summer homework cons

Should kids get summer homework?

by: Leslie Crawford | Updated: September 26, 2024

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Jill Notte’s daughter Sara is a straight-A student, and she’s taking five advanced-placement courses this fall. It’ll be her senior year.

This ambitious undertaking may prove Sara’s undoing — at least if the 17 year old wants to enjoy her summer vacation. Somewhere in between spending a week at a Girls State program, a month at the New Jersey Governor’s School of Engineering and Technology at Rutger’s University, and visiting a few potential colleges, Sara must complete the following workload before school starts:

• Read five novels for AP English • Read one book for AP History • Complete a packet of assignments and problems for AP Calculus • Complete a packet of assignments and problems for AP Chemistry • Write several summaries of scientific principles for Honors Physics

Oh, and her English teacher recommends that she attend Shakespeare performances at the local college to supplement the many plays she’s required to read as part of AP English. “I try to put a positive spin on it,” says Sara’s mother, Jill. “I told her, ‘Summertime’s a great time to read Shakespeare!'” But, admits Jill, it’s not so easy to put the same kind of “fun” spin on the stack of mind-numbing calculus and chemistry books hefty enough to take down a Yellowstone grizzly.

Forget languidly balmy weeks unwinding from the stress of an intensive school year. Goodbye, as well, to working her usual summer job as a lifeguard, which Sara unhappily has to forgo — along with the money she hoped to save for college. As her mother puts it, “Summer homework is a full-time job.”

A working vacation

Sara’s not alone. The oxymoronically named “vacation work” is on the rise. Sara’s older sister had only a few books to read over the summer when she was in high school — and that was just eight years ago. Jill, who like her daughters was a high achiever in the top five percent of her class, remembers completely homework-free summers.

Many parents remember their own childhood summers as true respites from school, devoid the rigor and rigidity of academic life. Summer was a sprawling mass of unstructured time that ranged from idyllic laziness to stupefying boredom to invigorating camps and family vacations, not scores of math worksheets, science packets, and lists of “good-for-you” classics that hardly qualify as light beach reads.

Harris Cooper, chairman of the department of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University and America’s leading homework scholar who co-authored the landmark meta-study on homework , says that while there exists no formal studies on the rise in summertime homework, he’s witnessed a particularly sharp increase over the past two years — probably a response “to high-stakes testing and accountability issues for schools.”

Just say no?

Some parents argue summer homework is nothing more than bland busywork that saps the joy and spontaneity from summer. So says Sara Bennett, founder of StopHomework.com . “Even if there is a summer slide, I don’t think homework is the solution,” Bennett says. “Kids don’t have enough downtime during the school year. I think they need that freshness during summer.”

Here’s a revolutionary approach for vacation purists who say kids deserve a good, old-fashioned summer free from intense brain-strain: Just say no. That’s what Bennett suggests a parent do in the fall if a child is averse to doing the packet. “I’d send it back and say, ‘I’m sorry, my child didn’t have a chance to do it.’ ” (A parental dispensation only possible for kids who haven’t entered the high-school pressure cooker where — as with Sara Notte — summer homework is graded and can directly affect a student’s chances to enter a top-tier university.)

Protecting young minds from melting

On the other side of the summer homework debate are the moms and dads who, when the school doors slam shut, ramp up the supplemental brain work, even if the teachers didn’t provide it themselves. Most parents, though, fall somewhere in the for-better-or-worse-summer-homework-is-here-to-stay camp.

So if the kids have to do it, can we at least be reassured that it’s a magic bullet to protect young minds from melting? “We can’t say that with any objective data,” Cooper says. “But we would make the assumption if students are continuing to flex their mental muscles over the summer, this would have a positive effect on how much material they retain when they return.”

No buy-in from the kids

“There definitely is a lag — I’m not denying that,” says Denise Pope, senior lecturer at the Stanford University School of Education and co-founder of Challenge Success , a research and student-intervention project. “I absolutely agree that three months is a long time to not do anything. That said, I’m not sure this idea of giving workbooks and pages and pages of handouts works.”

The reason it doesn’t work? “There’s not a buy-in from the [kids],” Pope argues. “In order for any learning to be retained, there has to be engagement on the part of the students.” Pope explains that students need the “ABCs of engagement,” which means they’re engaged affectively, behaviorally, and cognitively. “If they’re intrinsically motivated, then they’ll want to do it.”

“I know kids who get these huge 40-page math packets,” Pope says. “It’s because [teachers] want [kids], over time, to have systematic practice. The problem is that this requires an adult to monitor this kind of disciplined work. It’s not like a kid can do that on his own. So it puts a burden more on the parents.”

Year-round homework blues

So, alas, those nightly angst-ridden homework dramas that run from September through June now get year-round billing. The other problem, Pope says, is that summer homework packets (frequently put off until the last unhappy week before school begins), often seem to fall into an academic black hole once they’re turned in — with no feedback from teachers and no effect on kids’ grades.

As for the work that Pope’s three kids — ages 10, 12, and 15 — get handed at school’s end, she tells them, “‘I won’t bug you about this at all. I won’t be the police.’ We look at the assignments they get for the summer and I say, ‘How long do you think this will take? Do you want me to remind you to do it?’ ” But if they leave it until the tail end of the summer, Pope says, well, that’s their choice. It’s their vacation, after all.

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Summer learning loss: What is it, and what can we do about it?

Subscribe to the center for economic security and opportunity newsletter, david m. quinn and david m. quinn assistant professor of education - university of southern california morgan polikoff morgan polikoff associate professor of education - usc rossier school of education.

September 14, 2017

• 14 min read

As students return to school this fall, many of them – perhaps especially those from historically disadvantaged student groups – will be starting the academic year with achievement levels lower than where they were at the beginning of summer break. This phenomenon – sometimes referred to as summer learning loss, summer setback, or summer slide – has been of interest to education researchers going back as far as 1906. 1 We review what is known about summer loss and offer suggestions for districts and states looking to combat the problem.

An early comprehensive review of the literature summarized several findings regarding summer loss. 2 The authors concluded that: (1) on average, students’ achievement scores declined over summer vacation by one month’s worth of school-year learning, (2) declines were sharper for math than for reading, and (3) the extent of loss was larger at higher grade levels. Importantly, they also concluded that income-based reading gaps grew over the summer, given that middle class students tended to show improvement in reading skills while lower-income students tended to experience loss. However, they did not find differential summer learning in math, or by gender or race in either subject.

