As a tuition centre teacher with great belief in Exam preparation and homework, I hear constant complaints about the issue of homework.  There are arguments against overdoing it and even some studies that suggest, in some cases, it doesn’t always help.  There’s a big difference between busy work and assignments that are meaningful. Some researchers propose that homework is a hidden cause of childhood obesity.  Others believe that the quality and quantity of assignments done at home should be addressed, pronto.  So, why do students today still have to do this archaic activity?
•Although some teachers assign busy work, that is not always the case.  Often times, the assignments students bring home are not only continuations of what was done in class, but are activities that help apply the knowledge learned earlier in the day.
•Some at-home assignments are enrichment activities that will nurture the creative side of children.
•It allows parents to see first-hand what their child is doing in school, and gives them an opportunity to connect or communicate with their child on a different level, seeing where they stand academically.
•Even if it’s studying or reviewing what was covered in class, it is an important reinforcement activity.  This can eventually lead to information being stored into long-term memory.
•Research suggests that students who complete homework tend to have higher scores on content related tests, than do students who have not completed content related homework.
•Homework teaches a child responsibility, which in turn will form into a good work ethic and life skill that will be useful for the rest of his/her life.
•Homework helps children manage their time. Students develop time management skills and learn the valuable lesson about procrastination.
•Homework allows students the opportunity to teach themselves, and learn how to manage schoolwork independently. Independent learning skill is a valuable life skill that will help the student throughout adult educational life
Although there is an ongoing debate about the merits and necessity of homework, the bottom line is that it doesn’t look like it’s going away any time soon.  Sure, parents should question teachers and make sure that the homework is relevant and not going to last five hours, but the best possible action a student can take at the elementary age is to accept its inevitability.  This will lead to time management strategies, allowing them to learn how to juggle a variety of activities on a daily basis, just like parents and all other adults do every day.
 
Some recent studies have found a positive connection between test scores and homework.  These studies suggest that homework can improve students’ scores on the class tests that come at the end of a topic. This studies shows that Students assigned homework did better in Math, English skills and vocabulary though when it is overloaded, there’s the case of diminishing returns. 
If you don’t buy into the fact that homework will make a child a higher academic achiever in the short term (even though research states otherwise), realize that it just might create a human being with good habits, a rich work ethic, and a success later on in the world outside academia.