Homework

The Homework Debate

Many parents today complain that teachers assign too much homework to their children. Such practice, some argue, results in high stress for students and their parents, infringement on the family social time, sleep deprivation, and early burnout for students. Some attribute the increased homework load to the pressure for schools to improve their students' scores under No Child Left Behind Act mandates.

Proponents of homework argue that most studies prove positive effects for homework. Educators argue that when homework was graded and feedback was provided, homework has positive effects on students' learning. Harris Cooper maintained that homework has positive impact on students' learning, but the impact varies for different grade levels. He reasoned that homework should be decided based on the students' developmental needs and home circumstances.

Cooper, James Lindsay, Barbara Nye, and Scott Greathouse conducted an extensive series of studies on the effects of homework. The results of their studies can be summarized as follows: There were no significant effects for homework on grades or test scores. They found negative effects for the amount of homework on test scores for young students and no significant effects for older students.

Opponents of homework argue that teachers are assigning more homework to deflect criticism for inability of schools to prepare their graduates to compete in a global society. Teachers, on the other hand, argue that U.S. students spend less time on homework compared to their counterparts in Europe and Asia.

Some educators argue that excessive homework was one of the contributing factors to high school dropout. They argued that teachers cannot ensure that students are doing their homework. They argued that high school students are challenged to participate in a variety of activities to compile an impressive college application, and homework adds an undue stress on these students. Some schools around the country, concerned about students' burnout, established guidelines to limit the time students spend on homework each night.

Teachers

Homework can elevate the Mathew's effect: Parents from low socioeconomic and educational background can provide little support to their children at home, while parents from high socioeco-nomic and educational background are more able to provide support to their children at home. This practice can directly contribute to increasing the gap between the poor and rich children. Therefore, it has been suggested that teachers recognize the existence and effects of the Mathew's effect.

It has also been suggested that teachers need to move away from the habit of assigning homework because it is expected of them, and they need to rethink homework assignments in terms of objectives and quality. Alfie Kohn contended that if teachers would consider these issues, the quality of students' learning will improve. He recommended that teachers design homework assignments that [Page 452]are suitable for the home environment. These assignments should be tasks that students cannot perform at school, involve the parents, and can be considered family activities. Teachers should encourage students to read leisurely at home without making demands on them to read certain books or prove that they read them to help motivate students to read. In addition, students should be given a choice in their homework assignment.

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