The recent literature on summer loss has been mixed.  One study using data from over half a million students in grades 2-9 from a southern state (from 2008-2012) found that students, on average, lost between 25 – 30 percent of their school-year learning over the summer; additionally, black and Latino students tended to gain less over the school year and lose more over the summer compared to white students. 3 However, an analysis of the nationally-representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010 – 11 (ECLS-K:2011) found little evidence of overall loss over the summers after grades K and 1, and the summer socioeconomic status gaps widened in some subjects and grades but not others. 4 Von Hippel and Hamrock re-analyzed two earlier data sets and concluded that gaps “do not necessarily…grow fastest over the summer” (p.41). 5 Thus, it seems summer loss and summer gap-growth occur, though not universally across geography, grade level, or subject.  

Entwisle, Alexander, and Olson’s “faucet theory” offers an explanation as to why lower-income students might learn less over the summer compared to higher-income students. 6 According to the theory, the “resource faucet” is on for all students during the school year, enabling all students to make learning gains. Over the summer, however, the flow of resources slows for students from disadvantaged backgrounds but not for students from advantaged backgrounds. Higher-income students tend to continue to have access to financial and human capital resources (such as parental education) over the summer, thereby facilitating learning. 7

Students’ achievement scores declined over summer vacation by one month’s worth of school-year learning.

Traditionally, educators and policymakers have relied on conventional summer school programs to combat summer loss and summer gap-growth. In 2000, Cooper and colleagues published a comprehensive meta-analysis of classroom-based summer programs finding positive effects on average. 8 However, they also concluded that middle-income students benefited more from summer programming than did lower-income students.  They speculated that this could be because programs serving more advantaged students were of higher quality, or because of an interactive effect between programming and the home resources available to students.  The result raised the concern that attempts to stem summer learning loss may actually exacerbate summer gap-growth if they are not well targeted.

Kim and Quinn conducted a meta-analysis of 41 summer reading programs from 35 studies published after the Cooper et al. review. 9 Like Cooper and colleagues, Kim and Quinn found summer reading programs to be effective at raising test scores, on average. Unlike Cooper, however, Kim and Quinn found that it was low-income students who benefited most from summer reading programs (even when restricting the comparison to higher- and lower-income students attending the same program).  Furthermore, they concluded that the reason lower-income students benefited more was that lower-income students in these studies were more likely than higher-income students to experience summer loss when not participating in the summer programs.  The authors noted several differences between their review and Cooper et al.’s that could explain the contrasting results:  1) Kim and Quinn analyzed only reading programs, while Cooper and colleagues combined math and reading programs, 2) Kim and Quinn included only two-group experimental and quasi-experimental studies, while Cooper and colleagues included single-group pre/post-test designs, and 3) Kim and Quinn included home-based programs in their review.

Naturally, school-based summer school programs vary in their effectiveness.  Many of the recommendations for creating high-quality programs come in the form of expert opinion.  Common suggestions include blending academic learning with hands-on or recreational activities, professionalizing summer school staff, and forming partnerships with community organizations to leverage resources. 10 We can also draw some lessons from research.  For instance, the recent meta-analysis found that programs were more effective when they used research-based literacy instruction; specifically, programs using instructional strategies identified by the National Reading Panel as best practices had the largest impact on students’ reading comprehension scores (equivalent to moving from the 50 th  to the 65 th  percentile of a normal distribution). Program effectiveness also differed by literacy domain—programs were effective at raising students’ reading comprehension and fluency/decoding scores but not their vocabulary scores.  Not surprisingly, research also suggests that programs are more effective when students attend consistently and spend more time on task academically. 11

While school-based summer learning programs hold promise when they fit the above criteria, they often fail to live up to these expectations. Two important reasons why school-based summer programs can be ineffective are that organizers often struggle to attract high quality teachers and struggle to appeal to students and families for whom the opportunity costs of attending summer school can be high. 12 13 School-based programs can also be quite costly. Researchers have therefore experimented, with some success, with lower-cost home-based summer programming.

One example of a home-based summer reading program that has been shown to be effective for low-income upper elementary school students is READS for Summer Learning. 14 In READS, which has been iteratively modified over several randomized trials, students receive eight books in the mail over the summer that are matched to their reading level and interests. Along with each book, students receive a tri-fold paper that leads them through a pre-reading activity and a post-reading comprehension check. Students are asked to mail the postage-prepaid tri-fold back; families receive reminders when tri-folds are not returned. Additionally, teachers deliver scripted lessons at the end of the school year to prepare students to productively read independently over the summer with the trifold scaffold.  A recent study found that READS had an effect on low-income students’ reading comprehension the spring following their participation in the intervention (ES=.05 SD on the state reading test), 15 and other work suggests that the tri-fold acts as a mediator of the program effect. 16

Another recent randomized trial showed that something as simple as sending text messages over the summer to families of elementary school students at risk of summer loss was effective at improving the reading scores of third- and fourth-graders (but not first or second graders), with effect sizes of .21 to .29. 17 The text messages included tips on resources available to students over the summer, ideas for activities to do with children, and information about the value of particular summer learning activities.

Home-based programs such as these can be more cost-effective than school-based interventions. For example, the cost of READS per student is estimated to be between $250-$480, compared to other programs providing supplementary education services that can cost as much as $1,700 per student and have similar or less favorable cost effectiveness ratios.

Kim and Quinn included home-based programs in their meta-analysis, and encouragingly, they found that the effects of home-based programs were not significantly different from their more expensive classroom-based alternatives.  At the same time, the effects from these programs might not be as large as the effects of the highest-quality school-based programs that use research-based instructional strategies.

Schools and districts should want to address the issue of summer learning loss not only because it may exacerbate achievement gaps, but also because it “wastes” so much of the knowledge students have gained during the school year. Summer loss also undoubtedly increases the amount of time teachers have to spend “re-teaching” last year’s content, likely contributing to the repetitiveness of the typical U.S. curriculum. 18 While investing in extensive school-based summer options may be infeasible, it may be cost-effective and strategic for districts to begin to offer targeted out-of-school interventions to the students most at risk of backsliding.  In designing such programs, policymakers should keep in mind the recommendations from the research described above:

• Center the program around evidence-based curriculum.
• In addition to academic content, include hands-on or recreational activities to attract students.
• Ensure that program structure enables sufficient time on task, and have policies or incentives that encourage consistent attendance.
• Invest in hiring the most effective teachers.

