no homework in 4th grade

Home » Tips for Teachers » 7 Research-Based Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework: Academic Insights, Opposing Perspectives & Alternatives

7 Research-Based Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework: Academic Insights, Opposing Perspectives & Alternatives

In recent years, the question of why students should not have homework has become a topic of intense debate among educators, parents, and students themselves. This discussion stems from a growing body of research that challenges the traditional view of homework as an essential component of academic success. The notion that homework is an integral part of learning is being reevaluated in light of new findings about its effectiveness and impact on students’ overall well-being.

The push against homework is not just about the hours spent on completing assignments; it’s about rethinking the role of education in fostering the well-rounded development of young individuals. Critics argue that homework, particularly in excessive amounts, can lead to negative outcomes such as stress, burnout, and a diminished love for learning. Moreover, it often disproportionately affects students from disadvantaged backgrounds, exacerbating educational inequities. The debate also highlights the importance of allowing children to have enough free time for play, exploration, and family interaction, which are crucial for their social and emotional development.

Checking 13yo’s math homework & I have just one question. I can catch mistakes & help her correct. But what do kids do when their parent isn’t an Algebra teacher? Answer: They get frustrated. Quit. Get a bad grade. Think they aren’t good at math. How is homework fair??? — Jay Wamsted (@JayWamsted) March 24, 2022

As we delve into this discussion, we explore various facets of why reducing or even eliminating homework could be beneficial. We consider the research, weigh the pros and cons, and examine alternative approaches to traditional homework that can enhance learning without overburdening students.

Once you’ve finished this article, you’ll know:

• Insights from Teachers and Education Industry Experts →
• 7 Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework →
• Opposing Views on Homework Practices →
• Exploring Alternatives to Homework →

Insights from Teachers and Education Industry Experts: Diverse Perspectives on Homework

In the ongoing conversation about the role and impact of homework in education, the perspectives of those directly involved in the teaching process are invaluable. Teachers and education industry experts bring a wealth of experience and insights from the front lines of learning. Their viewpoints, shaped by years of interaction with students and a deep understanding of educational methodologies, offer a critical lens through which we can evaluate the effectiveness and necessity of homework in our current educational paradigm.

Check out this video featuring Courtney White, a high school language arts teacher who gained widespread attention for her explanation of why she chooses not to assign homework.

Here are the insights and opinions from various experts in the educational field on this topic:

“I teach 1st grade. I had parents ask for homework. I explained that I don’t give homework. Home time is family time. Time to play, cook, explore and spend time together. I do send books home, but there is no requirement or checklist for reading them. Read them, enjoy them, and return them when your child is ready for more. I explained that as a parent myself, I know they are busy—and what a waste of energy it is to sit and force their kids to do work at home—when they could use that time to form relationships and build a loving home. Something kids need more than a few math problems a week.” — Colleen S. , 1st grade teacher

“The lasting educational value of homework at that age is not proven. A kid says the times tables [at school] because he studied the times tables last night. But over a long period of time, a kid who is drilled on the times tables at school, rather than as homework, will also memorize their times tables. We are worried about young children and their social emotional learning. And that has to do with physical activity, it has to do with playing with peers, it has to do with family time. All of those are very important and can be removed by too much homework.” — David Bloomfield , education professor at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York graduate center

“Homework in primary school has an effect of around zero. In high school it’s larger. (…) Which is why we need to get it right. Not why we need to get rid of it. It’s one of those lower hanging fruit that we should be looking in our primary schools to say, ‘Is it really making a difference?’” — John Hattie , professor

”Many kids are working as many hours as their overscheduled parents and it is taking a toll – psychologically and in many other ways too. We see kids getting up hours before school starts just to get their homework done from the night before… While homework may give kids one more responsibility, it ignores the fact that kids do not need to grow up and become adults at ages 10 or 12. With schools cutting recess time or eliminating playgrounds, kids absorb every single stress there is, only on an even higher level. Their brains and bodies need time to be curious, have fun, be creative and just be a kid.” — Pat Wayman, teacher and CEO of HowtoLearn.com

7 Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework

Let’s delve into the reasons against assigning homework to students. Examining these arguments offers important perspectives on the wider educational and developmental consequences of homework practices.

1. Elevated Stress and Health Consequences

The ongoing debate about homework often focuses on its educational value, but a vital aspect that cannot be overlooked is the significant stress and health consequences it brings to students. In the context of American life, where approximately 70% of people report moderate or extreme stress due to various factors like mass shootings, healthcare affordability, discrimination, racism, sexual harassment, climate change, presidential elections, and the need to stay informed, the additional burden of homework further exacerbates this stress, particularly among students.

Key findings and statistics reveal a worrying trend:

• Overwhelming Student Stress: A staggering 72% of students report being often or always stressed over schoolwork, with a concerning 82% experiencing physical symptoms due to this stress.
• Serious Health Issues: Symptoms linked to homework stress include sleep deprivation, headaches, exhaustion, weight loss, and stomach problems.
• Sleep Deprivation: Despite the National Sleep Foundation recommending 8.5 to 9.25 hours of sleep for healthy adolescent development, students average just 6.80 hours of sleep on school nights. About 68% of students stated that schoolwork often or always prevented them from getting enough sleep, which is critical for their physical and mental health.
• Turning to Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms: Alarmingly, the pressure from excessive homework has led some students to turn to alcohol and drugs as a way to cope with stress.

This data paints a concerning picture. Students, already navigating a world filled with various stressors, find themselves further burdened by homework demands. The direct correlation between excessive homework and health issues indicates a need for reevaluation. The goal should be to ensure that homework if assigned, adds value to students’ learning experiences without compromising their health and well-being.

By addressing the issue of homework-related stress and health consequences, we can take a significant step toward creating a more nurturing and effective educational environment. This environment would not only prioritize academic achievement but also the overall well-being and happiness of students, preparing them for a balanced and healthy life both inside and outside the classroom.

2. Inequitable Impact and Socioeconomic Disparities

In the discourse surrounding educational equity, homework emerges as a factor exacerbating socioeconomic disparities, particularly affecting students from lower-income families and those with less supportive home environments. While homework is often justified as a means to raise academic standards and promote equity, its real-world impact tells a different story.

The inequitable burden of homework becomes starkly evident when considering the resources required to complete it, especially in the digital age. Homework today often necessitates a computer and internet access – resources not readily available to all students. This digital divide significantly disadvantages students from lower-income backgrounds, deepening the chasm between them and their more affluent peers.

Key points highlighting the disparities:

• Digital Inequity: Many students lack access to necessary technology for homework, with low-income families disproportionately affected.
• Impact of COVID-19: The pandemic exacerbated these disparities as education shifted online, revealing the extent of the digital divide.
• Educational Outcomes Tied to Income: A critical indicator of college success is linked more to family income levels than to rigorous academic preparation. Research indicates that while 77% of students from high-income families graduate from highly competitive colleges, only 9% from low-income families achieve the same . This disparity suggests that the pressure of heavy homework loads, rather than leveling the playing field, may actually hinder the chances of success for less affluent students.

Moreover, the approach to homework varies significantly across different types of schools. While some rigorous private and preparatory schools in both marginalized and affluent communities assign extreme levels of homework, many progressive schools focusing on holistic learning and self-actualization opt for no homework, yet achieve similar levels of college and career success. This contrast raises questions about the efficacy and necessity of heavy homework loads in achieving educational outcomes.

The issue of homework and its inequitable impact is not just an academic concern; it is a reflection of broader societal inequalities. By continuing practices that disproportionately burden students from less privileged backgrounds, the educational system inadvertently perpetuates the very disparities it seeks to overcome.

3. Negative Impact on Family Dynamics

Homework, a staple of the educational system, is often perceived as a necessary tool for academic reinforcement. However, its impact extends beyond the realm of academics, significantly affecting family dynamics. The negative repercussions of homework on the home environment have become increasingly evident, revealing a troubling pattern that can lead to conflict, mental health issues, and domestic friction.

A study conducted in 2015 involving 1,100 parents sheds light on the strain homework places on family relationships. The findings are telling:

• Increased Likelihood of Conflicts: Families where parents did not have a college degree were 200% more likely to experience fights over homework.
• Misinterpretations and Misunderstandings: Parents often misinterpret their children’s difficulties with homework as a lack of attention in school, leading to feelings of frustration and mistrust on both sides.
• Discriminatory Impact: The research concluded that the current approach to homework disproportionately affects children whose parents have lower educational backgrounds, speak English as a second language, or belong to lower-income groups.

The issue is not confined to specific demographics but is a widespread concern. Samantha Hulsman, a teacher featured in Education Week Teacher , shared her personal experience with the toll that homework can take on family time. She observed that a seemingly simple 30-minute assignment could escalate into a three-hour ordeal, causing stress and strife between parents and children. Hulsman’s insights challenge the traditional mindset about homework, highlighting a shift towards the need for skills such as collaboration and problem-solving over rote memorization of facts.

The need of the hour is to reassess the role and amount of homework assigned to students. It’s imperative to find a balance that facilitates learning and growth without compromising the well-being of the family unit. Such a reassessment would not only aid in reducing domestic conflicts but also contribute to a more supportive and nurturing environment for children’s overall development.

4. Consumption of Free Time

In recent years, a growing chorus of voices has raised concerns about the excessive burden of homework on students, emphasizing how it consumes their free time and impedes their overall well-being. The issue is not just the quantity of homework, but its encroachment on time that could be used for personal growth, relaxation, and family bonding.

Authors Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish , in their book “The Case Against Homework,” offer an insightful window into the lives of families grappling with the demands of excessive homework. They share stories from numerous interviews conducted in the mid-2000s, highlighting the universal struggle faced by families across different demographics. A poignant account from a parent in Menlo Park, California, describes nightly sessions extending until 11 p.m., filled with stress and frustration, leading to a soured attitude towards school in both the child and the parent. This narrative is not isolated, as about one-third of the families interviewed expressed feeling crushed by the overwhelming workload.

Key points of concern:

• Excessive Time Commitment: Students, on average, spend over 6 hours in school each day, and homework adds significantly to this time, leaving little room for other activities.
• Impact on Extracurricular Activities: Homework infringes upon time for sports, music, art, and other enriching experiences, which are as crucial as academic courses.
• Stifling Creativity and Self-Discovery: The constant pressure of homework limits opportunities for students to explore their interests and learn new skills independently.

The National Education Association (NEA) and the National PTA (NPTA) recommend a “10 minutes of homework per grade level” standard, suggesting a more balanced approach. However, the reality often far exceeds this guideline, particularly for older students. The impact of this overreach is profound, affecting not just academic performance but also students’ attitudes toward school, their self-confidence, social skills, and overall quality of life.

Furthermore, the intense homework routine’s effectiveness is doubtful, as it can overwhelm students and detract from the joy of learning. Effective learning builds on prior knowledge in an engaging way, but excessive homework in a home setting may be irrelevant and uninteresting. The key challenge is balancing homework to enhance learning without overburdening students, allowing time for holistic growth and activities beyond academics. It’s crucial to reassess homework policies to support well-rounded development.

5. Challenges for Students with Learning Disabilities

Homework, a standard educational tool, poses unique challenges for students with learning disabilities, often leading to a frustrating and disheartening experience. These challenges go beyond the typical struggles faced by most students and can significantly impede their educational progress and emotional well-being.

Child psychologist Kenneth Barish’s insights in Psychology Today shed light on the complex relationship between homework and students with learning disabilities:

• Homework as a Painful Endeavor: For students with learning disabilities, completing homework can be likened to “running with a sprained ankle.” It’s a task that, while doable, is fraught with difficulty and discomfort.
• Misconceptions about Laziness: Often, children who struggle with homework are perceived as lazy. However, Barish emphasizes that these students are more likely to be frustrated, discouraged, or anxious rather than unmotivated.
• Limited Improvement in School Performance: The battles over homework rarely translate into significant improvement in school for these children, challenging the conventional notion of homework as universally beneficial.

These points highlight the need for a tailored approach to homework for students with learning disabilities. It’s crucial to recognize that the traditional homework model may not be the most effective or appropriate method for facilitating their learning. Instead, alternative strategies that accommodate their unique needs and learning styles should be considered.

In conclusion, the conventional homework paradigm needs reevaluation, particularly concerning students with learning disabilities. By understanding and addressing their unique challenges, educators can create a more inclusive and supportive educational environment. This approach not only aids in their academic growth but also nurtures their confidence and overall development, ensuring that they receive an equitable and empathetic educational experience.

6. Critique of Underlying Assumptions about Learning

The longstanding belief in the educational sphere that more homework automatically translates to more learning is increasingly being challenged. Critics argue that this assumption is not only flawed but also unsupported by solid evidence, questioning the efficacy of homework as an effective learning tool.

Alfie Kohn , a prominent critic of homework, aptly compares students to vending machines in this context, suggesting that the expectation of inserting an assignment and automatically getting out of learning is misguided. Kohn goes further, labeling homework as the “greatest single extinguisher of children’s curiosity.” This critique highlights a fundamental issue: the potential of homework to stifle the natural inquisitiveness and love for learning in children.

The lack of concrete evidence supporting the effectiveness of homework is evident in various studies:

• Marginal Effectiveness of Homework: A study involving 28,051 high school seniors found that the effectiveness of homework was marginal, and in some cases, it was counterproductive, leading to more academic problems than solutions.
• No Correlation with Academic Achievement: Research in “ National Differences, Global Similarities ” showed no correlation between homework and academic achievement in elementary students, and any positive correlation in middle or high school diminished with increasing homework loads.
• Increased Academic Pressure: The Teachers College Record published findings that homework adds to academic pressure and societal stress, exacerbating performance gaps between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

These findings bring to light several critical points:

• Quality Over Quantity: According to a recent article in Monitor on Psychology , experts concur that the quality of homework assignments, along with the quality of instruction, student motivation, and inherent ability, is more crucial for academic success than the quantity of homework.
• Counterproductive Nature of Excessive Homework: Excessive homework can lead to more academic challenges, particularly for students already facing pressures from other aspects of their lives.
• Societal Stress and Performance Gaps: Homework can intensify societal stress and widen the academic performance divide.

