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Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Is homework really necessary?

Kids don’t want to do it. Teachers don’t want to grade it. Experts don’t even know if it has any true education value. So the question is:

Is homework really necessary?

An article in “Time” lays out the anti-homework argument.
Too much homework brings diminishing returns. [Duke University scholar Harrison]
Cooper's analysis of dozens of studies found that kids who do some homework in middle and high school score somewhat better on standardized tests, but doing more than 60 to 90 min. a night in middle school and more than 2 hr. in high school is associated with, gulp, lower scores.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1376208-1,00.html

Experts and parents propose a few solutions:
Blanket no-homework policy
Extending the school day or year
Time limits and other homework rules (Cooper's rule of thumb: 10 min. a night per grade level.)

Is the US on homework overload? Post your response in the comments section or answer the homework poll on the right!

Hear more with Harrison Cooper in this NPR interview: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94509873

1 comment:

Liam Clarke said...

I completely agree but i have my differences i think abit is okay maybe some revision before an exam but too often is silly in my opinion the children need time to them-self after school dont you think?