Lower School Overview

All schools share the goal that students would learn as much as possible each year. A reasonable assumption is that the more a child practices a skill, the better they will learn it. This type of reasoning has led to the concept of “homework.” In most traditional school settings, students have worksheets or activities that are sent home to practice different academic skills at home after school, with the belief that this work at home will lead to better learning outcomes. The development of homework in traditional school systems was very well intentioned. 

However, countless research studies (links below) have been conducted in the field of education in past decades to gauge the true effectiveness of homework. Perhaps surprisingly, this research has overwhelmingly come to show that homework has no positive effects on student learning for elementary aged students, with one exception. The one exception is that reading at home for at least 20 minutes per day does have numerous positive academic benefits for elementary aged students.

• “There is no evidence that any amount of homework improves the academic performance of elementary students.” -Harris Cooper, Duke University psychology professor

• “Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good.” -Denise Pope, senior lecturer at the Stanford School of Education

• Homework has links to negative outcomes, including stress, weight gain, lowered immune system defenses, poor cognitive performance, and negative attitudes about school -The Obesity Society

• The daily amount a child reads independently is positively linked to higher-order literacy skills and long-term academic success. -Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

• There are activities that promote academic performance and wellness simultaneously: physical exercise (60 minutes per day); proper sleep (10–11 hours a night for young children); shared family meals (three or more per week); and time to explore talents, interests, and passions. -Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Members of the RCS LS team have spent time over the past school year studying the research above. We are now convinced we can do better. Beginning in the 23-24 school year, the only required homework for LS students will be to read at least 20 minutes per day and to practice Bible memory verses as needed outside of class. 

We will expect our students to read daily because the research shows that this positively benefits our students in a multitude of ways. We will ask families to help students practice their Bible memory verses at home as needed because God tells us to hide His word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11) and this does not happen without intentional effort on our parts. RCS will no longer require LS students to complete additional worksheets or packets as homework. 

It is our sincere hope that this change will be a blessing to our students and families in many ways: serving our students by aligning our practices with educational research, creating more time after school for kids to play outside, participate in extracurricular activities, enjoy family meals, and get plenty of sleep every night. We also hope that this will help to eliminate battles that can occur at home over homework and reduce frustration that English speaking families may face when trying to help their Spanish Immersion students with homework in Spanish.

If you would like ideas for how your student can practice specific skills at home, you can always reach out to your student’s homeroom teacher who can provide ideas, games, and optional, ungraded practice activities for home. 

If a student does not complete classwork in class that he/she was given adequate time to complete, he/she will be required to complete this work at home. This should be a rare occurrence for students who use their class time wisely and efficiently. Students are provided daily time in class to practice skills like sight words, spelling words, and math facts. Some students who specifically struggle in these areas may find additional practice with these skills at home to be beneficial, although this practice will not be required. 

The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing

Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs

How Reading Volume Affects both Reading Fluency and Reading Achievement