You could do homework in the morning

Agreed. No need for homework k-6, except for reading, and after that 7-8 middle school, an hr is enough.

Our third grade teaching team is very clear: no more than 30 minutes a night. Even if they are struggling and haven't finished it, it just goes back in the backpack. They feel very strongly about this.

Further, our teachers were also clear there would be variable homework among children and days. If they have shown mastery of a skill at school, the teachers do not feel they need to do more at home.

I am completely on board with this.

Each day my 3rd grader which is in dual language. Half day English and half day Spanish. Study 20 spelling words, 10- 12 math problems, 8 vocabulary words and 2 synonyms for each word read 20 min. each evening Then study 20 Spanish spelling and vocabulary words. About 2 hours per evening. If I pull her out of dual language to lighten her load the school she would go to is not that good. A lot of discipline problems at her home campus. Crazy

I always thought the standard for homework is 10 minutes per grade. So a third grader would averages 30 minutes, and middle school kids would be around an hour, high school kids 1-2 hours.

WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS
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 effective- ness 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 Re- search 1987–2003, the Review of Educational Research (Spring 2006)].

Many countries with the highest scoring students on achievement tests, such as Japan, Denmark, and the Czech Republic, have teachers who assign little homework. Meanwhile, countries such as Greece, Thailand, and Iran, where students have some of the worst average scores, have teachers who assign a lot of homework. American students do as much homework as their peers in other countries—if not more—but still manage only to score around the international average. [National Differences, Global Similarities: World Culture and the Future of Schooling by David P. Baker and Gerald K. LeTendre, Stanford University Press, 2005]

Most teachers do not take courses specifically on homework during teacher training. In fact, research shows that the great majority are unaware of the research on the problems with homework [Stephen Aloia, “Teacher Assessment of Homework,” Academic Exchange Quarterly (Fall 2003)]. That’s why, as Cooper told the authors of The Case Against Homework, when it comes to homework, “most teachers are winging it.”

16:50: Just one of many books that examine the topic:

http://stophomework.com/the-case-against-homework

I used to think homework helped -- at least in some way. But I have read many books on the topic -- on both sides -- and am no longer a believer.

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of what the County says, 3rd graders should be playing, creating, exploring, and reading. Virtually all of the research done on homework for elementary school students shows absolutely no positive effect...with the exception of reading. These kids spend around seven hours in school....that should be enough. Let them be children. There are so many better ways to learn than worksheets and projects.

Support your claims, please.

The purpose of homework at elementary school is 1) to reinforce material and 2) develop effective work habits for later in scholastic life.

My 3rd grader has about 30 to 45 minutes of HW a day (Jamestown Elementary in Arlington) but she comes right home and knocks it out. Sometimes she has a bigger project, but she really seems to enjoy doing them and gets INTO it. But, she's a curious kid.

My 1st grader is the one I'm worried about.

My 3rd graders are in AAP.
Teacher said around 30-40min per day.
They spend any time from 15min - 1 hour so far Monday through Thursday.

On weekends, they spend some time on monthly projects.
So far the projects were about creativity and fun.

Regardless of what the County says, 3rd graders should be playing, creating, exploring, and reading. Virtually all of the research done on homework for elementary school students shows absolutely no positive effect...with the exception of reading. These kids spend around seven hours in school....that should be enough. Let them be children. There are so many better ways to learn than worksheets and projects.

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This is the PP with the 3rd grader. My daughter is not in GT, but my understanding of GT is that they cover the same information as Gen Ed but they go into greater depth and do more projects. Which is why the website probably says to expect more homework. I guess if you should expect no more than 1 hour in Gen Ed - you'd expect no more than 1.25-1.5 hours for GT so your daugther's homework level is probably right on target.

The breakdown from what you stated above seems to be:
15 mins - spelling
20 mins - math?
15 mins - reading journal
(unfinished work - my daughter has that too occassionally -- I don't know if you can count that
15 mins - book resport (if you average the 5 hours out 20 days a month)
15 mins reading log? (can she use the same books for book log as she does in reading journal?)

That comes out to 1 hour and 20 minutes a night - and that's assuming she's not working on the book resports on the weekends. Sounds rigorous though -- I can sympathize! My daughter also has extra-curriculars 2 nights a week plus a game on Saturday and girl scouts too - not quite so much homework this year though which is a relief, but then, I wonder if she is being sufficiently challenged. If you think it would help your daughter and/or others in the class to just have work due at the end or beginning of the week and allow them to manage their own time, I would ask the teacher if that's acceptable. I doubt the teacher checks to see if everyone is doing every single assignment every day anyhow...

Hmm. She is in GT, but still, she's still a kid. On average each week she gets...

- (weekly) spelling packet due at the end of the week (takes her about 1-1.5 hour total across the week)

- (nightly) math sheets, 2-3, that take a lot of thinking, not just practice problems

- 2-3 nights a week, reading homework that includes writing in a journal

- occasional, finishing up assignments not completed in class

- monthly, a book report project that includes a written report, an oral presentation and a creative project (last month this added up to about 4-5 hours over the month plus reading the book)

She also has the reading log and also does that at bedtime.

The things that involve writing and writing planning can take simply forever. (This is NOT her strong point.) She also has Girls on the Run (2 nights a week) and Girl Scouts (every other week).

It just seems to average out to a lot per night. I wish they would give it all on Monday or Friday and have it due the following week so we could choose how to break it up over the week.

I also have a third grader in FCPC. Here's what Fairfax says: http://www.fcps.edu/about/homework.htm (I cut/pasted the applicable part below):

On average, daily homework across disciplines should not exceed:
Primary (Grades 1-2) = .5 hour

Upper Elementary (Grades 3-6) = 1 hour

Middle School Level (Grades 7-8) = 1.5 hours (30 minutes per core subject)

High School (Grades 9 - 12) = 2 hours *

* The amount of homework may be greater for students enrolled in GT, AP or IB classes.

That having been said, I believe our teacher at open house told us that if the kids are working for I think it was 40 minutes (really focused, undistracted working) and still don't have their work done, it's ok to stop. She said if they don't finish an assignment because of that, to write her a note explaining the situation. She said that homework is only meant to reinforce what is done in class and should not take too long.

I honestly don't really know how much time my daughter spends on homework. She spends part of her time in SACC doing homework and then frequenly finishes her work at home before dinner. She is also supposed to read for 20 minutes every day, which she does before bedtime. The homework she had received so far has mostly been spelling assignments (write words several times, use words in sentences, etc.) and a math set. That's about it.

My third grader has on average 45-60 minutes of homework a night and sometimes more. Because our school starts later than most, she does not get home until almost 4:15. Some nights she is doing homework until dinner, takes a break for dinner, and then continues homework almost until bedtime. She goes to bed early and needs a lot of sleep, so is in bed and lights out at 8:30.

Just wondering what is average for FCPS?