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The belief that "gain outweighs pain" is not proven, based on faith. Continuation of excess homework disrespects students, top-down pressure to increase test scores. Health professionals examined the negative effects of heavy backpacks on students' health, instead of criticizing schools, recommended exercises to children to strengthen their backs. (Alfie Kohn)

C: Alfie Kohn. “Homework: No Proven Benefits.” Edutopia, George Lucas Educational Foundation, 19 Oct. 2006, www.edutopia.org/no-proven-benefits.
In-text: (Alfie Kohn, “Homework: No Proven Benefits”)

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Why homework is a pointless and outdated habit.

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Relationship between time spent on homework and test scores is curved, not linear. Test scores decrease when an excess of homework is assigned. Correlation between test scores and homework, not causation.

C: Larson, Samantha. “Spending Too Much Time on
Homework Linked to Lower Test Scores.” Smithsonian, Smithsonian.com, 31 Mar. 2015, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/spending-too-much-time-homework-linked-lower-test-scores-180954814/.
In-text: (Larson)

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A new study suggests the benefits to homework peak at an hour a day. After that, test scores decline.

smithsonianmag.com

Polls show that American public high school teachers assign their students an average of 3.5 hours of homework a day. According to a recent study from the University of Oviedo in Spain, that's far too much.

While doing some homework does indeed lead to higher test performance, the researchers found the benefits to hitting the books peak at about an hour a day. In surveying the homework habits of 7,725 adolescents, this study suggests that for students who average more than 100 minutes a day on homework, test scores start to decline. The relationship between spending time on homework and scoring well on a test is not linear, but curved.

This study builds upon previous research that suggests spending too much time on homework leads to higher stress, health problems and even social alienation. Which, paradoxically, means the most studious of students are in fact engaging in behavior that is counterproductive to doing well in school.

Because the adolescents surveyed in the new study were only tested once, the researchers point out that their results only indicate the correlation between test scores and homework, not necessarily causation. Co-author Javier Suarez-Alvarez thinks the most important findings have less to do with the amount of homework than with how that homework is done.

Students who did homework more frequently - i.e., every day - tended to do better on the test than those who did it less frequently, the researchers found. And even more important was how much help students received on their homework - those who did it on their own preformed better than those who had parental involvement. (The study controlled for factors such as gender and socioeconomic status.)

"Once individual effort and autonomous working is considered, the time spent [on homework] becomes irrelevant," Suarez-Alvarez says. After they get their daily hour of homework in, maybe students should just throw the rest of it to the dog.

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Spending Too Much Time on Homework Linked to Lower Test Scores

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smithsonianmag.com Polls show that American public high school teachers assign their students an average of 3.5 hours of homework a day. According to a recent study from the University of Oviedo in Spain, that's far too much.

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Homework has to meet students' individual needs to be effective. Alfie Kohn, one of the best known critics of homework says that homework is the best extinguisher of a child's curiosity. Students' other responsibilities should be respected by schools.

C: Tingley, Suzanne Capek. “Balancing Extracurriculars and Passion with Homework in High School.” Hey Teach!, 25 Oct. 2017, www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/balancing-extracurriculars-and-passion-homework-high-school1710.html.
In-text: https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/should-students-have-homework1808.html

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It used to be that students were the only ones complaining about the practice of assigning homework. For years, teachers and parents thought that homework was a necessary tool when educating children. But studies about the effectiveness of homework have been conflicting and inconclusive, leading some adults to argue that homework should become a thing of the past.

What Research Says about Homework

According to Duke professor Harris Cooper, it's important that students have homework. His meta-analysis of homework studies showed a correlation between completing homework and academic success, at least in older grades. He recommends following a "10 minute rule": students should receive 10 minutes of homework per day in first grade, and 10 additional minutes each subsequent year, so that by twelfth grade they are completing 120 minutes of homework daily.

But his analysis didn't prove that students did better because they did homework; it simply showed a correlation. This could simply mean that kids who do homework are more committed to doing well in school. Cooper also found that some research showed that homework caused physical and emotional stress, and created negative attitudes about learning. He suggested that more research needed to be done on homework's effect on kids.
Further reading: Get Homework Done and Turned In
Some researchers say that the question isn't whether kids should have homework. It's more about what kind of homework students have and how much. To be effective, homework has to meet students' needs. For example, some middle school teachers have found success with online math homework that's adapted to each student's level of understanding. But when middle school students were assigned more than an hour and a half of homework, their math and science test scores went down.

Researchers at Indiana University discovered that math and science homework may improve standardized test grades, but they found no difference in course grades between students who did homework and those who didn't. These researchers theorize that homework doesn't result in more content mastery, but in greater familiarity with the kinds of questions that appear on standardized tests. According to Professor Adam Maltese, one of the study's authors, "Our results hint that maybe homework is not being used as well as it could be."

So while many teachers and parents support daily homework, it's hard to find strong evidence that the long-held practice produces positive results.

Problems with Homework

In an article in Education Week Teacher, teacher Samantha Hulsman said she's frequently heard parents complain that a 30-minute homework assignment turns into a three-hour battle with their kids. Now, she's facing the same problem with her own kids, which has her rethinking her former beliefs about homework. "I think parents expect their children to have homework nightly, and teachers assign daily homework because it's what we've always done," she explained. Today, Hulsman said, it's more important to know how to collaborate and solve problems than it is to know specific facts.

Child psychologist Kenneth Barish wrote in Psychology Today that battles over homework rarely result in a child's improvement in school. Children who don't do their homework are not lazy, he said, but they may be frustrated, discouraged, or anxious. And for kids with learning disabilities, homework is like "running with a sprained ankle. It's doable, but painful."

