Giving a test to discover what your child knows produces a grade level at which he or she is functioning. This means that if I were to give the child material at that level, that the child could not do the work independently without experiencing frustration. Therefore, in order for the child to work independently, I should give the child material a grade level below that point so that the child can work without frustration. There is obvious value in output. However, in analyzing the investment of our child's time we need to keep a balance between input and output with the weight leaning to the former for the child who is behind and needs to catch up.
Homework is used primarily to reinforce that which is presented in school.
Homework is also given with the assumption that the parent is not going to take much, if any, of the responsibility for the child's education. For the parent who is actively working with their child on a home program, the basic premise upon which homework is constructed is erroneous. Teachers and involved parents must acknowledge that the teacher's responsibility is situational and temporary while the responsibility of the parent transcends that of the teacher and is relatively permanent. Then the report card came out and it was too late for them to do anything about the problem. Communication between parent and teacher should occur weekly and when a particular problem exists, on a daily basis.