value of homework in primary school

Should Kids Get Homework?

Homework gives elementary students a way to practice concepts, but too much can be harmful, experts say.

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Effective homework reinforces math, reading, writing or spelling skills, but in a way that's meaningful.

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."

Study Tips for High School Students

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Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

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

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

Do your homework.

If only it were that simple.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Senior Contributing Editor

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

She can be reached at [email protected] .

Comments & Discussion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

we have the same name

so they have the same name what of it?

lol you tell her

totally agree

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

homework isn’t that bad

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

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

i totally agree with you. these people are such boomers

why just why

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

why the hell?

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

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

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

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

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

not true it just causes kids to stress

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

homework does help

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

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

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

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

I disagree.

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

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

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

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

Homeowkr is god for stusenrs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

oof i feel bad good luck!

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

thx for the article guys.

Homework is good

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

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

It was published FEb 19, 2019.

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

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

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

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

What lala land do these teachers live in?

Homework gives noting to the kid

Homework is Bad

homework is bad.

why do kids even have homework?

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What’s the Right Amount of Homework?

Decades of research show that homework has some benefits, especially for students in middle and high school—but there are risks to assigning too much.

Many teachers and parents believe that homework helps students build study skills and review concepts learned in class. Others see homework as disruptive and unnecessary, leading to burnout and turning kids off to school. Decades of research show that the issue is more nuanced and complex than most people think: Homework is beneficial, but only to a degree. Students in high school gain the most, while younger kids benefit much less.

The National PTA and the National Education Association support the “ 10-minute homework guideline ”—a nightly 10 minutes of homework per grade level. But many teachers and parents are quick to point out that what matters is the quality of the homework assigned and how well it meets students’ needs, not the amount of time spent on it.

The guideline doesn’t account for students who may need to spend more—or less—time on assignments. In class, teachers can make adjustments to support struggling students, but at home, an assignment that takes one student 30 minutes to complete may take another twice as much time—often for reasons beyond their control. And homework can widen the achievement gap, putting students from low-income households and students with learning disabilities at a disadvantage.

However, the 10-minute guideline is useful in setting a limit: When kids spend too much time on homework, there are real consequences to consider.

Small Benefits for Elementary Students

As young children begin school, the focus should be on cultivating a love of learning, and assigning too much homework can undermine that goal. And young students often don’t have the study skills to benefit fully from homework, so it may be a poor use of time (Cooper, 1989 ; Cooper et al., 2006 ; Marzano & Pickering, 2007 ). A more effective activity may be nightly reading, especially if parents are involved. The benefits of reading are clear: If students aren’t proficient readers by the end of third grade, they’re less likely to succeed academically and graduate from high school (Fiester, 2013 ).

For second-grade teacher Jacqueline Fiorentino, the minor benefits of homework did not outweigh the potential drawback of turning young children against school at an early age, so she experimented with dropping mandatory homework. “Something surprising happened: They started doing more work at home,” Fiorentino writes . “This inspiring group of 8-year-olds used their newfound free time to explore subjects and topics of interest to them.” She encouraged her students to read at home and offered optional homework to extend classroom lessons and help them review material.

Moderate Benefits for Middle School Students

As students mature and develop the study skills necessary to delve deeply into a topic—and to retain what they learn—they also benefit more from homework. Nightly assignments can help prepare them for scholarly work, and research shows that homework can have moderate benefits for middle school students (Cooper et al., 2006 ). Recent research also shows that online math homework, which can be designed to adapt to students’ levels of understanding, can significantly boost test scores (Roschelle et al., 2016 ).

There are risks to assigning too much, however: A 2015 study found that when middle school students were assigned more than 90 to 100 minutes of daily homework, their math and science test scores began to decline (Fernández-Alonso, Suárez-Álvarez, & Muñiz, 2015 ). Crossing that upper limit can drain student motivation and focus. The researchers recommend that “homework should present a certain level of challenge or difficulty, without being so challenging that it discourages effort.” Teachers should avoid low-effort, repetitive assignments, and assign homework “with the aim of instilling work habits and promoting autonomous, self-directed learning.”

In other words, it’s the quality of homework that matters, not the quantity. Brian Sztabnik, a veteran middle and high school English teacher, suggests that teachers take a step back and ask themselves these five questions :

• How long will it take to complete?
• Have all learners been considered?
• Will an assignment encourage future success?
• Will an assignment place material in a context the classroom cannot?
• Does an assignment offer support when a teacher is not there?

More Benefits for High School Students, but Risks as Well

By the time they reach high school, students should be well on their way to becoming independent learners, so homework does provide a boost to learning at this age, as long as it isn’t overwhelming (Cooper et al., 2006 ; Marzano & Pickering, 2007 ). When students spend too much time on homework—more than two hours each night—it takes up valuable time to rest and spend time with family and friends. A 2013 study found that high school students can experience serious mental and physical health problems, from higher stress levels to sleep deprivation, when assigned too much homework (Galloway, Conner, & Pope, 2013 ).

Homework in high school should always relate to the lesson and be doable without any assistance, and feedback should be clear and explicit.

Teachers should also keep in mind that not all students have equal opportunities to finish their homework at home, so incomplete homework may not be a true reflection of their learning—it may be more a result of issues they face outside of school. They may be hindered by issues such as lack of a quiet space at home, resources such as a computer or broadband connectivity, or parental support (OECD, 2014 ). In such cases, giving low homework scores may be unfair.

Since the quantities of time discussed here are totals, teachers in middle and high school should be aware of how much homework other teachers are assigning. It may seem reasonable to assign 30 minutes of daily homework, but across six subjects, that’s three hours—far above a reasonable amount even for a high school senior. Psychologist Maurice Elias sees this as a common mistake: Individual teachers create homework policies that in aggregate can overwhelm students. He suggests that teachers work together to develop a school-wide homework policy and make it a key topic of back-to-school night and the first parent-teacher conferences of the school year.

Parents Play a Key Role

Homework can be a powerful tool to help parents become more involved in their child’s learning (Walker et al., 2004 ). It can provide insights into a child’s strengths and interests, and can also encourage conversations about a child’s life at school. If a parent has positive attitudes toward homework, their children are more likely to share those same values, promoting academic success.

But it’s also possible for parents to be overbearing, putting too much emphasis on test scores or grades, which can be disruptive for children (Madjar, Shklar, & Moshe, 2015 ). Parents should avoid being overly intrusive or controlling—students report feeling less motivated to learn when they don’t have enough space and autonomy to do their homework (Orkin, May, & Wolf, 2017 ; Patall, Cooper, & Robinson, 2008 ; Silinskas & Kikas, 2017 ). So while homework can encourage parents to be more involved with their kids, it’s important to not make it a source of conflict.

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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How to use homework to support student success.

• by: Sandra Chafouleas
• January 13, 2022
• Community Engagement

Editor’s Note: Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Sandra Chafouleas shares insights on supporting students’ homework during the pandemic in the following piece, which originally appeared  in Psychology Today , where she publishes a blog.

COVID has brought many changes in education. What does it mean for homework?

School assignments that a student is expected to do outside of the regular school day—that’s homework. The general guideline is 10 minutes of nightly homework per grade level beginning after kindergarten. This amounts to just a few minutes for younger elementary students to up to 2 hours for high school students.

The guidance seems straightforward enough, so why is homework such a controversial topic? School disruptions, including extended periods of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, have magnified the controversies yet also have provided an opportunity to rethink the purpose and value of homework.

Debates about the value of homework center around two primary issues: amount and inequity.

First, the amount of assigned homework may be much more than the recommended guidelines. Families report their children are stressed out over the time spent doing homework. Too much homework can challenge well-being given the restricted time available for sleep, exercise, and social connection. In a 2015 study , for example, parents reported their early elementary children received almost three times the recommended guidelines. In high school, researchers found an average of three hours of homework per night for students living in economically privileged communities.

“ Debates about the value of homework center around two primary issues: amount and inequity.”

Second, homework can perpetuate inequities. Students attending school in less economically privileged communities may receive little to no homework, or have difficulty completing it due to limited access to needed technology. This can translate into fewer opportunities to learn and may contribute to gaps in achievement.

There isn’t a ton of research on the effects of homework, and available studies certainly do not provide a simple answer. For example, a 2006 synthesis of studies suggested a positive influence between homework completion and academic achievement for middle and high school students. Supporters also point out that homework offers additional opportunities to engage in learning and that it can foster independent learning habits such as planning and a sense of responsibility. A more recent study involving 13-year-old students in Spain found higher test scores for those who were regularly assigned homework in math and science, with an optimal time around one hour—which is roughly aligned with recommendations. However, the researchers noted that ability to independently do the work, student effort, and prior achievement were more important contributors than time spent.