The emerging consensus from these studies suggests that the traditional approach to homework needs rethinking. Rather than focusing on the quantity of assignments, educators should consider the quality and relevance of homework, ensuring it truly contributes to learning and development. This reassessment is crucial for fostering an educational environment that nurtures curiosity and a love for learning, rather than extinguishing it.

7. Issues with Homework Enforcement, Reliability, and Temptation to Cheat

In the academic realm, the enforcement of homework is a subject of ongoing debate, primarily due to its implications on student integrity and the true value of assignments. The challenges associated with homework enforcement often lead to unintended yet significant issues, such as cheating, copying, and a general undermining of educational values.

Key points highlighting enforcement challenges:

• Difficulty in Enforcing Completion: Ensuring that students complete their homework can be a complex task, and not completing homework does not always correlate with poor grades.
• Reliability of Homework Practice: The reliability of homework as a practice tool is undermined when students, either out of desperation or lack of understanding, choose shortcuts over genuine learning. This approach can lead to the opposite of the intended effect, especially when assignments are not well-aligned with the students’ learning levels or interests.
• Temptation to Cheat: The issue of cheating is particularly troubling. According to a report by The Chronicle of Higher Education , under the pressure of at-home assignments, many students turn to copying others’ work, plagiarizing, or using creative technological “hacks.” This tendency not only questions the integrity of the learning process but also reflects the extreme stress that homework can induce.
• Parental Involvement in Completion: As noted in The American Journal of Family Therapy , this raises concerns about the authenticity of the work submitted. When parents complete assignments for their children, it not only deprives the students of the opportunity to learn but also distorts the purpose of homework as a learning aid.

In conclusion, the challenges of homework enforcement present a complex problem that requires careful consideration. The focus should shift towards creating meaningful, manageable, and quality-driven assignments that encourage genuine learning and integrity, rather than overwhelming students and prompting counterproductive behaviors.

Addressing Opposing Views on Homework Practices

While opinions on homework policies are diverse, understanding different viewpoints is crucial. In the following sections, we will examine common arguments supporting homework assignments, along with counterarguments that offer alternative perspectives on this educational practice.

1. Improvement of Academic Performance

Homework is commonly perceived as a means to enhance academic performance, with the belief that it directly contributes to better grades and test scores. This view posits that through homework, students reinforce what they learn in class, leading to improved understanding and retention, which ultimately translates into higher academic achievement.

However, the question of why students should not have homework becomes pertinent when considering the complex relationship between homework and academic performance. Studies have indicated that excessive homework doesn’t necessarily equate to higher grades or test scores. Instead, too much homework can backfire, leading to stress and fatigue that adversely affect a student’s performance. Reuters highlights an intriguing correlation suggesting that physical activity may be more conducive to academic success than additional homework, underscoring the importance of a holistic approach to education that prioritizes both physical and mental well-being for enhanced academic outcomes.

2. Reinforcement of Learning

Homework is traditionally viewed as a tool to reinforce classroom learning, enabling students to practice and retain material. However, research suggests its effectiveness is ambiguous. In instances where homework is well-aligned with students’ abilities and classroom teachings, it can indeed be beneficial. Particularly for younger students , excessive homework can cause burnout and a loss of interest in learning, counteracting its intended purpose.

Furthermore, when homework surpasses a student’s capability, it may induce frustration and confusion rather than aid in learning. This challenges the notion that more homework invariably leads to better understanding and retention of educational content.

3. Development of Time Management Skills

Homework is often considered a crucial tool in helping students develop important life skills such as time management and organization. The idea is that by regularly completing assignments, students learn to allocate their time efficiently and organize their tasks effectively, skills that are invaluable in both academic and personal life.

However, the impact of homework on developing these skills is not always positive. For younger students, especially, an overwhelming amount of homework can be more of a hindrance than a help. Instead of fostering time management and organizational skills, an excessive workload often leads to stress and anxiety . These negative effects can impede the learning process and make it difficult for students to manage their time and tasks effectively, contradicting the original purpose of homework.

4. Preparation for Future Academic Challenges

Homework is often touted as a preparatory tool for future academic challenges that students will encounter in higher education and their professional lives. The argument is that by tackling homework, students build a foundation of knowledge and skills necessary for success in more advanced studies and in the workforce, fostering a sense of readiness and confidence.

Contrarily, an excessive homework load, especially from a young age, can have the opposite effect . It can instill a negative attitude towards education, dampening students’ enthusiasm and willingness to embrace future academic challenges. Overburdening students with homework risks disengagement and loss of interest, thereby defeating the purpose of preparing them for future challenges. Striking a balance in the amount and complexity of homework is crucial to maintaining student engagement and fostering a positive attitude towards ongoing learning.

5. Parental Involvement in Education

Homework often acts as a vital link connecting parents to their child’s educational journey, offering insights into the school’s curriculum and their child’s learning process. This involvement is key in fostering a supportive home environment and encouraging a collaborative relationship between parents and the school. When parents understand and engage with what their children are learning, it can significantly enhance the educational experience for the child.

However, the line between involvement and over-involvement is thin. When parents excessively intervene by completing their child’s homework,  it can have adverse effects . Such actions not only diminish the educational value of homework but also rob children of the opportunity to develop problem-solving skills and independence. This over-involvement, coupled with disparities in parental ability to assist due to variations in time, knowledge, or resources, may lead to unequal educational outcomes, underlining the importance of a balanced approach to parental participation in homework.

Exploring Alternatives to Homework and Finding a Middle Ground

In the ongoing debate about the role of homework in education, it’s essential to consider viable alternatives and strategies to minimize its burden. While completely eliminating homework may not be feasible for all educators, there are several effective methods to reduce its impact and offer more engaging, student-friendly approaches to learning.

Alternatives to Traditional Homework

• Project-Based Learning: This method focuses on hands-on, long-term projects where students explore real-world problems. It encourages creativity, critical thinking, and collaborative skills, offering a more engaging and practical learning experience than traditional homework. For creative ideas on school projects, especially related to the solar system, be sure to explore our dedicated article on solar system projects .
• Flipped Classrooms: Here, students are introduced to new content through videos or reading materials at home and then use class time for interactive activities. This approach allows for more personalized and active learning during school hours.
• Reading for Pleasure: Encouraging students to read books of their choice can foster a love for reading and improve literacy skills without the pressure of traditional homework assignments. This approach is exemplified by Marion County, Florida , where public schools implemented a no-homework policy for elementary students. Instead, they are encouraged to read nightly for 20 minutes . Superintendent Heidi Maier’s decision was influenced by research showing that while homework offers minimal benefit to young students, regular reading significantly boosts their learning. For book recommendations tailored to middle school students, take a look at our specially curated article .

Ideas for Minimizing Homework

• Limiting Homework Quantity: Adhering to guidelines like the “ 10-minute rule ” (10 minutes of homework per grade level per night) can help ensure that homework does not become overwhelming.
• Quality Over Quantity: Focus on assigning meaningful homework that is directly relevant to what is being taught in class, ensuring it adds value to students’ learning.
• Homework Menus: Offering students a choice of assignments can cater to diverse learning styles and interests, making homework more engaging and personalized.
• Integrating Technology: Utilizing educational apps and online platforms can make homework more interactive and enjoyable, while also providing immediate feedback to students. To gain deeper insights into the role of technology in learning environments, explore our articles discussing the benefits of incorporating technology in classrooms and a comprehensive list of educational VR apps . These resources will provide you with valuable information on how technology can enhance the educational experience.

For teachers who are not ready to fully eliminate homework, these strategies offer a compromise, ensuring that homework supports rather than hinders student learning. By focusing on quality, relevance, and student engagement, educators can transform homework from a chore into a meaningful component of education that genuinely contributes to students’ academic growth and personal development. In this way, we can move towards a more balanced and student-centric approach to learning, both in and out of the classroom.

Useful Resources

• Is homework a good idea or not? by BBC
• The Great Homework Debate: What’s Getting Lost in the Hype
• Alternative Homework Ideas

The evidence and arguments presented in the discussion of why students should not have homework call for a significant shift in homework practices. It’s time for educators and policymakers to rethink and reformulate homework strategies, focusing on enhancing the quality, relevance, and balance of assignments. By doing so, we can create a more equitable, effective, and student-friendly educational environment that fosters learning, well-being, and holistic development.

• “Here’s what an education expert says about that viral ‘no-homework’ policy”, Insider
• “John Hattie on BBC Radio 4: Homework in primary school has an effect of zero”, Visible Learning
• HowtoLearn.com
• “Time Spent On Homework Statistics [Fresh Research]”, Gitnux
• “Stress in America”, American Psychological Association (APA)
• “Homework hurts high-achieving students, study says”, The Washington Post
• “National Sleep Foundation’s updated sleep duration recommendations: final report”, National Library of Medicine
• “A multi-method exploratory study of stress, coping, and substance use among high school youth in private schools”, Frontiers
• “The Digital Revolution is Leaving Poorer Kids Behind”, Statista
• “The digital divide has left millions of school kids behind”, CNET
• “The Digital Divide: What It Is, and What’s Being Done to Close It”, Investopedia
• “COVID-19 exposed the digital divide. Here’s how we can close it”, World Economic Forum
• “PBS NewsHour: Biggest Predictor of College Success is Family Income”, America’s Promise Alliance
• “Homework and Family Stress: With Consideration of Parents’ Self Confidence, Educational Level, and Cultural Background”, Taylor & Francis Online
• “What Do You Mean My Kid Doesn’t Have Homework?”, EducationWeek
• “Excerpt From The Case Against Homework”, Penguin Random House Canada
• “How much homework is too much?”, neaToday
• “The Nation’s Report Card: A First Look: 2013 Mathematics and Reading”, National Center for Education Statistics
• “Battles Over Homework: Advice For Parents”, Psychology Today
• “How Homework Is Destroying Teens’ Health”, The Lion’s Roar
• “ Breaking the Homework Habit”, Education World
• “Testing a model of school learning: Direct and indirect effects on academic achievement”, ScienceDirect
• “National Differences, Global Similarities: World Culture and the Future of Schooling”, Stanford University Press
• “When school goes home: Some problems in the organization of homework”, APA PsycNet
• “Is homework a necessary evil?”, APA PsycNet
• “Epidemic of copying homework catalyzed by technology”, Redwood Bark
• “High-Tech Cheating Abounds, and Professors Bear Some Blame”, The Chronicle of Higher Education
• “Homework and Family Stress: With Consideration of Parents’ Self Confidence, Educational Level, and Cultural Background”, ResearchGate
• “Kids who get moving may also get better grades”, Reuters
• “Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Research, 1987–2003”, SageJournals
• “Is it time to get rid of homework?”, USAToday
• “Stanford research shows pitfalls of homework”, Stanford
• “Florida school district bans homework, replaces it with daily reading”, USAToday
• “Encouraging Students to Read: Tips for High School Teachers”, wgu.edu
• Recent Posts

Simona Johnes is the visionary being the creation of our project. Johnes spent much of her career in the classroom working with students. And, after many years in the classroom, Johnes became a principal.

• 28 Exciting Yarn Crafts for Preschool Kids: Igniting Creativity and Fine Motor Skills - April 29, 2024
• 16 Engaging and Educational Cause and Effect Activities for Preschoolers to Boost Cognitive Development - April 24, 2024
• 25 Innovative and Engaging Parts of Speech Activities for Middle School: Fun Grammar Games to Enhance Learning - April 14, 2024

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Is Homework Good for Kids? Here’s What the Research Says

A s kids return to school, debate is heating up once again over how they should spend their time after they leave the classroom for the day.

The no-homework policy of a second-grade teacher in Texas went viral last week , earning praise from parents across the country who lament the heavy workload often assigned to young students. Brandy Young told parents she would not formally assign any homework this year, asking students instead to eat dinner with their families, play outside and go to bed early.

But the question of how much work children should be doing outside of school remains controversial, and plenty of parents take issue with no-homework policies, worried their kids are losing a potential academic advantage. Here’s what you need to know:

For decades, the homework standard has been a “10-minute rule,” which recommends a daily maximum of 10 minutes of homework per grade level. Second graders, for example, should do about 20 minutes of homework each night. High school seniors should complete about two hours of homework each night. The National PTA and the National Education Association both support that guideline.

But some schools have begun to give their youngest students a break. A Massachusetts elementary school has announced a no-homework pilot program for the coming school year, lengthening the school day by two hours to provide more in-class instruction. “We really want kids to go home at 4 o’clock, tired. We want their brain to be tired,” Kelly Elementary School Principal Jackie Glasheen said in an interview with a local TV station . “We want them to enjoy their families. We want them to go to soccer practice or football practice, and we want them to go to bed. And that’s it.”

A New York City public elementary school implemented a similar policy last year, eliminating traditional homework assignments in favor of family time. The change was quickly met with outrage from some parents, though it earned support from other education leaders.

New solutions and approaches to homework differ by community, and these local debates are complicated by the fact that even education experts disagree about what’s best for kids.

The research

The most comprehensive research on homework to date comes from a 2006 meta-analysis by Duke University psychology professor Harris Cooper, who found evidence of a positive correlation between homework and student achievement, meaning students who did homework performed better in school. The correlation was stronger for older students—in seventh through 12th grade—than for those in younger grades, for whom there was a weak relationship between homework and performance.

Cooper’s analysis focused on how homework impacts academic achievement—test scores, for example. His report noted that homework is also thought to improve study habits, attitudes toward school, self-discipline, inquisitiveness and independent problem solving skills. On the other hand, some studies he examined showed that homework can cause physical and emotional fatigue, fuel negative attitudes about learning and limit leisure time for children. At the end of his analysis, Cooper recommended further study of such potential effects of homework.

Despite the weak correlation between homework and performance for young children, Cooper argues that a small amount of homework is useful for all students. Second-graders should not be doing two hours of homework each night, he said, but they also shouldn’t be doing no homework.

Not all education experts agree entirely with Cooper’s assessment.

Cathy Vatterott, an education professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, supports the “10-minute rule” as a maximum, but she thinks there is not sufficient proof that homework is helpful for students in elementary school.

