators are taking a second look. Christopher Bronke, an English teacher at North High School just outside of Chicago recently scrapped homework in his 9th grade class. To Bronke, it “just made sense.”
“I got sick of a wide range of factors: overly stressed students, poor-quality homework,” he explains. “They didn't have time for it, and very little actual learning was happening. I made a very simple decision: I would rather get through less material at a higher quality with less stress than keep giving homework.
“The results have been great. My kids are happy, healthy, and learning!”
Scott Anderson, a math teacher in Juda, Wisconsin, believes a teacher doesn't necessarily have to be “anti-homework” to take the class in a new direction.
“In certain circumstances, I guess homework can be good,” says Anderson. “But I prefer to skip good and do great.”
‘It Wasn’t Working’
Anderson came into teaching as a second career in 2006. In his first couple of years in the classroom, he was a self-described “strict traditionalist.” Anderson assigned homework — up to 30 Geometry and Algebra problems a night - because...well, that's what teachers did.
“That was me, standing in front of the class, lecturing, handing out homework. That's how I was trained,” he says.
But gradually Anderson became convinced that something was wrong. Too many graduating seniors weren't ready for college-level math.
“It wasn't working. The kids weren't learning; they were doing the problems wrong. Something had to change.”
Another concern was the “homework gap.” Juda is a small, rural school district (student population: 310) and some students don't have adequate access to the Internet, impairing their ability to wade through too much homework. Believing all students have this access, says Anderson, is a “gigantic assumption.”
Anderson gradually scaled back the amount of homework. He started out by reducing the number of math problems from 30 to around 12 and continued from there. By 2016, homework went from 25 percent of a student's grade to only 1 percent.
As he proceeded, Anderson looked through the existing research on homework. He understood that assigning some can have benefits, but he concluded that homework was not adding enough value to justify the time students — and Anderson — put into it.
A no-homework policy was just the beginning. “I took a butcher knife to the curriculum. I thinned it something fierce,” he said.
More Time to Work the Problems
With homework becoming more scarce, more time was freed up in the classroom for practice. No time in Anderson's class is wasted. “Even before the second bell rings, we're working the problems," he says. "I try not to lecture much more than 8-10 minutes each class.”
Because homework used to be such a large part of the grade, Anderson contacted parents to inform them of the changes in policy. Initially, there was a bit of grumbling because the number of A’s in his classes declined about 20 percent. All of a sudden, doing well in his class was based on what students had learned, not how many assignments they had cranked out.
In certain circumstances, I guess homework can be good. But I prefer to skip good and do great.” - Scott Anderson, Juda High School
Grades in Anderson's class are now based on tests and quizzes. If students struggle, Anderson allows them to take them as often as needed to master the material.
According to standardized test scores, the results of the no-homework policy have been positive.
“We have been able to document the improvement of our student body moving roughly from 30 percent not ready for college math to almost 100 percent being ready,” Anderson said.
Anderson acknowledges that teaching in a small district grants him significantly more flexibility in phasing out homework (let alone taking a “hatchet to the curriculum”) than many other educators may be used to. Anderson isn't just a member of the Juda High Math department; he is the math department. The school's principal, Judi Davis, is also the district superintendent, and a supporter of Anderson's new policies.
Less red-tape aside, Anderson believes that his approach can work in larger classrooms in larger districts. He gives a presentation at math conferences around the country called “Minutes Matter: Moving Away From Daily Homework.” The reaction is generally positive, although the skepticism can be palpable. The main concern centers around a belief — supported by some researchers — that without homework at the high school level, students go onto college underprepared for the rigor that awaits them.
“Our job in high school is to guarantee that students pick up these skills. That's my mandate, which is different from a college professor's in my opinion,” says Anderson. “I believe strongly that my students are much better at math now than they were a decade ago.”
Reference s
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This article was published more than 6 years ago
What happened when one school banned homework — and asked kids to read and play instead
Mark Trifilio, principal of the public pre-K-5th grade Orchard School in Vermont, sat down with the school’s 40 educators last summer to discuss the soon-to-start new school year and homework — how much kids were getting and whether it was helping them learn.