Opponents of homework maintain that the academic benefit does not outweigh the toll on well-being. Researchers have observed student stress, physical health problems, and lack of life balance, especially when the time spent goes over the recommended guidelines. In a survey of adolescents , over half reported the amount and type of homework they received to be a primary source of stress in their lives. In addition, vast differences exist in access and availability of supports, such as internet connection, adult assistance, or even a place to call home, as 1.5 million children experience homelessness in the United States

The COVID-19 pandemic has re-energized discussion about homework practices, with the goal to advance recommendations about how, when, and with whom it can be best used. Here’s a summary of key strategies:

Strategies for Educators

Make sure the tasks are meaningful and matched..

First, the motto “ quality over quantity ” can guide decisions about homework. Homework is not busy-work, and instead should get students excited about learning. Emphasize activities that facilitate choice and interest to extend learning, like choose your own reading adventure or math games. Second, each student should be able to complete homework independently with success. Think about Goldilocks: To be effective, assignments should be just right for each learner. One example of how do this efficiently is through online learning platforms that can efficiently adjust to skill level and can be completed in a reasonable amount of time.

Ensure access to resources for task completion.

One step toward equity is to ensure access to necessary resources such as time, space, and materials. Teach students about preparing for homework success, allocating classroom time to model and practice good study habits such as setting up their physical environment, time management, and chunking tasks. Engage in conversations with students and families to problem-solve challenges When needed, connect students with homework supports available through after-school clubs, other community supports, or even within a dedicated block during the school day.

Be open to revisiting homework policies and practices.

The days of penalizing students for not completing homework should be long gone. Homework is a tool for practicing content and learning self-management. With that in mind, provide opportunities for students to communicate needs, and respond by revising assignments or allowing them to turn in on alternative dates. Engage in adult professional learning about high-quality homework , from value (Should I assign this task?) to evaluation (How should this be graded? Did that homework assignment result in expected outcomes?). Monitor how things are going by looking at completion rates and by asking students for their feedback. Be willing to adapt the homework schedule or expectations based on what is learned.

Strategies for Families

Understand how to be a good helper..

When designed appropriately, students should be able to complete homework with independence. Limit homework wars by working to be a good helper. Hovering, micromanaging, or doing homework for them may be easiest in the moment but does not help build their independence. Be a good helper by asking guiding questions, providing hints, or checking for understanding. Focus your assistance on setting up structures for homework success, like space and time.

Use homework as a tool for communication.

Use homework as a vehicle to foster family-school communication. Families can use homework as an opportunity to open conversations about specific assignments or classes, peer relationships, or even sleep quality that may be impacting student success. For younger students, using a daily or weekly home-school notebook or planner can be one way to share information. For older students, help them practice communicating their needs and provide support as needed.

Make sure to balance wellness.

Like adults, children need a healthy work-life balance. Positive social connection and engagement in pleasurable activities are important core principles to foster well-being . Monitor the load of homework and other structured activities to make sure there is time in the daily routine for play. Play can mean different things to different children: getting outside, reading for pleasure, and yes, even gaming. Just try to ensure that activities include a mix of health-focused activities such as physical movement or mindfulness downtime.

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The Challenge of Teaching pp 229–234 Cite as

How Beneficial Is Homework for Students in Primary School?

Do Primary School Students Need to Do Homework?

• Natalie Dobell 4  
• First Online: 12 October 2016

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As I grew up I developed a positive view on the value of homework, thanks to regular support from my nanna, a retired primary school teacher, and from having cystic fibrosis, which made homework vital for me when I had to spend time in hospital. While I hated the homework, the transition back to class would have been difficult without it, and I am grateful that the teachers put in extra effort to keep me from falling behind. In my current practicum I had thus thought that homework would be beneficial, as a majority of this class were below average in reading and spelling. However, while my mentor teacher sometimes tried to assign homework, it was always completed by just the same few students and never by the others. When I investigated the issue further by asking many teachers about it, the majority thought that homework benefitted students’ reading, some stating that homework worksheets were particularly useful for upper primary students. Even so, from my practicum experiences, reading many articles, and discussions with teachers, parents and students, I have come to the conclusion that homework is not beneficial for all primary school students. There are many factors to consider, such as the socioeconomic levels of the class, the students’ academic abilities, and whether the students will require assistance and if that is available to them.

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Baker, F. (n.d.). The great homework debate. http://www.kidspot.com.au/school/primary/homework/the-great-homework-debate . Accessed 29 Jan 2016.

MacGibbon, A. (2009, September 21). Life after school: All homework, no play. The Sydney Morning Hearald . http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/life-after-school-all-homework-no-play-20090920-fwt2.html . Accessed 29 Jan 2016.

OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). (2009). Education at a glance 2009: OECD indicators . http://www.oecd.org/edu/skills-beyond-school/educationataglance2009oecdindicators.htm . Accessed 29 Jan 2016.

Paton, G. (2014, October 5). Homework ‘damages’ primary age pupils. The Telegraph . http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11140668/Homework-damagesprimary-age-pupils.html . Accessed 29 Jan 2016.

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What’s the point of homework?

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Homework hasn’t changed much in the past few decades. Most children are still sent home with about an hour’s worth of homework each day, mostly practising what they were taught in class.

If we look internationally, homework is assigned in every country that participated in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2012.

Across the participating countries, 15-year-old students reported spending almost five hours per week doing homework in 2012. Australian students spent six hours per week on average on homework. Students in Singapore spent seven hours on homework, and in Shanghai, China they did homework for about 14 hours per week on average.

Read more: Aussie students are a year behind students 10 years ago in science, maths and reading

Shanghai and Singapore routinely score higher than Australia in the PISA maths, science and reading tests. But homework could just be one of the factors leading to higher results. In Finland, which also scores higher than Australia, students spent less than three hours on homework per week.

So, what’s the purpose of homework and what does the evidence say about whether it fulfils its purpose?

Why do teachers set homework?

Each school in Australia has its own homework policy developed in consultation with teachers and parents or caregivers, under the guiding principles of state or regional education departments.

For instance, according to the New South Wales homework policy “… tasks should be assigned by teachers with a specific, explicit learning purpose”.

Homework in NSW should also be “purposeful and designed to meet specific learning goals”, and “built on knowledge, skills and understanding developed in class”. But there is limited, if any, guidance on how often homework should be set.

Research based on teacher interviews shows they set homework for a range of reasons. These include to:

establish and improve communication between parents and children about learning

help children be more responsible, confident and disciplined

practise or review material from class

determine children’s understanding of the lesson and/or skills

introduce new material to be presented in class

provide students with opportunities to apply and integrate skills to new situations or interest areas

get students to use their own skills to create work.

So, does homework achieve what teachers intend it to?

Do we know if it ‘works’?

Studies on homework are frequently quite general, and don’t consider specific types of homework tasks. So it isn’t easy to measure how effective homework could be, or to compare studies.

But there are several things we can say.

First, it’s better if every student gets the kind of homework task that benefits them personally, such as one that helps them answer questions they had, or understand a problem they couldn’t quite grasp in class. This promotes students’ confidence and control of their own learning.

Read more: Learning from home is testing students' online search skills. Here are 3 ways to improve them

Giving students repetitive tasks may not have much value . For instance, calculating the answer to 120 similar algorithms, such as adding two different numbers 120 times may make the student think maths is irrelevant and boring. In this case, children are not being encouraged to find solutions but simply applying a formula they learnt in school.

In primary schools, homework that aims to improve children’s confidence and learning discipline can be beneficial. For example, children can be asked to practise giving a presentation on a topic of their interest. This could help build their competence in speaking in front of a class.

Homework can also highlight equity issues. It can be particularly burdensome for socioeconomically disadvantaged students who may not have a space, the resources or as much time due to family and work commitments. Their parents may also not feel capable of supporting them or have their own work commitments.

According to the PISA studies mentioned earlier, socioeconomically disadvantaged 15 year olds spend nearly three hours less on homework each week than their advantaged peers.

Read more: 'I was astonished at how quickly they made gains': online tutoring helps struggling students catch up

What kind of homework is best?

Homework can be engaging and contribute to learning if it is more than just a sheet of maths or list of spelling words not linked to class learning. From summarising various studies’ findings, “good” homework should be:

personalised to each child rather than the same for all students in the class. This is more likely to make a difference to a child’s learning and performance

achievable, so the child can complete it independently, building skills in managing their time and behaviour

aligned to the learning in the classroom.

If you aren’t happy with the homework your child is given then approach the school. If your child is having difficulty with doing the homework, the teacher needs to know. It shouldn’t be burdensome for you or your children.

