Q: My husband and I argue about our kids' homework. The older they get, the more they have. He says it won't kill them, but it takes away from the family time I prize. What's the value of homework when some teachers don't even check it?

A: Educators have debated homework for decades with parents chiming in, pro and con. Some parents equate homework with academic rigor and want lots, while others decry the pressure it can add to family life.

Time spent on homework by elementary students has risen more than 50 percent since 1981, despite the fact that "no research has ever found a benefit to assigning homework (of any kind or in any amount) in elementary school," says educator Alfie Kohn, author of "The Homework Myth" (Da Capo Press, 2006).

Harris Cooper, a professor at Duke University, has studied the impact of homework for more than two decades. He believes there's a stronger positive correlation between the amount of homework and achievement for students in grades seven through 12 rather than in the early grades. He is a proponent of the "10 minutes per grade level" homework policy.

"All kids should be doing homework, but the amount and type should vary according to their developmental level and home circumstances," Cooper says. "Homework for young students should be short, lead to success without much struggle, occasionally involve parents and, when possible, use out-of-school activities that kids enjoy, such as their sports teams or high-interest reading."

Effective homework assignments can give students opportunities to practice and apply skills introduced in class, says University of Virginia professor Robert Tai, co-author of a 2012 study, "When Is Homework Worth the Time?"

"Students shouldn't spend hours every night poring over new material," he says.

Proponents of the "flipped classroom" see it differently. They point to emerging evidence from the online resource Flipped Learning Network, suggesting that when students are assigned teacher videos of new material and then discuss that material with teachers the following day, they retain the information more effectively.

No matter what the instructional model, students need opportunities to practice and apply new learning. There's not enough class time to nail all spelling words or a new math skill. Well-designed homework can make the learning "stick." This is one reason Kohn emphasizes "home work" -- activities that parents can do with kids to extend learning. This helps them understand how to use what they learn in school to make better sense of the world outside the classroom.

Family time in itself brings academic benefits. "There's data suggesting that when parents talk to children about school every day, read with them, play and eat dinner together, it can significantly boost grades," says Stephen Wallace, director of the Center for Adolescent Research and Education (CARE) at Susquehanna University.

"According to a large study by the University of Michigan," he adds, "family meals are the single strongest predictor of better achievement scores and fewer behavioral problems for children ages 3 to 12. When kids feel their parents' support and expectations at home, they are likely to rise to those expectations in school."

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: I am confused about the new Common Core State Standards. Our state has always had learning standards, but I'm told these new ones are national. What was wrong with the old standards?

A: Many states adopted learning standards following the 1983 release of President Ronald Reagan's "A Nation at Risk" report. It warned that our schools weren't adequately preparing kids for college or work.

Since education policy wasn't a federal responsibility, states were urged to devise their own curricula to improve teaching and learning. The result? A patchwork of well-intended efforts. U.S. students continued to perform poorly compared to other industrialized nations on many benchmarks, including college readiness.

Enter the Common Core State Standards movement: The goal of the CCSS was not to create a "national curriculum," but to define what students need to know and be able to do to succeed in college and future careers. Over the last several years, teachers, parents, subject area experts, as well as business and community leaders have all weighed in to help create the CCSS in English language arts and math (others will follow) and to clearly communicate what is expected of students at each grade level.

"CCSS is a huge shift," says Mary Dietz, a former school administrator and education consultant. "Forty-five states and three territories have adopted them. It's the first time the country has ever defined the knowledge and skills all students should have when they leave high school.

"In school year 2014-15, states will begin to assess student progress on them. The tests will measure, among other things, higher order thinking skills, so there will be fewer multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank items."

Education consultant Erin Power, commenting at edutopia.org, says the CCSS are organized in "an intoxicatingly simple, linear fashion that acknowledges that the work of a first-grade teacher contributes to the growth of a 10th-grade student. This connectedness between grade levels is a welcome departure from some previous state standards that jumped from topic to topic, addressing a particular skill one year, dropping it the next."

The CCSS don't tell teachers how to teach. They provide a framework of what students should know in a given subject at a given grade level, says Dietz. "For example, a second-grade English language arts standard states that students will: 'Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.' It's up to the teacher, school or district to choose the materials and methods used to teach that standard."

Parents should review the CCSS (go to corestandards.org) and ask administrators how they differ from what your state is using now, says Dietz. "Parents should also insist that the district offer training in implementing CCSS. What we're saying to teachers is: 'Here's the standard. You figure out how to teach it.' For some teachers, this is very freeing. Others will need ongoing support to expand their capacity and build their confidence."

For multiple perspectives, go to edutopia.org.

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: My fifth-grade son, Brennan, slides by in school and shrugs off homework, but likes his teacher. Threats don't work. The teacher wrote that he's smart and could do better if he were more motivated. Isn't that her job?

A: She's doing her job; she's reaching out to you for help. Make an appointment to see her. Tell Brennan you're meeting with her to find out how to make learning more fun for him. Invite him to come. That might boost his motivation.

Parental actions and expectations have a huge influence on a student's desire to learn. The trick is in knowing how to use that influence. First, ditch the technique you're using.

"Negative outcomes for negative behavior don't work," says Albuquerque educator Jane Bluestein, Ph.D., author of "The Parent's Little Book of Lists: DOs and DON'Ts of Effective Parenting."

"Rather than say, 'If you don't do your homework, you can't play video games,' switch to positive consequences," she says. "If he does his homework for a week, let him choose the menu for a weekend dinner. Sure it's a bribe, but there is no such thing as unmotivated behavior. Every decision we make is influenced by an anticipated outcome. We either choose the option that offers the most meaningful benefit or the option that protects us from some form of loss.

"Choosing dinner is a meaningful benefit -- it celebrates his achievement, provides family fun, gives him a sense of control and reinforces good behavior."

Ask Brennan's teacher how you can connect his fifth-grade curriculum to his home life.

"The more kids see the connections between what they learn in class to their experiences outside of school, the more interest and pleasure they'll take in learning," says Kathy Seal, co-author with Deborah Stipek, Ph.D., of "Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning."

Talk with him about what he's learning in class. Is he studying the solar system? Share a video or read an article on the recent meteorite that landed on Earth. Is he studying the weather? Watch the Weather Channel with him for a week and graph weather where friends and relatives live. Find more activities to reinforce learning at home at greatschools.org.

Linking school to life also means asking children to apply knowledge to everyday tasks at home, says Seal. If the family needs a new washer, ask Brennan to research models, prices, consumer ratings, warranties and chart it before you head out to stores. Discuss his analysis with him: What does sales tax and delivery add to prices?

"The more you involve him in using his learning, the more empowered he will feel," says Bluestein. "Demonstrating our competence is a great motivator!"

Specific encouragement is more motivating than general praise, Bluestein advises.

"Parents tend to overpraise and undervalue achievement," she says. "For example, if Brennan gets a good grade on a science project, don't say, 'You're so smart!' Recognize the specific accomplishment.

"Try, 'I'm impressed that you know the steps in the scientific method. And you learned to spell hypothesis! It took me years to learn it!'"

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)