Study: Students struggling to finish homework

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Even though they get help from their parents, teachers and the Internet, middle school students struggle daily to finish their homework, according to a study released Friday by the National Education Association.

The teachers' organization found that parents of so-called "tween" children -- 9 to 13 years old -- often share the homework burden, and most provide at least two hours and 45 minutes of help in an average week.

The findings come as school districts, with children back this month from summer vacations, face renewed debates on how much homework students should have.

In the study of 500 parents and 200 middle school children, half of the students said they have been unable to finish homework because an assignment was too difficult or they could not find anyone to help.

Four in 10 of the parents surveyed said their children have too much homework to finish in one night, and a quarter said they could not help students because the work was too hard.

After looking for help from their parents, students turned most to the Internet and their teachers for assistance.

Despite a push from some parents and educators for more demanding schooling, a recent study by Duke University's Harrison Cooper found that homework in elementary school has few educational benefits.

Cooper, who has researched homework in the United States since the 1980s, also found spending longer than an hour and a half on homework each night could actually hurt middle school students' performance.

"Middle school" usually denotes the sixth through ninth grade levels, but some school districts also include fifth grade.

Della Almeida of Arlington, Virginia, said her son, who just started seventh grade, had too much homework at the end of sixth grade because teachers rushed to cover subjects that would appear on annual standardized tests.

She also recalled a fifth grade science project that seemed geared more toward parents than students.

"That project required a lot of research, and I think no fifth grader on his or her own could do that project well," she said.

Almeida also teaches English to fifth graders who speak other languages, and whose parents work long hours or don't have much education. Because the parents cannot always help, she says, she doesn't assign elaborate homework assignments.

"Research, decorative art work -- it's not going to happen," she said.

The study was also sponsored by education toy maker LeapFrog Enterprises Inc.