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Homework is defined as tasks assigned to students by school teachers that are intended to be carried out during non-school hours [i] .  Homework is a unique educational practice as it is the only learning strategy that crosses the boundary between the school and the home. Much virtue has been attributed to the practice of homework that has not been borne out by research. Both teachers and parents have strong feelings, both positive and negative, about the value of homework, and parents and teachers alike still confuse homework load with rigour, and compliance with responsibility. To further complicate matters, most teachers have never been trained in the effective use of homework, so tend to rely on the traditional types of tasks they experienced as students.

In recent years, the practice of homework has come under critical review, with public attitudes around the globe changing, and with the following international trends emerging:

• Eliminating homework in the first 2-3 years of primary school.
• Limiting homework to reading only in the first 6 years of primary school.
• Eliminating weekend or holiday homework at all levels.

Many of these changes in policy have occurred at the school or district level, but some countries have instituted these changes through government mandate.

Homework and families

The diversity of families makes the practice of homework even more complicated. Parents within the same community may differ in their beliefs about the place of academic work in life. Some parents prioritise academics (wanting more homework), others want a balance of academics and chosen activities, and others prioritise leisure and happiness (wanting less or no homework). There is also a growing parent activism around the world, driven by the role homework plays in children’s stress levels and an awareness of the need for balance in work, play, downtime and sleep. Parents are speaking out with concerns about ‘academic stress’ and work/life balance for students and, as a result, are demanding more control over their child’s free time.  Parents are also pushing back against using extra homework as punishment for misbehaviour in the classroom and practices that punish students for not completing homework.

There are also concerns about homework as an equity issue. Economic differences can entrench privilege as children from wealthier families enjoy ready access to technology, tutors, and educated parents, while children of poverty may lack access to technology, materials, and favourable working conditions.  A study by the OECD [ii] of students from 38 different countries showed that students from higher social classes did more homework than students from lower social classes. More affluent parents are also more likely to help with homework than less affluent parents, and families living in poverty often need to prioritise family responsibilities and paid work over homework.

In an effort to address the widening economic diversity of families and to accommodate different parental preferences, some traditional homework practices, such as punishing students for incomplete homework or for a parent’s failure to sign homework, assigning extra homework to students as punishment for classroom misbehaviour, and including homework as a prerequisite for grade or year completion, are being discontinued in primary schools. Other homework practices are gaining popularity in primary schools, such as:

• Allowing flexibility in when homework is due, moving away from daily homework to homework that may be turned in over several days.
• Differentiating homework for parents—providing additional resources for parents who desire additional work for their child (challenge packets, lists of websites) and allowing other parents to ‘opt out’ of homework, or to choose to limit the amount of time their child spends on homework.
• Providing more time during the school day or after school for students to complete homework at school. Some schools, especially those in high poverty communities, are extending the school day, so that all homework is completed at school.

The research on homework

The results of research about the benefit of homework to academic achievement are mixed, inconclusive, and sometimes contradictory. These results are not surprising given that homework involves the complex interaction of a number of factors, such as differences in children, teachers, tasks, home environments, measurements of learning, and the unique interaction between homework and classroom learning within individual students [iii] . The pervasive flaw of the early homework research was that it focused almost exclusively on the correlation between time and achievement, with no consideration of the type or quality of the homework task.  That research failed to show that homework improves the academic performance of primary school students, and revealed that, up to a point, the correlation of homework time and achievement appeared positive, but past the optimum amount of time, achievement either remained flat or declined [iv] .

What was the optimum amount of time spent on homework? Curiously, the appropriate amount of homework for different year levels was consistent with a longstanding guideline called the 10-minute rule (origin unknown).  The 10-minute rule is a guideline many schools follow that homework should not exceed 10 minutes per year level per night, all subjects combined. That is, a student in year one should be expected to complete no more than 10 minutes per night, while a student in year six should be expected to complete no more than 60 minutes per night [v] . Interestingly, there is no recommendation for any amount of new entrants’ homework by any educational group.

However, while the 10-minute rule may be helpful as an upper limit, it fails to take into account the quality of the task and differences in students’ working speeds. It is important to remember that correlation of time and achievement is not causation: it is impossible to show that homework causes higher achievement. Correlating time and achievement also ignores many any other variables that may affect achievement. After controlling for motivation, ability, quality of instruction, course work quantity, and some background variables, no meaningful effect of homework on achievement remained [vi] . 

Due to such discrepancies and other flaws in homework studies, researchers disagree as to whether or not homework enhances achievement. While many hold strongly to their assertion that homework is beneficial, others point to newer studies that seem to discount early research. A new generation of homework studies using more sophisticated analyses and controlling for more variables often fail to find a significant relationship between homework time and achievement, especially with primary students [vii] .

Teachers should view the research through the lens of what they intuitively know about their students and apply the same principles of effective teaching and learning to homework that they would apply to the classroom. Teachers know that organisation and structure of learning matters, that feedback about learning is critical, that the quality of a learning task matters, and that student differences in developmental levels, learning preferences and persistence must be considered. Achievement is related not to the amount of homework or the time spent on it, but to the quality of the homework task, the student’s perception of the value of the task, and how interesting the task appears. In other words, task quality is what really matters.

Purposes of homework

If homework is given, it should be purposeful and meaningful, not just given for the sake of assigning homework. Before designing a homework task, teachers must first determine the purpose of the task.  This may include pre-learning, diagnosis, checking for understanding, practice, or processing. Homework should not be used for new learning.

• Pre-learning: traditional preparation homework, such as reading or outlining a chapter before a discussion, was often used as background for a more in-depth lesson. A more engaging use of pre-learning would be to discover what students already know about a topic or what they are interested in learning about (such as asking them to write down questions they have about the digestive system). The most valuable use of pre-learning homework may be to stimulate interest in a concept (such as listing eye colour and hair colour of relatives for a genetics lesson).
• Diagnosis: how do we design learning if we don’t know where students are?  Diagnostic homework may include pre-tests, a checklist of ‘I can’ statements, or a practice test to assess prerequisite skills. Diagnostic homework saves time—once teachers know where students are in their skills or knowledge, they can plan instruction more efficiently.
• Checking for understanding: this is probably the most neglected use of homework, yet it is the most valuable way for teachers to gain insight into student learning. For instance, journal questions about a science experiment may ask the student to explain what happened and why. Asking students to identify literary devices in a short story shows the teacher whether the student understands literary devices. Asking students to do a few sample problems in math and to explain the steps lets the teacher know if the student understands how to do the problem.
• Practice: the traditional use of homework has been for the practice of rote skills, such as multiplication tables, or things that need to be memorised, such as spelling words. Although practice is necessary for many rote skills, there are three mistakes that teachers sometimes make with the use of practice homework. First, teachers may believe they are giving practice homework when, in fact, the student did not understand the concept or skill in class. The homework then actually involves new learning and is often quite frustrating. Second, if teachers skip the step of checking for understanding, students may be practising something incorrectly and internalising misconceptions. For instance, students should practise math operations only after the teacher has adequately checked for understanding. Third, distributed practice is better than mass practice—that is, practice is more effective when distributed over several days. A smart practice for math is two-tiered homework: Part One is three problems to check for understanding of a new skill, and Part Two is 10 problems to practise a skill previously learned.
• Processing. Processing homework asks students to do something new with concepts or skills they have learned – to apply skills, reflect on concepts that were discussed in class, think of new questions to ask, or synthesise information. Processing homework may be a single task such as applying maths skills to a new word problem, or a long-term project such as demonstrating writing skills in an original essay or creating a schematic to show the relationship between major concepts in a unit.

Designing quality homework tasks

Creating quality homework tasks requires attention to four aspects:

• Academic purpose — Tasks should communicate a clear academic purpose.
• Efficiency — Tasks should help students reach the learning goal without wasting time or energy.
• Competence — Tasks should have a positive effect on a student’s sense of competence. Homework tasks should be designed so that even young students can complete the task without adult help.
• Ownership — Tasks should be personally relevant and customised to promote ownership [viii] .

Academic purpose: all homework should clearly state the learning goal for the assignment. Sometimes homework tasks are well-intentioned attempts to have students do something fun or interesting, but the academic focus is not apparent (for instance, what exactly is the learning purpose of a word search?). Writing out definitions of vocabulary words or colouring in a map may sound like good homework, but one might question whether those tasks are appropriate to a focus on higher level thinking. Best practice suggests that students shouldn’t just write spelling words – they should use them to write declarative essays. They shouldn’t merely define the parts of the cell – they should create an analogy for the cell parts and functions. They shouldn’t just complete 20 identical math problems – they should apply math skills to new problems. Instead of reading logs which simply ask students (or parents) to document that they spent time reading, a better task would be to have the student write a reading blog to talk about what they have been reading.

