Benefits Of Homework Research

Studies show In 2006, Harris Cooper shared his meta-analytic study, which found homework in elementary school (K-5th grade) does not contribute to academic achievement.Said differently: Homework has become just busy work in the United States, and children aren’t learning anything additional from it.

At home, I was also never looking at the clock, which happened a lot in class... I was just looking at the clock, waiting for lunch, trying to forget the discomfort and keep my eyes opened (I fall asleep when too hungry).

I think that for the very consciencious kid, homework is a way to bring things to completion. My brother was an undiagnosed dyslexic, so my parents spent the whole homework time in the kitchen with him, while I worked alone in another room.

Mark Trifilio, principal of the Orchard School in VT, eliminated HW last year and suggested replacing it with nightly reading, playing outdoors or even eating with your family.

He reports students haven’t fallen behind, but now they have “time to be creative thinkers at home and follow their passions” (, Feb 26, 2017).

A child needs to run and play in the fresh air outdoors (nature), to socialize with other children (learn pecking order and how to get along with others), to lie in the grass and watch clouds change shape (imagination), to hammer together a godawful fort out of scraps and junk (manipulate materials to see how things work), and maybe to read something he or she just actually wants to read.

Any parent who has battled with a child over homework night after night has to wonder: Do those math worksheets and book reports really make a difference to a student’s long-term success?

And after all isn’t the point of childhood to have fun and learn in a multitude of ways?

By Maureen Healy Maureen Healy writes and speaks widely on the subjects of children’s emotional health, education and parenting.

She eats dinner at and then goes to bed, unless there is more homework to do, in which case she’ll get to bed around 10.” The girls miss out on sleep, and weeknight family dinners are tough to swing.

Parental concerns about their children’s homework loads are nothing new.