Not quite Titanic
...andi: "There was no appreciable difference in our test scores, at all." That's right, no real difference, despite predictions that the new homework policy would hurt student performance. School officials say scores remained steady, at about the state average. One parent we spoke with says her 12 year-old daughter is doing much better. Her school sends home up to an hour and a half of homework each night, down from three to four hours. Linda Markowitz, Parent: "There's less homework, but the quality of the homework is much better. She's learning a lot more because not tired and frustrated because she just finished doing four or five math work sheets." The policy called for 10 minutes of homework per grade level each night, meaning a seventh grader would spend 70 minutes. Despite Piscataway's story, one researcher says most districts refuse to back off on homework, and you can blame the standards movement. Peter Cookson, Homework Expert: "The pressure on schools, school districts, teachers to raise the scores of children in their classrooms is pushing teachers, principals and superintendents to emphasize after school work as a way that they think will raise test scores." He says homework can build reading skills, but has little impact on test scores, which reflect the qu...