Efficiency: sometraditional tasksmay be inefficient—either because they show no evidence of learning or because they take an inordinate amount of time.  Projects that require non-academic skills (like cutting, gluing, or drawing) are often inefficient.  Classic projects like dioramas, models, and poster displays are created by teachers with all the best intentions – they see them as a fun, creative way for students to show what they have learned.  But unless content requirements are clearly spelled out in a rubric, projects can reveal very little about the student’s content knowledge and much more about their artistic talents.

Competence: an important objective of primary homework is to ensure that students feel positive about learning and develop an identity as successful learners. Homework tasks should be designed not only to support classroom learning but also to instill a sense of competence in the learner. In fact, when students feel unsuccessful in approaching homework tasks, they often avoid the tasks completely as a way to protect their self-esteem. Teachers should adjust homework difficulty or the amount of work based on their assessment of the student’s skill level or understanding. Struggling learners may need simpler reading material or tasks that are more concrete or more scaffolded.  For students who work more slowly, the remedy should be to give the student less work rather than expecting them to work longer than other students. A simple differentiation for struggling learners is to make homework time-based (‘spend 20 minutes on this task, draw a line’) rather than task-based (finish the task regardless how long it takes). Just as checking for understanding is an important purpose for homework, teachers also need to check for frustration. Teachers should solicit feedback from students, finding out how students feel about approaching certain tasks and how they feel after they’ve attempted those tasks.

Ownership.  Another important objective of homework is independent learning, but often homework is not structured with enough agency to allow for that independence.  Perhaps that is because teachers believe the tasks they prescribe will naturally lead to the learning they desire for all students. But one-size-fits-all-homework rarely fits all.  When we give students more ownership of the homework task, we make it more efficient and students are more motivated. Choice is at the heart of that student ownership. Homework choice can be as limited as ‘pick any 10 of the 30 problems’, as specific as having students work only on learning goals that they are struggling with, or as wide open as a self-selected and self-designed project. Students may not always have a choice about the learning goal, but they can almost always be given some agency in designing the best task for them to reach the goal.  For instance, suppose the learning goal is for all students to memorise their multiplication tables. The homework might look like this:

• Create your own method to memorise your multiplication tables. Here are some ideas other students have tried – writing, reciting, making note cards, drawing a colour-coded chart, or creating a song.
• Share your idea with the class tomorrow.
• Practise your method this week.
• Evaluate how well your method worked after the quiz on Friday.

It may be helpful to think of the amount of ownership students are allowed in homework as a continuum from traditional to differentiated to personalised. Traditional homework is designed by teachers with no student input – prescribed tasks such as practice math problems or assigned reading in their science book. As we give students more ownership, we may give choices or we may differentiate. For instance, all students need to read, but they may be given choices of what they read. Students may need to practise subtraction, but they may create their own problems based on items in their home.

For the ultimate ownership, we may allow students to pursue personalised homework. Personalised homework involves students in goal setting (typically based on academic standards), planning a specific homework task, and planning how they will demonstrate learning. The personalised homework most familiar to teachers is probably genius hour (also called passion projects), which involves giving students a block of time to learn more about something that they are curious about, or that excites or inspires them.  These long-term research projects often start in the classroom, with students transitioning to working on them as homework, bringing them back periodically for feedback, and eventually presenting their results to an audience.   

What makes sense for many teachers is a balance of traditional homework, differentiated homework, and personalised homework over the course of a term or year.  Often, some personalised homework will be blended into day-to-day learning in tandem with other more teacher-directed assignments.  Many teachers reserve personalised homework for times when student motivation wanes, such as before the holidays or near the end of the school year. 

Should homework be graded?

Research has shown the effect of feedback to be more powerful than many other factors that influence learning [ix] . As more primary schools focus on mastery learning, homework is increasingly viewed as formative feedback. The current consensus among researchers is that homework’s role should be as formative assessment—assessment for learning that takes place during learning [x] .  Homework’s role is not assessment of learning – therefore, it should not be graded. Ideally, homework is given feedback, monitored for completion, and reported separately as a work habit.

Homework is just one part of an overall instructional plan. As our curricula, teaching strategies, and assessment strategies evolve to better meet student needs, so should our homework practices. Only by creating assignments that are effective and equitable can we make homework a valuable part of instruction and learning.

[i] Cooper, H. (2007).  The battle over homework: Common ground for administrators, teachers, and parents. (3 rd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

[ii] Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2014). Does homework perpetuate inequalities in education?    www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-results-in-focus.pdf . Retrieved 8-4-17.

[iii] Horsley, M. and Walker, R. (2013). Reforming homework: practices, learning and policy. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Palgrave Macmillan.

[iv] Cooper, H. (2007).  The battle over homework: Common ground for administrators, teachers, and parents. (3 rd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

[v] Vatterott, C. (2018). Rethinking homework: Best practices that support diverse needs , 2 nd edition. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

[vi] Trautwein, U., & Koller, O. (2003). The relationship between homework and achievement—still much of a mystery. Educational Psychology Review, 15 (2), 115–145.

[vii] Vatterott, C. (2018). Rethinking homework: Best practices that support diverse needs , 2 nd edition. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

[viii] Vatterott, C. (2010).  Five hallmarks of good homework.  Educational Leadership, 68(1), 10-15.

[ix] Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning .  London: Routledge.

[x] Vatterott, C. (2018). Rethinking homework: Best practices that support diverse needs , 2 nd edition. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

 By Dr Cathy Vatterott

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Dr. Cathy Vatterott

Dr. Cathy Vatterott is Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and a former teacher and school principal. She is the author of four books, most recently Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs, 2nd edition (ASCD, 2018), and Rethinking Grading: Meaningful Assessment for Standards Based Learning (ASCD, 2015). She frequently presents at national conferences and serves as a consultant and workshop presenter for K-12 schools on homework, grading practices, and teen stress. Dr. Vatterott has been researching, writing, and speaking about K-12 homework in the United States, Canada, and Europe for over 20 years and is considered an international expert on homework. She first became interested in homework in the late 1990s as the frustrated parent of a 5th grader with learning disabilities. Her work with schools has been the catalyst for her latest research on teen stress.

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The Great British Homework Debate 2024 – Is It Necessary At Primary School?

Alexander athienitis.

The homework debate is never much out of the news. Should homework be banned? Is homework at primary school a waste of time? Do our children get too much homework?

Not long ago, UK-based US comedian Rob Delaney set the world alight with a tweet giving his own personal view of homework at primary school. We thought, as an organisation that provides maths homework support on a weekly basis, it was time to look at the facts around the homework debate in primary schools as well as, of course, reflecting the views of celebrities and those perhaps more qualified to offer an opinion!

Here’s how Rob Delaney kicked things off

Gary Lineker leant his support with the following soundbite:

And even Piers Morgan weighed in, with his usual balance of tact and sensitivity:

A very experienced and knowledgeable Headteacher, Simon Smith, who has a well-earned following on Twitter (for someone working in education, not hosting Match of the Day) also put his neck on the line and, some might think controversially, agreed with the golden-heeled Crisp King of Leicester…

Fortunately Katharine Birbalsingh, Conservative Party Conference keynote speaker and Founding Headteacher of the Michaela School, was on hand to provide the alternative view on the importance of homework. Her op-ed piece in the Sun gave plenty of reasons why homework should not be banned.

She was informative and firm in her article stating: “Homework is essential for a child’s education because revisiting the day’s learning is what helps to make it stick.”

KS2 Maths Games and Activities Pack

A FREE downloadable games and activity pack, including 20 home learning maths activities for KS2 children to complete on their own or with a partner.

How much homework do UK primary school children get?

Sadly, there’s little data comparing how much homework primary school-aged children in the UK and across the globe complete on a weekly basis. A study of teenagers used by The Telegraph shows that American high-schoolers spend an average of 6.1 hours per week compared with 4.9 hours per week of homework each week for UK-based teens.

Up until 2012, the Department of Education recommended an hour of homework a week for primary school Key Stage 1 children (aged 4 to 7) and half an hour a day for primary school Key Stage 2 children (aged 7-11). Many primary schools still use this as a guideline.

Teachers, parents and children in many schools across the land have seen more changes of homework policy than numbers of terms in some school years.

A ‘no-homework’ policy pleases only a few; a grid of creative tasks crowd-sourced from the three teachers bothered to give their input infuriates many (parents, teachers and children alike). For some parents, no matter how much homework is set, it’s never enough; for others, even asking them to fill in their child’s reading record once a week can be a struggle due to a busy working life.

