Should You Check Your Child's Homework in Elementary School?
The short answer
Yes, but keep it short: look at whether everything is done, legible and packed. Leave the mistakes as they are, because they show the teacher what your child still needs to practice. In the long run, it matters more that your child learns to check their own work.
In a survey by the University of Augsburg, 81% of parents of third and fourth graders in Bavaria said they check their child's homework for correctness or completeness at least once a week (University of Augsburg 2026 (in German)). The analysis covered answers from 1,174 parents and other caregivers. According to the report, the results mainly reflect families with medium to high socioeconomic resources. Nationwide, the DJI study AID:A shows a similar picture: parents of 7- to 11-year-olds checked on average on 21 days a month whether their child had done the homework (Bildung in Deutschland 2024 (in German), p. 143).
So the question is rarely whether you check, but how. This article separates checking from correcting, gives you a checklist for three minutes a day, and shows how your child can gradually learn to check their own work.
Before you check homework: what it is for
Homework has two purposes. Everyone knows the first one: practice. The Ministry of Education in North Rhine-Westphalia describes homework as preparation and follow-up for lessons, in which lesson content is "memorized, practiced and applied", and stresses that children should be able to do it "independently without outside help" (Schulministerium NRW (in German)).
The second one easily gets lost in everyday life: homework is feedback for the teacher. In NRW, elementary school homework is "regularly reviewed and evaluated for further work in class", but not graded (Schulministerium NRW). The Lower Saxony Ministry of Education puts it even more clearly: "Homework done with mistakes also gives the teacher important feedback on which content and working techniques still need more practice." According to the ministry, if parents smooth everything out beforehand, the teacher may believe the child can do something alone "that was in reality achieved with the help of the parents". The teacher may then only be able to help late (Niedersächsisches Kultusministerium (in German)).
A parent on Reddit describes what this looks like in everyday life. The teacher of their nine-year-old son had emailed that their homework suddenly looked much neater than their work in class:
"She said she prefers seeing his independent ability so she can understand where he actually needs help."
(Quote from Reddit, r/Parenting, February 2026)
In NRW, rules on homework are set out in the school law and in a decree (Schulministerium NRW). If your teacher asks you for something different, such as signing a reading sheet, their agreement applies. For questions about the type and amount of homework, the Lower Saxony ministry also refers you to the class teacher (Niedersächsisches Kultusministerium).
Checking or correcting: the difference
Checking means: you look at whether the work is done. Correcting means: you make sure it is right. The first fits you well as a parent; the second is your child's job and then the teacher's. How much help is right overall is covered in Should parents help with homework?.
| Checking | Correcting | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | look at whether everything is done, legible and packed; have your child explain a task to you | find mistakes, mark them and have them fixed until everything is right |
| What is on the page | your child's work, with their mistakes | a mix of your child's work and your help |
| What the teacher can see | where your child currently stands | less, because your help is not visible on the page |
| Time | about 3 minutes (checklist below) | depends on the number of mistakes |
| Fits when | it is a normal homework day | the teacher explicitly asks for it |
That does not mean you have to overlook mistakes that jump out at you. Instead of marking them, you can give your child a checking task ("Do the check for task 4") or write a short note for the teacher. Both are covered below.
The 3-minute check: a checklist for every homework day
This list is our suggestion for a check that respects your child's independence and still tells you whether everything is on track.
| Step | What you check | How | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everything done? | Put the homework planner next to the notebook and worksheet and tick off together what is listed | 30 seconds |
| 2 | Every task worked on? | Mention blank spots: "Forgot, or got stuck?" If "got stuck", write a note for the teacher (see below) | 30 seconds |
| 3 | Legible? | Can the teacher read it? Task numbers there? Not: having everything copied out neatly | 30 seconds |
| 4 | One spot check | Your child picks one task and explains how they solved it. You listen and do not correct | 1 minute |
| 5 | Packed? | Notebook, worksheet and materials in the school bag, signature if the teacher asks for one | 30 seconds |
What is deliberately not on the list: recalculating every problem, marking mistakes, having things erased.
