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Does homework lead to improved achievement? The 21st century has been a trend toward more homework, though the age-old debate continues, with some schools or school districts experimenting with getting rid of homework altogether. Since then, educators have gone back and forth on the importance of homework. American educators worried that the lack of homework had caused American students to fall behind other nations. In the 1950s, when the Soviet Union’s Sputnik was launched, the pendulum swung. It was argued that homework could be harmful to a child’s health by creating too much stress. Back in 1901, the anti-homework movement gained such strength that California outlawed homework for all grades below high school.
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The concept of homework has been hotly debated for over a century. And some studies show that even kindergarteners are spending up to 25 minutes each day on homework. The average teenager now spends about twice as much time on homework as teenagers did in the 1990s. Are students getting more homework than they used to?
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Find out what we know about homework and what the evidence shows. The benefit of homework depends on how old the student is, what kind of homework is given, and how much. Some parents wish their children would get less or no homework, while other parents worry their child isn’t getting enough. Educators have disagreed about how much (if any) homework is needed to teach children well. The idea of banning homework has been hotly debated for over a century. But is homework actually useful? Does it help children become better students? Most of us think of homework as a necessary part of a school-based education.
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