Homework is very different around the world

We’d suggest that Piers Morgan’s argument for homework in comparing the UK’s economic and social progress with China’s in recent years based on total weekly homework hours is somewhat misguided – we can’t put their emergence as the world’s (if not already, soon to be) leading superpower exclusively down to having their young people endure almost triple the number of hours spent completing homework as their Western counterparts.

Nonetheless, there’s certainly a finer balance to strike between the 14 hours a week suffered by Shanghainese school-attendees and none whatsoever. Certainly parents in the UK spend less time each week helping their children than parents in emerging economies such as India, Vietnam and Colombia (Source: Varkey Foundation Report).

Disadvantages of homework at primary school

Delaney, whose son attends a London state primary school, has made it plain that he thinks his kids get given too much homework and he’d rather have them following more active or creative pursuits: drawing or playing football. A father of four sons and a retired professional footballer Gary Linaker was quick to defend this but he also has the resources to send his children to top boarding schools which generally provide very structured homework or ‘prep’ routines.

As parents Rob and Gary are not alone. According to the 2018 Ofsted annual report on Parents Views  more than a third of parents do not think homework in primary school is helpful to their children. They cite the battles and arguments it causes not to mention the specific challenges it presents to families with SEND children many of whom report serious damage to health and self-esteem as a result of too much or inappropriate homework.

It’s a truism among teachers that some types of homework tells you very little about what the child can achieve and much more about a parent’s own approach to the work. How low does your heart sink when your child comes back with a D & T project to create Stonehenge and you realise it’s either an all-nighter with glue, cardboard and crayons for you, or an uncompleted homework project for your child!

Speaking with our teacher hats on, we can tell you that homework is often cited in academic studies looking at academic progress in primary school-aged children as showing minimal to no impact.

Back on Twitter, a fellow teacher was able to weigh-in with that point:

Benefits of homework at primary school

So what are the benefits of homework at primary school? According to the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) (the key research organisations dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement) the impact of homework at primary is low, but it also doesn’t cost much.

They put it at a “+2 months” impact against a control of doing nothing. To put this into context, 1-to-1 tuition is generally seen as a +5 months impact but it’s usually considered to be expensive.

“There is some evidence that when homework is used as a short and focused intervention it can be effective in improving students’ attainment … overall the general benefits are likely to be modest if homework is more routinely set.”

Key to the benefit you’ll see from homework is that the task is appropriate and of good quality. The quantity of homework a pupil does is not so important. In this matter Katharine Birbalsingh is on the money. Short focused tasks which relate directly to what is being taught, and which are built upon in school, are likely to be more effective than regular daily homework.

In our view it’s about consolidation. So focusing on a few times tables that you find tricky or working through questions similar to what you’ve done in class that day or week often can be beneficial. 2 hours of worksheets on a Saturday when your child could be outside having fun and making friends probably isn’t. If you really want them to be doing maths, then do some outdoor maths with them instead of homework !

At Third Space Learning we believe it’s all about balance. Give the right sort of homework and the right amount at primary school and there will be improvements, but much of it comes down to parental engagement.

One of our favourite ways to practise maths at home without it become too onerous is by using educational games. Here are our favourite fun maths games , some brilliant KS2 maths games , KS1 maths games and KS3 maths games for all maths topics and then a set of 35 times tables games which are ideal for interspersing with your regular times tables practice. And best of all, most of them require no more equipment than a pen and paper or perhaps a pack of cards.

Homework and parents

One of the key benefits cited by EEF is in regard to parental engagement. Time after time, the greatest differentiator between children who make great progress at school – and those, frankly – who don’t is due to the same factor in the same studies: parental engagement .

It is a fair assumption that if a parent is engaged in their child’s learning, they’re probably going to be the same parents who encourage and support their child when they’re completing their homework.

Whereas parents who are disengaged with their child’s school and schooling – for whatever reason (sorry, Piers, it’s rarely due to laziness), are highly unlikely to be aware of what homework gets set each week, let alone to be mucking in with making sure it gets handed in completed and on time.

We also encounter time and again, the issue of parents’ own lack of confidence in maths. A survey by Pearson found that:

• 30 percent of parents “don’t feel confident enough in their own maths skills to help their children with their primary school maths homework”
• 53 per cent insisted they struggled to understand the new maths teaching methods used in modern classrooms. Fortunately that’s what we’re here to address.

Setting the right homework at primary school can be tricky

Although we disagree with Piers, we can see what he may be driving at in terms of setting appropriate homework.

The question quickly becomes what would Piers think of as being ‘interesting’ homework, and if all four of his children would agree upon the same thing being ‘interesting’.

That’s the problem.

One would imagine Piers would find it hard enough finding one task to satisfy the interest of all of his four children – it’s almost impossible to find a task that will engage the interest of 30 or more children in their out of school hours.

Each with different emotional, behavioural and learning needs, then sprinkle in the varying levels of poverty each family suffers (be it financial or in terms of time), and you can see how it isn’t just about being a good or bad teacher – whatever that means – in regards to being able to set Morgan-approved homework tasks.

What does this mean for my child?

Ultimately, the question at the top of mind whenever a parent thinks about homework is a more general one – am I doing the best for my child?

Although the world is changing at a faster pace than ever before in human history, what’s best for children hasn’t changed that much (if at all).

One-to-one support is best, and young people benefit most from adult-child conversations where they acquire new vocabulary and language structures to form and share their thoughts and opinions.

These insights – that one-to-one support is best and that regular, structured adult-child conversations are life-changing within a child’s development – are what inspired us to create Third Space Learning.

A platform where children can engage with a community of specialist tutors in a safe, structured learning environment where they are able to engage in one-to-one conversations that enable them to progress in their learning with confidence.

• How to help your child with their maths homework – A parents guide
• The Best Homework Hacks: 18 Tips And Tricks To Help Busy Parents Get It Done Faster!
• The 20 Most Recommended Teaching Blogs for UK Teachers and School Leaders

Do you have students who need extra support in maths? Every week Third Space Learning’s maths specialist tutors support thousands of students across hundreds of schools with weekly online 1-to-1 lessons and maths interventions designed to address learning gaps and boost progress. Since 2013 we’ve helped over 162,000 primary and secondary students become more confident, able mathematicians. Learn more or request a personalised quote for your school to speak to us about your school’s needs and how we can help.

Subsidised one to one maths tutoring from the UK’s most affordable DfE-approved one to one tutoring provider.

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Homework: is it worth the hassle?

Parents and educators question the value of setting assignments for students. But what does the neuroscience say?

Like all teachers, I’ve spent many hours correcting homework. Yet there’s a debate over whether we should be setting it at all.

I teach both primary and secondary, and regularly find myself drawn into the argument on the reasoning behind it – parents, and sometimes colleagues, question its validity. Parent-teacher interviews can become consumed by how much trouble students have completing assignments. All of which has led me to question the neuroscience behind setting homework. Is it worth it?

Increasingly, there’s a divide between those who support the need for homework and those who suggest the time would be better spent with family and developing relationships. The anxiety related to homework is frequently reviewed.

A survey of high-performing high schools by the Stanford Graduate School of Education, for example, found that 56% of students considered homework a primary source of stress. These same students reported that the demands of homework caused sleep deprivation and other health problems, as well as less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits.

Working memory?

When students learn in the classroom, they are using their short-term or working memory. This information is continually updated during the class. On leaving the classroom, the information in the working memory is replaced by the topic in the next class.

Adults experience a similar reaction when they walk into a new room and forget why they are there. The new set of sensory information – lighting, odours, temperature – enters their working memory and any pre-existing information is displaced. It’s only when the person returns to the same environment that they remember the key information.

But education is about more than memorising facts. Students need to access the information in ways that are relevant to their world, and to transfer knowledge to new situations.

Many of us will have struggled to remember someone’s name when we meet them in an unexpected environment (a workmate at the gym, maybe), and we are more likely to remember them again once we’ve seen them multiple times in different places. Similarly, students must practise their skills in different environments.

Revising the key skills learned in the classroom during homework increases the likelihood of a student remembering and being able to use those skills in a variety of situations in the future, contributing to their overall education.

The link between homework and educational achievement is supported by research: a meta-analysis of studies between 1987 and 2003 found that: “With only rare exceptions, the relationship between the amount of homework students do and their achievement outcomes was found to be positive and statistically significant.”

The right type of work

The homework debate is often split along the lines of primary school compared with secondary school. Education researcher Professor John Hattie, who has ranked various influences on student learning and achievement, found that homework in primary schools has a negligible effect (most homework set has little to no impact on a student’s overall learning). However, it makes a bigger difference in secondary schools.

His explanation is that students in secondary schools are often given tasks that reinforce key skills learned in the classroom that day, whereas primary students may be asked to complete separate assignments. “The worst thing you can do with homework is give kids projects; the best thing you can do is reinforce something you’ve already learned,” he told the BBC in 2014.