Barish suggests that parents and kids have a "homework plan" that limits the time spent on homework. The plan should include turning off all devices-not just the student's, but those belonging to all family members.

One of the best-known critics of homework, Alfie Kohn, says that some people wrongly believe "kids are like vending machines-put in an assignment, get out learning." Kohn points to the lack of evidence that homework is an effective learning tool; in fact, he calls it "the greatest single extinguisher of children's curiosity that we have yet invented."

Homework Bans

Last year, the public schools in Marion County, Florida, decided on a no-homework policy for all of their elementary students. Instead, kids read nightly for 20 minutes. Superintendent Heidi Maier said the decision was based on Cooper's research showing that elementary students gain little from homework, but a lot from reading.

Orchard Elementary School in South Burlington, Vermont, followed the same path, substituting reading for homework. The homework policy has four parts: read nightly, go outside and play, have dinner with your family, and get a good night's sleep. Principal Mark Trifilio says that his staff and parents support the idea.

But while many elementary schools are considering no-homework policies, middle schools and high schools have been reluctant to abandon homework. Schools say parents support homework and teachers know it can be helpful when it is specific and follows certain guidelines. For example, practicing solving word problems can be helpful, but there's no reason to assign 50 problems when 10 will do. Recognizing that not all kids have the time, space, and home support to do homework is important, so it shouldn't be counted as part of a student's grade.
Further reading: Balancing Extracurriculars with Homework in High School
So Should Students Have Homework?

Should you ban homework in your classroom? If you teach lower grades, it's possible. If you teach middle or high school, probably not. But all teachers should think carefully about their homework policies. By limiting the amount of homework and improving the quality of assignments, you can improve learning outcomes for your students.

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Some argue that homework should become a thing of the past. Others think it's an important tool for learning. So, should students have homework?

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Researchers at Indiana University found that math and science homework slightly improved standardized test grades, but course grades showed little to no improvement. Homework results in more familiarity with the kinds of questions seen on tests, and not as much the actual course material.

C: Maltese, Adam, et al. “IU Study: Homework Doesn’t Improve Course Grades but Could Boost Standardized Test Scores: IU News Room: Indiana University.” Newsinfo.iu.edu, 15 Nov. 2012, newsinfo.iu.edu/news-archive/23471.html. Accessed 10 Oct. 2021.
In-text: (Maltese et al.)

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IU study: Homework doesn't improve course grades but could boost standardized test scores

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A study led by an Indiana University School of Education faculty member finds little correlation between time spent on homework and better course grades for math and science students, but a positive relationship between homework time and performance on standardized tests.

"When Is Homework Worth the Time?" is a recently published work of Adam Maltese, assistant professor of science education in the IU School of Education, along with co-authors Robert H. Tai, associate professor of science education at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, and Xitao Fan, dean of education at the University of Macau.

The authors examined survey and transcript data of more than 18,000 10th-grade students to uncover explanations for academic performance. The data focused on individual classes for students, examining the outcomes through the transcripts for students from two nationwide samples collected in 1990 and 2002 by the National Center for Education Statistics. Contrary to much of the published research, a regression analysis of time spent on homework and the final class grade found no substantive difference in grades between students who complete homework and those who do not. But the analysis found a positive association between student performance on standardized tests and the time they spent on homework.

"Our results hint that maybe homework is not being used as well as it could be," Maltese said.

The authors suggest in their conclusions that other factors such as class participation and attendance may mitigate the association of homework to stronger grade performance. They also indicate that the types of homework assignments typically given may work better toward standardized test preparation than for retaining knowledge of class material. Maltese puts forward the idea that "if students are spending more time on homework, they're getting exposed to the types of questions and the procedures for answering questions that are not so different from standardized tests."

Maltese said the genesis for the study was a concern about whether a traditional and ubiquitous educational practice, such as homework, is associated with students achieving at a higher level in math and science. Many media reports about education compare U.S. students unfavorably to high-achieving math and science students from across the world. The 2007 documentary film "Two Million Minutes" compared two Indiana students to students in India and China, taking particular note of how much more time the Indian and Chinese students spent on studying or completing homework.

"We're not trying to say that all homework is bad," Maltese said. "It's expected that students are going to do homework. This is more of an argument that it should be quality over quantity. So in math, rather than doing the same types of problems over and over again, maybe it should involve having students analyze new types of problems or data. In science, maybe the students should write concept summaries instead of just reading a chapter and answering the questions at the end."

This issue is particularly relevant given that the time spent on homework reported by most students translates into the equivalent of 100 to 180 50-minute class periods of extra learning time each year.

"The results from this study imply that homework should be purposeful," Tai said, "and that the purpose must be understood by both the teacher and the students."

The authors conclude that given current policy initiatives of the U.S. Department of Education, states and school districts to improve science, technology, engineering and math education, more evaluation should be done about how to use homework time more effectively. They suggest more research be done on the form and function of homework assignments.

"In today's current educational environment, with all the activities taking up children's time both in school and out of school, the purpose of each homework assignment must be clear and targeted," Tai said. "With homework, more is not better."

"If homework is going to be such an important component of learning in American schools, it should be used in some way that's more beneficial," Maltese said. "More thought needs to be given to this, rather than just repeating problems already done in class."

The full article is published in The High School Journal .

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A study led by an Indiana University School of Education faculty member finds little correlation between time spent on homework and better course grades for math and science students, but a positive relationship between homework time and performance on standardized tests.

