The Benefits of Homework

Do your kids sometimes persuade you to let them off the hook when it comes to homework? Fight that temptation! Research shows that homework is good for children. It can boost academic learning and teach them responsibility.

When she was a child, Mary Russo knew that going to school was her job. The time set aside to complete homework assignments was considered sacred. "There was always a place in our home for homework," Russo recalls. "My grandmother--who spoke only Italian--would bring me and my brother sandwiches and milk while we studied." And, says Russo, although her grandmother couldn't tell them, her actions "showed us the value of what we were doing."

Russo is now the principal at Samuel Mason Elementary School in Roxbury, Mass., and regularly stresses the importance of homework to parents. "Children have to understand that their work--school work--is important," she asserts, and they get that message when families make homework a priority. What's more, says Russo, making homework a priority gives children more opportunities to learn. "We want children to continue learning beyond the school day," she explains. "Homework is a powerful way to extend learning."

Russo bases her claim on her 27 years of educational experience, as well as on research that homework can result in improved student achievement. Homework also helps instill in students a sense of responsibility, accountability, motivation, and self-confidence.

In today's modern world, an old-fashioned approach to homework won't work. Homework has to be relevant to the lives of children. And parents have to reinforce, at home, what students learn in the classroom.

Homework for the Modern Age
"We can't keep assigning homework like the homework we had in the 60s and 70s," asserts Patricia Caspary, a 4th grade teacher at Franklin Elementary School in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Traditional homework assignments were once the norm at Franklin, "but students weren't getting it done--they kept forgetting their homework." So Caspary and her colleagues tried a different approach.

They began by creating a mission statement that identifies homework as "any activity where learning is extended after school." For example, one of Caspary's favorite assignments requires students to bake enough cookies for everyone in the class, which requires students to double or triple their cookie recipes. Students who don't have access to a kitchen or baking supplies can complete the homework by converting a recipe that makes six servings into one that makes eighteen servings.

A little creativity goes a long way in designing homework that is relevant to students' lives, says David Boers, author of Happy Classrooms,, and a professor of graduate education at Marian College. Boers once taught middle and high school English and recalls that his favorite assignments "were those that gave students things they could do alone and without materials," he says. When studying the history of their town, for example, Boers asked students to "go out and talk to someone" about the history of their house and present their findings in class the next day.

The Link Between Home and School
Another benefit of homework, says Russo, is that it can engage parents in school life. The homework policy at Samuel Mason Elementary School requires teachers to create homework assignments that are "interactive" and to include activities children can do with their parents or older siblings.

"We call our homework "Homelinks" because it's the link between home and school," says Peg Sands, a kindergarten teacher at Samuel Mason. "Through Homelinks, parents have an opportunity to reinforce learning, to become involved in their child's education."

The Homelinks program asks parents to guide students through the 30 minutes of homework assigned each night, except Friday. Each night's homework focuses on a different content area: On Monday, students take a book home, read it with a family member, and then do a short book report. On Tuesday, the homework focuses on math. Wednesday's homework is connected to themes, such as bus safety or holidays. And on Thursday, the homework involves practicing a writing skill--letter, word, or sentence recognition, or differentiating between uppercase and lowercase letters, for example. Parents then sign the completed homework.

The Homelinks program also features parenting workshops that teach parents how to best help their children complete homework assignments. When the homework requires parents and children to read together, for example, Sands and her colleagues share with parents "the kinds of questions to ask to help develop early literacy skills."

An emphasis on communicating with parents is also part of a new approach to homework adopted by teachers at Franklin Elementary School. Each student at Franklin now carries a "planner"--a notebook calendar of school days that allows students to record daily homework assignments and enables teachers to describe what was accomplished during the day. "These planners go home with the students every night and parents have to sign the books after they read them," says Caspary, who views the planners as a way to open discussions with parents. "There is space for parents to write their comments and they often send us notes about what's happening in the classroom and how they think their children are responding. Parents welcome the opportunity to share their opinions, she says, and have responded favorably to the planners.

Students, too, are enthusiastic. "The students feel empowered," states Caspary. "The planners help them learn to ask: What did I accomplish today and what will I do tomorrow? The planners teach them how to plan." And teaching students how to plan is important, she asserts, because they'll need that skill as adults.

Source: Checkley, K. (1997). "Homework--A New Look at an Age-Old Practice." Education Update, 39(7), 1, 5-6, 8.

Brought to you by The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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