Regardless of the design, these policies should offer engaging options for students over the summer so that summer learning programs do not feel like punishment for students who would rather be enjoying summer vacation.  Doing so would set more students up for success as the school year gets underway.

The authors did not receive any financial support from any firm or person for this article or from any firm or person with a financial or political interest in this article. They are currently not an officer, director, or board member of any organization with an interest in this article. 

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• Cooper H., Nye B., Charlton K., Lindsay J., Greathouse S. (1996). The effects of summer vacation on achievement test scores: A narrative and meta-analytic review. Review of Educational Research, 66(3), 227–268. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/00346543066003227
• Atteberry, A., & McEachin, A. (2016). School’s out: Summer learning loss across grade levels and school contexts in the United States today.  In Alexander, K., Pitcock, S., & Boulay, M. (Eds). Summer learning and summer learning loss, pp35-54 . New York: Teachers College Press.
• Quinn, D.M., Cooc, N., McIntyre, J., & Gomez, C.J. (2016). Seasonal dynamics of academic achievement inequality by socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity: Updating and extending past research with new national data. Educational Researcher, 45 (8), 443-453. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189X16677965?journalCode=edra
• Von Hippel, P.T., & Hamrock, C. (2016).  Do test score gaps grow before, during, or between the school years? Measurement artifacts and what we can know in spite of them. (Social Science Research Network working paper). Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2745527
• Entwisle D. R., Alexander K. L., Olson L. S. (2000). Summer learning and home environment. In Kahlenberg R. D. (Ed.), A notion at risk: Preserving public education as an engine for social mobility (pp. 9–30). New York, NY: Century Foundation Press
• Borman G. D., Benson J., Overman L. T. (2005). Families, schools, and summer learning. The Elementary School Journal, 106 (2), 131–150. http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/499195
• Cooper, H., Charlton, K., Valentine, J. C., & Muhlenbruck, L. (2000). Making the most of summer school: A meta-analytic and narrative review.  Monographs of the society for research in child development , 65, i-127. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3181549
• Kim J. S., Quinn D. M. (2013). The effects of summer reading on low-income children’s literacy achievement from kindergarten to grade 8 a meta-analysis of classroom and home interventions. Review of Educational Research, 83 (3), 386–431. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0034654313483906
• McLaughlin B., Pitcock S. (2009). Building quality in summer learning programs: Approaches and recommendations (White Paper Commissioned by the Wallace Foundation). Retrieved from: http://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/documents/building-quality-in-summer-learning-programs.pdf
• Augustine, CH, Sloan McCombs, J., Pane, JF, Schwartz, HL, Schweig, J., McEachin, A. and Siler-Evans, K. (2016). Learning from Summer: Effects of Voluntary Summer Learning Programs on Low-Income Urban Youth. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1557.html
• Denton D. R. (2002). Summer school: Unfulfilled promise. Atlanta, GA: Summer Regional Education Board. Retrieved from: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED467662.pdf
• McLaughlin & Pitcock (2009)
• e.g., Kim, J.S., Guryan, J., White, T.G., Quinn, D.M., Capotosto, L., & Kingston, H.C. (2016). Delayed effects of a low-cost and large-scale summer reading intervention on elementary school children’s reading comprehension. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 9 sup1, 1-22. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19345747.2016.1164780?journalCode=uree20
• Guryan, J., Kim, J.S., & Quinn, D.M. (2014). Does reading during the summer build reading skills? Evidence from a randomized experiment in 463 classrooms. NBER Working Paper No. 20689. http://www.nber.org/papers/w20689
• Kraft, M.A., & Monti-Nussbaum, M. (in press). Can schools empower parents to prevent summer learning loss? A text messaging field experiment to promote literacy skills. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science .  https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/mkraft/files/kraft_monti-nussbaum_2017_can_schools_empower_parents_to_prevent_summer_learning_loss_annals.pdf
• Polikoff,  M.S.  (2012).  The  redundancy  of  mathematics  instruction  in  US  elementary  and middle  schools.   The  Elementary  School  Journal ,  113 (2),  230­-251. http://web-app.usc.edu/web/rossier/publications/66/The%20Redundancy%20of%20Math%20Instruction.pdf

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4 Ways Parents Can Deal With Summer Homework, According to Experts

Most schools assign summer homework with good intentions, but they don't always know how to make school-break assignments meaningful.

School’s out for summer! Around the country, students have chucked their backpacks and planners aside and rejoiced. That is, if they don’t have summer homework.

A hotly debated topic in education, summer assignments can involve reading, online work, packets, and/or real-life enrichment opportunities in communities that students are responsible for completing by the time school resumes. It’s become a burden for some families whose parents work in the summer, or who lack teacher support or internet access. On the other hand, some parents want their children doing summer work to keep them busy and engaged in academics, and to prevent the “summer slide” — a regression in learning some educators believe occurs between school years.

In 2022, the Center for Reinventing Public Education estimated that 87% of metropolitan school districts offered summer learning opportunities to families at no cost. But for some classes, summer homework is not only a requirement, but material that kids will see on a test in that first week back after break.

Licensed Psychologist Connie McReynolds , Ph.D., says summer work can sometimes cause children to feel like they’re still at school. “It can lead to burnout before the next school year begins,” she says. For others, she says, the structure and routine are beneficial.

So summer homework can be advantageous — if it’s done right. The bad news is that, in a lot of cases, it isn’t. Here’s what the experts had to say about if, when and how summer work should be assigned — and how parents can cope if their school is missing the mark.

When Summer Homework Is Done Right

It should be intentional and (actually) educational..

“Summer work for the sake of raising and/or setting expectations for rigor is baseless,” says Suzanna Davis who has been a teacher and principal, and is now the current Senior Director of Student Services at Middletown City Schools in Ohio. “Students often put off the work until the last minute and complete the work for compliance, not true learning. And that’s only exacerbated when the teachers don’t create a meaningful classroom connection to the summer work.” This points to a problem with practices around all homework — are they meaningful practice, or just a check-the-box completion grade?