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Pro homework sentiment continues because of mandatory testing, the growing competitiveness in school systems, and economic concerns. Guidelines need to be set on the amount of homework, and the times it is assigned. Some schools have adopted a 10 minute per grade level limit on homework.

C: Hough, Lory. “Are You down with or Done with Homework?” Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2012, www.gse.harvard.edu/news/ed/12/01/are-you-down-or-done-homework.
In-text: (Hough)

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The debate over how much schoolwork students should be doing at home has flared again, with one side saying it's too much, the other side saying in our competitive world, it's just not enough.

[caption id="attachment_5366" align="alignleft" width="319" caption="Illustration by Jessica Esch"] [/caption]

It was a move that doesn't happen very often in American public schools: The principal got rid of homework.

This past September, Stephanie Brant, principal of Gaithersburg Elementary School in Gaithersburg, Md., decided that instead of teachers sending kids home with math worksheets and spelling flash cards, students would instead go home and read. Every day for 30 minutes, more if they had time or the inclination, with parents or on their own.

"I knew this would be a big shift for my community," she says. But she also strongly believed it was a necessary one. Twenty-first-century learners, especially those in elementary school, need to think critically and understand their own learning - not spend night after night doing rote homework drills.

Brant's move may not be common, but she isn't alone in her questioning. The value of doing schoolwork at home has gone in and out of fashion in the United States among educators, policymakers, the media, and, more recently, parents. As far back as the late 1800s, with the rise of the Progressive Era, doctors such as Joseph Mayer Rice began pushing for a limit on what he called "mechanical homework," saying it caused childhood nervous conditions and eyestrain. Around that time, the then-influential Ladies Home Journal began publishing a series of anti-homework articles, stating that five hours of brain work a day was "the most we should ask of our children," and that homework was an intrusion on family life. In response, states like California passed laws abolishing homework for students under a certain age.

But, as is often the case with education, the tide eventually turned. After the Russians launched the Sputnik satellite in 1957, a space race emerged, and, writes Brian Gill in the journal Theory Into Practice, "The homework problem was reconceived as part of a national crisis; the U.S. was losing the Cold War because Russian children were smarter." Many earlier laws limiting homework were abolished, and the longterm trend toward less homework came to an end.

The debate re-emerged a decade later when parents of the late '60s and '70s argued that children should be free to play and explore - similar anti-homework wellness arguments echoed nearly a century earlier. By the early-1980s, however, the pendulum swung again with the publication of A Nation at Risk, which blamed poor education for a "rising tide of mediocrity." Students needed to work harder, the report said, and one way to do this was more homework.

For the most part, this pro-homework sentiment is still going strong today, in part because of mandatory testing and continued economic concerns about the nation's competitiveness. Many believe that today's students are falling behind their peers in places like Korea and Finland and are paying more attention to Angry Birds than to ancient Babylonia.

But there are also a growing number of Stephanie Brants out there, educators and parents who believe that students are stressed and missing out on valuable family time. Students, they say, particularly younger students who have seen a rise in the amount of take-home work and already put in a six- to nine-hour "work" day, need less, not more homework.

Who is right? Are students not working hard enough or is homework not working for them? Here's where the story gets a little tricky: It depends on whom you ask and what research you're looking at. As Cathy Vatterott, the author of Rethinking Homework, points out, "Homework has generated enough research so that a study can be found to support almost any position, as long as conflicting studies are ignored." Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth and a strong believer in eliminating all homework, writes that, "The fact that there isn't anything close to unanimity among experts belies the widespread assumption that homework helps." At best, he says, homework shows only an association, not a causal relationship, with academic achievement. In other words, it's hard to tease out how homework is really affecting test scores and grades. Did one teacher give better homework than another? Was one teacher more effective in the classroom? Do certain students test better or just try harder?

"It is difficult to separate where the effect of classroom teaching ends," Vatterott writes, "and the effect of homework begins."

Putting research aside, however, much of the current debate over homework is focused less on how homework affects academic achievement and more on time. Parents in particular have been saying that the amount of time children spend in school, especially with afterschool programs, combined with the amount of homework given - as early as kindergarten - is leaving students with little time to run around, eat dinner with their families, or even get enough sleep.

Certainly, for some parents, homework is a way to stay connected to their children's learning. But for others, homework creates a tug-of-war between parents and children, says Liz Goodenough, M.A.T.'71, creator of a documentary called Where Do the Children Play?

"Ideally homework should be about taking something home, spending a few curious and interesting moments in which children might engage with parents, and then getting that project back to school - an organizational triumph," she says. "A nag-free activity could engage family time: Ask a parent about his or her own childhood. Interview siblings."

[caption id="attachment_5367" align="alignright" width="250" caption="Illustration by Jessica Esch"] [/caption]

Instead, as the authors of The Case Against Homework write, "Homework overload is turning many of us into the types of parents we never wanted to be: nags, bribers, and taskmasters."

Leslie Butchko saw it happen a few years ago when her son started sixth grade in the Santa Monica-Malibu (Calif.) United School District. She remembers him getting two to four hours of homework a night, plus weekend and vacation projects. He was overwhelmed and struggled to finish assignments, especially on nights when he also had an extracurricular activity.

"Ultimately, we felt compelled to have Bobby quit karate - he's a black belt - to allow more time for homework," she says. And then, with all of their attention focused on Bobby's homework, she and her husband started sending their youngest to his room so that Bobby could focus. "One day, my younger son gave us 15-minute coupons as a present for us to use to send him to play in the back room. ... It was then that we realized there had to be something wrong with the amount of homework we were facing."

