Is assigning parents homework an effective way to increase parental involvement?

Many people say parents' involvement in education is key to a child's success in school. But when a ninth-grade English teacher in Montclair, New Jersey, tried to increase parental involvement by assigning parents homework, too (and threatening to lower their child's grade if they didn't complete it), some voices rose in protest. Though some parents enjoy the task, saying it helps them keep up to speed with their child's studies in a concrete way, others find this enforced involvement burdensome, unjust, and ultimately ineffective. Tell us what you think.