Trifilio had been pondering the issue for some time, he said, concerned that there seemed to be an uneven homework load for students in different classrooms within the same grade and that the differences from grade to grade didn’t make sense. He had looked up research on homework effectiveness and learned that, generally, homework in elementary school isn’t linked to better academic performance — except for after-school reading.
So at that meeting with teachers, he proposed an experiment: stopping all homework in every grade and asking students to read on their own at home — or, if they were not ready to read on their own, to do it with a parent or guardian. He said he was surprised when every one of them — classroom teachers as well as those who work with special-education students and English-language learners — signed on to the idea.
“All 40 voted yes,” he said, “and not just yes, but a passionate yes. When do you get 40 people to agree on something?”
So they instituted the policy, as this page on the school website shows:
No Homework Policy Orchard School Homework Information Student’s Daily Home Assignment 1. Read just-right books every night — (and have your parents read to you too) . 2. Get outside and play — that does not mean more screen time. 3. Eat dinner with your family — and help out with setting and cleaning up. 4. Get a good night’s sleep.
What’s the result?
Six months into the experiment, Trifilio says it has been a big success: Students have not fallen back academically and may be doing better, and now they have “time to be creative thinkers at home and follow their passions.”
Students are asked to read every night. Families are provided book recommendations, but kids are not required to fill out logs (because, he said, “we know that we all make up logs”).
Trifilio said he conducted a family survey asking about the policy, and most parents at the nearly 400-student school responded. The vast majority supported it, saying their kids now have time to pursue things other than math work sheets, and many report that students are reading more on their own than they used to. He said a small minority of parents are concerned that students are missing learning opportunities from doing homework and won’t be prepared for middle school.
The Burlington Free Press recently quoted parent James Conway as saying this about his son Sean, who is in kindergarten: “My son declared on Monday that he can read now and that he doesn’t need any help. So, something is working.”
What does the research say about the value of homework? While academics continue to study the subject, a meta-analysis of research on the subject, published in 2006 by researcher Harris Cooper and colleagues, is often cited. It found that homework in elementary school does not contribute to academic achievement and has only a modest effect on older students in terms of improving academic performance.
Homework: An unnecessary evil? … Surprising findings from new research
Homework: The useful and the useless
A new wrinkle in the research about the real value of homework
(Correction: Earlier version mistakenly said kids were being asked to read at school when it was supposed to be at home.)
No Homework Policy: One Year Later
.Last school year was a really big year in my classroom. We started flexible seating (you can read more about that adventure HERE ), we implemented a Bring Your Own Device program, and we did away with homework. Like I said– BIG year!
While each of those three changes contributed to a very different feel in my classroom than years prior, I was particularly nervous about doing away with homework. I know that homework has its place, and I know there are concepts and skills (especially in 4th grade!) that require repetition to really grasp. Yet, I still felt like the reasons to do away with homework were more important than the benefits of homework itself.
Throughout the school year, I had many colleagues pop in and ask how our no-homework policy was going. “It's going well!” I would respond, but I wouldn't give many details. Now, after a full school year without it, I definitely have some reflections on how it went, what changes I would make, and if I would do it again!
After a Full Year of No Homework
You can see that we didn't COMPLETELY do away with homework, but we did do away with 99% of it. We still STRONGLY encouraged students to be reading each night, and they were required to have a novel in progress at all times. We also continued our weekly letter writing, where students had to respond to us in letter form by the end of the week. You can read more about that idea HERE . I'll never have a classroom where I don't do it!
We also had a disclaimer that if students did not complete their classwork in a reasonable period of time or were excessively off task during an assignment, they would need to bring it home to complete it.
How I Broke The News To My Students
Of course, when we first told students about this change, there was hooting and hollering and cheers galore! I let them have their moment and then gently pulled them back together. I reassured them that it was totally possible that they wouldn't have homework, but that it would mean they had to give me their all every. single. minute of every. single. day. Their eyes got big, they sat up taller, and an air of confidence washed over them. “We've got this, Mrs. M.!” I remember one kiddo saying. In the beginning, it was as if they would do anything to keep this privilege. We floated on clouds of no-homework bliss for a solid week…
And then here's what really happened when I did away with homework…
I expected more from my students than ever before.