Butchko joined forces with another mother who was having similar struggles and ultimately helped get the homework policy in her district changed, limiting homework on weekends and holidays, setting time guidelines for daily homework, and broadening the definition of homework to include projects and studying for tests. As she told the school board at one meeting when the policy was first being discussed, "In closing, I just want to say that I had more free time at Harvard Law School than my son has in middle school, and that is not in the best interests of our children."

One barrier that Butchko had to overcome initially was convincing many teachers and parents that more homework doesn't necessarily equal rigor.

"Most of the parents that were against the homework policy felt that students need a large quantity of homework to prepare them for the rigorous AP classes in high school and to get them into Harvard," she says.

Stephanie Conklin, Ed.M.'06, sees this at Another Course to College, the Boston pilot school where she teaches math. "When a student is not completing [his or her] homework, parents usually are frustrated by this and agree with me that homework is an important part of their child's learning," she says.

As Timothy Jarman, Ed.M.'10, a ninth-grade English teacher at Eugene Ashley High School in Wilmington, N.C., says, "Parents think it is strange when their children are not assigned a substantial amount of homework."

That's because, writes Vatterott, in her chapter, "The Cult(ure) of Homework," the concept of homework "has become so engrained in U.S. culture that the word homework is part of the common vernacular."

These days, nightly homework is a given in American schools, writes Kohn.

"Homework isn't limited to those occasions when it seems appropriate and important. Most teachers and administrators aren't saying, 'It may be useful to do this particular project at home,'" he writes. "Rather, the point of departure seems to be, 'We've decided ahead of time that children will have to do something every night (or several times a week). ... This commitment to the idea of homework in the abstract is accepted by the overwhelming majority of schools - public and private, elementary and secondary."

Brant had to confront this when she cut homework at Gaithersburg Elementary.

"A lot of my parents have this idea that homework is part of life. This is what I had to do when I was young," she says, and so, too, will our kids. "So I had to shift their thinking." She did this slowly, first by asking her teachers last year to really think about what they were sending home. And this year, in addition to forming a parent advisory group around the issue, she also holds events to answer questions.

Still, not everyone is convinced that homework as a given is a bad thing. "Any pursuit of excellence, be it in sports, the arts, or academics, requires hard work. That our culture finds it okay for kids to spend hours a day in a sport but not equal time on academics is part of the problem," wrote one pro-homework parent on the blog for the documentary Race to Nowhere, which looks at the stress American students are under. "Homework has always been an issue for parents and children. It is now and it was 20 years ago. I think when people decide to have children that it is their responsibility to educate them," wrote another.

And part of educating them, some believe, is helping them develop skills they will eventually need in adulthood. "Homework can help students develop study skills that will be of value even after they leave school," reads a publication on the U.S. Department of Education website called Homework Tips for Parents. "It can teach them that learning takes place anywhere, not just in the classroom. ... It can foster positive character traits such as independence and responsibility. Homework can teach children how to manage time."

Annie Brown, Ed.M.'01, feels this is particularly critical at less affluent schools like the ones she has worked at in Boston, Cambridge, Mass., and Los Angeles as a literacy coach.

"It feels important that my students do homework because they will ultimately be competing for college placement and jobs with students who have done homework and have developed a work ethic," she says. "Also it will get them ready for independently taking responsibility for their learning, which will need to happen for them to go to college."

The problem with this thinking, writes Vatterott, is that homework becomes a way to practice being a worker.

"Which begs the question," she writes. "Is our job as educators to produce learners or workers?"

Slate magazine editor Emily Bazelon, in a piece about homework, says this makes no sense for younger kids.

"Why should we think that practicing homework in first grade will make you better at doing it in middle school?" she writes. "Doesn't the opposite seem equally plausible: that it's counterproductive to ask children to sit down and work at night before they're developmentally ready because you'll just make them tired and cross?"

Kohn writes in the American School Board Journal that this "premature exposure" to practices like homework (and sit-and-listen lessons and tests) "are clearly a bad match for younger children and of questionable value at any age." He calls it BGUTI: Better Get Used to It. "The logic here is that we have to prepare you for the bad things that are going to be done to you later ... by doing them to you now."

According to a recent University of Michigan study, daily homework for six- to eight-year-olds increased on average from about 8 minutes in 1981 to 22 minutes in 2003. A review of research by Duke University Professor Harris Cooper found that for elementary school students, "the average correlation between time spent on homework and achievement ... hovered around zero."

So should homework be eliminated? Of course not, say many Ed School graduates who are teaching. Not only would students not have time for essays and long projects, but also teachers would not be able to get all students to grade level or to cover critical material, says Brett Pangburn, Ed.M.'06, a sixth-grade English teacher at Excel Academy Charter School in Boston. Still, he says, homework has to be relevant.

"Kids need to practice the skills being taught in class, especially where, like the kids I teach at Excel, they are behind and need to catch up," he says. "Our results at Excel have demonstrated that kids can catch up and view themselves as in control of their academic futures, but this requires hard work, and homework is a part of it."

Ed School Professor Howard Gardner basically agrees.

"America and Americans lurch between too little homework in many of our schools to an excess of homework in our most competitive environments - Li'l Abner vs. Tiger Mother," he says. "Neither approach makes sense. Homework should build on what happens in class, consolidating skills and helping students to answer new questions."

So how can schools come to a happy medium, a way that allows teachers to cover everything they need while not overwhelming students? Conklin says she often gives online math assignments that act as labs and students have two or three days to complete them, including some in-class time. Students at Pangburn's school have a 50-minute silent period during regular school hours where homework can be started, and where teachers pull individual or small groups of students aside for tutoring, often on that night's homework. Afterschool homework clubs can help.

