Part 6: Cross-Text Matching · C1 Reading & Use of English

Practice activity

Should Homework Be Abolished?

Read the four experts' opinions below. For each question, choose the text (A, B, C, or D) whose writer expresses the stated opinion.

ARuth Keller — primary headteacher

At primary level I would scrap most homework tomorrow. Young children already spend long days learning; evenings should belong to play, family conversation and rest. The worksheets that go home often measure parental availability more than pupil understanding.

Where practice genuinely helps — reading aloud, simple number facts — it should be short, clear and optional enough that households under pressure are not shamed. Education does not improve when it colonises every hour of childhood.

BDaniel Okoro — secondary maths teacher

I cannot teach complex problem-solving in five classroom hours a week and also give every student enough repetition. Homework, used sparingly and marked properly, extends learning time for those who need it most.

The problem is not homework itself but badly designed tasks: endless copying, vague projects, or work set only to satisfy school policy. Abolish the busywork by all means. Keep the deliberate practice that builds fluency. Throwing out both because some homework is pointless would be an overreaction.

CSofia Brandt — education psychologist

International comparisons show no simple link between hours of homework and higher achievement. Countries with moderate loads often outperform those that pile on evening work, especially once student wellbeing is taken into account.

What predicts success more reliably is the quality of feedback and the alignment between tasks and clear learning goals. Debates that fixate on abolishing or defending homework in the abstract miss this. Reform the purpose and the volume will often correct itself.

DLuis Ferrer — parent and campaigner

In our house homework became a nightly source of conflict that damaged my child's relationship with learning. After we moved to a school with a minimal-homework policy, evenings became calmer and, crucially, my daughter began choosing to read on her own.

I am not against effort. I am against the assumption that childhood must be scheduled like a second shift. Schools that trust pupils to rest and pursue interests outside class often find motivation rises rather than collapses. Families should not need a campaign to reclaim dinner time.

Question 1

Which writer argues that poorly designed tasks, not homework as such, are the real problem?

Answer for question 1

Question 2

Which writer links a reduction in homework to a better attitude to voluntary reading at home?

Answer for question 2

Question 3

Which writer focuses especially on protecting younger children's free time?

Answer for question 3

Question 4

Which writer says cross-country evidence does not support heavy homework loads as a route to success?

Answer for question 4