So homework can be effective when it’s the right type of homework. In my own practice, the primary students I teach will often be asked to find real-life examples of the concept taught instead of traditional homework tasks, while homework for secondary students consolidates the key concepts covered in the classroom. For secondary in particular, I find a general set of rules useful:

• Set work that’s relevant. This includes elaborating on information addressed in the class or opportunities for students to explore the key concept in areas of their own interest.
• Make sure students can complete the homework. Pitch it to a student’s age and skills – anxiety will only limit their cognitive abilities in that topic. A high chance of success will increase the reward stimulation in the brain.
• Get parents involved, without the homework being a point of conflict with students. Make it a sharing of information, rather than a battle.
• Check the homework with the students afterwards. This offers a chance to review the key concepts and allow the working memory to become part of the long-term memory.

While there is no data on the effectiveness of homework in different subjects, these general rules could be applied equally to languages, mathematics or humanities. And by setting the right type of homework, you’ll help to reinforce key concepts in a new environment, allowing the information you teach to be used in a variety of contexts in the future.

Helen Silvester is a writer for npj Science of Learning Community

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Housework Is a Topic Worthy of Study in Our Schools

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How much time does your family spend per week doing household labor?

Who in your home does most of the housework and why?

What is the history of the household technologies we use, and how have they shaped our household labor?

These are questions that belong in our social studies classrooms and at no better a time than Women’s History Month. However, the notion that we should include the study of housework in our curriculum may feel unnatural, if not absurd. Ask your students or colleagues about studying housework in history, for instance, and you might be met with snickers about how housework is not history.

To many, housework does not feel like a subject worth studying.

As social studies researchers and teachers, with a collective 18 years of history and economics teaching experience, we know how easy the subject is to overlook in our classes.

However, we have now corrected course and devised discussions, lessons, and even units around the aforementioned questions for our own classes. These questions have proved to be generative fodder for critical analysis. Discussing household labor in class is both culturally relevant and an unconventional approach to addressing myriad content standards.

Excluding the study of housework in our K-12 curriculum not only reflects the myopia of social studies educators and policymakers but also our broader social devaluation of this traditionally female labor.

Most of us either conduct or are the recipients of some form of housework from the moment we wake up each day. We prepare or receive breakfast. We put on (preferably clean) clothes. We care for, or receive care from, those around us. This is no less true for our students, including our youngest learners.

Our classrooms are full of a wealth of knowledge and experience about household labor: how to do it, what it feels like to receive or not receive it, how it differs across circumstances. By remaining silent on the subject in our curriculum, we perpetuate the belief that it is insignificant. In truth, excluding the study of housework from our curriculum is what is unnatural, if not absurd.

Educators and policymakers need to make space for this important subject in our classes. In history class, this task should not be difficult. As historian Ruth Schwartz Cowan argues in her 1983 book, More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave , “housework” is a socially constructed notion, the origins of which only appeared in the United States at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution when men stopped spending most of their time engaged in housework. This stopping is a fundamental part of Cowan’s historical argument.

Today, we, teachers and students alike, may take for granted the seeming timelessness of men’s and women’s separate public and private “spheres” in society.

In our own history teaching, attending to when men stopped working in the private sphere, instead of when women were able to gain access to the public sphere, proved to be a productive counter story for our students. It allowed us to reorient our views of gender relations in the past and open up new lines of inquiry into our present. Students simultaneously grappled with the social effects of the Industrial Revolution and questioned the perspectives, values, and practices that shape their daily lives.

In our economics teaching, we have also found success prompting students to interrogate the gender bias in our dominant economic measurements and systems. The term “economics” derives from the Greek words “ oikos ” and “ oikonomia ,” meaning “ household” and “household management,” respectively. Although ancient Greek economic structures—which forbade women from civic participation and relied on enslaved persons for household labor—are far from desirable, this etymology reminds us that household can be viewed as a valuable site of productive activity.

Our current economic measurements, however, elide the Greek valuation of household labor. For instance, the calculation of gross domestic product, our standard measure of a country’s economic activity, excludes household labor when that labor is unpaid and done by someone within the family.

This exclusion was not universally agreed upon when GDP was created. Phyllis Deane, a British economist who was a research assistant on the team that designed the statistical measurement that would become GDP, floated the inclusion of household labor in the measurement in 1946.

Bringing her British bias to bear on her analysis of then-colonial territories that are present-day Malawi and Zambia, she struggled to draw the line between local women’s “economic” and “domestic” activities. She wrote that it would be “illogical to exclude the value of women’s services in collecting firewood, preparing and cooking food, and so on, yet include their work on the land.”

Ultimately, however, her argument was ignored by the broader (male) research team. Uncovering the contention surrounding the design of this prominent economic measurement has provided our economics classes with fertile ground for students to interrogate the assumptions that undergird our economic system and consider the real value of household labor. While there are numerous statistical options for quantifying this value, educators might use the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Household Production Satellite Account to as a starting point to provoke student inquiry.

Including housework in our curriculum does a number of important jobs. It allows teachers and learners alike to inquire into the making of our everyday lives. It places value on this traditionally female labor that has long been devalued. And it leaves us with the understanding that our social arrangements are historically and socially produced—and therefore, able to be disrupted, challenged, and changed.

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Dad arrested after continuously calling school about child’s homework, complaint shows

OXFORD, Ohio (WXIX) - A father’s growing frustrations about the amount of homework his child’s school was assigning led to the dad being arrested.

Adam Sizemore is accused of repeatedly calling his child’s school to complain about the amount of homework, according to Oxford police.

Criminal complaints filed against Sizemore claim he threatened the school principal saying he “better put his big boy pants on.”

When the school stopped answering Sizemore’s call, police say he started calling their department.

“He calls dispatch, I think it was 18 times roughly,” said Oxford Police Detective Sgt. Adam Price.

In the audio records from the police department, Sizemore can be heard becoming frustrated that dispatchers are not telling him their names.

He’s audibly frustrated that he keeps getting the chief of police’s voicemail and that he can’t speak with him directly.

Below is a transcribed portion of one of the calls:

Dispatcher: “Leave a voicemail if he doesn’t answer.”

Sizemore: “I’m being very nice.”

Dispatcher: “Well, then come to the police department and we’ll call the chief in, and you can talk to him in person but I’m not calling him on the phone.”

Sizemore: “He can come to my f****** house. I pay for him. He can come to my house.”

After repeated calls, Sizemore did not get the chance to speak with the chief, but he did get to speak with officers.

In more audio recordings, a dispatcher tells Sizemore that they will send out officers after his repeated calls to the department.

“That ultimately ended when we took him into custody for telecommunications harassment as well as a menacing charge,” Sgt. Price explained.

Sizemore was charged with two first-degree misdemeanors for telecommunications harassment, according to the criminal complaint. The menacing charge he faces is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, the complaint shows.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it .

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2024 WXIX. All rights reserved.

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Father arrested after continuously calling school about child’s homework, police say

OXFORD, Ohio ( WXIX /Gray News) - A father’s growing frustrations about the amount of homework his child’s school was assigning led to him being arrested.

Adam Sizemore is accused of repeatedly calling his child’s school to complain about the amount of homework, according to police in Oxford, Ohio.

Criminal complaints filed against Sizemore claim he threatened the school principal, saying he “better put his big boy pants on.”

When the school stopped answering Sizemore’s call, detectives say he started calling their police department.

“He calls dispatch, I think it was 18 times, roughly,” said Oxford Police Detective Sgt. Adam Price.

In the audio records from the police department, Sizemore can be heard becoming frustrated that dispatchers are not telling him their names.

He was audibly frustrated that he kept getting the chief of police’s voicemail and that he can’t speak with him directly.

“He can come to my f****** house. I pay for him. He can come to my house,” Sizemore was heard saying in a transcript of one of the calls.

After repeated calls, Sizemore did not get the chance to speak with the chief, but he did get to speak with officers.

In other audio recordings, a dispatcher told Sizemore that they would send out officers after his repeated calls to the department.

“That ultimately ended when we took him into custody for telecommunications harassment as well as a menacing charge,” Price explained.

Sizemore was charged with two first-degree misdemeanors for telecommunications harassment, according to the criminal complaint. The menacing charge he faces is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, the complaint also shows.

Copyright 2024 WXIX via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Ohio election: See our voter guide on contested races, issues in Columbus region

While the candidates for U.S. president have already been decided, central Ohio voters will still help determine contested candidate races for the U.S. Senate and House, Ohio House, as well as some county officeholders and local municipal and school issues in Tuesday's primary election.

