Do you like homework? Most of you will probably say no, but did you ever think that homework might help you do better in school? And not just because it is worth points either. Doing your homework may actually help you remember what you learned in class that day and help you do better in school overall.

            At Duke University, a professor of psychology and the director of Duke's Program in Education, Harris Cooper, and researchers at the college have done more than 60 studies on homework from 1983 to 2003. Over the course of all these studies, they concluded that homework really does have a positive affect on students’ achievement in school. Professor Cooper said, "The research synthesis showed the positive correlation was much stronger for secondary students --- those in grades 7 through 12 --- than those in elementary school.” The research that was done at Duke showed to be consistent with the "10-minute rule." That means that teachers should add 10 minutes to students’ homework as they progress from one grade level to another. Cooper added, "The bottom line, really, is all kids should be doing homework, but the amount and type should vary according to their developmental level and home circumstances.”

            Student achievement due to homework in school depends a lot on age and the classes that students take. When kids are in elementary school they don't benefit as much from doing their homework as students in junior high or high school would. This, however, does not mean that it isn't good for kids to do homework in elementary because it does help them learn time management and study skills for when they are older. Studies done by the National Council of Teacher Mathematics showed that math homework helped elementary students learn place value. Homework also varies when it comes to the difficulty and the amount. Students who are in elementary school tend to have less and easier homework, while secondary school students have more homework which tends to be more difficult.
            There a lot of other things that can factor into a student achieving more in school by doing homework, including completing the homework assignment and how well the homework relates to what they learned that day and will be learning. Many other factors are involved in studying and the effectiveness of different types of homework. The following are some of the most effective:

• Homework assignments meant to practice past lessons or prepare for future lessons–or both–can be more effective than assignments that include only same-day content.
• Dispersing easy and hard material throughout the assignment has a positive effect on measures of homework accuracy and completion rates.
• Homework assignments based on students’ individual learning style may improve students’ achievement.
• Some form of feedback on homework assignments benefits students.
• Rewards for homework completion can increase completion rates for students with learning disabilities or low motivation.

Overall, doing homework is good for you, but there are also a lot of other factors that may determine how well someone does on their homework, at school and in life.