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Cursed By Students, Homework Finds Skepticism Among Researchers

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The kids are back in school. Time to break open a fresh pack of pencils, dust off the graphing calculator, and pull out that dog-eared copy of Strunk and White, because here it comes: homework.

For students, it's the true end to the long, joy-filled nights of summer. For parents and teachers, it's a critical element of education.

But is it? Maybe not as much you might think.

A recent paper from a pair of education scholars from the University of Nevada and SUNY Binghamton found that homework increased math scores a bit, but made no difference in science, English and history.

That raises a pretty big question. If it's not making much of a difference, should students really be asked to do it?

Guests:

  • Alfie Kohn, author, "The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing"
  • Janine Bempechat, developmental psychologist and professor, Wheelock College; author, "Getting our Kids Back on Track: Educating Children for the Future"

This segment aired on October 5, 2011.

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