Is homework really worth it?

There's one part about school you can always count on--homework.

For many students, hours upon hours are spent after school doing mindless worksheets and dull reading. But is that a good thing? Research is beginning to suggests that the old adage "practice makes perfect" might not be true after all.

According to "The Homework Debate" on education.com, educators are looking for evidence for the importance of homework to learning but seem to be coming up empty-handed.  Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth, points out that no study has ever found a correlation between homework and academic achievement in elementary school, and there is little reason to believe that homework is necessary in high school. In fact, it may even diminish interest in learning, says Kohn.

The overload on homework, Kohn says, can be explained by the schools system's obsession with standardized tests. Many schools spend a good part of the year preparing students for a yearly test, like, for instance, the FCAT in Florida.

Kohn explains that the solution is not necessarily no homework, but rather, if teachers are going to assign homework, it needs to be meaningful. 

Kohn says parents should ask themselves whether or not their children's homework assignments get their kids more excited about the subject, and whether or not the assignment really helps kids think critically about the important questions related to the subject or topic.

To learn more about homework's role in a child's learning, read the "The Homework Debate" on education.com. For more information on Alfie Kohn and his latest book, The Homework Myth, visit www.alfiekohn.org.

What do you think? Homework or no homework?