What happens in MCPS (and others) if your child does not do the homework,

[Anonymous]

The problem is there is no solid evidence that athletic homework (for younger students) actually helps them lplay better. And there's evidence that it can actually be detrimental. So why engage in it? Because we've done it for 100 years?

[Anonymous]

The problem is there is no solid evidence that music homework (for younger students) actually helps them play better. And there's evidence that it can actually be detrimental. So why engage in it? Because we've done it for 100 years?

[Anonymous]

I guess you believe aeverything you read.

Can you argue cogently about the methodology of those papers that conclude that homework for the young is a waste of time.

Spare me the USA today Cliff notes version. Let's talk about the details of study methodolgy.

[Anonymous]

From www.stophomework.com:

According to a 2001 review of more than 120 studies of homework and its effects by Professor Harris Cooper of Duke University, the country’s leading homework researcher, and his updated 2006 review of an additional sixty studies, there is very little correlation between the amount of homework and achievement in elementary school and only a moderate correlation in middle school. Even in high school, “too much homework may diminish its effectiveness or even become counterproductive,” writes Cooper in his latest research review [Harris Cooper, The Battle Over Homework, second edition, page 26, and Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of the Research 1987–2003, the Review of Educational Research (Spring 2006)].

[Anonymous]

How were those studies done? On the basis of that paragraph you believe those conclusions. Show me the data, tell me how it was gathered and analyzed, then get back to me.

[Anonymous]

You guys could go back and forth forever, as the researchers and those in the field of education do.

Bottom line: For now, it's a requirement. Do what you feel is best for your child, knowing the consequences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You guys could go back and forth forever, as the researchers and those in the field of education do.

Bottom line: For now, it's a requirement. Do what you feel is best for your child, knowing the consequences.

And if you teach your child it's a requirement for others, not for him, you're not doing him a favor. Think about it.

[Anonymous]

I agree.

Common sense and personal experience would suggest that if you wish proficiency in academics (e.g., writing, Latin, mathematics, reading), music, athletics (tennis, lacrosse, soccer), art (painting, [youtube]sculpture), and knitting one needs, at the very least, practise and repetition. Proficiency in any task requires practise and repetition...this appears true at any stage of the human life cycle --from craddle to grave.

Homework is a form of repetition and practise. It doesn't matter the playing field (debate stage, hockey rink, orchestra, or at home). Of course, balance is key and healthy. The assertion that school homework should begin in high school (or middle school) is as ludicrous as a future division 1 swimmer starting swim lessons in high school.[/youtube]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How were those studies done? On the basis of that paragraph you believe those conclusions. Show me the data, tell me how it was gathered and analyzed, then get back to me.

It was a meta-analysis of 120 research studies. Here is one article where Dr. Harris Cooper explains his methodology.

http://www.addison.pausd.org/files/addison/homework/Synthesis%20of%20Research%20on%20Homework.pdf

On page 88 he highlights his research:

"Homework has a positive effect on achievement, but the effect varies dramatically with grade level. For high school students, homework has substantial positive effects. Junior high school students also benefit from homework, but only half as much. For elementary school students, the effect of homework on achievement is negligible.

The optimum amount of homework also varies with grade level. For elementary students, no amount of homework - large or small - affects achievement..."

[Anonymous]

I wonder what message you send your child when you say that homework is not important or extra-curriculars are an excuse for not completing the assignment I had a lot of homework in school and a "passion" that I pursued as an extra-curricular activity The price of doing my preferred activity was that my homework as completed and done properly and I got good grades Let me tell you, that was a huge motivator for me. I got great grades and really learned to balance things and prioritize. Unfortunately, my children have not yet found a passion (I hope they do at some point), but I plan to use the same technique.

I think it undermines the school when you tell your children they don't have to do their homework. If you disagree with the school's philosophy that fundamentally, you should change schools.

[Anonymous]

How is homework and achievement measured in elementary , middle and high school? By national standards, or individual school or class standards and exams?

Are the definitions the same at the various time points?

In high school kids had better do the homework for it will more than likely be on the exam. This is not always the case in elementary school.

In elementary school the teachers may not give an exam based on homework exercises assigned. This does not imply that the homework was useless only if the exam is all you care about. Therefore, it is important to understand what variables were measured, how they and defined, and what the endpoints were for each study.

How do the studies evaluate those who homeschool for which there might be no formal exams until high school. But, these students routinely practise and repeat from early childhood and go on to do better than students in our brick and mortar schools (based on the national exams like SATs, APs etc)

[Anonymous]

The optimum amount of homework also varies with grade level. For elementary students, no amount of homework - large or small - affects achievement..."

What do you mean by achievement? ...SAT scores, college admissions, future job or prestigious prizes.

Rather vague. How do the authors define achievement in these studies and how did they gather the data?

[Anonymous]

OP here, 14:44, I agree with your post. That is why we were in private school for so long. We are no longer able/willing to pay for it, but we had fun. Very little homework and DC learned!
I hope to keep his priorities straight. Childhood for the three Rs and fun and games, the teen years are for preparation for the adulthood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is homework and achievement measured in elementary , middle and high school? By national standards, or individual school or class standards and exams?

Are the definitions the same at the various time points?

In high school kids had better do the homework for it will more than likely be on the exam. This is not always the case in elementary school.

In elementary school the teachers may not give an exam based on homework exercises assigned. This does not imply that the homework was useless only if the exam is all you care about. Therefore, it is important to understand what variables were measured, how they and defined, and what the endpoints were for each study.

How do the studies evaluate those who homeschool for which there might be no formal exams until high school. But, these students routinely practise and repeat from early childhood and go on to do better than students in our brick and mortar schools (based on the national exams like SATs, APs etc)

Dr. Cooper's study was a meta-analysis. The 120 separate studies all used their own measurements of achievement. I'm sure you can go back to his research and find references for all 120 studies to review their metrics. Still, the fact remains that none of these studies showed that homework has a benefit in elementary school.

[Anonymous]

You did acknowledge "the repetition and practise" of the 3 Rs as a source of your child's success. It was not just fun and games. I can assure you that.