When I was planning my lessons this year, I packed in more than I ever had before. While that might send like a negative effect of this little experiment, it was actually one of the best parts for me.
The Monster That Is Math
In math, in particular, this was a game changer for me. I knew that my students needed to deeply and fully understand these concepts and be able to compute with automaticity. I also knew they wouldn't be going home and doing 20 extra problems each night like they had in the past. This meant that 1) I had to make sure they understood the concept like the back of their hand and 2) They could apply that understanding to a wide variety of problems…. Of course, these are two non-negotiables that any math classroom should have, but I was going to be doing it with less practice and repetition than before.
Therefore, when I was planning, I ended up with FAR more inquiry-based lessons and practice (so that they would really get the meat of the concept), and far less direct teacher instruction. I jammed as much as I could into my whole group time (10-15 minutes a day) and then jammed even more into their workshop time. Kids were collaborating, practicing, and learning more than ever… Simply because I had this sense of urgency that I was missing before.
But What About Spelling
A few people have asked about spelling and how this worked without homework and studying at home. We use a word study philosophy, similar to Words Their Way , which means that students are studying patterns in words rather than the words themselves. I incorporated this into my reading rotations and would occasionally devote some of our writing to it, and I would highly recommend it!
Another option to fit in what would have previously been homework is to rethink your morning routine. I usually use my Think It Through critical thinking packet as morning work, and when I did away with homework this year and had to give them some more “intense” morning work, I started using the packet during Morning Meeting instead. I used our morning work time this year to review and reteach grammar concepts some days and math skills other days. It was the perfect balance!
This brought out the best in some kids
When I say it brought out the best in them, I mean it changed their study habits permanently. They created habits that I hope will continue on with them for years and years to come. They knew that in order to continue having no homework, they truly had to give me their all during the day. It wasn't easy. They had to not only complete their assignments, but complete them well. We had very, very little down time, and I expected more from this group of kids than ever before. Some rose to the challenge and THRIVED under the challenge…
…and some kids didn't care.
I did have a handful of students who were not at all motivated by a lack of homework. These were the kids who repeatedly ended up taking work home because they weren't completing it in class. Usually due to them being distracted and not on-task. Some kids learned quickly that this isn't what they wanted, and a few kids never did quite learn.
Some parents loved it. Others hated it.
On Back to School Night, when we handed out this homework policy, the general consensus was all the praise hands in the world! Parents thanked us for giving them FREEDOM in the evenings to take their kids to gymnastics without worrying about homework and some parents thanked us for eliminating the nightly homework battle they had fought for the past few years.
We also had a small number of parents who wanted their kids to have homework. They worried that they would become accustomed to not having homework and have a difficult time next year when their teacher required it again. They worried they wouldn't get enough skill practice. These were valid concerns, and we reassured parents that, if they requested it, we would send home supplemental practice. Not one of the parents who initially expressed concern over the policy ever ended up asking for homework.
…but some KIDS asked for homework!
I'll never forget the first time one of my kids ASKED for homework! It was about a month into the school year, and we were working on Error Analysis in small groups. One of my students looked up and said, “I LOVE this. Can you PLEASE give us some more to do at home!?” How could I deny them that opportunity!? 🙂 The rest of the kids in the small group chimed in that they wanted to bring some home too. During my lunch break, I printed a few more tasks out for those kids, and guess what? Every single student in that group brought it home and returned it the next day– BY CHOICE!
This happened multiple times throughout the year, primarily with my math projects and error analysis tasks. I never, ever denied them when they asked to bring something home for homework.
Some kids NEED homework.
Usually, these aren't the kids who were requesting the extra homework, but I had another handful of students who needed homework. They needed skill practice, they needed reading fluency practice, and they needed fact practice. I talked to each of those students individually and contacted those parents privately. They (both students and parents) understood why I needed to send supplemental work home. Once a quarter, I put together packets based on those kids' needs. I gave them free reign to complete it at any time throughout the quarter, and every single packet came back completed by the end of the quarter.
