HOW TO MANAGE HOMEWORK FOR ADHD STUDENTS

1. DOES HOMEWORK INCREASE PERFORMANCE?

Cooper (1989) completed a meta-analysis of 120 research studies of the effect of homework on
students. The average High School student given homework would outperform most of the
students in the class, and the study indicated that the effect of homework is grade-dependent.
the average high school student in a class doing homework outperformed 69% of the students
in a no-homework class, as measured by standardized tests or grades. In junior high school, the
average homework effect was half this magnitude. In elementary school, homework had no
association with achievement gains (p. 4).
Cooper reports similar results from studies done in the decade and a half since his original study.
Cooper, H., Robinson, J., & Patall, E. (2006). Does homework improve academic achievement? A
synthesis of research 1987-2003. Review of Educational Research, 76(1), 1-63.

2. REPEATED ATTEMPTS HOMEWORK

Game-like in its form, repeated-attempts HW allows the student to continue attempts until a
score is reached that is satisfactory to them. Nevertheless, in a study done on University students,
it was found that:
concentrating on a question rather than repeatedly attempting a question is more effective for
learning (p. 58).
In fact, time spent upon each question had a positive correlation to final grade, while number of
attempts had a negative correlation to final grades.
Bowman, C., Gulacar, O., & King, D. (2014). Predicting student success via online homework
usage. Journal of Learning Design, 7(2), 46-61.

3. WHAT TYPE OF HOMEWORK IS EFFECTIVE FOR ADHD?

Homework was once thought to be punishment, nowadays is thought to only marginalize
students from disadvantaged homes, yet we hope that HW has a compensatory effect, enabling
children with learning disabilities to earn grades comparable to classmates. Students with
disabilities have more negative attitudes to homework, so HW need be designed for them so that
they can take ownership of the learning (p. 174). In short, homework is differentiated learning.
Carr, N. (2013). Increasing the effectiveness of homework for all learners in the inclusive
classroom. School Community Journal, 23(1), 168-182.

Marzano and Pickering found that it isnt so much a matter of increasing homework, it is more a
matter of using it more effectively, and let us not assign homework for the sake of assigning
homework. On the one hand, some teachers do not believe that homework makes sense as it
could discourage children. On the other hand, since 1983 and A Nation at Risk, the education
system has been blamed for Americas noncompetitive study habits.
Marzano, R. & Pickering, D. (2007). Special topic: The case for and against homework.
Educational Leadership, 64(6), 74-79.
4. SUMMARY
According to studies, there is positive correlation between academic scores and the students'
abilility to self-regulate learning. For instance, ordering a desktop in a quiet place in sight of a
parent who is watching to help them ensure well-ordered routines. Rural parents, however, tend
to de-emphasize homework and academic grades, putting emphasis on personal qualities. In
contrast, urban parents place more emphasis on homework than do rural parents.
Xu, J. (2009). School location, student achievement, and homework management reported by
middle school students. The School Community Journal, 19(2), 26-44.

In a study done on 356 ADHD children using a 20 item survey, researchers learned that there are
two general categories of problems incurred by ADHD students during homework. The problems
cluster into two areas: inattention, as was reported by parents, and non-adherence to homework
rules, as was reported by parents and teachers. Compared to a group of General Education
students, the ADHD Group had significantly more problems with homework (p. 26), but the
study concluded that this gap between the groups would be lessened if there was better
communication between parent and teacher.
Power, T. & Werba, B. (2006). Patterns of parent-reported homework problems among ADHDreferred and non-referred children. School Psychology Quarterly, 2(1), 13-33.