Demonstrating proficiency without doing the homework or practice makes me wonder about the homework assigned. If the skill can be demonstrated without the practice obviously the practice is not needed.
Homework should not be drudgery, however it has become that.
If the work is deemed essential to a student’s learning, that student should not have the option of taking a zero but instead should be required to complete the work.
This assumes the students has a reinforceable understanding of the skills and concepts. Otherwise, it's just doing something in the wrong way over and over.
It can teach students responsibility and maturity.
This is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The only reason it's "mature" to do homework is because students are given more as they get older.
Responsibility comes from setting and meeting deadlines, not from having deadlines set for you.
It can even sometimes be used as the saving grace for a student who isn’t a good “test-taker”.
I agree with the commenter's point, except for equating not doing homework with being lazy. If I already have mastery of a skill and I refuse to do 40 problems that I already have mastery of, it's not laziness, it's choosing to use my time doing something that interests me -- or perhaps learning a new skill.
The problem with homework is not homework itself, but how we have come to use it; not as a teaching tool but as a behavior modification tool.
In my opinion, equally important is that we're not grading the behavior of the student, we're focused on the students' "achievement of a clearly defined standard." If a student's grade reflects any number of missing assignments rather than a failure to understand the concept, are the assignments appropriate for that student, or is something else preventing the completion of the assignments?