'The Dog Ate It'

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Estimated number of hours of homework that a high school student is assigned each night--2

Percentage of teachers who assigned homework to their first class on a typical day--86

Number who gave no homework in their college prep classes--60

Number who didn't give homework in general-track classes--508

Number who said they did not assign homework because they didn't have enough textbooks to go around--119

Odds that students' homework assignments would be questions taken from the textbook or a worksheet--3 in 4

Odds that students would be assigned essay questions or research reports--3 in 25

Percentage who "mostly'' or "always'' assign homework orally--73

Percentage who "mostly'' or "always'' provide written directions--29

Percentage who assign homework at the end of the class period--61

Percentage of teachers who assign it at the beginning of class--22

Proportion of students who complete less than 60 percent of their homework--1 in 5

Of students who don't complete their homework, the percentage who say it is because of an after-school job--9

Percentage of teachers who communicate their expectations about homework to parents--57

Percentage who thought involving the parents helped a lot--11

Percentage who thought involving parents didn't help at all--20

Percentage who grade more than 61 percent of students' homework--83

Percentage who said homework counted for part of students' semester grades--97

Percentage who count homework for at least half of their students' semester grade--11

--Elizabeth Schulz

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