Brookings Press Briefing 'Homework: An Easy Load?' A New Report from Brookings Says American Children Study Less Than an Hour a Day

9/29/2003

From: Brookings Institution Office of Communications, 202-797-6105, communications@brookings.edu, http://www.brookings.edu

News Advisory:

WHAT: A Brookings Press Briefing

'Homework: An Easy Load?' A New Report from Brookings Says American Children Study Less Than an Hour a Day

WHEN: Wednesday, October 1, 2003, 10 - 11:30 a.m.

Continental breakfast will be served beginning at 9:30

WHERE: The Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.

WHO:

-- TOM LOVELESS, senior fellow, Governance Studies, and director, Brown Center on Education Policy, The Brookings Institution

Discussant:

BRIAN GILL, social scientist, RAND Corporation

A new Brookings Institution report debunks the popular notion that U.S. schoolchildren suffer from a growing homework load, and do not have enough time to play and just be kids. According to data analyzed by the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings, the great majority of students at all grade levels now spend less than one hour studying on a typical day-an amount that has not changed substantially in at least twenty years. The research suggests that rather than having too much homework, children are not doing enough-a cause for concern because homework is correlated with school success.

Tom Loveless, director of the Brown Center, will release the report at a briefing for the press and the public. Loveless will discuss his research-which includes data from surveys conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the Third International Math and Science Study, the Population Studies Center at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, and the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA-and take questions from the audience.

RSVP: Please call the Brookings Office of Communications, 202/797-6105, or by e-mail at communications@brookings.edu or visit us online at http://www.brookings.edu/comm/events/20031001.htm.