Are There Benefits to Homework?

Homework. It's a controversial subject in most schools. Some parents want more; others want less. Some teachers see its value; others don't.

The Orchard community recently watched the documentary Race to Nowhere, the result of which not surprisingly led to the Orchard community evaluating the pros and cons of homework.

But what does the research actually tell us about the value of homework?

For high school students there is a slight positive correlation between time spent on homework and grades on tests in class.

There is no correlation between homework and academic performance for elementary school and middle school students, except there are some benefits for elementary school students on understanding of math skills/concepts, e.g., place value.

And not surprisingly students who voluntarily read for pleasure at home score higher on the English sections of standardized tests.

A sobering fact is the negative correlation for middle school students between amount of time spent on homework and classroom academic performance (overall grades and test scores) when they spend more than 50 minutes a day on homework.

Alfie Kohn, the guru of progressive education and gadfly of traditional educaiton, in his book The Homework Myth, highlights the deleterious effects of homework on students.

He points out that most of the research studies show inconclusive results. "Their results ranged from homework having positive effects, no effects, or complex effects to the suggestion that the research was too sparse or poorly conducted to allow trustworthy conclusions."

Kohn brings up a number of reasons why research on homework is inconclusive,

First, he points out that "correlation doesn't prove causation."The fact that a student spends more time on homework, then receives an A in class or scores higher on standardized tests might be more indicative of the student's work ethic and effort than the benefits of homework.

In fact, when homework is compared with other variables in a classroom, like quality of instruction and student motivation, homework's influence is almost negligible.

Another issue with determining the value of homework is defining what student achievement is. In studies this usually falls into three categories: scores on a classroom teacher's test, grades in classrooms, scores on standardized tests.

Not surprisingly, when students were given homework that directly connected to the content and questions on a classroom test, students did better on the tests. But this leads to the question of how deep a student's understanding of the material was: was the student simply answering questions by rote?

Regarding an overall class grade, teachers may reward a student who completes all homework assignments: is a student's grade therefore a reflection of better understanding material by completing homework or pleasing the teacher? (I won't get into the subjectivity of grading in this blog, but parents need to keep in mind that grading in class is subjective, and not just in humanities courses.)

Kohn also explains that equating standardized test results with homework is a slippery slope. He points out that high standardized test scores are more an indication of "how skillful a student is at taking a standardized test" than "intellectual proficiency." Most standardized tests use multiple-choice format, and while these questions can measure deeper thinking and understanding (see Grant Wiggins Why We Should Stop Bashing State Tests), they don't allow for student creatively or explanation.

Another challenge of standardized tests is they typically are timed, meaning they put a "premium not on thoughtfulness but speed".

Kohn also points out that younger students can be easily confused by the format of standardized tests; hence, their scores are not reflective of their ability.

Finally, most standardized tests are norm-referenced, meaning their purpose is to distinguish and separate students. What's the best question on a standardized test: the one that about 50% answer correctly and 50% answer incorrectly.

To Kohn, there is a benefit to teaching to the test if the goal is to get higher test scores, yet this type of teaching does not help students "become critical, curious, creative thinkers".

While my position is not as strong as Kohn's, I always try to help parents see that more homework is not the solution. At Orchard we try to follow the 10 minute per grade rule. 10 minutes of homework in 1st grade, adding 10 minutes per year until getting to about 80 minutes in 8th grade (which includes reading time). I see homework as a time for students to become more confident and independent by practicing skills and concepts. Student also develop personal responsibility and time management. There's been a lot of talk about "flipped classrooms" where students use homework time to be exposed to content with classtime then devoted to deeper understanding via groups work and projects.

It's important for parents and teachers to work toergehter. It is not right for students to become overly stressed about homework or to spend inordinate amounts of time on homework.

Children in elementary and middle school still need time to be kids, to have free time, and to be able to explore their  other interests.

In addition to Kohn's book, another interesting read is Cathy Vatterott's book Rethinking Homework