Teachers might feel they can’t teach all the material during the school year. But a 2023 study found that summer learning had a small impact on math test scores for students but not reading. Additional recent data has shown that the impact of the “summer slide” depends on a variety of factors, including grade and poverty levels.

What parents can do : “The teacher should provide a clear connection to how the summer work is going to enhance the learning and/or enrich the learning that will occur at the start of the year,” Davis says. “If there isn’t a clear explanation of the purpose of the summer work, parents should reach out to the teacher directly for clarity regarding the purpose of the work and if it is required." Don’t worry about being a nudge. “Parents should keep in mind they are advocates for their children and asking questions for clarity creates a two way dialogue with the teacher,” she adds.

It should come with tech and academic support.

A key pillar of homework is homework help — that is, if the purpose is real learning.

Many parents can probably relate to a scenario like this: “Hey mom, I’m supposed to work on a school app called blah blah blah.”

“Oh, okay, what’s the password?”

“I don’t know.”

And even if they can log in, what happens if kids don’t understand the assignments? Many parents can relate to not knowing the answer to a homework question a kid is asking, and not knowing which resources to use to find it. Adding in homework help around work hours can add stress to a family.

Not a whole lot of learning is happening in these situations, which all lead back to one missing aspect to effective homework practices — teacher support. Teachers are off in the summer, but if students aren’t, there’s an issue with technical troubleshooting and guided instruction.

“Homework should reinforce skills learned in the classroom,” Davis says. “Unfortunately all too often students are left to complete homework without the foundational knowledge to complete it to enhance their learning. During the summer months teachers are typically not available leaving the students to complete the homework with little to no direction which could result in them replicating bad habits without any checkpoints or feedback.”

What parents can do : It’s absolutely reasonable to expect summer support to have necessary technology and instructional guidance, even in the summer. “Students should be able to access the teacher to provide clarity, answer questions and/or to provide feedback,” Davis says. She again recommends communicating with the school as early as possible about how students are supposed to get tech or instructional support.

It should be inclusive and low-stress.

A student with an Individualized Education Plan, or a 504 plan, who typically has extra homework time looks at a large packet at the start of summer. Do they still have double time? What resources are available to them? These are concerns that all families, but especially those with additional academic and learning needs, have to navigate.

“Parents of children with ADHD are naturally concerned about whether being away from academic studies over the summer will lead to the ‘summer slide,’” McReynolds says. “This concern leads parents to struggle with whether to push on through the summer or give children a break from the pressure.”

Students who don’t have access to support can see an increase in academic-related stress too. According to a 2021 study by Challenge Success, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, 56% of students reported an increase in stress from school . The same report found that during the school year, students spent an average of three hours on homework each weeknight, with 51% reporting they spent more time on homework than they did in the past. But 42% reported they had a decreased level of engagement for school and learning. So, experts are torn on whether homework actually increases engagement, and even learning.

“All too often the completion or lack thereof is utilized to gatekeep students out of higher level courses,’ Davis says. “In the event a student faces this, parents need to actively advocate for inclusion in the class regardless of completion of the summer work.”

What parents can do: “Individual accommodations and modifications included in a student’s IEP/504 must be taken into account,” Davis says. “Another approach to summer work would be for the parent and student to create a scaffolded schedule to complete the work as opposed to waiting until the final weeks of summer to complete it all at once. Ultimately, the mental health of the student is most important and parents and/or the student should actively communicate with the teacher directly to discuss concerns throughout the summer.”

High schoolers who are taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes, which sometimes require summer work, can consider opting for a College Credit Plus (CPP) class, when appropriate for them. CPP classes often carry the same weight without the summer work, but it varies state to state, and parents and students should ensure the desired university they would like to attend accepts CPP classes as credit as they do with AP. Pro tip from Davis: Ask around or ask the teacher before April or May to determine summer homework plans for an AP class, because you might miss the deadline to do CPP if you wait until summer.

It should even be…fun!

There just might be room in summer homework for a bit of enjoyment, with the right set up.

“I believe summer homework is detrimental for several reasons,” Davis says. “It perpetuates burnout … preventing students from fully relaxing and recharging during their break. This can negatively impact their mental health and overall well-being.” So, the only summer homework our experts are interested in are fun activities that enrich family or community life, or personal development.

Emily Pendergrass , associate professor of the Practice of Literacy and Reading Education at Vanderbilt University says summer homework should be meaningful for families, teachers and learning. “It should be interactive,” she says. “It shouldn’t be one size fits all…we should be moving towards learning and curiosity.”

Summer homework should move into meaningful activities, Pendergrass says. For example, instead of keeping a reading log that just lists the titles of books and how many minutes were read, students can be tasked with drawing a picture of what they read, writing an alternate ending, or making a short video about the reading to share with classmates when they’re back to school.

What parents can do: In the end, there’s no faster way to get students to hate school than assigning a classic piece of literature, and telling them good luck, see you in the fall. Pushback from parents, community and students themselves can ensure summer work, if necessary, is equitable and purposeful, well-supported and inclusive. Or, we can just cut it all together and go read something fun by the pool…

When to Call It Off

If your child is too stressed about summer homework, you and your child, and their educators, can discuss together if the right move is to simply not do it . What are the consequences? The ramifications of this depend on the school, and the program. In some places, summer work might not account for a large portion of their final grade and a student might be confident they can make it up during the school year. In others, they might be able to choose a less rigorous course without a summer homework requirement. Then again, skipping summer homework might result in failing a class if the summer assignments are weighted heavily in the final grade. You can also consider asking for an alternative or makeup assignment, which often would be considered on a case-by-case basis. “If summer work is being graded on completion, and not truly being utilized at the start of the year to extend instruction, the student, parent and teacher need to actively discuss the true purpose of the work,” Davis says.

Alexandra Frost is a Cincinnati-based freelance journalist and content marketing writer, focusing on health and wellness, parenting, education, and lifestyle. She has been published in the Atlantic , Glamour , Today’s Parent , Reader’s Digest , Consumer Reports , Women’s Health , and National Geographic . She spends her “free” time with her five kids under age 8, and testing lots of products. To connect or read more of her work please visit alexandra-frost.com or follow her on social media: Twitter Instagram Linked In .

