Clarification: This story has updated to give a more precise estimate of the portion of teachers who say they do not assign homework at all.
Questions over how much homework schools should assign are a constant subject of disagreement among district leaders, teachers, and parents.
A new survey conducted by the EdWeek Research Center suggests that the amount of out-of-school coursework assigned to students has fallen, in many cases because students refuse to do it, or because technologies such as AI are reducing its value.
The nationally representative, online survey, conducted in December and January of 279 teachers, asked them whether the amount of homework they’ve assigned over the past two years has risen, fallen, or stayed the same.
It found that 40% of respondents said homework has decreased during that time , 33% said it’s remained the same, and just 3% said the rate of homework assignments has increased.
Nearly 1 in 4, 24%, said they don’t assign homework at all.
When those who said the amount of homework had fallen were asked why, the largest portion, 47%, said it was because students refused to do it. The next-highest portion, 29%, said that students’ use of tech such as AI to complete homework lessens its value, and 28% said equity concerns—that some students have more access to homework help than others—is a factor.
Debates about the role of homework came into sharper focus during the pandemic, when disparities in students’ ability to complete assignments, because of unstable home environments or substandard tech, became more apparent for educators and researchers.
Some researchers are skeptical about the benefits of homework, noting that its value to students can vary based on their learning environments away from school.
Ideally, homework should “have the potential to give kids extra practice with academic work and develop their independence, their ability to work with material,” said Jessica Calarco, professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Yet in reality, “it’s very hard to assign homework at a level that every student can complete fully independently, without needing an adult to help them, and to make sure that all kids have the kinds of life circumstances where they can practice that kind of responsibility,” she said.
The benefits and drawbacks of homework
Janine Bempechat, a clinical professor emerita at Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, said there are two main benefits of homework: academic and motivational.
“When we start the process of asking children to do homework, what we are socializing children to become [are] mature learners,” she said.
Students learn to prioritize tasks and take on responsibility in doing lessons outside of school. If they want to take part in a fun, non-academic activity, for instance, a parent or adult may set rules that they will do it after they finish their homework.
Additionally, when parents help students complete homework assignments, it creates an opportunity for students to see positive examples of dealing with frustration and setbacks, said Bempechat.
But if students’ parents don’t have much formal education, or their work schedules don’t allow them to help with homework, those out-of-school lessons could contribute to inequity, said Calarco.
Still, Bempechat doesn’t believe eliminating homework is the answer. Schools can instead create opportunities for students to complete homework during the school day or provide assistance after school.
“That’s more how we should be thinking about the equity issue, rather [than] minimizing homework” Bempechat said. Otherwise, “it may end up hurting the very kids we want to be helping the most.”
Other factors affecting the rate of homework
Other factors may be contributing to schools assigning less work outside of school.
Post-pandemic, there was an increase in kids participating in sports and extracurricular activities, and parents started to complain [about homework] interfering with those activities, Calarco told Education Week.
“It was just too difficult for kids to eat their dinner, go to all these extracurricular activities, and get a decent night’s sleep,” said Calarco.
The role of AI could also be affecting how teachers view homework. Many educators have voiced concerns that AI weakens critical thinking and research skills. And more than 1 in 4 teachers in the EdWeek Research Center survey said they believed that students’ use of tech, such as AI, is undermining homework’s instructional value.
Not all educators have had this experience. Anthony Salutari Jr., the principal at Daniel Hand High School in Madison, Conn., told Education Week that his school has worked to make sure technology isn’t conflicting with the learning goals it has for homework.
Daniel Hand High School has AI guidelines and expectations for “meaningful and relevant” ways students can use the tool. When it comes to homework, the school focuses on making assignments and assessments “AI-proof.” For example, teachers are assigning reading as homework but reserving the discussions in person, in class.
“AI could summarize [for] you, but you still have to be able to analyze the summary and [take] a stance in an upcoming class,” said Salutari.
Daniel Hand High School has a homework policy that does not allow assignments to be given to students on weekends or during vacations, including short holiday breaks like Christmas and Thanksgiving. If there is an assignment, teachers have been instructed to make it due several days after students return from break to allow students to enjoy their time off.
“I really like our homework policy, because it communicates to students that homework is important,” the principal said, “but it also communicates that there should be breaks from school, just like we all need breaks from work.”
Data analysis for this article was provided by the EdWeek Research Center. Learn more about the center’s work.