I would do it all over again.
At the end of the year, I had parents come up to me and thank me for this policy, telling me how they had enjoyed a better relationship with their student this year without the nightly homework battle. They had taken more walks, participated in more after school activities, and were generally so thankful for the reprieve.
As a teacher, I saw happy kids coming in every day and relaxed kids leaving every afternoon. There were no battles over missing homework, and kids worked hard to keep the privilege. I had no noticeable (anecdotally or with data) drop in achievement or growth over the course of the year. I felt like a better teacher because I worked even harder during the school day to make sure they were getting exactly what they needed while they were with me.
…Oh, and I had a lot less grading to do, too! 🙂 🙂
I would do it again a heartbeat!
Homework Policy
We strongly believe in the power of play and the importance of letting children be children. Further, research does not indicate significant benefits of homework at the elementary level. We believe that when students give us all of their day, they deserve to have all of their night. Therefore, we have eliminated the majority of our standing homework assignments. Eat dinner as a family and ask them how their day was, enjoy your child’s extracurricular activities without worrying about homework, and know that your child is working hard at school each day and has earned their evening playtime!
To foster community and self-reflection, your student will have a weekly letter from their teacher (more about that below!) to respond to, and we highly encourage you to read a book of choice with your child each evening. Please Note: If a student exhibits off-task behaviors during the school day and fails to complete an assignment, the assignment will be sent home for completion.
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Should Students Have Homework?
by Suzanne Capek Tingley, Veteran Educator, M.A. Degree
Look before you leap at giving to much or to little homework.
It used to be that students were the only ones complaining about the practice of assigning homework. For years, teachers and parents thought that homework was a necessary tool when educating children. But studies about the effectiveness of homework have been conflicting and inconclusive, leading some adults to argue that homework should become a thing of the past.
What Research Says about Homework
According to Duke professor Harris Cooper, it's important that students have homework. His meta-analysis of homework studies showed a correlation between completing homework and academic success, at least in older grades. He recommends following a "10 minute rule" : students should receive 10 minutes of homework per day in first grade, and 10 additional minutes each subsequent year, so that by twelfth grade they are completing 120 minutes of homework daily.
But his analysis didn't prove that students did better because they did homework; it simply showed a correlation . This could simply mean that kids who do homework are more committed to doing well in school. Cooper also found that some research showed that homework caused physical and emotional stress, and created negative attitudes about learning. He suggested that more research needed to be done on homework's effect on kids.
Further reading: Get Homework Done and Turned In
Some researchers say that the question isn't whether kids should have homework. It's more about what kind of homework students have and how much. To be effective, homework has to meet students' needs. For example, some middle school teachers have found success with online math homework that's adapted to each student's level of understanding. But when middle school students were assigned more than an hour and a half of homework, their math and science test scores went down .
Researchers at Indiana University discovered that math and science homework may improve standardized test grades, but they found no difference in course grades between students who did homework and those who didn't. These researchers theorize that homework doesn't result in more content mastery, but in greater familiarity with the kinds of questions that appear on standardized tests. According to Professor Adam Maltese, one of the study's authors, "Our results hint that maybe homework is not being used as well as it could be."
So while many teachers and parents support daily homework, it's hard to find strong evidence that the long-held practice produces positive results.
Problems with Homework
In an article in Education Week Teacher , teacher Samantha Hulsman said she's frequently heard parents complain that a 30-minute homework assignment turns into a three-hour battle with their kids. Now, she's facing the same problem with her own kids, which has her rethinking her former beliefs about homework. "I think parents expect their children to have homework nightly, and teachers assign daily homework because it's what we've always done," she explained. Today, Hulsman said, it's more important to know how to collaborate and solve problems than it is to know specific facts.
Child psychologist Kenneth Barish wrote in Psychology Today that battles over homework rarely result in a child's improvement in school . Children who don't do their homework are not lazy, he said, but they may be frustrated, discouraged, or anxious. And for kids with learning disabilities, homework is like "running with a sprained ankle. It's doable, but painful."