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Why Summer Homework Isn't Necessary for Student Success

Youth voices.

July 26, 2023

By Williana Serve

Now that we're halfway through summer, it feels like the feeling of anxiety (or, in some cases, excitement) increases as the school year approaches. Our FYPs are filled with back-to-school hauls, stores like Target and Walmart are stocking their stores with back-to-school sales, and the time is passing by faster than ever. That being said, one thing that I feel we don't always account for because our brain is on vacation mode is the one thing most students dread: Summer Homework.

Personally, I (and a lot of students) agree that the idea of summer homework sounds dreadful and shouldn't be a thing. There are a few people who may disagree, but here's why I think that summer homework is not the be-all, end-all for whether you'll succeed as a student or not.

via Unsplashed

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Encourages a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Everyone talks about the importance of having a "work-life balance," but it feels like school, especially society in general, makes it hard to do so sometimes through a universal workaholic mentality. This is precisely why it's up to us to prioritize that balance for ourselves and avoid imposing work into our free time too much. Not having summer homework encourages a healthy work-life balance by allowing students to truly disconnect from academic pressures and focus on other aspects of their lives.

Summer break provides a valuable opportunity for students to unwind, relax, and engage in activities that bring them joy and fulfillment. By removing the burden of homework during this time, students can dedicate themselves to hobbies, sports, family time, and social interactions, fostering emotional well-being and overall happiness. This break from academic responsibilities enables them to develop essential life skills, such as time management, self-care, and stress management, which are equally crucial for their personal growth and future success.

Teacher and Student Burnout

We've all experienced burnout at some point in our lives. So I'm sure you'll understand when I say this from first-hand experience that it's not fun! We're already spending 8-10 months consistently worrying about our grades, attendance, and the social exhaustion that comes with attending school every day, and sometimes, we just need to recharge.

Eliminating summer homework can significantly alleviate both teacher and student burnout. For teachers, the absence of summer assignments means they can truly unwind and recharge during their well-deserved break. Without the added responsibility of creating, reviewing, and grading assignments, educators can fully detach from their professional duties, allowing them to return to the classroom in the fall with renewed energy and enthusiasm. This respite from constant work pressure fosters a healthier work-life balance, reducing the risk of burnout and benefiting both teachers' well-being and the overall quality of their teaching.

Similarly, students can experience relief from the constant academic pressure that often accompanies summer homework. The summer break is an essential period for students to decompress, engage in activities they enjoy, and pursue personal interests. By eliminating summer assignments, students can focus on self-discovery, exploration, and relaxation, which are crucial for their mental and emotional well-being.

This break from structured academic tasks allows them to recharge their motivation and passion for learning, leading to greater engagement and attentiveness when they return to school. As a result, students are more likely to approach their studies enthusiastically, leading to improved academic performance and reduced burnout throughout the academic year.

Balancing Extracurriculars and Other Responsibilities

Once the clock hits and school is out, we have a "break" from school, but that doesn't always mean we have nothing to do. Many of us could have things to do, such as babysitting, internships, moving, (ironically) summer classes/programs, or even vacations. The last thing we need is the added stress of summer homework piled on top of that.

Engaging in extracurricular activities is crucial for a well-rounded education, as they provide avenues for personal growth, social development, and exploring diverse interests. However, when students are burdened with summer assignments, they may feel compelled to sacrifice their extracurricular participation to meet academic obligations. By removing summer homework, students can fully immerse themselves in sports, arts, community service, and clubs, fostering teamwork, leadership skills, and a sense of fulfillment outside the traditional classroom setting.

A balanced extracurricular engagement can significantly benefit a student's well-being and academic performance. Students participating in extracurricular activities demonstrate improved time management skills, higher self-esteem, and reduced stress levels. These benefits can directly translate to greater focus and productivity during the regular school year.

Furthermore, extracurricular involvement often encourages interdisciplinary learning, allowing students to apply the knowledge acquired in their academic studies to real-world situations, thereby reinforcing their understanding of core subjects. Ultimately, by eliminating summer homework and promoting extracurricular pursuits, educational institutions can create an environment that nurtures the holistic development of students, preparing them for success not only in academics but also in various facets of life.

Inequality and Equity

Now, I think this is an underrated aspect that many people don't consider when considering why students shouldn't need summer homework. Summer homework assignments can exacerbate existing educational inequalities and widen the achievement gap, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. These students may lack access to essential resources like books, the internet, or private tutors during the summer break.

As a result, they face significant challenges in completing assignments and keeping up with their peers, who may have more access to such resources. This discrepancy in available support can lead to feelings of frustration and inadequacy, negatively impacting the self-esteem and motivation of these students. Consequently, they may be less likely to engage with academic materials during the summer, further perpetuating the cycle of underachievement.

Overall, I think the idea of summer homework is overrated. We should be spending our free time enjoying it the way we want, not devoting it to extra work for the teacher to grade during the school year. Emphasizing rest and personal growth during this time can lead to a more balanced and enriched educational journey, ultimately contributing to long-term success and well-being.

At the end of the day, we only get limited summer breaks and many opportunities to complete our work, so why not save for the school year rather than impose it during our summer holidays? Please don't be afraid to share your thoughts in the comments! Have a great summer!

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Should Schools Assign Summer Homework? Educators Weigh In

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School’s almost out for summer. Should students clear out their lockers and leave empty-handed—or laden down with stacks of math problems and required reading lists? Will teachers warn of repercussions for failing to turn in summer work assignments upon returning to school in the fall, or simply advise students to have fun and stay safe?

It depends on whom you ask.

It turns out that not all educators share the same perspective on whether to assign summer homework, who needs it most, what it should consist of, and how to make sure it gets done. Education Week put the question to state teachers of the year and representatives of statewide principals associations. Here’s what they had to say.

Play and pleasure reading prioritized by many educators

Play and pleasure reading topped the list of responses to the question: What summer homework should students be assigned? Teachers (of both young and older students) were more likely than the principals who responded to suggest that kids need a break in the summer.

“For young children, specifically pre-K to grade 3, I feel that over the summer children need to have their summer break and be provided with the opportunity to explore, get plenty of physical activity, and play. Children learn from play. Play teaches children about problem-solving and social interactions,” said Tara Hughes, a pre-K inclusion teacher at the Nye Early Childhood Center in Santa Fe who was voted 2023 New Mexico State Teacher of the Year.