Step 4 is the most important. A correct result can also be copied or guessed, an explanation not so easily. If your child can describe the way in their own words, that is a good sign. If they falter, you know where to ask.
In first grade, you can go through the list together. Step by step, your child takes over steps 1, 3 and 5 on their own, and you only ask (how that works: When do kids do homework on their own?). If homework still regularly ends in arguments at your home, you will find more ideas in the parents' guide to elementary school homework and in the 7 ways to relaxed afternoons.
When a lot is wrong
You see while packing up: half the math page is wrong. The reflex is to fix everything together right now. Try this order instead:
- Look for a pattern. Is it always the same mistake, for example in every problem involving regrouping across a tens boundary, or is it all over the place? A mistake that repeats can point to a calculation step that has not clicked yet. Scattered mistakes can also come from tiredness or rushing.
- Ask about the task itself. Have your child read the task aloud and say in their own words what is being asked. If they misunderstood the question, that is a different problem than calculating. If this happens often, Child Doesn't Understand the Instructions helps.
- One task together, not the rest. Work out one task together and do the check. Whether your child then checks the others on their own is up to them. What stays wrong stays as it is.
- Write a short note. One sentence in the homework planner tells the teacher more than a corrected page.
- If it keeps happening, talk to the teacher. If this goes on for weeks, talk to the teacher instead of tutoring every afternoon. What you can do at home when math keeps being a sticking point is in the article Child doesn't understand math.
Example of a note
"Tasks 3 to 6: Lena has not yet understood subtraction involving regrouping across a tens boundary. We stopped after 30 minutes." (Made-up example.)
Time belongs in such a note too. In NRW, homework at schools without mandatory all-day care (gebundener Ganztag) should be doable in 30 minutes in grades 1 and 2 and in 45 minutes in grades 3 and 4, per individual day (Schulministerium NRW). What helps if it regularly takes longer at your home is in Homework takes forever. All states at a glance: How Long Can Homework Take in Elementary School?
And do tell your child that mistakes in homework are allowed. That is exactly what homework is for. If your child hardly wants to start in the first place, the article Child doesn't want to do homework may help.
How your child learns to check their own work
Self-checking is an explicit goal of elementary school. According to the educational standards of the Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK), the conference of Germany's state education ministers, by the end of grade 4 children should check solutions in math "using suitable methods (e.g. estimation, inverse operation)" and find, explain and correct calculation errors (KMK, Mathematik (in German), p. 14). In German class, they should check and correct texts "for correct spelling" and use spelling aids such as the dictionary for it (KMK, Deutsch (in German), p. 14).
So you do not have to invent the checking tricks. Your role at home: remind, instead of checking yourself. The following overview is our own compilation, based on the KMK educational standards.
| Task | Checking trick | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plus and minus | Inverse operation (check) | 52 − 17 = 35, check: 35 + 17 = 52 |
| Times and divided by | Inverse operation | 56 : 8 = 7, check: 7 · 8 = 56 |
| Larger numbers, written calculation | Estimate | 398 + 205 is about 400 + 200 = 600. If it says 503, a hundred is missing somewhere |
| Word problem | Read the answer against the question | Question: "How much money is left?" Answer: "12 apples". Does not fit, the question was about money |
| Spelling, d or t at the end (German) | Lengthen the word | Hund or Hunt? Die Hunde, so Hund |
| A word you're unsure how to spell | Look it up | in the dictionary |
| Own text | Read aloud | Your child reads their sentence aloud and listens for a missing word |
Example: the check instead of "wrong"
Made-up example. The page says: 63 − 28 = 45. Instead of "That's wrong", you say: "Try the check." Your child calculates 45 + 28 = 73. That is not 63, so something is off. They calculate again: 63 − 28 = 35, check 35 + 28 = 63. It fits. Your child found the mistake themselves (in the ones place, 8 − 3 instead of 13 − 8).
