Does Homework Benefit Kids?

Homework. Something all kids dread growing up. Do kids get homework for a reason or is it just to make their lives more miserable (what they probably think is the reason). In a new study it was found that elementary school children were assigned THREE times the recommended homework. It was also found in this study that homework for middle school and high school students is associated with higher scores on tests although there is no correlation for elementary school students.

A new study found in Romania found some benefits for a small amount of writing homework (20 minutes) but not math homework for elementary school students.

Why would schools give out so much homework to children just figuring out really how to live? In my opinion schools should give less written homework to elementary school students and more life lesson skills for them to work on. As a parent there are many things to do to make sure your child doesn’t get overwhelmed during their homework and there are some suggestions in this article as well.5 strategies to motivate kids to do their homework

Ben Solomon,

Research Assistant – UConn KIDS