“Correlation is not causation,” she said. “Does homework cause achievement, or do high achievers do more homework?”

Vatterott, the author of Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs , thinks there should be more emphasis on improving the quality of homework tasks, and she supports efforts to eliminate homework for younger kids.

“I have no concerns about students not starting homework until fourth grade or fifth grade,” she said, noting that while the debate over homework will undoubtedly continue, she has noticed a trend toward limiting, if not eliminating, homework in elementary school.

The issue has been debated for decades. A TIME cover in 1999 read: “Too much homework! How it’s hurting our kids, and what parents should do about it.” The accompanying story noted that the launch of Sputnik in 1957 led to a push for better math and science education in the U.S. The ensuing pressure to be competitive on a global scale, plus the increasingly demanding college admissions process, fueled the practice of assigning homework.

“The complaints are cyclical, and we’re in the part of the cycle now where the concern is for too much,” Cooper said. “You can go back to the 1970s, when you’ll find there were concerns that there was too little, when we were concerned about our global competitiveness.”

Cooper acknowledged that some students really are bringing home too much homework, and their parents are right to be concerned.

“A good way to think about homework is the way you think about medications or dietary supplements,” he said. “If you take too little, they’ll have no effect. If you take too much, they can kill you. If you take the right amount, you’ll get better.”

More Must-Reads from TIME

• The New Face of Doctor Who
• Putin’s Enemies Are Struggling to Unite
• Women Say They Were Pressured Into Long-Term Birth Control
• Scientists Are Finding Out Just How Toxic Your Stuff Is
• Boredom Makes Us Human
• John Mulaney Has What Late Night Needs
• The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
• Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time

Write to Katie Reilly at [email protected]

Does homework really work?

by: Leslie Crawford | Updated: December 12, 2023

Print article

You know the drill. It’s 10:15 p.m., and the cardboard-and-toothpick Golden Gate Bridge is collapsing. The pages of polynomials have been abandoned. The paper on the Battle of Waterloo seems to have frozen in time with Napoleon lingering eternally over his breakfast at Le Caillou. Then come the tears and tantrums — while we parents wonder, Does the gain merit all this pain? Is this just too much homework?

However the drama unfolds night after night, year after year, most parents hold on to the hope that homework (after soccer games, dinner, flute practice, and, oh yes, that childhood pastime of yore known as playing) advances their children academically.

But what does homework really do for kids? Is the forest’s worth of book reports and math and spelling sheets the average American student completes in their 12 years of primary schooling making a difference? Or is it just busywork?

Homework haterz

Whether or not homework helps, or even hurts, depends on who you ask. If you ask my 12-year-old son, Sam, he’ll say, “Homework doesn’t help anything. It makes kids stressed-out and tired and makes them hate school more.”

Nothing more than common kid bellyaching?

Maybe, but in the fractious field of homework studies, it’s worth noting that Sam’s sentiments nicely synopsize one side of the ivory tower debate. Books like The End of Homework , The Homework Myth , and The Case Against Homework the film Race to Nowhere , and the anguished parent essay “ My Daughter’s Homework is Killing Me ” make the case that homework, by taking away precious family time and putting kids under unneeded pressure, is an ineffective way to help children become better learners and thinkers.

One Canadian couple took their homework apostasy all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. After arguing that there was no evidence that it improved academic performance, they won a ruling that exempted their two children from all homework.

So what’s the real relationship between homework and academic achievement?

How much is too much?

To answer this question, researchers have been doing their homework on homework, conducting and examining hundreds of studies. Chris Drew Ph.D., founder and editor at The Helpful Professor recently compiled multiple statistics revealing the folly of today’s after-school busy work. Does any of the data he listed below ring true for you?

• 45 percent of parents think homework is too easy for their child, primarily because it is geared to the lowest standard under the Common Core State Standards .

• 74 percent of students say homework is a source of stress , defined as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss, and stomach problems.

• Students in high-performing high schools spend an average of 3.1 hours a night on homework , even though 1 to 2 hours is the optimal duration, according to a peer-reviewed study .

Not included in the list above is the fact many kids have to abandon activities they love — like sports and clubs — because homework deprives them of the needed time to enjoy themselves with other pursuits.

Conversely, The Helpful Professor does list a few pros of homework, noting it teaches discipline and time management, and helps parents know what’s being taught in the class.

The oft-bandied rule on homework quantity — 10 minutes a night per grade (starting from between 10 to 20 minutes in first grade) — is listed on the National Education Association’s website and the National Parent Teacher Association’s website , but few schools follow this rule.

Do you think your child is doing excessive homework? Harris Cooper Ph.D., author of a meta-study on homework , recommends talking with the teacher. “Often there is a miscommunication about the goals of homework assignments,” he says. “What appears to be problematic for kids, why they are doing an assignment, can be cleared up with a conversation.” Also, Cooper suggests taking a careful look at how your child is doing the assignments. It may seem like they’re taking two hours, but maybe your child is wandering off frequently to get a snack or getting distracted.

Less is often more

If your child is dutifully doing their work but still burning the midnight oil, it’s worth intervening to make sure your child gets enough sleep. A 2012 study of 535 high school students found that proper sleep may be far more essential to brain and body development.

For elementary school-age children, Cooper’s research at Duke University shows there is no measurable academic advantage to homework. For middle-schoolers, Cooper found there is a direct correlation between homework and achievement if assignments last between one to two hours per night. After two hours, however, achievement doesn’t improve. For high schoolers, Cooper’s research suggests that two hours per night is optimal. If teens have more than two hours of homework a night, their academic success flatlines. But less is not better. The average high school student doing homework outperformed 69 percent of the students in a class with no homework.

Many schools are starting to act on this research. A Florida superintendent abolished homework in her 42,000 student district, replacing it with 20 minutes of nightly reading. She attributed her decision to “ solid research about what works best in improving academic achievement in students .”

More family time

A 2020 survey by Crayola Experience reports 82 percent of children complain they don’t have enough quality time with their parents. Homework deserves much of the blame. “Kids should have a chance to just be kids and do things they enjoy, particularly after spending six hours a day in school,” says Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth . “It’s absurd to insist that children must be engaged in constructive activities right up until their heads hit the pillow.”

By far, the best replacement for homework — for both parents and children — is bonding, relaxing time together.

Homes Nearby

Homes for rent and sale near schools

How families of color can fight for fair discipline in school

Dealing with teacher bias

The most important school data families of color need to consider

Yes! Sign me up for updates relevant to my child's grade.

Please enter a valid email address

Thank you for signing up!

Server Issue: Please try again later. Sorry for the inconvenience

Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

A conversation with a Wheelock researcher, a BU student, and a fourth-grade teacher

“Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives,” says Wheelock’s Janine Bempechat. “It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.” Photo by iStock/Glenn Cook Photography

Do your homework.

If only it were that simple.

Educators have debated the merits of homework since the late 19th century. In recent years, amid concerns of some parents and teachers that children are being stressed out by too much homework, things have only gotten more fraught.

“Homework is complicated,” says developmental psychologist Janine Bempechat, a Wheelock College of Education & Human Development clinical professor. The author of the essay “ The Case for (Quality) Homework—Why It Improves Learning and How Parents Can Help ” in the winter 2019 issue of Education Next , Bempechat has studied how the debate about homework is influencing teacher preparation, parent and student beliefs about learning, and school policies.

She worries especially about socioeconomically disadvantaged students from low-performing schools who, according to research by Bempechat and others, get little or no homework.

BU Today  sat down with Bempechat and Erin Bruce (Wheelock’17,’18), a new fourth-grade teacher at a suburban Boston school, and future teacher freshman Emma Ardizzone (Wheelock) to talk about what quality homework looks like, how it can help children learn, and how schools can equip teachers to design it, evaluate it, and facilitate parents’ role in it.

BU Today: Parents and educators who are against homework in elementary school say there is no research definitively linking it to academic performance for kids in the early grades. You’ve said that they’re missing the point.

Bempechat : I think teachers assign homework in elementary school as a way to help kids develop skills they’ll need when they’re older—to begin to instill a sense of responsibility and to learn planning and organizational skills. That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success. If we greatly reduce or eliminate homework in elementary school, we deprive kids and parents of opportunities to instill these important learning habits and skills.

We do know that beginning in late middle school, and continuing through high school, there is a strong and positive correlation between homework completion and academic success.

That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success.

You talk about the importance of quality homework. What is that?

Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives. It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.

What are your concerns about homework and low-income children?

The argument that some people make—that homework “punishes the poor” because lower-income parents may not be as well-equipped as affluent parents to help their children with homework—is very troubling to me. There are no parents who don’t care about their children’s learning. Parents don’t actually have to help with homework completion in order for kids to do well. They can help in other ways—by helping children organize a study space, providing snacks, being there as a support, helping children work in groups with siblings or friends.

Isn’t the discussion about getting rid of homework happening mostly in affluent communities?

Yes, and the stories we hear of kids being stressed out from too much homework—four or five hours of homework a night—are real. That’s problematic for physical and mental health and overall well-being. But the research shows that higher-income students get a lot more homework than lower-income kids.

Teachers may not have as high expectations for lower-income children. Schools should bear responsibility for providing supports for kids to be able to get their homework done—after-school clubs, community support, peer group support. It does kids a disservice when our expectations are lower for them.

The conversation around homework is to some extent a social class and social justice issue. If we eliminate homework for all children because affluent children have too much, we’re really doing a disservice to low-income children. They need the challenge, and every student can rise to the challenge with enough supports in place.

What did you learn by studying how education schools are preparing future teachers to handle homework?

My colleague, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, at the University of California, Davis, School of Education, and I interviewed faculty members at education schools, as well as supervising teachers, to find out how students are being prepared. And it seemed that they weren’t. There didn’t seem to be any readings on the research, or conversations on what high-quality homework is and how to design it.

Erin, what kind of training did you get in handling homework?

Bruce : I had phenomenal professors at Wheelock, but homework just didn’t come up. I did lots of student teaching. I’ve been in classrooms where the teachers didn’t assign any homework, and I’ve been in rooms where they assigned hours of homework a night. But I never even considered homework as something that was my decision. I just thought it was something I’d pull out of a book and it’d be done.

I started giving homework on the first night of school this year. My first assignment was to go home and draw a picture of the room where you do your homework. I want to know if it’s at a table and if there are chairs around it and if mom’s cooking dinner while you’re doing homework.

The second night I asked them to talk to a grown-up about how are you going to be able to get your homework done during the week. The kids really enjoyed it. There’s a running joke that I’m teaching life skills.

Friday nights, I read all my kids’ responses to me on their homework from the week and it’s wonderful. They pour their hearts out. It’s like we’re having a conversation on my couch Friday night.

It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Bempechat : I can’t imagine that most new teachers would have the intuition Erin had in designing homework the way she did.

Ardizzone : Conversations with kids about homework, feeling you’re being listened to—that’s such a big part of wanting to do homework….I grew up in Westchester County. It was a pretty demanding school district. My junior year English teacher—I loved her—she would give us feedback, have meetings with all of us. She’d say, “If you have any questions, if you have anything you want to talk about, you can talk to me, here are my office hours.” It felt like she actually cared.

Bempechat : It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Ardizzone : But can’t it lead to parents being overbearing and too involved in their children’s lives as students?

Bempechat : There’s good help and there’s bad help. The bad help is what you’re describing—when parents hover inappropriately, when they micromanage, when they see their children confused and struggling and tell them what to do.

Good help is when parents recognize there’s a struggle going on and instead ask informative questions: “Where do you think you went wrong?” They give hints, or pointers, rather than saying, “You missed this,” or “You didn’t read that.”

Bruce : I hope something comes of this. I hope BU or Wheelock can think of some way to make this a more pressing issue. As a first-year teacher, it was not something I even thought about on the first day of school—until a kid raised his hand and said, “Do we have homework?” It would have been wonderful if I’d had a plan from day one.

Explore Related Topics:

• Share this story

Senior Contributing Editor

Sara Rimer A journalist for more than three decades, Sara Rimer worked at the Miami Herald , Washington Post and, for 26 years, the New York Times , where she was the New England bureau chief, and a national reporter covering education, aging, immigration, and other social justice issues. Her stories on the death penalty’s inequities were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and cited in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision outlawing the execution of people with intellectual disabilities. Her journalism honors include Columbia University’s Meyer Berger award for in-depth human interest reporting. She holds a BA degree in American Studies from the University of Michigan. Profile

She can be reached at [email protected] .

Comments & Discussion

Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.

There are 81 comments on Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

Insightful! The values about homework in elementary schools are well aligned with my intuition as a parent.

when i finish my work i do my homework and i sometimes forget what to do because i did not get enough sleep

same omg it does not help me it is stressful and if I have it in more than one class I hate it.

Same I think my parent wants to help me but, she doesn’t care if I get bad grades so I just try my best and my grades are great.

I think that last question about Good help from parents is not know to all parents, we do as our parents did or how we best think it can be done, so maybe coaching parents or giving them resources on how to help with homework would be very beneficial for the parent on how to help and for the teacher to have consistency and improve homework results, and of course for the child. I do see how homework helps reaffirm the knowledge obtained in the classroom, I also have the ability to see progress and it is a time I share with my kids

The answer to the headline question is a no-brainer – a more pressing problem is why there is a difference in how students from different cultures succeed. Perfect example is the student population at BU – why is there a majority population of Asian students and only about 3% black students at BU? In fact at some universities there are law suits by Asians to stop discrimination and quotas against admitting Asian students because the real truth is that as a group they are demonstrating better qualifications for admittance, while at the same time there are quotas and reduced requirements for black students to boost their portion of the student population because as a group they do more poorly in meeting admissions standards – and it is not about the Benjamins. The real problem is that in our PC society no one has the gazuntas to explore this issue as it may reveal that all people are not created equal after all. Or is it just environmental cultural differences??????

I get you have a concern about the issue but that is not even what the point of this article is about. If you have an issue please take this to the site we have and only post your opinion about the actual topic

This is not at all what the article is talking about.

