Bridging the Homework Gap

In June the same scene plays out in classrooms all across the country. The rituals are remarkably similar--the frenzy of end of the year exams, the dash to file final papers, and the goodbyes to teachers and friends as the school year comes to a close and summer begins. Summer also brings an end to homework. But the truth is homework as we once knew it has already ended. In fact, the days when homework only required a paper, a pencil, and a textbook are long gone. That's because today roughly seven in ten teachers assign homework that requires access to the Internet. But data from where I work--the Federal Communications Commission--suggest that as many as one in three households do not...