Some schools and districts have adapted time limits rather than nix homework completely, with the 10-minute per grade rule being the standard - 10 minutes a night for first-graders, 30 minutes for third-graders, and so on. (This remedy, however, is often met with mixed results since not all students work at the same pace.) Other schools offer an extended day that allows teachers to cover more material in school, in turn requiring fewer take-home assignments. And for others, like Stephanie Brant's elementary school in Maryland, more reading with a few targeted project assignments has been the answer.

"The routine of reading is so much more important than the routine of homework," she says. "Let's have kids reflect. You can still have the routine and you can still have your workspace, but now it's for reading. I often say to parents, if we can put a man on the moon, we can put a man or woman on Mars and that person is now a second-grader. We don't know what skills that person will need. At the end of the day, we have to feel confident that we're giving them something they can use on Mars."
Read a January 2014 update.

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Are You Down With or Done With Homework?

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caption id="attachment_5366" align="alignleft" width="319" caption="Illustration by Jessica Esch"] [/caption] It was a move that doesn't happen very often in American public schools: The principal got rid of homework. This past September, Stephanie Brant, principal of Gaithersburg Elementary School in Gaithersburg, Md., decided that instead of teachers sending kids home with math worksheets and spelling flash cards, students would instead go home and read.

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A book written by Alfi Kohn states that students who don't finish homework are often subject to "shaming" in class. Practicing so "every student can be on the same page" is ineffective and harmful to many students. The argument that homework promotes good work habits is based more on what future employers want than what is best for the child on the time. Assigning too much homework out of class sets the norm that a child's free time is unimportant/ not valuable. Gets kids used to an unhealthily long workday.

C: Kohn, Alfie. The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing. Google Books, Hachette Books, 3 Apr. 2007, books.google.com/books?id=rHmVHL9IkQMC&pg=PT108&lpg=PT108&dq=Bellwether+School+in+Williston. Accessed 10 Oct. 2021.
In-text: (Kohn)

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Death and taxes come later; what seems inevitable for children is the idea that, after spending the day at school, they must then complete more academic assignments at home. The predictable results: stress and conflict, frustration and exhaustion. Parents respond by reassuring themselves that at least the benefits outweigh the costs. But what if they don't? In The Homework Myth, nationally known educator and parenting expert Alfie Kohn systematically examines the usual defenses of homework--that it promotes higher achievement, "reinforces" learning, and teaches study skills and responsibility. None of these assumptions, he shows, actually passes the test of research, logic, or experience. So why do we continue to administer this modern cod liver oil -- or even demand a larger dose? Kohn's incisive analysis reveals how a mistrust of children, a set of misconceptions about learning, and a misguided focus on competitiveness have all left our kids with less free time and our families with more conflict. Pointing to parents who have fought back -- and schools that have proved educational excellence is possible without homework -- Kohn shows how we can rethink what happens during and after school in order to rescue our families and our children's love of learning.

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Death and taxes come later; what seems inevitable for children is the idea that, after spending the day at school, they must then complete more academic assignments at home. The predictable results: stress and conflict, frustration and exhaustion. Parents respond by reassuring themselves that at least the benefits outweigh the costs.

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Widespread assumptions about the benefits of homework are widely disproven by available research.
-No evidence that homework benefits kids younger than high school age
-Highschool= negligible improvement in test scores
-Little to no studies show that homework improves life skills (time-management, independence, etc.)
One parent compared her child to a "worker on a double shift"

Some schools are changing to non-traditional homework

C: Kohn, Alfie. “Down with Homework! | Scholastic.” Scholastic.com, 2019, www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/down-homework/.
In-text: (Kohn, “Down with Homework! | Scholastic”)

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What is the future of homework in school systems?

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What is the future of homework in school systems?

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Homework is unfair to different groups of children because of their different home lives. Many schools are moving toward voluntary homework. Many schools are unable to accept a change in homework policy.

C: “Are ‘No Homework’ Schools the Future of Education?” UTA Online, 13 Nov. 2015, academicpartnerships.uta.edu/articles/education/no-homework-schools.aspx.
In-text: (“Are ‘No Homework’ Schools the Future of Education?”)

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Homework, parents will tell you, is the bane of home life. Children argue and cry about it. Parents are torn between defending its importance and privately dismissing it as excessive, given the time their children have already spent in school for the day. Several studies have recently examined homework versus no homework programs and their effects on children's scores. Research largely shows that homework does little to improve academic success. The key to implementing a no homework approach is to find time during the day for children to work independently so that teachers can assess their skills as they progress instead of only at testing time.

Since many students do not go home to parents who adequately enforce their child's homework time, it does not seem fair to grade homework assignments. When teachers are working with students in the classroom, they can benefit from pursuing an online master's degree in education, which can help with understanding how best to help these students. Some schools are moving to a system where homework goes home with the students but no homework is graded. Instead, assignments are for voluntary practice. Some schools also believe that it is unfair to assign homework when many parents work until five or later and want to spend time with their children, not fight over homework.

Traditionally, teachers have used homework to assess how students are progressing independently through curricula. If you are a teacher who plans to implement a no homework policy, you will want to learn as much as you can about independent work and how to assess it within the classroom. One great way to learn about independent work is to implement it as you learn it yourself, as part of the coursework for an online master's degree in education. It can be very difficult to gather the data you need from each student while also keeping them engaged, so learning from your peers and bringing the practice back into the classroom can be an effective solution.

When kids know they will have to go home to more work, they stop feeling the need to stay engaged during the day. If work feels never-ending, students tune out - they are just too tired to keep putting their best feet forward, some say. Teachers who engage students and expect them to demonstrate what they are learning throughout the day tend to have students who live up to their expectations. A no homework policy can help teachers get the best out of their students.