This literally has nothing to do with the article brought up. You should really take your opinions somewhere else before you speak about something that doesn’t make sense.

we have the same name

so they have the same name what of it?

lol you tell her

totally agree

What does that have to do with homework, that is not what the article talks about AT ALL.

Yes, I think homework plays an important role in the development of student life. Through homework, students have to face challenges on a daily basis and they try to solve them quickly.I am an intense online tutor at 24x7homeworkhelp and I give homework to my students at that level in which they handle it easily.

More than two-thirds of students said they used alcohol and drugs, primarily marijuana, to cope with stress.

You know what’s funny? I got this assignment to write an argument for homework about homework and this article was really helpful and understandable, and I also agree with this article’s point of view.

I also got the same task as you! I was looking for some good resources and I found this! I really found this article useful and easy to understand, just like you! ^^

i think that homework is the best thing that a child can have on the school because it help them with their thinking and memory.

I am a child myself and i think homework is a terrific pass time because i can’t play video games during the week. It also helps me set goals.

Homework is not harmful ,but it will if there is too much

I feel like, from a minors point of view that we shouldn’t get homework. Not only is the homework stressful, but it takes us away from relaxing and being social. For example, me and my friends was supposed to hang at the mall last week but we had to postpone it since we all had some sort of work to do. Our minds shouldn’t be focused on finishing an assignment that in realty, doesn’t matter. I completely understand that we should have homework. I have to write a paper on the unimportance of homework so thanks.

homework isn’t that bad

Are you a student? if not then i don’t really think you know how much and how severe todays homework really is

i am a student and i do not enjoy homework because i practice my sport 4 out of the five days we have school for 4 hours and that’s not even counting the commute time or the fact i still have to shower and eat dinner when i get home. its draining!

i totally agree with you. these people are such boomers

why just why

they do make a really good point, i think that there should be a limit though. hours and hours of homework can be really stressful, and the extra work isn’t making a difference to our learning, but i do believe homework should be optional and extra credit. that would make it for students to not have the leaning stress of a assignment and if you have a low grade you you can catch up.

Studies show that homework improves student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicates that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” On both standardized tests and grades, students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school.

So how are your measuring student achievement? That’s the real question. The argument that doing homework is simply a tool for teaching responsibility isn’t enough for me. We can teach responsibility in a number of ways. Also the poor argument that parents don’t need to help with homework, and that students can do it on their own, is wishful thinking at best. It completely ignores neurodiverse students. Students in poverty aren’t magically going to find a space to do homework, a friend’s or siblings to help them do it, and snacks to eat. I feel like the author of this piece has never set foot in a classroom of students.

THIS. This article is pathetic coming from a university. So intellectually dishonest, refusing to address the havoc of capitalism and poverty plays on academic success in life. How can they in one sentence use poor kids in an argument and never once address that poor children have access to damn near 0 of the resources affluent kids have? Draw me a picture and let’s talk about feelings lmao what a joke is that gonna put food in their belly so they can have the calories to burn in order to use their brain to study? What about quiet their 7 other siblings that they share a single bedroom with for hours? Is it gonna force the single mom to magically be at home and at work at the same time to cook food while you study and be there to throw an encouraging word?

Also the “parents don’t need to be a parent and be able to guide their kid at all academically they just need to exist in the next room” is wild. Its one thing if a parent straight up is not equipped but to say kids can just figured it out is…. wow coming from an educator What’s next the teacher doesn’t need to teach cause the kid can just follow the packet and figure it out?

Well then get a tutor right? Oh wait you are poor only affluent kids can afford a tutor for their hours of homework a day were they on average have none of the worries a poor child does. Does this address that poor children are more likely to also suffer abuse and mental illness? Like mentioned what about kids that can’t learn or comprehend the forced standardized way? Just let em fail? These children regularly are not in “special education”(some of those are a joke in their own and full of neglect and abuse) programs cause most aren’t even acknowledged as having disabilities or disorders.

But yes all and all those pesky poor kids just aren’t being worked hard enough lol pretty sure poor children’s existence just in childhood is more work, stress, and responsibility alone than an affluent child’s entire life cycle. Love they never once talked about the quality of education in the classroom being so bad between the poor and affluent it can qualify as segregation, just basically blamed poor people for being lazy, good job capitalism for failing us once again!

why the hell?

you should feel bad for saying this, this article can be helpful for people who has to write a essay about it

This is more of a political rant than it is about homework

I know a teacher who has told his students their homework is to find something they are interested in, pursue it and then come share what they learn. The student responses are quite compelling. One girl taught herself German so she could talk to her grandfather. One boy did a research project on Nelson Mandela because the teacher had mentioned him in class. Another boy, a both on the autism spectrum, fixed his family’s computer. The list goes on. This is fourth grade. I think students are highly motivated to learn, when we step aside and encourage them.

The whole point of homework is to give the students a chance to use the material that they have been presented with in class. If they never have the opportunity to use that information, and discover that it is actually useful, it will be in one ear and out the other. As a science teacher, it is critical that the students are challenged to use the material they have been presented with, which gives them the opportunity to actually think about it rather than regurgitate “facts”. Well designed homework forces the student to think conceptually, as opposed to regurgitation, which is never a pretty sight

Wonderful discussion. and yes, homework helps in learning and building skills in students.

not true it just causes kids to stress

Homework can be both beneficial and unuseful, if you will. There are students who are gifted in all subjects in school and ones with disabilities. Why should the students who are gifted get the lucky break, whereas the people who have disabilities suffer? The people who were born with this “gift” go through school with ease whereas people with disabilities struggle with the work given to them. I speak from experience because I am one of those students: the ones with disabilities. Homework doesn’t benefit “us”, it only tears us down and put us in an abyss of confusion and stress and hopelessness because we can’t learn as fast as others. Or we can’t handle the amount of work given whereas the gifted students go through it with ease. It just brings us down and makes us feel lost; because no mater what, it feels like we are destined to fail. It feels like we weren’t “cut out” for success.

homework does help

here is the thing though, if a child is shoved in the face with a whole ton of homework that isn’t really even considered homework it is assignments, it’s not helpful. the teacher should make homework more of a fun learning experience rather than something that is dreaded

This article was wonderful, I am going to ask my teachers about extra, or at all giving homework.

I agree. Especially when you have homework before an exam. Which is distasteful as you’ll need that time to study. It doesn’t make any sense, nor does us doing homework really matters as It’s just facts thrown at us.

Homework is too severe and is just too much for students, schools need to decrease the amount of homework. When teachers assign homework they forget that the students have other classes that give them the same amount of homework each day. Students need to work on social skills and life skills.

I disagree.

Beyond achievement, proponents of homework argue that it can have many other beneficial effects. They claim it can help students develop good study habits so they are ready to grow as their cognitive capacities mature. It can help students recognize that learning can occur at home as well as at school. Homework can foster independent learning and responsible character traits. And it can give parents an opportunity to see what’s going on at school and let them express positive attitudes toward achievement.

Homework is helpful because homework helps us by teaching us how to learn a specific topic.

As a student myself, I can say that I have almost never gotten the full 9 hours of recommended sleep time, because of homework. (Now I’m writing an essay on it in the middle of the night D=)

I am a 10 year old kid doing a report about “Is homework good or bad” for homework before i was going to do homework is bad but the sources from this site changed my mind!

Homeowkr is god for stusenrs

I agree with hunter because homework can be so stressful especially with this whole covid thing no one has time for homework and every one just wants to get back to there normal lives it is especially stressful when you go on a 2 week vaca 3 weeks into the new school year and and then less then a week after you come back from the vaca you are out for over a month because of covid and you have no way to get the assignment done and turned in

As great as homework is said to be in the is article, I feel like the viewpoint of the students was left out. Every where I go on the internet researching about this topic it almost always has interviews from teachers, professors, and the like. However isn’t that a little biased? Of course teachers are going to be for homework, they’re not the ones that have to stay up past midnight completing the homework from not just one class, but all of them. I just feel like this site is one-sided and you should include what the students of today think of spending four hours every night completing 6-8 classes worth of work.

Are we talking about homework or practice? Those are two very different things and can result in different outcomes.

Homework is a graded assignment. I do not know of research showing the benefits of graded assignments going home.

Practice; however, can be extremely beneficial, especially if there is some sort of feedback (not a grade but feedback). That feedback can come from the teacher, another student or even an automated grading program.

As a former band director, I assigned daily practice. I never once thought it would be appropriate for me to require the students to turn in a recording of their practice for me to grade. Instead, I had in-class assignments/assessments that were graded and directly related to the practice assigned.

I would really like to read articles on “homework” that truly distinguish between the two.

oof i feel bad good luck!

thank you guys for the artical because I have to finish an assingment. yes i did cite it but just thanks

thx for the article guys.

Homework is good

I think homework is helpful AND harmful. Sometimes u can’t get sleep bc of homework but it helps u practice for school too so idk.

I agree with this Article. And does anyone know when this was published. I would like to know.

It was published FEb 19, 2019.

Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college.

i think homework can help kids but at the same time not help kids

This article is so out of touch with majority of homes it would be laughable if it wasn’t so incredibly sad.

There is no value to homework all it does is add stress to already stressed homes. Parents or adults magically having the time or energy to shepherd kids through homework is dome sort of 1950’s fantasy.

What lala land do these teachers live in?

Homework gives noting to the kid

Homework is Bad

homework is bad.

why do kids even have homework?

Comments are closed.

Latest from Bostonia

American academy of arts & sciences welcomes five bu members, com’s newest journalism grad took her time, could boston be the next city to impose congestion pricing, alum has traveled the world to witness total solar eclipses, opening doors: rhonda harrison (eng’98,’04, grs’04), campus reacts and responds to israel-hamas war, reading list: what the pandemic revealed, remembering com’s david anable, cas’ john stone, “intellectual brilliance and brilliant kindness”, one good deed: christine kannler (cas’96, sph’00, camed’00), william fairfield warren society inducts new members, spreading art appreciation, restoring the “black angels” to medical history, in the kitchen with jacques pépin, feedback: readers weigh in on bu’s new president, com’s new expert on misinformation, and what’s really dividing the nation, the gifts of great teaching, sth’s walter fluker honored by roosevelt institute, alum’s debut book is a ramadan story for children, my big idea: covering construction sites with art, former terriers power new professional women’s hockey league.

Editorial: How can kids learn without homework and rigid deadlines? Quite well, it turns out

• Show more sharing options
• Copy Link URL Copied!

The usual system for grading students is, bit by bit, going by the wayside in favor of one that emphasizes learning over traditional measures. It’s a healthy shift, though traditionalists no doubt are raising their eyebrows and muttering darkly about lowered standards and kids skating through school. The skepticism is especially likely now that the changes are being hastened by the realization that the current system puts students of color and those from lower-income households at a distinct disadvantage.

So-called mastery-based grading and a very similar method known as specs (for specifications) grading have been written about in academic circles for decades. But schools have stuck to an outdated system that relies heavily on students’ compliance — completing homework, behaving in class, meeting deadlines and correctly answering questions on a one-time test — as a proxy for learning, rather than measuring the learning itself.

That’s been a disservice to all students, whether they are academically gifted or struggling. It rewards students for grade-grubbing and has them feeling like failures when conditions at home — such as crowding, the need to work a part-time job to help the family finances or caring for younger siblings — make it especially hard to meet all the course requirements on a rigid deadline.

If there were a valid reason for this, that would be one thing. But obeying arbitrary and sometimes unfair rules doesn’t translate into better learning. The goal should be assessing the skills and knowledge students gained and how well they think. Mastery-based education and specs grading, and some of the elements that go with them, put the emphasis back on learning. Imagine that.

It shouldn’t matter, for example, whether students get a sterling grade on the first chapter test on human anatomy, or if they learn from their mistakes and go on to ace a second test. Students who redo an essay, even two or three times, in ways that show they’ve grasped concepts of research and critical thinking, and can write cogent and well-organized sentences, are showing that they’re gaining important skills. That willingness to try and try again until a skill is mastered is something to celebrate, not penalize with points off for multiple efforts.

It sounds vague and perhaps airy-fairy, but education experts point out that, in some ways, this kind of grading is more rigorous. Under the specs model, students are graded pass/fail on their tests, but they don’t pass unless they do well — usually at a minimum level of 80%, or a low B. There’s no passing with a C or D. It’s the opposite of skating by; students don’t move to the next level of skills with minimal grasp of the material.

Rather than being given a grade or a comment that they failed to meet a couple of deadlines, students receive specific information about their progress and what they need to do to move forward. This system transfers more of the responsibility for learning to the student.

Several states, including Vermont and Maine, already have adopted this model for their public schools. A middle school in Brooklyn, N.Y., witnessed phenomenal improvement in students’ scores on standardized tests after a few years of mastery-based learning, even though it is in ways the antithesis of a one-time, standardized test. And in case this seems like just the latest instance of touchy-feely liberal thinking limited to the Northeast, Idaho adopted mastery-based education in 2015.

The concept’s roots lie in the 1960s work of Benjamin Bloom , an education psychologist at the University of Chicago who said that given the right conditions, almost any student could achieve at high levels. Now the Black Lives Matter movement has raised awareness that traditional schools are assessing the learning of students — especially Black and Latino children — in ways that both discourage them and fail to hold them to high expectations. In addition, more than a year of remote learning has familiarized students with how to use technological tools to learn; in the classroom, those can be used to individualize instruction so that teachers have a chance to work with small groups.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is shifting toward this new model of grading this year by encouraging teachers to give kids a chance to redo tests or reports and to base grades on what students have learned, not on their work habits. It’s off to a slow start, but that’s the better way to go when introducing an era of assessment so radically different from how it’s been for the last century.

Teachers need time to understand, embrace and start incorporating these practices. And they’ll need training, administrative help and aides to help instruct small groups and track progress.

In other words, careful implementation is as important as the reform. This is where new education initiatives tend to fall apart. Too often, L.A. Unified has used changes in course and grading requirements to lower its standards. Kids can’t infinitely skip school and miss deadlines; that’s not how college or the work world operate. Students should be given extra time to learn, but the schools can’t keep a student in middle school indefinitely, while he or she builds crucial skills.

