How Homework is Preparing Your Kids for the Future

How homework benefits students in the short and long term.

Posted on September 18, 2019

Updated on March 24, 2023

Does homework prepare kids for the future?

According to research, students who put effort into their homework assignments improved the development of their conscientiousness. Conscientiousness is a personality trait that characterizes one’s ability to be responsible and reliable. Employers in the workforce highly value responsible and reliable employees, meaning homework does help prepare students for the future and is good for kids overall.

How much homework is too much?

Duke University reviewed more than 60 research studies on homework. The conclusion was that the relationship between the amount of homework students do, and their achievements are positive and statistically significant.

Homework for young students should be short and increase over time. The “10-minute rule” is a good guideline for teachers to go by. The optimum amount of homework is 10 minutes per grade level. For example, a fourth grader should have 40 minutes a night, and a high school senior should have roughly 120 minutes, or two hours, every night.

Stanford research further backs up the “10-minute rule,” suggesting that 90 minutes to two and a half hours of homework is optimal for high school students. Any more than that ends up being counterproductive, resulting in stress and physical health problems.

homework helps create greater understanding between parents and teachers about what children are learning in school

The benefits of homework

Homework is beneficial because it helps students develop and improve vital skills that they will use throughout their lives, especially self-regulation. Kids must manage distractions, manage their time, delay gratification, and set goals when they do homework—all these skills are incredibly important to learn to achieve success in life.

As a Time Magazine article states, comprehensive research suggests that students who did homework performed better in school. Additionally, Homework is thought to improve:

Study habits
Attitudes toward school
Self-discipline
Inquisitiveness
Independent problem-solving skills

Homework is also helpful because it creates greater understanding between parents and teachers about what children are learning in school and any struggles they might have. It can help clue parents into the existence of possible learning disabilities, so children get help sooner rather than later.

It’s important for parents to explain the importance of homework to their children and encourage them to complete it. Co-parents should strive to relay consistent messaging surrounding schoolwork to their kids. TalkingParents offers several features that can help co-parents communicate about their child’s homework, including Secure Messaging and Accountable Calling. These tools keep all conversations documented, so you can reference anything you need to later.