How to assign homework as a tutor.

Between-session work is where progress compounds

No matter how good your sessions are, one or two hours a week can’t outweigh the other five days. Short, targeted practice between sessions is what keeps skills warm and turns a weekly meeting into steady growth. You’re not trying to replicate school homework — you’re extending your session’s reach into the days you’re not there. Done right, it’s a quiet multiplier on everything you do together.

Keep it short and doable

The fastest way to kill between-session work is to assign too much. A giant packet feels overwhelming, doesn’t get done, and teaches the student that your homework is optional. A couple of well-chosen problems that take fifteen minutes get finished — and a finished small assignment beats an ignored big one every time. Start smaller than feels sufficient; you can always build up once the habit sticks.

Make it specific

Vague homework (“review your notes”) rarely happens and rarely helps. Specific homework does: “do these three problems,” “write one paragraph using today’s structure,” “practice these ten words.” The student knows exactly what to do and when it’s done, and the practice reinforces precisely what you worked on. Specificity is what turns an assignment from a suggestion into something that actually gets completed and actually matters.

Connect it to the next session

Homework should never feel like a detour — it should be the bridge between sessions. Assign work that sets up what you’ll do next, and open the next session by using it. When the student sees that the practice fed directly into today’s lesson, it stops feeling like busywork and starts feeling like part of the plan. Continuity is what makes between-session work feel worth doing.

Follow up every time

The single biggest driver of whether homework gets done is whether you check it. If you assign work and never mention it again, the student learns it doesn’t count — and stops. If you review it at the start of every session, it clearly matters, and completion climbs. Following up also gives you free diagnostic information: what they got, what they didn’t, and what to reteach. Never assign what you won’t revisit.

Loop in parents lightly

For younger students especially, a quick note to a parent about what to practice can make between-session work far more likely to happen — a gentle nudge at home goes a long way. Keep it light and supportive, not a demand. Parents want to help; giving them one specific, small thing to encourage turns them into an ally for the habit you’re building. See more tutor resources →

Common questions

Should a tutor assign homework at all?

In most cases, yes — a little. One or two sessions a week can’t outweigh the other five days, so short, targeted between-session practice is where a lot of the progress actually happens. The key is to keep it small and doable, not to pile on. Even fifteen minutes of the right practice keeps momentum alive between sessions.

How much homework should I give?

Less than you think. A couple of well-chosen problems that reinforce exactly what you worked on beats a big packet that overwhelms the student and doesn’t get done. Keep it short enough that completing it feels easy, and specific enough that it clearly matters. You can always add more once the habit is established; you rarely recover a student you’ve buried.

What if the student never does the homework?

First, make it smaller and more specific — undone homework is often too much or too vague. Always follow up on it at the next session so it clearly counts. And loop in parents lightly for younger students. If it still doesn’t happen, shift more practice into the session itself rather than fighting a losing battle at home.