Mastery-based learning gets students to think about their own progress and encourages them to take their skills as far as they can. If done right — and not as an excuse for lack of progress — it could reinvigorate classrooms and give students a sense of control over their own educational destiny.

More to Read

Letters to the Editor: No, the ‘science of reading’ isn’t just about teaching phonics

March 2, 2024

Opinion: Should California schools stick to phonics-based reading ‘science’? It’s not so simple

Feb. 26, 2024

Editorial: The science of reading works. California should require it

Dec. 19, 2023

A cure for the common opinion

Get thought-provoking perspectives with our weekly newsletter.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Times’ editorial board determines the positions of The Times as an institution. It operates separately from the newsroom. You can read more about the board’s mission and its members at About The Times Editorial Board .

More From the Los Angeles Times

Editorial: China embraced electric vehicles. The U.S. didn’t. Now we’re paying the price

May 17, 2024

Editorial: Critics say Prop. 28 arts funding is being misspent. School administrators need to show their work

May 16, 2024

Editorial: L.A. City Council just proved it can’t be trusted to fix itself

May 15, 2024

Editorial: House antisemitism bill would stymie free speech and wouldn’t make students safer

May 14, 2024

U.S. 4th Graders Get More Help With Less Homework, Study Finds

• Share article

U.S. 4th grade teachers assign less math homework than their colleagues in other nations but their students get more help with it.

These are among the findings of a preliminary research study presented earlier this month at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in Philadelphia. The presentation, led by doctoral student Sakiko Ikoma of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, drew upon newly available data from the 2011 TIMSS, which included 608,641 students and 49,429 teachers in 63 countries.

In the United States, 4th grade teachers who participated in the study reported that they assigned an average of 19 minutes of math homework per night. By contrast, grade 4 teachers in other countries typically assigned 25 minutes of math homework per night.

Ikoma and her co-authors are still working on examining the association between 4th grade math homework and math achievement on TIMSS. But I did a quick, back-of-the-envelope calculation to look at the relationship between nations’ average scores on the 2011 4th grade math exam and the amount of 4th grade math students teachers said they assigned. I found no correlation between the homework time and math scores. And it’s easy to see that homework time is all over the place when compared to math achievement. For instance, high-achieving Singapore and Hong Kong assign more than half an hour of 4th grade math homework each night, an amount that is well above average. But low-achieving Thailand, Romania, and Iran assign similar amounts of homework. It will be interesting to learn what Ikoma and her co-authors eventually discover since I did not have the right data to conduct an in-depth analysis.

Although U.S. teachers say they give less 4th grade math homework, their students are more likely to report that parents help with what homework is assigned. For example, 79 percent of U.S. 4th graders said their parents made sure that they set aside time for homework on a daily basis as compared to 70 percent of students worldwide. It is unclear why this was the case.

Again, researchers have not yet completed the analysis that will link homework practices to achievement results. But Ikoma said she was intrigued to find that parents were less involved with their children’s fourth-grade math homework in some of the highest-achieving East Asian nations. For instance, just a quarter of Japanese students and 22 percent of South Korean students reported that their parents made them set aside daily homework time. No East Asian countries were among the top ten nations in which parents were most likely to be involved in homework.

“We tend to have an image of so-called ‘Tiger Mom’ onto mothers in East Asian countries based on the book and other sources from media” Ikoma said, referencing the 2011 best-seller Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother , in which Chinese-American law professor Amy Chua described her harsh, hyperinvolved parenting style. “But whether parents perceive their help on homework is a ‘good’ educational practice for their children may result from cultural norms and values embedded in each country. This was surprising but truly interesting for us.”

Although their research is ongoing, Ikoma and her co-investigators, have, so far, drawn two conclusions from their TIMSS homework data. One was that more affluent parents were slightly more likely to help their children with homework in most nations, including the United States. However, Ikoma noted that the relationship between income and homework help was smaller than expected. Another conclusion was that there was generally no correlation between teachers’ years of experience and the amount of homework they assigned. In other words, more- and less-experienced teachers assigned similar amounts of 4th grade math homework.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Inside School Research blog.

Sign Up for EdWeek Update

Check Out the New Website Shop!

Novels & Picture Books

Anchor Charts

• Classroom Management

No Homework Policy: One Year Later

By Mary Montero

Share This Post:

• Facebook Share
• Twitter Share
• Pinterest Share
• Email Share

.Last school year was a really big year in my classroom. We started flexible seating (you can read more about that adventure  HERE ), we implemented a Bring Your Own Device program, and we did away with homework. Like I said– BIG year!

While each of those three changes contributed to a very different feel in my classroom than years prior, I was particularly nervous about doing away with homework. I know that homework has its place, and I know there are concepts and skills (especially in 4th grade!) that require repetition to really grasp. Yet, I still felt like the reasons to do away with homework were more important than the benefits of homework itself.

Throughout the school year, I had many colleagues pop in and ask how our no-homework policy was going. “It’s going well!” I would respond, but I wouldn’t give many details. Now, after a full school year without it, I definitely have some reflections on how it went, what changes I would make, and if I would do it again!

After a Full Year of No Homework

You can see that we didn’t COMPLETELY do away with homework, but we did do away with 99% of it. We still STRONGLY encouraged students to be reading each night, and they were required to have a novel in progress at all times. We also continued our weekly letter writing, where students had to respond to us in letter form by the end of the week. You can read more about that idea  HERE . I’ll never have a classroom where I don’t do it!

We also had a disclaimer that if students did not complete their classwork in a reasonable period of time or were excessively off task during an assignment, they would need to bring it home to complete it.

How I Broke The News To My Students

Of course, when we first told students about this change, there was hooting and hollering and cheers galore! I let them have their moment and then gently pulled them back together. I reassured them that it was totally possible that they wouldn’t have homework, but that it would mean they had to give me their all every. single. minute of every. single. day. Their eyes got big, they sat up taller, and an air of confidence washed over them. “We’ve got this, Mrs. M.!” I remember one kiddo saying. In the beginning, it was as if they would do anything to keep this privilege.  We floated on clouds of no-homework bliss for a solid week…

And then here’s what really happened when I did away with homework…

I expected more from my students than ever before.

When I was planning my lessons this year, I packed in more than I ever had before. While that might send like a negative effect of this little experiment, it was actually one of the best parts for me.

The Monster That Is Math

In math, in particular, this was a game changer for me. I knew that my students needed to deeply and fully understand these concepts and be able to compute with automaticity. I also knew they wouldn’t be going home and doing 20 extra problems each night like they had in the past. This meant that 1) I had to make sure they understood the concept like the back of their hand and 2) They could apply that understanding to a wide variety of problems…. Of course, these are two non-negotiables that any math classroom should have, but I was going to be doing it with less practice and repetition than before.

Therefore, when I was planning, I ended up with FAR more inquiry-based lessons and practice (so that they would really get the meat of the concept), and far less direct teacher instruction. I jammed as much as I could into my whole group time (10-15 minutes a day) and then jammed even more into their workshop time. Kids were collaborating, practicing, and learning more than ever… Simply because I had this sense of urgency that I was missing before.

But What About Spelling

A few people have asked about spelling and how this worked without homework and studying at home. We use a word study philosophy, similar to Words Their Way , which means that students are studying patterns in words rather than the words themselves. I incorporated this into my reading rotations and would occasionally devote some of our writing to it, and I would highly recommend it!

Another option to fit in what would have previously been homework is to rethink your morning routine. I usually use my  Think It Through  critical thinking packet as morning work, and when I did away with homework this year and had to give them some more “intense” morning work, I started using the packet during Morning Meeting instead. I used our morning work time this year to review and reteach grammar concepts some days and math skills other days. It was the perfect balance!

This brought out the best in some kids

When I say it brought out the best in them, I mean it changed their study habits permanently. They created habits that I hope will continue on with them for years and years to come. They knew that in order to continue having no homework, they truly had to give me their all during the day. It wasn’t easy. They had to not only complete their assignments, but complete them well. We had very, very little down time, and I expected more from this group of kids than ever before.  Some rose to the challenge and THRIVED under the challenge…

…and some kids didn’t care.

I did have a handful of students who were not at all motivated by a lack of homework. These were the kids who repeatedly ended up taking work home because they weren’t completing it in class. Usually due to them being distracted and not on-task. Some kids learned quickly that this isn’t what they wanted, and a few kids never did quite learn.

Some parents loved it. Others hated it.

On Back to School Night, when we handed out this homework policy, the general consensus was all the praise hands in the world! Parents thanked us for giving them FREEDOM in the evenings to take their kids to gymnastics without worrying about homework and some parents thanked us for eliminating the nightly homework battle they had fought for the past few years.

We also had a small number of parents who wanted their kids to have homework. They worried that they would become accustomed to not having homework and have a difficult time next year when their teacher required it again. They worried they wouldn’t get enough skill practice. These were valid concerns, and we reassured parents that, if they requested it, we would send home supplemental practice. Not one of the parents who initially expressed concern over the policy ever ended up asking for homework.

…but some KIDS asked for homework!

I’ll never forget the first time one of my kids ASKED for homework! It was about a month into the school year, and we were working on  Error Analysis  in small groups. One of my students looked up and said, “I LOVE this. Can you PLEASE give us some more to do at home!?” How could I deny them that opportunity!? 🙂 The rest of the kids in the small group chimed in that they wanted to bring some home too. During my lunch break, I printed a few more tasks out for those kids, and guess what? Every single student in that group brought it home and returned it the next day– BY CHOICE!

This happened multiple times throughout the year, primarily with my  math projects  and error analysis tasks. I never, ever denied them when they asked to bring something home for homework.

Some kids NEED homework.

Usually, these aren’t the kids who were requesting the extra homework, but I had another handful of students who needed homework. They needed skill practice, they needed reading fluency practice, and they needed fact practice. I talked to each of those students individually and contacted those parents privately. They (both students and parents) understood why I needed to send supplemental work home. Once a quarter, I put together packets based on those kids’ needs. I gave them free reign to complete it at any time throughout the quarter, and every single packet came back completed by the end of the quarter.

I would do it all over again.

At the end of the year, I had parents come up to me and thank me for this policy, telling me how they had enjoyed a better relationship with their student this year without the nightly homework battle. They had taken more walks, participated in more after school activities, and were generally so thankful for the reprieve.

As a teacher, I saw happy kids coming in every day and relaxed kids leaving every afternoon. There were no battles over missing homework, and kids worked hard to keep the privilege. I had no noticeable (anecdotally or with data) drop in achievement or growth over the course of the year. I felt like a better teacher because I worked even harder during the school day to make sure they were getting exactly what they needed while they were with me.

…Oh, and I had a lot less grading to do, too! 🙂 🙂

I would do it again a heartbeat!

Homework Policy

We strongly believe in the power of play and the importance of letting children be children. Further, research does not indicate significant benefits of homework at the elementary level. We believe that when students give us all of their day, they deserve to have all of their night. Therefore, we have eliminated the majority of our standing homework assignments. Eat dinner as a family and ask them how their day was, enjoy your child’s extracurricular activities without worrying about homework, and know that your child is working hard at school each day and has earned their evening playtime!

To foster community and self-reflection, your student will have a weekly letter from their teacher (more about that below!) to respond to, and we highly encourage you to read a book of choice with your child each evening. Please Note: If a student exhibits off-task behaviors during the school day and fails to complete an assignment, the assignment will be sent home for completion.

Mary Montero

I’m so glad you are here. I’m a current gifted and talented teacher in a small town in Colorado, and I’ve been in education since 2009. My passion (other than my family and cookies) is for making teachers’ lives easier and classrooms more engaging.

You might also like…

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We have spelling and vocabulary programs that each have a workbook. I've used those as homework assignments with the test on Fridays. Would you have the kids do these assignments in class rather than as homework? What homework did you use to give for Language Arts and how did that change? Do your kids take tests and do you have them study at home for those? I'm interested in having no homework – I'm just not sure how to fit everything in a short class period. Thanks in advance for providing more information!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! My team and I have been thinking through this possibility for us. I am wondering if you give spelling tests? If not, can you tell me did this go away at the same time or previously? Thanks!

I did not do homework in my fourth grade classroom last year either. I had very much the same reactions from parents and results with my class. I also felt that sense of urgency to get things accomplished and to make sure that kids really knew what they were doing in the time we had at school. I am definitely planning on implementing this again this year in my third grade classroom! I do like your idea of making it a privilege. Putting it to them that way also creates a sense of urgency with them to succeed. Thanks so much for sharing!

That was a fascinating read. Good to hear that most of the kids stepped up their game!

©2023 Teaching With a Mountain View . All Rights Reserved | Designed by Ashley Hughes

Username or Email Address

Remember Me

Lost your password?

Review Cart

No products in the cart.

If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.

To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser.

Get ready for 4th grade

Unit 1: get ready for place value, unit 2: get ready for addition, subtraction, and estimation, unit 3: get ready for multiplication, unit 4: get ready for division, unit 5: get ready for fractions, unit 6: get ready for plane figures, unit 7: get ready for area and perimeter.

Reading & Math for K-5

• Kindergarten
• Learning numbers
• Comparing numbers
• Place Value
• Roman numerals

Subtraction

• Multiplication
• Order of operations
• Drills & practice

Measurement

• Factoring & prime factors
• Proportions
• Shape & geometry
• Data & graphing
• Word problems
• Children's stories
• Leveled Stories
• Context clues
• Cause & effect
• Compare & contrast
• Fact vs. fiction
• Fact vs. opinion
• Main idea & details
• Story elements
• Conclusions & inferences
• Sounds & phonics
• Words & vocabulary
• Reading comprehension
• Early writing
• Numbers & counting
• Simple math
• Social skills
• Other activities
• Dolch sight words
• Fry sight words
• Multiple meaning words
• Prefixes & suffixes
• Vocabulary cards
• Other parts of speech
• Punctuation
• Capitalization
• Narrative writing
• Opinion writing
• Informative writing
• Cursive alphabet
• Cursive letters
• Cursive letter joins
• Cursive words
• Cursive sentences
• Cursive passages
• Grammar & Writing

Breadcrumbs

Download & Print From only $2.00

Fourth Grade Math Worksheets

Grade 4 math worksheets.