The biggest race statewide is the battle among three candidates seeking the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown in the Nov. 5 general election — a race that could help determine which party controls that chamber in 2025. For Democrats, the biggest statewide race involves choosing which of two candidates should be the party nominee to fight for one of three contested Ohio Supreme Court justice seats in November.

The Dispatch 2024 Primary Voter Guide is here with information to help voters make their decisions at the polls, which will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. You can find your polling place at  voteohio.gov .

After the polls close, come to Dispatch.com for the results on all the U.S., state and county contested candidate races (except party committees) and on municipal and school issues across central Ohio.

U.S. Senate

Three Republicans are battling for their party's nomination:  Matt Dolan ; Ohio Secretary of State  Frank LaRose , whose office oversees the state's elections; and  Bernie Moreno , who has the endorsement of former President Trump. The winner will face incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown in November.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Ohio Senate Race 2024: Who's running in the March 19 Ohio primary?

Ohio GOP Senate debate: Where primary candidates stand on abortion, immigration, Trump

Ohio Supreme Court

In the only contested primary battle for three seats up for election this year on the state's highest court,  Democrats will decide between two appeals court judges for their party's nominee.  Tenth District Appeals Judge Terri Jamison , who lost her bid for the high court in 2022, and 8th District Appeals Judge  Lisa Forbes  are battling to see who will face unopposed Republican  Dan Hawkins , a Franklin County Common Pleas judge, in the Nov. 5 general election.

President of the United States

Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump have already won enough other states to secure their respective parties' nominations for what is expected to be another raucous battle in November based on the sniping during and after Biden's recent State of the Union address . However, Ohio voters will still find party challengers listed on their primary ballots even though all GOP challengers have suspended their campaigns.

Franklin County prosecutor

In a historic race and the only one among Franklin County officeholders, three Black attorneys are vying for the Democratic nomination to replace current Prosecutor Gary Tyack, a Democrat who is retiring. They are: Delaware City Attorney Natalia Harris , who lives in Columbus; Columbus City Council member Shayla Favor , a former assistant city attorney; and  Anthony Pierson, deputy chief counsel in Tyack's office who has Tyack's support.

At the request of the Columbus NAACP and others, the Franklin County Democratic Party Executive Committee chose  not to endorse from among the three candidates . The Democratic winner will face the lone Republican on the primary ballot, Columbus defense attorney John P.M. Rutan , in November.

Three Democrats are running for Franklin County prosecutor. Here's who they are, their views

More: Franklin County prosecutor candidates debate over handling of officer cases, murder backlog

Ohio House contested races in Franklin County

• 3rd House District:   Three Democrats are competing for the party nomination : Abdirizak Diini, a Somali community activist; Ismail Mohamed, a 31-year-old Columbus attorney; and Julie Trabold, 35, a nurse and political activist from Columbus' Clintonville neighborhood. No Republicans are on the primary ballot.
• 5th House District:   Three Democrats — Marco Miller, Meredith Lawson-Row and Leo Almeida — are competing for their party's nomination to replace incumbent Richard Brown, who is competing to become a Franklin County Common Pleas judge. There are no Republican candidates on the ballot, though a GOP candidate nearly won the seat last time around.
• 6th House District:   Seven Democrats — Brandon Barcus, Patrick Barnacle, Eli Bohnert, Christine Cockley, Adhanet Kifle, Kawther Mussa and Elijah Williams — are competing to see who will face unopposed Republican Hussein Jabiri in November. Incumbent Rep. Adam Miller is not seeking reelection, instead choosing to run for the 15th Congressional District seat.
• 10th House District:   Democrats Sarah Pomeroy and Mark Sigrist are competing for their party's nomination, while Republicans Brian Garvine and Shafi Shafat are competing for their party's nomination. Although incumbent Republican David Dobos' name will also appear on the GOP ballot, he officially withdrew as a candidate after he was accused of lying on his resume after it was revealed that he did not in fact graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as he had long claimed.
• 12th House District:  The district includes only a portion of western Franklin County, and all of Madison and Pickaway counties. Pickaway County Republicans Patty Hamilton and incumbent Brian Stewart are competing in the March 19 primary to decide who will face Brad Cotton , the unopposed Democratic candidate, in November.

U.S. House contested races in central Ohio

• 2nd Congressional District: Eleven Republicans are seeking their party's nomination for the seat currently held by GOP incumbent Brad Wenstrup, who is retiring. The winner will face unopposed Democrat Samantha Meadows in November. The massive district includes Pickaway County in central Ohio, then goes south through Ross County (Chillicothe) to the Ohio River, east to where the river borders the northern West Virginia panhandle, and west to Cincinnati's eastern suburbs.
• 4th Congressional District: Two Delaware County Democrats, Steve Thomas and Tamie Wilson, are competing for their party's nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Jim Jordan in November. The district includes a large portion of Delaware County and all of Union County in central Ohio, as well as other counties to the north and west.
• 15th Congressional District:   Democrats Zerqa Abid, a community activist, and state Rep. Adam Miller, who is not seeking reelection to his 6th Ohio House District seat, are competing in the primary to see who will face unopposed incumbent Republican Mike Carey in November. In central Ohio, the district includes Columbus' Downtown, Franklinton, West Side and South Side, as well as southern Franklin County, east to Canal Winchester, and west to include all of Madison County.

School issues across central Ohio

Several school districts in central Ohio have levy requests on the primary ballot to fund construction of new buildings and/or renovations to existing buildings — all due to growth in their districts. Voters in two districts, Madison Local and North Fork Local, rejected their levy requests in November, but district officials remind that growth has not stopped.

Olentangy Local Schools

Olentangy Local Schools, located mostly in Delaware County with a small portion in Franklin County, is the fourth-largest school district in the state and the largest suburban district — and continues growing. The 4.25-mill levy package sought by the district is actually two issues : The first, a 3-mill operating levy, would bring in $19 million a year and go toward operating costs such as staff salaries. The second part, a 1.25-mill permanent improvement levy, would generate about $7.9 million a year toward maintenance, repair and upkeep of facilities. If approved by voters, it will cost homeowners an additional $148.75 per $100,000 of the county auditor's appraised value.

Heath City Schools

Heath City Schools in Licking County is asking voters to approve a 5.3-mill bond issue and a 4.75-mill levy to build a new elementary school on the current Stevenson Elementary School property  on Cynthia Street and to renovate, improve, and expand current schools. If approved by voters, that would cost an additional $166 for each $100,000 of county auditor appraised value .

Fairbanks Local Schools

The Fairbanks Local School District in Union and Madison counties is asking voters to approve a 0.25% income tax hike and a 1.85-mill property tax to raise $23 million to complete renovating the shared middle and high school building, adding 19,000 square feet to the front of the building, a 12,000-square-foot gymnasium and other work.

Madison-Plains Local Schools

Madison Plains Local Schools, located largely in Madison County but partially in Franklin County, is seeking approval of a 5.4-mill bond issue that would raise $55.36 million to build a pre-K though grade 12 building on the current campus. If approved, it would cost homeowners an additional $189 in property taxes for each $100,000 of county appraised value.

North Fork Local Schools

The 7.1-mill bond issue proposed by North Fork would raise $58 million for a new middle school building, as well as funds for renovating, improving and expanding existing schools in the district, which is located in Licking and Knox counties. If approved by voters, the issue would cost property owners an additional $249 per $100,000 of their county auditor's appraised value in the first year and $185 per $100,000 starting in the second year.

Teays Valley Local Schools

The Teays Valley Local School District, centered in northeast Pickaway County but which includes parts of Franklin and Fairfield counties, is asking voters to approve a 5.3-mill bond issue to raise more than $96.5 million to construct new intermediate schools and make improvements to others. If approved by voters, the measure would cost property owners $187 for each $100,000 of their county auditor's appraised value.

Key candidate races and municipal issues by central Ohio county

Editor's note: Does not include party committee races or local alcohol issues by neighborhood or precinct.

Franklin County

There are no contested primary races for county commissioner or row offices in the county. Besides the county prosecutor race mentioned above, the only other contested race is for one of nine Franklin County Common Pleas judgeships up for election this year. Two Democrats are competing for a seat on the court's Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division being vacated by Republican Judge Dan Hawkins, who is running for Ohio Supreme Court justice. They are: state Rep. Richard Brown , who is not seeking reelection to his Ohio 5th House District seat, and Stephanie Hanna , a staff attorney in Common Pleas Court.

