Study: Homework is a waste of time

School kids jump for joy, and parents get ready to breathe a sigh of relief. A US study has found ‘no relationship’ between more homework and better grades.

Students have been arguing that homework is a waste of time since kids started being sent home with readers and times tables, and a nationwide study of 18,000 tenth grade students by the University of Virginia has found they may have been right all along.

Analysing transcripts and data from each student, the researchers’ findings showed more homework assignments did not translate into better grades.

“The more time students spend on homework, it’s not clear that they are getting better grades or better test scores,” said Professor Robert Tai, co-author of the study.

“What we are concerned with is that homework is just being assigned rather than being used to integrate what’s going on in the classroom.”

Professor Tai said the findings were a wake-up call for educators, who needed to be clear about why they are assigning homework, and what the homework is for.

“If teachers aren’t really incorporating homework into their teaching, it’s unclear there is any type of benefit at all and it actually may end up hurting students,” he said.

But in one area the numbers showed that more time head down at home would bring results up.

“When it comes to math, what we found is that here is a bit of a sweet spot,” he said.

“Students that were spending about a half an hour on math homework were reporting that their grades and test scores were actually better,” he said.

While homework didn’t get top marks from researchers, they’re not about to strike it off all together.

Researchers suggested more studies be carried out on the form and function of assignments.

“In today’s current educational environment, with all the activities taking up children’s time both in school and out of school, the purpose of each homework assignment must be clear and targeted,” Professor Tai said.

“With homework, more is not better.”