Are Kids Really Getting a Break in the Summer?

With August now in full swing and just a few weeks left until the school year resumes, many students may be scrambling to finish their summer homework assignments. But the Washington Post reports that there may, in fact, be a trend away from the kind of rigorous and often heavy workload of recent summers in and around the nation's capital. In some districts, students have been assigned as many as four books to read and report on and a whole packet of math problems to solve. But some educators say there are limitations to such a barrage of summer assignments and have opted to give kids a real break from the school year stresses of juggling homework with a part-time job and extracurricular activities. Many schools still require a single reading assignment but supporters of this 'lessened load' approach extol the virtues of giving students a chance to rest during the summer months.

Still, detractors of this approach say most kids' skills and study habits become rusty and that it can take them weeks to regain it. Not to mention this theory has been substantiated by comparisons of standardized test scores, especially in math. Parents, too, are especially concerned about a loss of learning and would much prefer seeing their child engaged in reading or some other assignment than playing video games or watching tv.

Our own Reality Check research on this topic has similarly shown that parents aren't exactly complaining about "too much" homework, with 68 percent saying it is about the right amount. But students actually echo this sentiment, and in slightly greater numbers (72 percent). This could, in part, be explained by the finding in an earlier Reality Check survey, in which most parents (65 percent) said that the material their child is learning is more challenging -- and the education their child is getting is better -- than their own experience. And in All Work and No Play, our survey of parents and teens on out-of-school activities, more than half of high school students (56 percent) said they would be interested in a summer program that "helped kids keep up with schoolwork or prepare for the next grade." Low-income and minority parents are especially concerned about keeping youngsters busy and productive during the summer months. As far as the general public is concerned, half say class work and homework are the best measures of academic achievement.