While some schools are eliminating homework except for independent reading, many are not willing to consider this change in policy. This is not just a school issue: there are many parents who feel their children will fall behind in a no homework policy. They read the research but do not agree and feel their children will be behind in the race for success. Like many policies in education, there are different sides to every issue.

Learn more about UTA's online M.Ed. in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies.

Sources:

Caplan, A., & Igel, L. (2015, March 12). What Happens When An Elementary School Abolishes Homework. Retrieved October 18, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/leeigel/2015/03/12/what-happens-when-an-elementary-school-abolishes-homework/

Graham, E. (2014, May 13). Should Schools Be Done With Homework? - NEA Today. Retrieved October 18, 2015, from http://neatoday.org/2014/05/13/should-schools-be-done-with-homework

Kohn, A. (n.d.). Down With Homework! | Scholastic.com. Retrieved October 18, 2015, from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/down-homework
Have a question or concern about this article? Please contact us.

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Are "No Homework" Schools the Future of Education?

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Homework, parents will tell you, is the bane of home life. Children argue and cry about it. Parents are torn between defending its importance and privately dismissing it as excessive, given the time their children have already spent in school for the day.

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If the policy was no homework, teachers may still need to assign a few important assignments. "No homework" policy is almost impossible.

C: “Are ‘No-Homework’ Schools the Future of Education?” Lamar University Online, 26 Feb. 2018, degree.lamar.edu/articles/education/are-no-homework-schools-the-future/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2021.
In-text: (“Are ‘No-Homework’ Schools the Future of Education?”)

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The standard sight of a student leaving the building with a bulging backpack of books and assignments may become a mere memory if more schools join in with the no-homework policy that some have adopted. Although it is still a hotly contested policy in some places, there is a growing number of schools where administrators think assigning work for work's sake is the wrong way to educate children. There is a chance that the change will lead to a redefinition of homework instead of its complete removal, but for the time being, there are schools positioned staunchly on both sides of the argument.

The balance of home and school life is very important to students, teachers and parents. While many expect students to be working on homework during their evening hours, there are several arguments against doing so. According to Alfie Kohn for Scholastic, these include the fact that there is no evidence to show that homework benefits elementary students. In high schools, some studies find a relationship between homework and test scores, but the deviation is small. Proponents of no-homework policies argue that students are overworked and that homework is not an effective form of learning. Students are missing out on time for play and other activities.

While a blanket policy banning homework sounds extreme, homework assignments for every night does as well. In an article published by neaToday, Edward Graham argues that this type of conversation should lead to a re-evaluation of homework's purpose. For example, the new normal may be no homework, but if a teacher had a compelling reason to assign work despite the policy, he or she could do so. This would give students much more time for activities outside of school and create more meaningful assignments instead of just busy work. These conversations are taking place at all levels of education, from professional educators to students working toward an online master's degree in education.

Many of us remember spending a large amount of time working on homework outside of school. Some teachers and parents witness their own children bringing large stacks of worksheets to complete in an evening. These may become memories instead of realities if teachers begin to embrace the idea that homework should be sparse, meaningful and useful.
Learn more about Lamar University's Master of Education in Educational Administration online.
Sources:
neaToday: Should Schools Be Done With Homework?
Scholastic: Down With Homework!

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Are "No-Homework" Schools the Future of Education?

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The standard sight of a student leaving the building with a bulging backpack of books and assignments may become a mere memory if more schools join in with the no-homework policy that some have adopted.

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An excess of homework leads to early burnout and decreased motivation for future achievement.

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Working while in high school provides important opportunities for students. It teaches students the value of money & budgeting, helps students feel more capable/ can boost self esteem, and improves time management skills. All of these are essential to student's future success in the workforce. About 80% of high school students will work a job during high school.

Counter- arguement:
-Creates negative emotions towards work
-Can lead to fatigue/ burnout

(Singh, M. Chang, and S. Dika, Effects of Part-Time Work on School Achievement During High School, The Journal of Educational Research, on the internet at www.researchgate.net/publication/254345619_Effects_of_Part-Time_Work_on_School_Achievement_During_High_School.)

&

(Holloway, Research Link / Part-Time Work and Student Achievement, Educational Leadership, on the internet at
www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/apr01/vol58/num07/_Part-Time_Work_and_Student_Achievement.aspx. )

C: Walden University. “Should Students Hold Jobs While in High School? | Walden University.” Waldenu.edu, Walden University, 20 Feb. 2019, www.waldenu.edu/online-doctoral-programs/doctor-of-education/resource/pros-and-cons-of-working-a-job-in-high-school.
In-text: (Walden University)

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Learn the advantages and disadvantages of holding a job while in high school—and how, with an EdD degree, you can help working students.

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Department of labor reports that 46% of high school students were in the workforce in 11978, and that number has only increased since then.

Many students report that having a job requires them to juggle other aspects of their life, both academic and social.

C: Irwin, Victoria. “Teens Juggle Jobs and Homework as More Enter the Work Force.” Christian Science Monitor, 6 Oct. 1980, www.csmonitor.com/1980/1006/100611.html.
In-text: (Irwin)

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Lincoln Rhoads, a senior at Lane Technical High School in Chicago, works three days a week as a clerk with the Illinois banking Association in the Chicago Loop, he says he is learning about office management, and he also enjoys the salary he earns.

"I need the spending money, especially with inflation, and money to save for college," says Lincoln, who plans to study engineering in college. He saved $1, 500 last year. he also bought a car, taking out a loan to help pay for it.