Our grade 4 math worksheets help students  build mastery in computations with the 4 basic operations , delve deeper into the use of fractions and decimals and introduce concept related to factors.  

4 Operations

Place Value & Rounding

Mental Multiplication

Multiply in Columns

Mental Division

Long Division

Order of Operations

Fractions & decimals

Fractions to/from Decimals

Roman Numerals

Data & Graphing

Word Problems

Sample Grade 4 Math Worksheet

What is K5?

K5 Learning offers free worksheets , flashcards  and inexpensive  workbooks  for kids in kindergarten to grade 5. Become a member  to access additional content and skip ads.

Our members helped us give away millions of worksheets last year.

We provide free educational materials to parents and teachers in over 100 countries. If you can, please consider purchasing a membership ($24/year) to support our efforts.

Members skip ads and access exclusive features.

Learn about member benefits

This content is available to members only.

Join K5 to save time, skip ads and access more content. Learn More

• Forgot Password?

Math for 4th Graders

CONTENT TYPE

• Lesson Plans
• Math (2,221)
• Number Sense (146)
• Compare and Order Numbers (39)
• Compare Numbers (24)
• Compare Numbers within 20 (2)
• Compare Numbers within 100 (4)
• Compare Multi-Digit Numbers (10)
• Order Numbers (16)
• Order Multi-Digit Numbers (11)
• Place Value (77)
• Read and Write Numbers (29)
• Place Value Chart (9)
• 3-Digit Numbers on Place Value Chart (8)
• Round Numbers (24)
• Round Numbers to the Nearest 10 (4)
• Round Numbers to the Nearest 100 (6)
• Addition (225)
• Add Using Models (2)
• Addition Strategies (11)
• Addition Strategies within 100 (6)
• Add using multiples of 10 (4)
• Addition Strategies within 1000 (5)
• Add using multiples of 100 (3)
• Addition Without Regrouping (44)
• Add within 10000 without Regrouping (28)
• Addition With Regrouping (54)
• Add within 10000 with Regrouping (40)
• Multi-digit Addition (108)
• Addition within 100000 (53)
• Addition within 1000000 (53)
• Subtraction (197)
• Subtraction Without Regrouping (29)
• Subtract within 10000 without Regrouping (28)
• Subtraction With Regrouping (42)
• Subtract within 1000 with Regrouping (5)
• Subtract across Zeros (5)
• Subtract within 10000 with Regrouping (36)
• Multi-digit Subtraction (110)
• Subtraction within 100000 (56)
• Subtraction within 1000000 (52)
• Multiplication (419)
• Multiplication Sentences (16)
• Repeated Addition to Multiply (5)
• Multi-digit Multiplication (140)
• Multiply 2-digit by 1-digit Numbers (35)
• Multiply 2-digit by 2-digit numbers (47)
• Multiply 3-digit by 1-digit Numbers (18)
• Multiply 3-digit by 2-digit numbers (17)
• Multiply 4-digit by 1-digit Numbers (17)
• Multiplication Properties (85)
• Associative Property (10)
• Commutative Property (10)
• Distributive Property (58)
• Multiply by 0 and 1 (2)
• Estimate Products (10)
• Multiply by multiples of 10 (23)
• Times Tables (95)
• Multiplication Facts (82)
• Multiplication Facts of 2 (4)
• Multiplication Facts of 3 (4)
• Multiplication Facts of 4 (4)
• Multiplication Facts of 5 (5)
• Multiplication Facts of 6 (4)
• Multiplication Facts of 7 (4)
• Multiplication Facts of 8 (4)
• Multiplication Facts of 9 (4)
• Multiplication Facts of 10 (8)
• Multiply by 11 (15)
• Multiply by 12 (15)
• Division (262)
• Division Facts (95)
• Division Facts of 2 (10)
• Division Facts of 3 (12)
• Division Facts of 4 (12)
• Division Facts of 5 (10)
• Division Facts of 6 (13)
• Division Facts of 7 (10)
• Division Facts of 8 (11)
• Division Facts of 9 (10)
• Division Facts of 10 (11)
• Divide on a Number Line (10)
• Long Division (86)
• Divide 2-digit by 1-digit Numbers (21)
• Divide 3-digit by 1-digit Numbers (19)
• Divide 4-digit by 1-digit Numbers (15)
• Divide Multiples of 10 or 100 (20)
• Estimate Quotients (19)
• Fractions (516)
• Identify Fractions (26)
• Identify fractions using models (10)
• Identify fractions on the number line (11)
• Represent Fractions (44)
• Represent fractions on the number line (10)
• Mark fractions on the number line (10)
• Represent fractions using models (10)
• Represent fractions using real-word objects (10)
• Represent Mixed Numbers (10)
• Represent mixed numbers using models (10)
• Compare Fractions (53)
• Compare fractions using visual models (12)
• Compare fractions using number lines (10)
• Compare fractions without visual models (10)
• Benchmark Fractions (16)
• Order Fractions (20)
• Order fractions using visual models (10)
• Order fractions without visual models (10)
• Equivalent Fractions (46)
• Equivalent fractions using models (10)
• Equivalent fractions using number lines (10)
• Equivalent fractions without visual models (15)
• Identify equivalent fractions (10)
• Convert Fractions (35)
• Fractions as Mixed Numbers (10)
• Mixed Numbers as Fractions (25)
• Fractions Operations (258)
• Add and Subtract Fractions (87)
• Add Fractions (50)
• Represent Fraction Addition (9)
• Add fractions using models (12)
• Add like fractions (12)
• Add unlike fractions (10)
• Estimate fraction sums (6)
• Subtract Fractions (35)
• Represent Fraction Subtraction (9)
• Subtract fractions using models (9)
• Subtract like fractions (12)
• Subtract unlike fractions (9)
• Add and Subtract mixed numbers (80)
• Add mixed numbers (39)
• Add mixed numbers using models (10)
• Add a mixed number to a fraction (12)
• Add two mixed numbers (10)
• Subtract mixed numbers (41)
• Subtract mixed numbers using models (10)
• Subtract a fraction from a mixed number (14)
• Subtract two mixed numbers (10)
• Multiply Fractions (90)
• Multiply fractions by whole numbers (14)
• Multiply fractions by whole numbers without models (10)
• Multiply two fractions (20)
• Multiply fractions using models (10)
• Multiply fractions without models (10)
• Decimals (184)
• Represent Decimals (32)
• Represent Decimals Using Models (18)
• Represent Decimals on Number Lines (14)
• Read and Write Decimals (31)
• Decimals Expanded Form (20)
• Compose Decimals (10)
• Decompose Decimals (10)
• Decimals Standard Form (11)
• Decimals Word Form (10)
• Decimal Place Value (15)
• Place values of digits in decimals (1)
• Compare and Order Decimals (35)
• Compare decimals (13)
• Compare decimals using models (3)
• Compare using decimal grids (2)
• Compare using decimal number lines (1)
• Compare decimals using place value (2)
• Order decimals (22)
• Order decimals using place value (10)
• Equivalent Decimals (27)
• Tenths to hundredths (9)
• Hundredths to tenths (8)
• Decimal Operations (18)
• Add Decimals (1)
• Subtract Decimals (1)
• Multiply Decimals (11)
• Multiply decimals by powers of 10 (2)
• Multiply decimals by whole numbers (2)
• Multiply decimals by decimals (4)
• Divide Decimals (6)
• Divide decimals by powers of 10 (2)
• Divide decimals by whole numbers (4)
• Geometry (74)
• Parallel lines (5)
• Angles (15)
• Shapes (21)
• 2d Shapes (21)
• Partition 2D Shapes (3)
• Partition into equal parts (3)
• Coordinate Planes (18)
• Plot on the Coordinate Plane (9)
• Measurement (61)
• Capacity (12)
• Length (14)
• Area of Shapes (13)
• Area of 2D Shapes (5)
• Area as Additive (5)
• Perimeter (13)
• Perimeter of Shapes (13)
• Counting Money (11)
• Operations With Money (11)
• Add and Subtract Money (8)
• Multiply and Divide Money (3)
• Algebra (108)
• Patterns (32)
• Number Patterns (32)
• Extend Number Patterns (10)
• Generate Number Patterns (10)
• Factors and Multiples (51)
• Factors (30)
• Multiples (14)
• Prime and Composite Numbers (15)
• Word Problems (243)
• Addition and Subtraction Word Problems (58)
• Addition Word Problems (30)
• Subtraction Word Problems (15)
• Decimal Subtraction Word Problems (9)
• Multiplication and Division Word Problems (104)
• Multiplication Word Problems (66)
• Division Word Problems (35)
• Fraction Word Problems (34)
• Multi-step Word Problems (27)
• Money Word Problems (10)
• Reading (106)
• Reading Skills (105)
• Cause and Effect (12)
• Inference (10)
• Identify the Main Idea (22)
• Categorize Pictures into Groups (4)
• Choose a Suitable Heading (5)
• Prediction (6)
• Sequencing (17)
• Arrange Pictures in Order (3)
• Arrange Sentences in Order (4)
• Story Elements (4)
• Compare and Contrast (3)
• Point of View (3)
• Comprehension (8)
• Character Analysis (6)
• Text Structure (4)
• Fact or Opinion (1)
• Using Illustrations (3)
• Context Clues (3)
• Evaluating Authors Argument and Evidence (3)
• Grammar (85)
• Adverbs and Adjectives (13)
• Nouns and Pronouns (17)
• Pronouns (6)
• Parts of Speech (6)
• Prepositions and Conjunctions (9)
• Conjunctions (5)
• Prepositions (4)
• Punctuation (7)
• Sentences (13)
• Verbs and Tenses (21)
• Article A An The (1)
• Spelling (11)
• Common Misspellings (6)
• Unscramble (5)
• Vocabulary (45)
• Affixes (5)
• Commonly Confused Words (13)
• Compound Words (6)
• Figures of Speech (3)
• Similes and Metaphors (3)
• Synonyms and Antonyms (8)
• Word Puzzles (8)

Number Sense

Compare 4-Digit Numbers Game

Learn to solve real world problems by comparing 4-digit numbers.

Compare Numbers Using Operators Game

Enter the madness of math-multiverse by exploring how to compare numbers using operators.

Multiple Choice Questions on Comparing Numbers Worksheet

Kids must solve multiple choice questions on comparing numbers in this worksheet.

Check the Number Comparisons Worksheet

This worksheet tests your knowledge on comparing multi-digit numbers through a series of true or false statements.

Identify the Addition Pattern and Fill the Correct Answers Game

Kids must identify the addition pattern and fill in the correct answer.

Recognize the Addition Pattern and Fill the Sum Game

Add more arrows to your child’s math quiver by recognizing the addition pattern to fill the sum.

Add 3 Numbers within 1000: Summer Word Problems Worksheet

Engaging summer-themed worksheet for students to practice adding three numbers within 1,000.

Add 3 Numbers within 1000: Halloween Word Problems Worksheet

Halloween-themed worksheet for solving word problems involving the addition of three numbers under 1,000.

Subtraction

Subtract 2-Digit Numbers from 4-Digit Numbers Without Regrouping Game

Sharpen your math skills by subtracting 2-digit numbers from 4-digit numbers without regrouping.

Subtract 3-Digit Numbers from 4-Digit Numbers Without Regrouping Game

Subtract 3-digit numbers from 4-digit numbers without regrouping.

Subtract Across Zeros Worksheet

This worksheet provides exercises on subtraction problems that involve zero, enhancing your ability to subtract numbers.

Subtract within 10000: Christmas Word Problems Worksheet

Solve festive word problems involving subtraction within 10,000 in this Christmas-themed worksheet.

Multiplication

Multiply using Place Value Game

Have your own math-themed party by learning how to multiply using place values.

Multiply to Find the Product Game

Use your math skills to multiply to find the product.

Solve the Multiplication Word Problems Worksheet

Boost your ability to solve multiplication word problems by printing this playful worksheet.

Multiply by Doubling and Halving Worksheet

Assess your math skills by multiplying by doubling and halving in this worksheet.

Find the Quotient Game

Enter the madness of math-multiverse by learning to find the quotient.

Divide Each Expression and Match the Quotient Game

Kids must divide each expression and match the quotient to practice division.

Know Your Words Worksheet

In this worksheet, learners will get to practice words related to division.

Identify Quotient Remainder Dividend and Divisor Worksheet

Boost your ability to identify the quotient, remainder, dividend and divisor with this worksheet.

Compare Fractions with Like Denominators Game

Have your own math-themed party by learning to compare fractions with like denominators.

Compare Fractions with Same Denominator Game

Unearth the wisdom of mathematics by learning how to compare fractions with the same denominator.

Compare the Fractional Numbers Worksheet

Solidify your math skills by practicing to compare fractional numbers.

Compare & Complete the Fraction Worksheet

Reveal the secrets of math wizardry by practicing to compare & complete the fraction.

Identify the Place Value and Complete the Chart Game

Use your math skills to identify the place value and complete the chart.

Choose the Correct Number Placed at Tenths or Hundredths Game

Use your decimal skills to choose the correct number placed at tenths or hundredths.

Equivalent Decimals Worksheet

Be on your way to become a mathematician by practicing equivalent decimals.

Complete the Equivalent Decimals Worksheet

Boost your ability to complete equivalent decimals by printing this playful worksheet.

Identify Lines, Line Segments, Rays, Angles Game

Ask your little one to identify lines, line segments, rays, and angles to play this game.

Recognize Lines, Line Segments, Rays, Angles Game

Dive deep into the world of geometry by recognizing lines, line segments, rays, angles.

Recognize Points, Lines, Line Segments, Rays, Angles Worksheet

A comprehensive worksheet on identifying and understanding key elements of Geometry.

Identifying Parallel Sides in Shapes Worksheet

Improve your understanding of parallel lines with this worksheet on identifying parallel sides in shapes.

Fill in the Correct Number Using Additive Patterns Game

Fill in the correct number using additive patterns.

Fill in the Correct Number Using Subtractive Patterns Game

Children must fill in the correct number using subtractive patterns.