“Students should have no formal ‘homework'—worksheets or practice books,” said Lori Danz, who is Wisconsin’s 2023 State Teacher of the Year. She teaches high school biology and serves as a school forest coordinator, overseeing outdoor learning. in the Superior school district in the northern part of the state. “I think it’s good for students and families to get away from that, and learn in authentic ways: hiking, cooking, fixing things. So much learning happens that way. We forget that it’s learning.”

Danz acknowledged that not every family has the same amount of free time or resources available to them during the summer. But she added that many districts, including her own, offer free enrichment activities at local schools during the summer that provide activities such as sports, crafts, and physical fitness.

While “play” was a popular response to the question of what type of work kids should be assigned in the summer, some educators suggested that students of all ages read during break to stay sharp.

“Reading for pleasure authentically enhances many academic skills such as cultivating a love for reading, improves reading and writing skills, develops concentration, encourages creativity and imagination, and allows children to be more open to differences and perspectives,” said Krystal Colbert, a 2nd grade teacher at Mitchellville Elementary in Iowa’s Southeast Polk school district, and another Teacher of the Year.

One teacher took the reading directive a step further. Brian Skinner, a high school special education teacher with the Newton Unified school district 373 in Kansas and the state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year, said he thinks students should spend time regularly writing and reading for pleasure. “Not only that, but I believe it is important to read from actual books versus phones or other technology,” Skinner said. It’s a belief shared by some literacy experts , too.

Which students most need summer work?

Educators offered a range of opinions when asked which students most need summer work. Principals interviewed for this article were more likely than teachers to feel students should be doing summer work.

“How good is a golfer that takes a three-month break with no practice? Even if you do not play nine or 18 holes regularly, you can go the range, you can chip, you can practice putting,” said Jerald A. Barris, a high school principal at the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School in Midland, Pa., and a regional representative for the Pennsylvania Principals Association.

Ed Roth, the principal of Penncrest High School in Media, Pa., believes in math homework over the summer for high school students. “In mathematics, it is important for students to have some review and skills practice so that they do not need to spend the first marking period reviewing prior learning, therefore taking away their ability to cover all necessary content for their current course,” he said. Roth’s perspective, which suggests the loss of skills during summer break, has been well-documented in recent research .

But other educators favor a more tailored approach to summer work.

Danz, the Wisconsin high school biology teacher, said that she believes all students need a break from homework but added this caveat: “You can always find exceptions…students who may need remedial practice.”

Fabiana Parker, the 2023 Virginia Teacher of the Year, agreed. A teacher of English learners at Thornburg Middle School in Spotsylvania County, Va., Parker said “it is essential to take into account the unique needs of each student” when it comes to summer work. She elaborated with an account of her own children, recalling how she established a routine of daily math practice during the summer but only for her daughter who struggled with math and, in Parker’s assessment, needed the additional support.

Other educators said they are more likely to assign summer work to students on an accelerated track. Such is the case for Michael Ida, Hawaii’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. He teaches at Kalani High School in Honolulu. Ida said that, for most high school students, he recommends no summer work other than reading for pleasure. But he makes an exception for students who choose to enroll in more rigorous courses.

“I teach AP Calculus, and those students do have some required review work to complete over the summer,” Ida said. He gives them math problems that he has created—both routine review problems and more substantial problem solving exercises that emphasize logical thinking and communication.

A creative approach to summer work

Summer should be synonymous with creative learning, some educators emphasized. “Summer is a time to continue learning in the way that every child in every classroom should be taught, with a focus on each child’s passions and strengths and in the way that is most effective for them,” said Catherine Matthews, a pre-K special education teacher at Hyalite Elementary School in Bozeman, Mont., and the state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

“If a child is struggling with fractions but loves to cook, allow them to practice their math skills while doing something that they love. If they need to practice their reading fluency, allow them to choose books of personal interest,” Matthews added.

Second grade teacher Colbert expressed a desire for kids to experience the type of old-fashioned summer that, for countless students, no longer exists. “My wish is that all kids are outside exploring the beautiful world around them, interacting with their friends and family, growing their inquisitive minds, fostering their creativity, and limiting the use of technology,” she said.

Who’s responsible for making sure summer work gets done?

Assigning summer work is one thing; monitoring its completion is another.

Pennsylvania high school principal Barris said parents are ultimately responsible for making sure their kids do the work. “I believe it should fall on the parents for the most part with opportunities, suggestions, and strategies provided by the school in concert with the community where the child resides,” he said, while acknowledging this challenge. “That said,” he added, “getting my 11-year-old to read and practice his skills in the summer is easier said than done.”

A version of this article appeared in the June 14, 2023 edition of Education Week as Should Schools Assign Summer Homework? Educators Weigh In

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The Pros and Cons of Homework

The dreaded word for students across the country—homework. 

Homework has long been a source of debate, with parents, educators, and education specialists debating the advantages of at-home study. There are many pros and cons of homework. We’ve examined a few significant points to provide you with a summary of the benefits and disadvantages of homework.

Check Out The Pros and Cons of Homework

Pro 1: Homework Helps to Improve Student Achievement

Homework teaches students various beneficial skills that they will carry with them throughout their academic and professional life, from time management and organization to self-motivation and autonomous learning. 

Homework helps students of all ages build critical study abilities that help them throughout their academic careers. Learning at home also encourages the development of good research habits while encouraging students to take ownership of their tasks.

If you’re finding that homework is becoming an issue at home, check out this article to learn how to tackle them before they get out of hand.

Con 1: Too Much Homework Can Negatively Affect Students 

You’ll often hear from students that they’re stressed out by schoolwork. Stress becomes even more apparent as students get into higher grade levels. 

A study conducted on high school student’s experiences found that high-achieving students found that too much homework leads to sleep deprivation and other health problems such as: 

• Weight loss 
• Stomach problems 

More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies.

It’s been shown that excessive homework can lead to cheating. With too much homework, students end up copying off one another in an attempt to finish all their assignments.

Pro 2: Homework Helps to Reinforce Classroom Learning

Homework is most effective when it allows students to revise what they learn in class. Did you know that students typically retain only 50% of the information teachers provide in class?

