Homework, cont'd

I student teach two types of American History class, honors and regents. For each type of class there is a different attitude towards homework. In honors homework is assigned more frequently and it is rare that a student does not complete their homework. In regents homework is never assigned and when it is there is a good chance students will not be handing it in. I wonder at this. Doesn't it make more sense to given homework to regents' classes because they are the ones who suffer the most with the material? Wouldn't it be more beneficial to them? Or do we give it to honors to provide them with more work because it is supposed to be harder? I feel that this is one of those tricky questions about homework that no one can agree on the answer to.