WASHINGTON (CBSDC) - Two Australian researchers claim that homework is of little use – if any – to children in primary school.

Professors Mike Horsley and Richard Walker, of Central Queensland and Sydney Universities, respectively, reportedly made the assertion in their new book, “Reforming Homework: Practices, Learning and Politics.”

Both men found that homework had beneficial effects on the academics of a large number of high school students – 45 percent of them, to be exact.

It was allegedly a different story for younger children, according to TVNZ.

“[R]esearch shows it won’t improve the achievement of children in the early years of primary school, and that it has negligible benefits in the higher grades of primary school,” Horsley told  TVNZ.

The duo clarified that they are not entirely against the institution of homework.

“We’re not saying homework should be abolished, just reformed and refined,” Horsley noted.

The National Education Association, based in Washington, D.C., recommends that first grade students complete 10 to 20 minutes of homework per night.

“[Add] an additional [ten] minutes per grade level thereafter, [for example] 20 minutes for second grade, 120 minutes for twelfth,” their official site adds. “High school students may sometimes do more, depending on what classes they take.”

The NEA also claims that “homework overload is the exception, rather than the norm” in the United States.