Two tips for this:
- Cross out instead of erasing. When your child corrects their own work, they cross out the wrong answer and write the fix next to it. That way the teacher sees both: the mistake and that your child found it.
- Hand over in small steps. In the first two weeks, try doing the check for one task a day together. After that, your child does it alone and puts a check mark next to it. Later you only ask: "Did you check?"
Checking homework with an app or AI: what works, what doesn't
There are apps that check homework from a photo. There are three things you should know.
AI can be wrong. About its own AI, Google writes in the Classroom help: "Gemini can make mistakes. Always check the answers for accuracy." (Google, Classroom Help (in German)) Any app that checks with AI can be wrong, ours too. An app can misread handwriting or mark a correct answer as wrong. If your child says "But that's right!", take it seriously and look at it together.
Checking is not solving. If an app shows the finished result right away, checking quickly turns into copying, and once again the teacher does not see what your child can do. Before using an app, check whether it gives hints first or shows the result right away.
The app does not replace the teacher's view. If your child fixes everything with an app before handing it in, the teacher has the same problem as with a page corrected by parents. The same tip helps here: cross out instead of erasing.
Here is how Gennady, our own product, works: Your child photographs the finished worksheet, Gennady recognizes the tasks and checks the answers entered. If an answer is wrong, there are hints first; Gennady shows the correct solution for comparison only on the third try. This applies to tasks from the worksheet; a question typed in freely gets a direct answer from Gennady. There is no report for you: Gennady checks for your child. The easiest way to find out how it went is step 4 of the checklist. Details are on the page How Gennady checks answers.
Frequently asked questions
Should I correct my child's homework before it is handed in?
As a rule, no. Check that everything is done, legible and packed, and leave the mistakes. They show the teacher what your child still needs to practice. The Lower Saxony Ministry of Education points out that otherwise the teacher may only be able to help late. If your teacher explicitly asks for something different, their agreement applies.
Should I give my child the solution to the homework?
Better not. In NRW and Lower Saxony, for example, homework is meant to be set so that children can manage it independently. It is better to help with understanding the task or with the first step, and your child does the rest on their own. If they cannot get anywhere at all, a short note in the homework planner tells the teacher more than a solution you called out.
How do I tell whether my child really understands math or is just copying the right answer?
Have them explain a task to you: How did you get that? If your child can describe the way in their own words, that is a good sign. If they falter, pose a similar task with different numbers and watch without stepping in.
How much should I check in first grade?
In first grade, you can do the check together: look at the homework planner, check that everything has been worked on, pack the school bag. Mistakes stay here too. The goal is that your child gradually takes over these steps on their own.
Can an app or AI check homework?
There are apps that check answers from a photo. But they can be wrong, especially when they work with AI. Make sure the app gives hints first instead of the solution right away, and leave corrections visible on the page so the teacher can see where your child stands.
Let Gennady handle the homework check
Photograph the finished worksheet: Gennady checks every answer. If an answer is wrong, there are hints first, the correct solution only on the third try. Try it free for 7 days.
Open in the App StoreSources
- University of Augsburg (Christina Herrmann, Maximilian Bäumler): Homework and learning support in the family. Results report on the parent survey (January 12, 2026). bev.de (PDF)
- Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung: Bildung in Deutschland 2024, p. 143 (2024). destatis.de (PDF)
- Ministry of Education and Training of North Rhine-Westphalia: Homework (as of September 27, 2026). schulministerium.nrw
- Lower Saxony Ministry of Education: Homework (as of September 27, 2026). mk.niedersachsen.de
- Kultusministerkonferenz: Educational standards for math, primary level (version of June 23, 2022). kmk.org (PDF)
- Kultusministerkonferenz: Educational standards for German, primary level (version of June 23, 2022). kmk.org (PDF)
- Google: Gemini in Google Classroom, Classroom Help (as of September 27, 2026). support.google.com
- Reddit, r/Parenting: "Is it weird that I stopped correcting my son's homework after his teacher asked me to" (February 2026). reddit.com