Find the Missing Numbers in the Repeating Pattern Worksheet

Boost your pattern recognition skills with this worksheet on extending number sequences.

Find the Missing Numbers in the Growing Pattern Worksheet

Boost your skills in extending number patterns with this engaging math worksheet.

Word Problems

Solve Word Problems with Add to Scenarios Game

Shine bright in the math world by learning how to solve word problems with "Add to" scenarios.

Solve Word Problems with Put Together Scenarios Game

Ask your little one to solve word problems with "Put Together" scenarios.

Add within 10000: Summer Word Problems Worksheet

A summer-themed worksheet that encourages students to solve word problems involving addition within 10,000.

Add within 10000: Christmas Word Problems Worksheet

Engage in festive math fun with this Add within 10,000 Christmas Theme worksheet!

All Math Resources

Select the Correct Multiplication Expression Game

Select the correct multiplication expression to play this game.

Mark the Correct Expression(s) Worksheet

Be on your way to become a mathematician by practicing to mark the correct expression(s).

Use Models to Relate Multiplication and Division Game

Enjoy the marvel of mathematics by learning to use models to relate multiplication and division.

Write Whole Numbers as Fractions Game

Take a look at how to write whole numbers as fractions with this game.

Represent Equal Grouping Worksheet

Reveal the secrets of math wizardry by practicing to represent equal grouping.

Match the Angles with Their Fraction Turn Worksheet

Engaging worksheet for learning about angles through matching them with their fraction turns.

Use Words to Identify Decimal Notations Game

Ask your little one to use words to identify decimal notations to play this game.

Identify the Decimal Fractions Worksheet

Learn fractions at the speed of lightning by practicing to identify decimal fractions.

Solve Word Problems Related to Multiplicative Comparison Game

Use your math skills to solve word problems related to multiplicative comparison.

Identify the Correct Expression for Word Problems Worksheet

Put your skills to the test by practicing to identify the correct expression for word problems.

Multiply Using Area Models Game

Enter the madness of math-multiverse by exploring how to multiply using area models.

Solve Using Your Own Numbers Worksheet

Print this worksheet to practice solving using your own numbers like a math legend!

Identify the Related Division Sentence Game

Enter the madness of math-multiverse by exploring how to identify related division sentences.

Write the Non-Unit Fraction for the Models Game

Use your math skills to write non-unit fractions for models.

Representing Equal Groups of Objects Worksheet

Print this worksheet to practice representing equal groups of objects like a math legend!

Represent Using Fractions Worksheet

Print this worksheet to practice representing using fractions like a math legend!

Fill in to Show Equivalence Between Mixed and Decimal Numbers Game

Sharpen your math skills by filling in to show the equivalence between mixed and decimal numbers.

Decimal Fractions to Decimal Numbers Worksheet

Assess your math skills by converting decimal fractions into decimal numbers in this worksheet.

Add Money Game

Ask your little one to add money to play this game.

Choose the Correct Operation Worksheet

Be on your way to become a mathematician by practicing to choose the correct operation.

Compare Numbers Using Greater than, Smaller than or Equal to Symbols Game

Compare numbers using greater than, smaller than or equal to symbols.

Compare and Arrange Digits to Form 4-Digit Numbers Worksheet

A worksheet designed to practice comparison skills by arranging digits to create and compare different 4-digit numbers.

Add 3 Numbers within 1000: Christmas Word Problems Worksheet

Engaging Christmas-themed worksheet requiring students to solve word problems by adding three numbers within 1,000.

Fluently Subtract 2-Digit From 4-Digit Numbers Game

Enjoy the marvel of mathematics by exploring how to fluently subtract 2-digit from 4-digit numbers.

Multiply 2-Digit Numbers Using Area Model Game

Use your multiplication skills to multiply 2-digit numbers using area models.

Subtract within 10000: Travel Word Problems Worksheet

Exciting travel-themed worksheet, challenging students to solve subtraction problems within 10,000.

Story Creation for Given Expressions Worksheet

Focus on core math skills by practicing story creation for the given expressions.

Browse Our Fun Collection of 4th Grade Math Learning Resources!

SplashLearn's grade 4 math resources, ideal for 9-10-year-olds, include interactive games , fun worksheets , lesson plans , etc., all focusing on important 4th grade math concepts such as multi-digit addition and subtraction, advanced multiplication and division, factors and multiples, prime and composite numbers, equivalent fractions, operations on fractions, decimals, lines and angles, area and perimeter, measurements, multi-step word problems, and much more. 

Our resources challenge fourth graders with more sophisticated math concepts, ensuring a fun and comprehensive learning experience. Let’s dive into the grade 4 math curriculum with our engaging educational tools.

Types of Engaging 4th Grade Math Learning Resources

Explore our wide range of 4th grade learning resources designed to make math for 4th graders fun and interactive.

Key Features of 4th Grade Math Resources

Here are some amazing features of our 4th grade math learning resources.

• Curriculum-Focused: The educational content is regularly updated to stay aligned with the 4th grade common core math standards.
• Fun & Colorful: Features engaging exercises, interactive games, super-fun visuals, exciting themers, all making math enjoyable for kids.
• Wide Device Compatibility: Games are accessible on multiple platforms, including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Chromebooks. Plus, our worksheets are easily accessible through a PC or laptop.
• Flexible for All Users: Suitable and convenient for 4th grade students, parents, and teachers.

Best Tips for Teaching Math to 4th Graders

Consider these useful tips for effective 4th-grade math teaching:

• Understand the curriculum : Learning about the 4th grade math curriculum and its key goals is an essential step for effective teaching. Explore our blog What Do You Learn in 4th Grade: Overview, Subjects, and Skills to get a better idea of the grade 4 math curriculum.
• Use a variety of learning resources : Use diverse methods to engage young learners. For instance, you can use games and worksheets to reinforce concepts learned in the class; you can use our creative lessons to ease lesson preparation. 
• Real-world applications : Make math for grade 4 kids relatable and fun by incorporating it into everyday activities, such as identifying various angles made by clock-hands, looking for parallel and perpendicular lines in everyday objects, etc.  

What Are the Best 5 Fourth Grade Learning Resources for Kids?

Here are 5 fun 4th grade online math resources:

• Add Numbers Using Column Addition Game
• Create Equivalent Fractions using Area Model Worksheet
• Add Like Fractions Game
• Factors of 48 Worksheet
• Math Lesson Plan — Compare Multi-Digit Numbers

How will our 4th grade math online learning resources benefit your child?

Practicing math for fourth graders can be a fun and interesting activity by using online learning tools for kids. These resources enhance children’s problem solving skills by encouraging them to come up with innovative solutions for the given math questions. Online fourth grade math resources enhance children’s mathematical fluency as they learn to practice multi-digit multiplication, decimal notations, fraction operations, and more. Fourth grade math educational resources online provide children with a wide range of learning tools such as games , worksheets , and more.

What are the important topics in math for 4th graders?

Some important topics in math for 4th graders include addition, subtraction, geometry, measurement, money, word problems, decimals, division, fractions, algebra and multiplication.

How can we get fourth graders interested in learning math?

By solving fun activities: Doing fun math activities with 4th graders such as playing the factor game, introducing patterns to solve problems, building numbers using decimals, using playing cards to practice decimal place values, etc. can really enhance children’s interest to learn and practice math. By playing online math games for 4th graders: Online math games for 4th graders help in developing as well as sustaining children’s interest in learning math. These online educational resources employ fun visuals and interactive learning strategies to boost children’s motivation to learn by holding their attention.

Your one stop solution for all grade learning needs.

How Much Homework Should a 4th Grader Have?

• Post author: Marie
• Post published: September 27, 2020
• Post category: Classroom Management / Support for Students / Uncategorized
• Post comments: 55 Comments

Some kids love to do homework.  But most do not.  They spend the whole day in school.  They get home hungry, tired of sitting, studying, and being quiet, and ready to go play with the neighbors or chill and hang out around the house.  Unfortunately, though, homework has become an essential part of life for most students in America, even in elementary school.

So then, if homework is so universal, the next question becomes, how much homework should a 4th grader have?  According to research from multiple sources, the  National Education Association  and the  National PTA  both say that the appropriate amount of work for students is 10 minutes for each grade level.  That would mean 40 minutes for a 4th grader.  But what does that look like in reality?  Some parents complain that their students are coming home with hours of homework.  And what studies have been done to corroborate these recommendations?  We are going to take a look at all of this and more.

First, I do want to note that the information regarding these recommendations from both the NEA and National PTA is no longer available and I was not able to find updated guidelines from either site.  Very curious!

Table of Contents

What Do the Experts Say About How Much Homework for 4th Graders?

As I mentioned above, both the NEA and NPTA recommend 10 minutes per grade, which makes a 4th grade homework load around 40 minutes per night.

A survey was conducted in March and April of 2017 by University of Phoenix that sought to find out exactly how much homework teachers were assigning their students.  1,001 full-time teachers were asked how much homework they assign on a weekly basis.  For K-12 teachers, 62 percent said they assigned less than three hours a week.

The survey also reported that 27 percent of the teachers surveyed said they assign one hour or less per week.  All of these figures are in line with parents’ expectations that their children should not have more than one hour a day for elementary school.

From Kindergarten to 5th grade specifically, teachers averaged assigning less than 3 hours weekly.

But What Does This Really Mean Regarding Homework Amounts for 4th Graders?

The problem with these figures is that students and parents don’t necessarily agree that those figures represent the actual time it takes to do the assigned homework.

First of all, this is an average.  That means that some teachers assign much less homework while others assign much more.  The actual amounts of assigned homework can swing wildly from none to 18 hours a week.

Second, while the teachers may think that the assignment they are giving for homework will only take a certain amount of time, that could be very different for the students.

Some reasons for this would be that a student is having difficulty understanding it–either the concept or the directions for the assignment.  Or the student could just take longer than other students.  One more reason could be that the teacher’s estimate of completion was different than it actually took most of the students to complete it.

Third, each student works at their own pace.  Some students will finish a half hour assignment in 10 or 15 minutes, while others may take upwards of an hour.  It is virtually impossible for a teacher to assign a 30-minute assignment that takes exactly 30 minutes for everyone.

Working Through the Differences in Homework Ability for 4th Graders?

So how do we work through those discrepancies?

The first answer is to keep communication open between the teacher and the parents.

Teachers could be assigning homework that a previous class was easily able to finish in the allotted time.  But maybe the current class is not able to do that.  There really is no way for the teacher to know that unless the parents let them know.

These are great things to bring up in teacher parent conferences.  But sometimes, that is too far into the school year.

A better solution would be to send home a quick survey to the parents a couple of weeks after school starts.  Not only does this help the teacher to know which students are doing well with their homework; it also lets them know WHICH students are struggling and HOW they are struggling.  And the sooner the teacher knows that, the sooner these problems can be worked out to make the student more successful sooner.

Having surveys sent home allows the teacher to individualize what each student needs.  This is critical to class-wide success.

Also, keep in mind that homework assignments are likely going to take longer at the beginning of the school year, when students are learning what the expectations of the teacher are.  As the school year progresses and students and teachers get to know each other better, shorter homework times will naturally follow suit.

How Much Homework is Too Much for a 4th Grader?

It is very hard to put a specific number on it, but I would say that the 40 minute rule for 4th graders is actually a great standard.  It allows them to get their feet wet in preparing for independent work and deadlines.  But it isn’t so long that it is daunting or overly difficult for them to get through.

Much research has been done regarding the amount of homework to give students of all ages.  And while it has proven to be very beneficial in the high school years, the opposite has proven true in the elementary/middle school years.

The reason for this is because of the need in high school to put complex concepts to practice longer in order for the student to actually master the concepts they are learning.  In the younger grades, two other things come to play that make this step in learning not as necessary.

First, younger children’s brains have an immense ability to memorize and absorb the information they receive whereas high school students’ brains tend more towards analyzing and testing the information they receive.

Second, the concepts they are learning aren’t as complicated as the older grades.  So, as a whole they are able to master them much more quickly and easily.

The Effects of Too Much Homework for Younger Students

Interestingly enough, studies showed that younger students who had 90 minutes or more of homework nightly on a regular basis actually started scoring lower on tests–likely because they were simply burned out.

Reasonably speaking, there will be times that a 40-minute homework load will turn into a couple of hours.  Maybe your student is having a hard time focusing (check out my  article  on whether listening to music while studying can help students focus or distract them!) for whatever reason.  Maybe they aren’t feeling well or are feeling too tired to be productive.  It could be any number of reasons.  Parents can help their children to focus better in times that they are having difficulty.  Here is a chart  you can send home that can help out with that:

As long as homework isn’t taking longer than normal on a regular basis, then your child will be fine with it.

Probably the best test as to whether students are getting too much homework is if they are frustrated by it on a nightly basis.  And if that is the case, more harm is definitely being done than benefit.

What are the Benefits of Giving a 4th Grader Homework?

In figuring out how much homework a 4th grader should have, we should consider what the benefits of doing homework at that age are.

So then, why should we assign homework at all?  Shouldn’t teachers try to complete the day’s learning during the school day?  Is the reason for homework just to finish what didn’t get done during the school day?

While sometimes homework is a matter of finishing what the teacher didn’t get done during the day, there are many reasons that it is beneficial to do homework as opposed to work exclusively in the classroom.

Some of the benefits of bringing home some assignments are:

• It teaches students independence.
• The space in time between the lesson and homework allow the child to absorb what they have learned and then try to put it into practice later.
• It can help students learn problem-solving to get through unfamiliar work independently.
• Students will gain self confidence as they are able to do their work outside of a classroom setting.
• Students can gain a sense of accomplishment for doing something on their own.

There are many more benefits, but these are the most notable ones that benefit students that are in the 4th grade range.

What are the Drawbacks of Giving a 4th Grader Homework?

For as good as the advantages of giving a 4th grader homework are, there are also some disadvantages.  Every yin has its yang, doesn’t it?

