Does Homework Help...Not Really Help?

The Brian Lehrer Show | Mar 25, 2014

Dana Goldstein, a contributor to The Atlantic and fellow at The Nation Institute, unpacks a new study that found parental involvement in school and homework doesn't always improve kids' academic achievement.

The study tracked almost 30 years of data, and found that only a few habits (out of the 63 it tracked) led to higher test scores: reading aloud to young children and talking about college to teenagers. The mostly useless stuff? Meeting with teachers, helping teenagers pick out high school classes, volunteering at school, observing classes and even homework help.

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