But not all people agree that jobs for high school students is a good idea.

"A teen's first priority should be school," says superintendent Edward Rachford of the Homewood-Flossmoor High School District south of Chicago. Teachers in his 3,000-student school have fielded complaints from pupils about juggling their schoolwork and extra activities with a job. As more teens take on part-time jobs, students come into class sleepy or distracted. Homework is left unfinished and grades decline, he claims.

Teens are becoming a more active part of the work force. The Department of Labor reports that high school students accounted for most of the increase in students in the labor force between 1977-78. Nearly 46 percent of high school students in 1978 were part of the labor force, a number that many parents, teens , and school officials say has increased since then.

Why are students flocking to part-time jobs? Some parents urge their high school son or daughter to take a part-time job. Peer pressure is high. Students like the independence a job gives them. But most parents and teens list the economy as the main reason for after-school jobs.

"Kids are growing up faster," says Gary Smalley of a Massachusetts employment office in the Hyde Park area of boston. "The economy ten years ago was not as bad, and parents were able to provide for their kids. Now it is a fact of life that students need to earn their own money if they want to be able to have a nice wardrobe or go to movies."

Superintendent Rachford estimates that working students at Homewood-flossmoor , an area he call "mildly affluent," save about 50 percent of their money for further schooling. They spend the rest on investments such as designer blue jeans, gasoline, auto insurance, and entertainment. But other students insist that they are not working merely for expensive extras.

"My jeans are $12.95 from Filene's basement," points out Amy Wood, a junior from Madison Park High School in Roxbury, Mass. She works 23 hours a week at a drugstore where she helps behind the counter and is in charge of the soda fountain. She lives with her mother and brother, and although most of her money goes into the bank to save for her college education, she contributes to grocery costs and buys some of her clothing.

Students who don't have apart-time job feel the financial pinch as weel. Tony Kinglsey from Wellesley, Mass., who is involved with student government, the school newspaper, and sports, says he doesn't spend much money, but he does baby sit and do odd jobs occasionally for extra cash.

There is plenty to be gained from a part- time job after school, say parents of teens who work.

"It gives my son motivation, and a little pocket money," says one Chicago mother. "He is helping someone else. It makes him independent. And it helps him to learn self- government."

Other parents have weighed the lessons that their teen will learn at work against the importance of school, and have decided that it is better that their teen does not work. One couple in Oregon do not want their son to take a part-time job. Instead, he gets paid an allowance of $15 per week for household duties.

"He's not a good enough student to have a job," says the mother, who adds that her son is a very good worker who earned high praise from his summer employer. "Work would end up being his highest priority."

Some parents say that extracurricular activities such as sports, drama, or clubs are more important than a job.

"I don't think my parents want me to work," says Anne Idzal from Wellesley High School. "It would be unreasonable with all my activities."

Anne Idzal is a member of Key Club, American Field Service, the school newspaper, the German Club, and she is a "big sister" to a young girl in the Wellesley area.

"I have accomplished something. And I'm not just coming home and watching soap operas!"

Students who have jobs say that they sometimes have to cut back on their social life.Lincoln rhoads from Chicago is able to set his own hours, something few of his working friends can do.

"Most students have lousy hours on weekends, and it hurts them socially," he points out.

Some working students and their families find that family time is diminished. Amy Wood from Madison Park High School doesn't get to see her mother much, since she works too.

Working students say they still find time to do homework, even though it may involve some juggling. Cathy Boudreau from Madison Park High School in Roxbury leaves school promptly at 2:15 p.m. three days a week. She goes home and does homework for an hour before she changes her clothes and heads to work at a Boston nursing home.

Despite the fact that time is tight, many college-bound students with part-time jobs successfully maintain special activities that are important on college applications. Lincoln Rhoads is treasurer of the student body and belongs to a bicycle club. Amy Wood, who plans to graduate this spring after three years of high school, also writes for the school newspaper. But it is not always easy to hold down a job and extra projects.

"Either the job or my newspaper activities will have to go if my grades start to fial," says Amy. She is more prepared to give up the newspaper than her job.

"I've got to get good grades, but I need the money," says Amy. "It is a tight rope. If I am not doing so well, I will drop the newspaper and pick up a class like typing."

Teens who work need the support of parents, school counselors, and employers. Employers may tailor work hours to students' needs. Some work with each student , contacting his or her high school counselor to check school progress.

"If we find that his grades are dropping because of work, we tell him we will cut back his hours until the grades go up again," says one owner of Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich franchise. "We've got the responsibility to do that, because each teen needs that education."

School officials can be flexible, also. Lincoln Rhoads is on the Lane Tech wrestling team, and his coach lets him give up practice three days a week for his job.

Parents of working teens need to decide on priorities with their son or daughter, says Lincoln Rhoads's mother.

"We have told Lincoln that in his senior year if anything has to go, it will be his job," says Elsa Rhoads.

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Teens juggle jobs and homework as more enter the work force

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Lincoln Rhoads, a senior at Lane Technical High School in Chicago, works three days a week as a clerk with the Illinois banking Association in the Chicago Loop, he says he is learning about office management, and he also enjoys the salary he earns.

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Balancing an excess of homework with out-of-school activities like part-time work can lead to burnout in the future.

C: Oxford Learning. “Infographic: How Does Homework Actually Affect Students? | Oxford Learning.” Oxford Learning, 16 June 2017, www.oxfordlearning.com/how-does-homework-affect-students/.
In-text: (Oxford Learning)

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It carries educational benefits for all age groups, including time management and organization. Homework also provides students with the ability to think beyond what is taught in class.