Barish suggests that parents and kids have a "homework plan" that limits the time spent on homework. The plan should include turning off all devices—not just the student's, but those belonging to all family members.
One of the best-known critics of homework, Alfie Kohn , says that some people wrongly believe "kids are like vending machines—put in an assignment, get out learning." Kohn points to the lack of evidence that homework is an effective learning tool; in fact, he calls it "the greatest single extinguisher of children's curiosity that we have yet invented."
Homework Bans
Last year, the public schools in Marion County, Florida, decided on a no-homework policy for all of their elementary students . Instead, kids read nightly for 20 minutes. Superintendent Heidi Maier said the decision was based on Cooper's research showing that elementary students gain little from homework, but a lot from reading.
Orchard Elementary School in South Burlington, Vermont, followed the same path, substituting reading for homework. The homework policy has four parts : read nightly, go outside and play, have dinner with your family, and get a good night's sleep. Principal Mark Trifilio says that his staff and parents support the idea.
But while many elementary schools are considering no-homework policies, middle schools and high schools have been reluctant to abandon homework. Schools say parents support homework and teachers know it can be helpful when it is specific and follows certain guidelines. For example, practicing solving word problems can be helpful, but there's no reason to assign 50 problems when 10 will do. Recognizing that not all kids have the time, space, and home support to do homework is important, so it shouldn't be counted as part of a student's grade.
Further reading: Balancing Extracurriculars with Homework in High School
So Should Students Have Homework?
Should you ban homework in your classroom? If you teach lower grades, it's possible. If you teach middle or high school, probably not. But all teachers should think carefully about their homework policies. By limiting the amount of homework and improving the quality of assignments, you can improve learning outcomes for your students.
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Suzanne Capek Tingley started as a high school English/Spanish teacher, transitioned to middle school, and eventually became a principal, superintendent, and adjunct professor in education administration at the State University of New York. She is the author of the funny, but practical book for teachers, How to Handle Difficult Parents (Prufrock Press). Her work has appeared in many publications including Education Week, and her blog, Practical Leadership, was featured on the Scholastic website. She has been a presenter and consultant, and with Magna Publications she developed videos on demand highlighting successful strategies for classroom teachers. Among her honors is a Woman of Distinction Award from the New York State Senate. She is a strong believer that all kids can learn and that teaching requires art, skill, and a good sense of humor.
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In recent years, some districts have even implemented no-homework policies, as students juggle sports, music and other activities after school. Parents of elementary school students, in...
Gaithersburg Elementary School in Rockville, Maryland, is one of them, eliminating the traditional concept of homework in 2012. The policy is still in place and working fine, Principal...
At The Country School, children have no homework until the second trimester of 5th grade. There is no evidence of a clear connection between homework, improved test scores and academic achievement in the lower grades. Traditional homework also limits valuable family time, and may even be detrimental to students’ mental health.
Schulte encourages parents and caregivers to resist homework. This might include fighting for no-homework policies at their children’s schools, and pushing back against unrealistic...
Taking a stand to implement a no homework policy should be based on the needs of the students and not the opinions of fellow teachers or parents. However, teachers who want to put an end to...
Anderson gradually scaled back the amount of homework. He started out by reducing the number of math problems from 30 to around 12 and continued from there. By 2016, homework went from 25 percent of a student's grade to only 1 percent. As he proceeded, Anderson looked through the existing research on homework.
No Homework Policy Orchard School Homework Information Student’s Daily Home Assignment 1. Read just-right books every night — (and have your parents read to you too) . 2.
Homework Policy We strongly believe in the power of play and the importance of letting children be children. Further, research does not indicate significant benefits of homework at the elementary level. We believe that when students give us all of their day, they deserve to have all of their night.
Last year, the public schools in Marion County, Florida, decided on a no-homework policy for all of their elementary students. Instead, kids read nightly for 20 minutes. Superintendent Heidi Maier said the decision was based on Cooper's research showing that elementary students gain little from homework, but a lot from reading.