• City of Grandview Heights:  Proposed renewal of a property tax levy of 7.5 mills for four years beginning in 2024. If approved by voters, property owners will pay $142 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value.
• Village of Valleyview:  Proposed additional property tax levy of 5 mills for current expenses, which will begin in 2024 and run for five years. If approved by voters, property owners will pay $175 for each $100,000 of county appraised value.
• Clinton Township : Proposed additional continuing police levy of 6 mills beginning in 2024. If approved by voters, property owners will pay $210 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value,
• Mifflin Township : Proposed continuing replacement levy of 8.8 mills for expenses for the  police district  beginning in 2024. If approved by voters, property owners will pay $308 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value.

What else is on the ballot in Franklin County?

Delaware County

Republicans John O’Brien and Ken O’Brien, both of Delaware, are challenging incumbent Don Rankey, of Powell , for their party's nomination for county treasurer. There are no Democratic candidates.  

• City of Delaware:  There are two municipal income tax questions on the ballot. A 0.35% levy for five years beginning in 2025 to pay for general municipal services, capital improvements and payment of bonds for those purposes, as well as a continuation of an existing 0.15% levy for a continuing period of time to fund municipal parks and recreation.
• BST&G Joint Fire District  (which serves Berkshire Township, Sunbury city, Trenton Township and Galena village) is asking for a 0.78-mill property tax for 15 years to cover a $9 million bond issue for acquiring land and constructing and equipping fire facilities. If approved, the levy would cost property owners $27 for each $100,000 of the county auditor's appraised value.

What else is on the ballot in Delaware County?

Licking County

There is only one contested race in the primary among all Licking County offices. Democrats Bryn Byrd, of Granville, and Daniel Crawford, of Newark , will compete for their party's nomination for a seat on the board of county commissioners. The winner will face Republican incumbent Duane Flowers, of Newark, in the general election.

• County Line Joint Fire District (serves Utica Village and Washington Township in Licking County and Morgan Township in Knox County): Proposed additional tax of 6.5 mills for five years to fund fire protection and emergency medical services. A current tax of more than 4 mills would be eliminated,  the district's chief recently explained .
• Village of Hartford:  Additional property tax of 2.9 mills for a period of five years for police department operating expenses that would generate an estimated $30,000 annually. If approved by voters, the levy would cost property owners $102 for each $100,000 of county auditor appraised value.
• Hanover Township:  1-mill replacement property tax for five years for fire and EMS that would generate an estimated $125,000 annually. If approved by voters, the levy would cost property owners $35 for each $100,000 of county auditor appraised value.
• Hartford Township:  Additional property tax of 2.5 mills for five years for fire and EMS that would generate an estimated $200,231 annually. If approved by voters, property owners would pay $88 for each $100,000 of county auditor appraised value.
• Jersey Township:  Proposed resolution allow sale of beer and alcohol on all days of the week, including Sunday, at the Jersey Township Revitalization District, community facility.
• St. Albans Township:  Additional, continuing property tax of 10 mills for fire and EMS that would generate an estimated $1.423 million annually. If approved by voters, the levy would cost property owners $350 for each $100,000 of county auditor appraised value.

Fairfield County

All candidates for Fairfield County offices are unopposed, and barring a write-in challenge, will be reelected.

• Basil Joint Fire District: A 4.5-mill continuing, additional tax levy for the fire district in Baltimore and Liberty Township that would raise $1.55 million annually. If approved by voters, property owners will pay $157.50 for each $100,000 of the county auditor's appriased valuation.
• Carroll: A zoning referendum from a citizens' petition on whether the village council's decision to rezone nearly 73 acres of property owned by Carroll Property Partners Ltd. from agricultural vacant/rural residential to planned unit development for a proposed residential development should be repealed.
• Clearcreek Township (unincorporated territory): A five-year, 0.5-mill replacement levy for roads and bridges that would generate an estimated $56,000 annually. If approved by voters, the levy woul cost property owners $17.50 for each $100,000 of the county auditor's appraised value.
• Violet Township: A 3.6-mill continuing, additional levy for fire and EMS that would raise more than $6.55 million annually. If approved by voters, the levy would cost property owners $126 for each $100,000 of the county auditor's appraised value.
• Walnut Township: A 2.6-mill continuing, additional levy for fire department and EMS that would generate an estimated $913,166 annually. If approved by voters, the levy would cost property owners $91 for each $100,000 of the county auditor's appraised value.

What else is on the ballot in Fairfield County?

Madison County

Incumbent Republican Commissioner Mark Forrest is being challenged in his reelection bid by Cory Coburn, Jim King and Brendan Shea for a four-year term that begins Jan. 2, 2025. The county Board of Elections declared King's petition invalid because it was not under his registered name of "Banca King," but King's name is on the ballot.

City of London:  A proposed 0.25% increase of the city's municipal income tax is being sought to fund the fire department and EMS. The city currently collects a 0.5% income tax levy for fire and EMS services, but that was intended for one fire station and its staff. It is now two stations, fire & EMS personnel for both and all associated services.

What else is on the ballot in Madison County?

Pickaway County

There are contested races for five Pickaway County positions: sheriff, recorder, treasurer, Common Pleas judge and clerk of courts. All involve Republicans, as there are no Democrats on the ballot. Neither party fielded a valid candidate for coroner.

• Sheriff: Incumbent Matthew Hafey is being challenged for reelection by Dale Thomas, who was a deputy with the Pickaway County Sheriff's Office for 28 years before retiring.
• Recorder: Three candidates seek the GOP nomination to replace current Recorder Joyce Gifford, who is retiring. They are: Sarah Turner, chief deputy recorder; Travis Ricketts, a policy adviser to the Republican Caucus of the Ohio House of Representatives' and Laura Schweitzer, a signage industry consultant and political volunteer.
• Treasurer: Tammy Deck, a member of the support staff at the county prosecutor's office, is running against John Howley, who was deputy director of the Pickaway County Board of Elections but had to step down to run for office. They are seeking the party nomination to replace incumbent Ellery Elick, who is retiring.
• Common Pleas Court: Matt Chafin , of Walnut Township, is competing against Judy C. Wolford , of Madison Township, to be judge. Chafin has been an assistant prosecuting attorney in Franklin County, an attorney examiner at the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, and chief legal counsel and deputy director of audits and criminal investigations for the Ohio Department of Taxation. Wofford has been the Pickaway County prosecuting attorney since 2006 and has been with the office since 1994. 
• Clerk of Common Pleas Court: Grant Davis is seeking election to the post he was appointed to in January 2023, but is being challenged by Tracey Garrett, fiscal officer for the Village of Williamsport.
• City of Circleville is seeking a 0.4% income tax levy for five years to operate and maintain public safety forces.
• Perry Township (excluding the village of New Holland) is seeking a five-year replacement levy of 2.5 mills for general construction, reconstruction, resurfacing and repair of streets, roads and bridges that would generate an estimated $58,000 annually. If approved by voters, property owners will pay $88 for each $100,000 of the county auditor's appraised value.
• Walnut Township is seeking a 0.63-mill property tax levy to pay for a $1.2-million bond issue that would be used to acquire land and construct and furnish a new township building, including a large meeting room for trustee meetings that could also be rented out, along with a kitchenette to serve food. The bonds would be repaid over 12 years. If approved by voters, the levy would cost property owners $22 for each $100,000 of county auditor's appraised value. Trustees say the existing township house is too small and does not allow for many citizens to attend meetings.

Union County

In the only contested race for a county office, Mike Justice , a former captain with the  Union County Sheriff's Office  who retired in December after 33 years, is running against incumbent Sheriff Malcum J. "Jamie" Patton  on the Republican ballot.

• Marysville Public Library District  is seeking a 1.5-mill replacement levy for five years to cover current expenses that would generate an estimated $1,636,000 annually. If approved by voters, the levy would cost property owners $53 for each $100,000 of the county auditor's appraised value.
• Richwood Village  is asking voters to renew a 3.2-mill property tax levy for five years that covers current operating expenses and generates an estimated $81,000 annually. If approved by voters, the levy would cost property owners $63 for each $100,000 of the county auditor's appraised value.
• Claibourne Township, including Richwood Village , is seeking a 1.15-mill replacement property tax levy for five years — which represents a decrease of 0.05-mill from the current levy — to maintain and operate cemeteries. If approved by voters, the levy would cost property owners $40 for each $100,000 of the county auditor's appraised value.

What else is on the ballot in Union County?

How can I see a sample of my ballot?

Go to the Ohio Secretary of State website at www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/toolkit/sample-ballot , click on your county either on the Ohio map or on the alphabetical list of counties, enter your name and then select your sample ballot to see the issues and candidates you can vote on this election. In some cases, you may be redirected to your county board of elections website to re-enter your name and selection. Ohio primaries require voters to choose either a Democratic or Republican ballot to vote on candidates and local municipal and school ssues. Voters can choose an independent ballot, but will only be able to vote on local issues in the municipality or school district where they reside.