Students need to apply that information to learn it.

Homework also helps students develop key skills that they’ll use throughout their lives: 

• Accountability 
• Time management
• Self-direction
• Critical thinking
• Independent problem-solving

The skills learned in homework can then be applied to other subjects and practical situations in students’ daily lives.

Con 2: Takes Away From Students Leisure Time

Children need free time. This free time allows children to relax and explore the world that they are living in. This free time also gives them valuable skills they wouldn’t learn in a classroom, such as riding a bike, reading a book, or socializing with friends and family. 

Having leisure time teaches kids valuable skills that cannot be acquired when doing their homework at a computer.

Plus, students need to get enough exercise. Getting exercise can improve cognitive function, which might be hindered by sedentary activities such as homework.

Pro 3: Homework Gets Parents Involved with Children’s Learning

Homework helps parents track what their children are learning in school. 

Also allows parents to see what their children’s academic strengths and weaknesses are. Homework can alert parents to any learning difficulties that their children might have, enabling them to provide assistance and modify their child’s learning approach as necessary.

Parents who help their children with homework will lead to higher academic performance, better social skills and behaviour, and greater self-confidence in their children.

Con 3: Homework Is Not Always Effective

Numerous researchers have attempted to evaluate the importance of homework and how it enhances academic performance. According to a study , homework in primary schools has a minimal effect since students pursue unrelated assignments instead of solidifying what they have already learned.

Mental health experts agree heavy homework loads have the capacity to do more harm than good for students. But they also say the answer may not be to eliminate homework altogether. So, unfortunately for students, homework is here to stay.

You can learn more about the pro and cons of homework here.

Need Help with Completing Homework Effectively?  

There are many pros and cons of homework, so let our tutors at Oxford Learning can help your family create great homework habits to ensure students are successful at homework.

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Should Schools Give Summer Homework? Let’s Find Out

It is finally summer break, and students are looking forward to a smooth holiday experience. However, with all the excitement, they get summer homework. Is it worth it? Will the summer holiday homework improve the overall student performance? Will such homework have an impact on the student’s life? Keep reading as we unleash facts about summer holiday homework.

Debates over summer vacation homework

Should students have summer homework? This question will always have mixed reactions and perspectives. There are advantages side to doing homework over the holidays, and there are disadvantages as well.

Should schools give summer homework?

In one way, homework is a way of helping students revise their work and understand given concepts better. On the same note, too much homework denies students moments to socialize and do other related activities and take part in hobbies they love.

Top advantages of summer holiday homework

As much as homework takes up some of the student’s time during the holiday, getting effective tips on how to complete holiday homework fast is a perfect plan to enable students to have extra time to focus on other activities and hobbies. Nonetheless, the following are the top advantages of doing summer vacation homework.

• Help students keep learning

Learning is a skill that requires consistency. The more a student keeps learning, the more they improve their overall skills. Giving students summer homework is a perfect plan to keep them in touch with the books so that by the time they are re-opening the school, they don’t feel like starting something new.

• Family support

Over the holiday, you have friends and family around who will offer complete support while doing your homework. As you get guidance from the family, you understand the concept easily and better, and this improves your academic score in a way. Also, getting family support while doing homework is a motivating factor as you will feel the love and the urge to keep studying up to higher heights.

• Fosters independence

Doing homework over the summer holidays is the best way students get to learn how to be independent since they will learn how to plan their time effectively to balance homework and other activities. This is a significant skill even after school life. Apart from fostering independence, students also learn time management skills that will help them in the future when employed.

• Enables students to spend their time well

Over summer holidays, students usually have plenty of time, and without proper discipline, they can end up involving themselves in activities that aren’t productive but harmful in a way.

• Gives students a chance to improve on their weak area

While school learning is significant, doing homework over the summer holiday helps students indulge in more research. While researching, students can spare extra time to work on improving the subjects they are weak on.

Cons of summer homework: why summer homework is bad

As much as summer homework help students in several aspects, it also impacts students’ life negatively. So, if you have been wondering why summer homework is bad, below are some of the reasons:

• Causes stress

A holiday is meant to give students adequate time to relax. However, with summer homework, students need to keep up with the books despite coming from school. The stress comes in when students have pressure to finish the assignment before the deadline reaches.

• Students don’t explore their talent

It is during the summer holiday that students explore different activities. Some even engage in activities that help improve their talents, such as singing and sporting, among many others. However, with homework, students can barely get an opportunity to explore and discover such talents.

Have you ever done a summer holiday before? How was the experience? Did it impact your academic performance? Well, the summer holiday is an effective way of strengthening the understanding levels of students. However, when assigning such homework, it is significant that the homework is manageable since students also need time away from books.

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20 Pros and Cons of Homework

Homework. It’s a word that sends a shudder down the spine of students and parents alike.

It is also a question that has become divisive. Some people feel that homework is an effective way to reinforce the concepts that were learned at school. Others feel like the time that homework demands would be better spent with a meaningful activity that brings the family together.

Is homework important? Is it necessary? Or is the added stress that homework places on students and parents doing more harm than good? Here are some of the key pros and cons to discuss.

List of the Pros of Homework

1. It encourages the discipline of practice. Repeating the same problems over and over can be boring and difficult, but it also reinforces the practice of discipline. To get better at a skill, repetition is often necessary. You get better with each repetition. By having homework completed every night, especially with a difficult subject, the concepts become easier to understand. That gives the student an advantage later on in life when seeking a vocational career.

2. It gets parents involved with a child’s life. Looking at Common Core math can be somewhat bewildering to parents. If you see the math problem 5×3 expressed as an addition problem, 5+5+5 seems like the right answer. The correct answer, however, would be 3+3+3+3+3. By bringing homework to do, students can engage their learning process with their parents so everyone can be involved. Many parents actually want homework sent so they can see what their children are being taught in the classroom.

3. It teaches time management skills. Homework goes beyond completing a task. It forces children (and parents, to some extent) to develop time management skills. Schedules must be organized to ensure that all tasks can be completed during the day. This creates independent thinking and develops problem-solving skills. It encourages research skills. It also puts parents and children into a position where positive decision-making skills must be developed.