Here is a brief list of a few of the disadvantages of giving a 4th grader homework:

• Parents may not be able to help students with their homework (could be their knowledge level or a time constraint).
• Students may  not have enough time in the evening to do it because of family or other obligations.
• Sporting or other extra-curricular activities could also take away time for students to be able to finish their homework.
• Difficulties in the home that prevent productive homework time.
• Unexpected events that come up could make it difficult to find time for homework.

 Honestly, I don’t feel they are as numerous or outweigh the advantages, but it is necessary to at least think about them for a moment.  And it is equally necessary to help students that are having difficulty getting their homework done find ways to be able to get to it and be more efficient with it.   That could take some creative ways to accomplish.

Regardless of how this works out, it is important for teachers to help students that are sincerely trying to find better ways to make sure it is accomplished.

What if There was no Homework for 4th Graders?

There are a number of teachers who have decided that their elementary students would have no homework.  Of course, the vast majority of students were happy about this.  And I expect a large number of parents were as well, since it meant one less thing for them to see to on weeknights that are already over-scheduled with life.  But what did the teachers think of it once they implemented it?

Many teachers said that it actually increased the work that their students did at night.  Because they weren’t being forced to do specific homework assignments, they were then able to find the time to study and do things that interested them.  And because they were interested in those subjects, they tended to be more eager about spending time on those things.

The biggest key here to things working out that way is for parents to limit screen time to a moderate amount of time.  We as adults realize how easy it is to get sucked down the rabbit hole of the internet and/or games.  It is no different for kids, especially when they have been at school all day and really just want to chill.  Until they are capable of forming their own good habits, as parents we need to be able to help them develop those habits.  And that will take some steadfast work!

So, after looking into how much homework a 4th grader should have, it is pretty clear that there is great value in 4th graders having some homework, but not too much.  Some amount of homework will allow students to learn lifelong study skills that will help them succeed well beyond their school years.  But on the other hand, too much homework can cause students to get burned out, and eventually even cause their grades to fall.

What has your experience been in the classroom and with kids at home?  Did you have difficulties and, if so, what were they?  Spill the tea in the comments below!

If you loved this article, I think you will also love the following articles:

10 Great Tips to Make Homework Fun for 4 th  Graders

Did My Student Copy and Paste? Here’s How to Find Out

How to Teach Students to Summarize the Right Way

Does Listening to Music Help Students Focus?

Does Chewing Gum Help Students Focus?

Related posts:

Please share this share this content.

• Opens in a new window X
• Opens in a new window Facebook
• Opens in a new window Pinterest
• Opens in a new window LinkedIn
• Opens in a new window Viber
• Opens in a new window VK
• Opens in a new window Reddit
• Opens in a new window Tumblr
• Opens in a new window Viadeo
• Opens in a new window WhatsApp

You Might Also Like

Unique Classroom Ideas: Candy Cane Hunt

Eleven Proven Ways to Prevent Boredom in the Classroom, Part 1

Step by Step: How to Teach Imagery in Literature

This post has 55 comments.

This is such a comprehensive examination of how much, pros and cons of homework. I always think of it as a definitive benefit, but it may not always be like that. My son who is in 5th grade has never brought homework home. He always does it in breaks or study periods because he likes to be homework free at home. He rarely needs any help with it. I think it is his sheer wish to not have to do anything school-related at home that keeps him motivated to be so disciplined about it. I think in this day and age of constant information bombardment if homework was just reading quietly for an hour, it would be more than enough. Thank you for highlighting this.

I agree with all of that, Stella. And the way your son is able to finish his homework at school makes for a perfect balance. It allows him to leave his work for the day at school and spend quality time at home. I love that! Unfortunately, there are a lot of schools where that is the case, and also many students that don’t have the self discipline to get it done in study periods. But it is great that the possibility is there for those who do use it!

I’m not a parent yet but homework’s can help kids for their responsibility as students to working their school task. This post help a lot.

Yes, Maysz, you are right. Homework is a great way for students to learn responsibility

Great post. Thanks for sharing your insights about the pros and cons of homework.

A lot of homeworks has both its pros and cons, so thank you for talking about it in your article. Informative and helpful as well 🙂

I think every student should have some homework to keep them busy and applying what they’re learning to practical tasks, but it should really be managed. Many of our societies operate on a too much work basis, and the more work we give young kids, the more we’re grooming them to continue future stressed societies.

You are absolutely right, Nkem–balance is key!

I feel like homework can be a good thing, but too much leads to stress. This is super helpful Marie!

Exactly, Krysten–that balance can be so hard to achieve, especially when students vary so widely. One assignment can be quick and easy for one student but torture for another. Assigning the right types and amount of homework can be very tricky! I hope all is well with you and work has lightened up some! Stay well!

When I was young, this was a question that was never asked. We just did our homework, Its different nowadays.

My experience is exactly the same as yours, Kathy! It is indeed very different now.

This actually has good ideas which I believe can help parents, educators to understand that how much a 4th grader can do!

Thank you, Monidipa!

As a homeschooler for over 25 years, it’s hard to relate but you made some good points. It is very important for our young people to become independent learners so some homework is a good thing.

Independent learning is critical to success in life, so I agree with you, Portia! And as for the homeschooling part, when I homeschooled (I still am right now), I assigned minimal homework. It was only done when something had a critical deadline or the kids were dragging their feet and not working efficiently during school time. They learned to work more efficiently very quickly in order to get the benefit of no homework. 🙂

This is great info for moms that homeschool elementary kids!

Wow, you have raised great questions and I think it’s constantly on mine or many parents’ minds. I do think quality over quantity – communication is key to make sure they gain knowledge and learn something new, and those skills are reinforced through exercises. After all, it should be fun, not pain.

You are exactly right! When homework is painful on a regular basis, it does much harm to the students. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Personally, I think it is like everything it is all about balance and not overdoing it especiallly at that age xx

I agree 100%–balance is the number one issue!

Being an educator, I could find it totally relevant to discuss. I am sure many good points are to take away from here.

Thank you, Shilpa!

Interesting information, I had no idea there was a set time for how much homework kids should have. I can’t remember how much I had during that time, but it seems like 40 mins to an hour was about right.

My experience was pretty much the same as yours. Since I was a book nerd, though, I often did more homework than was required and ended up significantly ahead. I had no life, lol!

We need to find balance on homework. I believe it is important to not overload your students and let them enjoy their spare time. This post is great to understand how much a 4th grader can do.

Thank you, Kevin. And you are right. Once the balance factor is achieved, the rest falls into place pretty well. The kids learn more effectively when homework is not too heavy or too light.

Some days I would like homework better than other – I think 40 minutes is a lot though 😮

It can be a lot for students that have a more difficult time. Splitting into two 20- minute periods would be very helpful though! Thank you for sharing, Renata!

This was a great read. I never thought of this before, but I guarantee that a bazillion parents across America are right this very second.

You are right, Ben–especially with all of the distance learning going on. Parents have never been more invested in their kids homework! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

This is very informative. I also agree anything past 40 mins and you have lost that child.

Yes, Jackline–overtaxing the kids will actually make life so much harder. It will make them hate that aspect of learning. And that will affect the way they learn for the rest of their lives.

Wow, I didn’t know a lot of things! Thanks for explaining it so well ☺ Parents will find it super helpful!

This was extremely helpful and very informative! I never knew about the 10 minute per grade rule but I think that is a great rule to live by!

Kileen cute & little

I think the 10 minute rule is pretty perfect for age appropriate school work! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Kileen!

Always love your insights! And I couldn’t agree more on this one. I especially like the idea of conducting a survey at the start of the school year. This would truly help identify the possible challenges a student may face as well.

Thank you, Lucy! You are right. The more communication between teacher and student, the better things will be accomplished. 🙂

As you clearly highlighted here homework has both pros and cons. As a parent, I feel that homework is important to reinforce the concepts that kid learned in the class. But it shouldn’t be too much that it becomes stressful. I prefer homework that’s given for the weekend.

I agree, Mayuri, and I love the idea of placing more homework on the weekend when there is a bit more time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

I remember having way too much homework when I was in 4th grade. I agree that anything over 40 minutes is too much. Very insightful to read!

I’m sorry for your experience, Hannah. I was fortunate to have an amazing 4th grade teacher. She actually helped most of us to complete our homework before the school day was over. And she was great with rewarding students with a job well done. I wish all students could have had such a good experience.

I agree that homework does teach independence. Kids at the 4th grade level should start learning personal responsibility for their studies.

I agree, Alexis. 4th grade is a perfect time for students to start learning and practicing independence!

This are truly great insights. I feel that my daughter is overworked and has too much homework now that we have shifted to online classes due to the pandemic.

Thank you for sharing this and I will share this with her class adviser.

It is a very difficult time for homework and learning, Clarice. I hope that you are able to find a balance with your daughter. I think that parents homeschooling in conjunction with the schools they attended is very difficult for everybody involved. And because of that I hope that we get to some sort of normal sooner than later. Fortunately, our kids can be pretty resilient!

This is a really interesting topic. I think having a balance about homeworks is really important.

Thank you, Toni!

great post! my daughter is in sk and I still have some time but this is very insightful, thanks for sharing.

Thank you, Melissa!

Wow learning is totally different than I had when i was growing up. With the virtual learning this all makes sense.

I agree, Lily. Learning has changed so much! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

I think some activities should be via fun activities rather than assignments. Also, it should just be few assignments. Do you agree?

Superb post.Thanks for sharing your insights about the pros and cons of homework. you have wrote it very deeply.

The kids are studying too hard. Parent expectations and peer pressure are making it very difficult. The Corona pandemic has given them a much-needed break. Just my personal opinion, of course.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

 Yes, add me to your mailing list

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Grade Calculator

Use this calculator to find out the grade of a course based on weighted averages. This calculator accepts both numerical as well as letter grades. It also can calculate the grade needed for the remaining assignments in order to get a desired grade for an ongoing course.

Final Grade Calculator

Use this calculator to find out the grade needed on the final exam in order to get a desired grade in a course. It accepts letter grades, percentage grades, and other numerical inputs.

Related GPA Calculator

The calculators above use the following letter grades and their typical corresponding numerical equivalents based on grade points.

Brief history of different grading systems

In 1785, students at Yale were ranked based on "optimi" being the highest rank, followed by second optimi, inferiore (lower), and pejores (worse). At William and Mary, students were ranked as either No. 1, or No. 2, where No. 1 represented students that were first in their class, while No. 2 represented those who were "orderly, correct and attentive." Meanwhile at Harvard, students were graded based on a numerical system from 1-200 (except for math and philosophy where 1-100 was used). Later, shortly after 1883, Harvard used a system of "Classes" where students were either Class I, II, III, IV, or V, with V representing a failing grade. All of these examples show the subjective, arbitrary, and inconsistent nature with which different institutions graded their students, demonstrating the need for a more standardized, albeit equally arbitrary grading system.

In 1887, Mount Holyoke College became the first college to use letter grades similar to those commonly used today. The college used a grading scale with the letters A, B, C, D, and E, where E represented a failing grade. This grading system however, was far stricter than those commonly used today, with a failing grade being defined as anything below 75%. The college later re-defined their grading system, adding the letter F for a failing grade (still below 75%). This system of using a letter grading scale became increasingly popular within colleges and high schools, eventually leading to the letter grading systems typically used today. However, there is still significant variation regarding what may constitute an A, or whether a system uses plusses or minuses (i.e. A+ or B-), among other differences.

An alternative to the letter grading system

Letter grades provide an easy means to generalize a student's performance. They can be more effective than qualitative evaluations in situations where "right" or "wrong" answers can be easily quantified, such as an algebra exam, but alone may not provide a student with enough feedback in regards to an assessment like a written paper (which is much more subjective).

Although a written analysis of each individual student's work may be a more effective form of feedback, there exists the argument that students and parents are unlikely to read the feedback, and that teachers do not have the time to write such an analysis. There is precedence for this type of evaluation system however, in Saint Ann's School in New York City, an arts-oriented private school that does not have a letter grading system. Instead, teachers write anecdotal reports for each student. This method of evaluation focuses on promoting learning and improvement, rather than the pursuit of a certain letter grade in a course. For better or for worse however, these types of programs constitute a minority in the United States, and though the experience may be better for the student, most institutions still use a fairly standard letter grading system that students will have to adjust to. The time investment that this type of evaluation method requires of teachers/professors is likely not viable on university campuses with hundreds of students per course. As such, although there are other high schools such as Sanborn High School that approach grading in a more qualitative way, it remains to be seen whether such grading methods can be scalable. Until then, more generalized forms of grading like the letter grading system are unlikely to be entirely replaced. However, many educators already try to create an environment that limits the role that grades play in motivating students. One could argue that a combination of these two systems would likely be the most realistic, and effective way to provide a more standardized evaluation of students, while promoting learning.

• SI SWIMSUIT
• SI SPORTSBOOK

Report: Gophers to participate in early-season tournament

Nolan o'hara | may 17, 2024.

• Minnesota Golden Gophers

The Gophers men’s basketball team will be one of the headliners of an early-season tournament in Orlando, according to a report from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. 

NEWS: Florida, Minnesota, and Wake Forest will headline an early season tournament in Orlando, according to multiple sources. The fourth team in the event is currently TBD. https://t.co/gG5Ar2B6ge — Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 18, 2024

Details are few and far between. It’ll be a four-team tournament that will also include Florida and Wake Forest. The fourth team is still yet to be determined. There are also not yet any official dates or times for the tournament, but it’s expected to be held in mid-November in Orlando.

The Gophers are coming off a season in which they showed improvement with a 19-15 record, including a 9-11 mark in Big Ten Conference play. They looked to be a team that would make even more strides in 2024, but they’ve lost a number of key contributors to the transfer portal. 

That included starting center Pharrel Payne, starting point guard Elijah Hawkins and starting wing Cam Christie, a standout freshman last season who’s also testing his stock in the NBA draft process.

But they have made a number additions via the transfer portal, as well, and they return last season’s leading scorer, Dawson Garcia, as well as starting shooting guard Mike Mitchell Jr. It'll still be a new-look roster, however, and it'll be interesting to see how coach Ben Johnson pieces things together.

The early-season tourney should be a good chance to build chemistry and face strong competition.

NOLAN O'HARA