4. Homework creates a communication network. Teachers rarely see into the family lives of their students. Parents rarely see the classroom lives of their children. Homework is a bridge that opens lines of communication between the school, the teacher, and the parent. This allows everyone to get to know one another better. It helps teachers understand the needs of their students better.

It allows parents to find out their child’s strengths and weaknesses. Together, an educational plan can be developed that encourages the best possible learning environment.

5. It allows for a comfortable place to study. Classrooms have evolved over the years to be a warmer and welcoming environment, but there is nothing like the comfort that is felt at home or in a safe space. By encouraging studies where a child feels the most comfortable, it is possible to retain additional information that may get lost within the standard classroom environment.

6. It provides more time to complete the learning process. The time allotted for each area of study in school, especially in K-12, is often limited to 1 hour or less per day. That is not always enough time for students to be able to grasp core concepts of that material. By creating specific homework assignments which address these deficiencies, it becomes possible to counter the effects of the time shortages. That can benefit students greatly over time.

7. It reduces screen time. On the average school night, a student in the US might get 3-4 hours of screen time in per day. When that student isn’t in school, that figure doubles to 7-8 hours of screen time. Homework might be unwanted and disliked, but it does encourage better study habits. It discourages time being spent in front of the television or playing games on a mobile device. That, in turn, may discourage distracting habits from forming that can take away from the learning process in the future.

8. It can be treated like any other extracurricular activity. Some families over-extend themselves on extracurricular activities. Students can easily have more than 40 hours per week, from clubs to sports, that fall outside of regular school hours. Homework can be treated as one of these activities, fitting into the schedule where there is extra time. As an added benefit, some homework can even be completed on the way to or from some activities.

List of the Cons of Homework

1. Children benefit from playing. Being in a classroom can be a good thing, but so can being on a playground. With too much homework, a child doesn’t have enough time to play and that can impact their learning and social development. Low levels of play are associated with lower academic achievement levels, lower safety awareness, less character development, and lower overall health.

2. It encourages a sedentary lifestyle. Long homework assignments require long periods of sitting. A sedentary lifestyle has numerous direct associations with premature death as children age into adults. Obesity levels are already at or near record highs in many communities. Homework may reinforce certain skills and encourage knowledge retention, but it may come at a high price.

3. Not every home is a beneficial environment. There are some homes that are highly invested into their children. Parents may be involved in every stage of homework or there may be access to tutors that can explain difficult concepts. In other homes, there may be little or no education investment into the child. Some parents push the responsibility of teaching off on the teacher and provide no homework support at all.

Sometimes parents may wish to be involved and support their child, but there are barriers in place that prevent this from happening. The bottom line is this: no every home life is equal.

4. School is already a full-time job for kids. An elementary school day might start at 9:00am and end at 3:20pm. That’s more than 6 hours of work that kids as young as 5 are putting into their education every day. Add in the extra-curricular activities that schools encourage, such as sports, musicals, and after-school programming and a student can easily reach 8 hours of education in the average day. Then add homework on top of that? It is asking a lot for any child, but especially young children, to complete extra homework.

5. There is no evidence that homework creates improvements. Survey after survey has found that the only thing that homework does is create a negative attitude toward schooling and education in general. Homework is not associated with a higher level of academic achievement on a national scale. It may help some students who struggle with certain subjects, if they have access to a knowledgeable tutor or parent, but on a community level, there is no evidence that shows improvements are gained.

6. It discourages creative endeavors. If a student is spending 1 hour each day on homework, that’s an hour they are not spending pursuing something that is important to them. Students might like to play video games or watch TV, but homework takes time away from learning an instrument, painting, or developing photography skills as well. Although some homework can involve creative skills, that usually isn’t the case.

7. Homework is difficult to enforce. Some students just don’t care about homework. They can achieve adequate grades without doing it, so they choose not to do it. There is no level of motivation that a parent or teacher can create that inspires some students to get involved with homework. There is no denying the fact that homework requires a certain amount of effort. Sometimes a child just doesn’t want to put in that effort.

8. Extra time in school does not equate to better grades. Students in the US spend more than 100 hours of extra time in school already compared to high-performing countries around the world, but that has not closed the educational gap between those countries and the United States. In some educational areas, the US is even falling in global rankings despite the extra time that students are spending in school. When it comes to homework or any other form of learning, quality is much more important than quantity.

9. Accurate practice may not be possible. If homework is assigned, there is a reliance on the student, their parents, or their guardians to locate resources that can help them understand the content. Homework is often about practice, but if the core concepts of that information are not understood or inaccurately understood, then the results are the opposite of what is intended. If inaccurate practice is performed, it becomes necessary for the teacher to first correct the issue and then reteach it, which prolongs the learning process.

10. It may encourage cheating on multiple levels. Some students may decide that cheating in the classroom to avoid taking homework home is a compromise they’re willing to make. With internet resources, finding the answers to homework instead of figuring out the answers on one’s own is a constant temptation as well. For families with multiple children, they may decide to copy off one another to minimize the time investment.

11. Too much homework is often assigned to students. There is a general agreement that students should be assigned no more than 10 minutes of homework per day, per grade level. That means a first grader should not be assigned more than 10 minutes of homework per night. Yet for the average first grader in US public schools, they come home with 20 minutes of homework and then are asked to complete 20 minutes of reading on top of that. That means some students are completing 4x more homework than recommended every night.

At the same time, the amount of time children spent playing outdoors has decreased by 40% over the past 30 years.

For high school students, it is even worse at high performing schools in the US where 90% of graduates go onto college, the average amount of homework assigned per night was 3 hours per student.

12. Homework is often geared toward benchmarks. Homework is often assigned to improve test scores. Although this can provide positive outcomes, including better study skills or habits, the fact is that when children are tired, they do not absorb much information. When children have more homework than recommended, test scores actually go down. Stress levels go up. Burnout on the curriculum occurs.

The results for many students, according to research from Ruben Fernandez-Alonso in the Journal of Educational Psychology, is a decrease in grades instead of an increase.

The pros and cons of homework are admittedly all over the map. Many parents and teachers follow their personal perspectives and create learning environments around them. When parents and teachers clash on homework, the student is often left in the middle of that tug of war. By discussing these key points, each side can work to find some common ground so our children can benefit for a clear, precise message.

Quantity may be important, but quality must be the priority for homework if a student is going to be successful.