The not-so-good news is these benefits only occur when students are engaged and ready to learn. But, the more homework they get, the less they want to engage.

The Negative Effects on Students

Homework can affect students' health, social life and grades. The hours logged in class, and the hours logged on schoolwork can lead to students feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated. Navigating the line between developing learning skills and feeling frustrated can be tricky.

Homework is an important part of being successful inside and outside of the classroom, but too much of it can actually have the opposite effect. Students who spend too much time on homework are not always able to meet other needs, like being physically and socially active. Ultimately, the amount of homework a student has can impact a lot more than his or her grades.

Find out how too much homework actually affects students.

How Does Homework Affect Students' Health?

Homework can affect both students' physical and mental health. According to a study by Stanford University, 56 per cent of students considered homework a primary source of stress. Too much homework can result in lack of sleep, headaches, exhaustion and weight loss. Excessive homework can also result in poor eating habits, with families choosing fast food as a faster alternative.

How Does Homework Affect Students' Social Life?

Extracurricular activities and social time gives students a chance to refresh their minds and bodies. But students who have large amounts of homework have less time to spend with their families and friends. This can leave them feeling isolated and without a support system. For older students, balancing homework and part-time work makes it harder to balance school and other tasks. Without time to socialize and relax, students can become increasingly stressed, impacting life at school and at home.

How Does Homework Affect Students' Grades?

After a full day of learning in class, students can become burnt out if they have too much homework. When this happens, the child may stop completing homework or rely on a parent to assist with homework. As a result, the benefits of homework are lost and grades can start to slip.

Too much homework can also result in less active learning, a type of learning that occurs in context and encourages participation. Active learning promotes the analysis and application of class content in real world settings. Homework does not always provide these opportunities, leading to boredom and a lack of problem-solving skills.
Take a look at how homework affects students and how to help with homework.
How Can Parents Help?

Being an active part of children's homework routine is a major part of understanding feelings and of be able to provide the needed support. As parents, you can help your child have a stress-free homework experience. Sticking to a clear and organized homework routine helps children develop better homework habits as they get older. This routine also comes in handy when homework becomes more difficult and time-consuming.
Learn more about the current world of homework, and how you can help your child stay engaged.
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Check Out These Additional Homework Resources

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Infographic: How Does Homework Actually Affect Students? -

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Homework is an important part of learning, but how does too much homework affect students? View our infographic to find out.

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Quality homework is important to student learning, busy work is counter productive.

C: Rimer, Sara. “Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?” Boston University, 13 Mar. 2019, www.bu.edu/articles/2019/is-homework-helpful/.
In-text: (Rimer)

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Homework causes anxiety in students, greater levels of anxiety can negatively effect student achievement. Having an excess in schoolwork can lead to insufficient sleep, and anxiety and depression can be caused by high pressure environments. All of these can lead to social withdrawal, a decrease in academic achievement, and drug or alcohol use.  ( Blazer, C., & Miami-Dade County, P. S. (2010). Students Stress. Information Capsule. Volume 1006. (). Research services, Miami-Dade County public Schools ).

Additionally, many students avoid taking challenging class that may benefit them in the future because they feel like they cannot handle the workload due to time constraints, home life, etc. If less homework were assigned, more students might take more opportunities they are given.

C: Annous, Ibtissam. HOMEWORK IS ASSOCIATED with ANXIETY in STUDENTS. May 2017.
In-text: (Annous)

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Higher amounts of homework generally results in negative student attitudes towards school. An excess of homework is shown to decrease student attitude toward school and encourage cheating. In early grades, the use of homework is largely counterproductive. The goal of homework should be teaching students how to learn, it is important that assignments are as  individualized as possible. There should be many different ways to accomplish tasks set in every assignment.

C: Doyle, Barber, Mary Anne E., Betsy S. Homework as a Learning Experience. What Research Says to the Teacher. Third Edition. May 1990.
In-text: (Doyle, Barber)

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Denise Pope, a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education:
-Homework benefits stop increasing at 2 hours per night for high school students.
-Homework leads to sleep deprivation
-Less time for out of school activities: students who spent too much time on homework did not meet developmental needs, and missed out on many important life skills

C: Parker, Clifton B., and Stanford University. “Study Suggests More than Two Hours of Homework a Night May Be Counterproductive.” Phys.org, 11 Mar. 2014, phys.org/news/2014-03-hours-homework-night-counterproductive.html. Accessed 10 Oct. 2021.
In-text: (Parker and University)

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Education scholar Denise Pope has found that too much homework has negative effects on student well-being and behavioral engagement. Credit: L.A. Cicero

Education scholar Denise Pope has found that too much homework has negative effects on student well-being and behavioral engagement.

A Stanford researcher found that too much homework can negatively affect kids, especially their lives away from school, where family, friends and activities matter.

"Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good," wrote Denise Pope, a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education.

The researchers used survey data to examine perceptions about homework, student well-being and behavioral engagement in a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California communities. Along with the survey data, Pope and her colleagues used open-ended answers to explore the students' views on homework.

Median household income exceeded $90,000 in these communities, and 93 percent of the students went on to college, either two-year or four-year.

Students in these schools average about 3.1 hours of homework each night.

"The findings address how current homework practices in privileged, high-performing schools sustain students' advantage in competitive climates yet hinder learning, full engagement and well-being," Pope wrote.

Pope and her colleagues found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They cite prior research indicating that homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school.

Their study found that too much homework is associated with:

Greater stress: 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.

Reductions in health: In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems. The researchers asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems.

Less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits: Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were "not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills," according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.

A balancing act
The results offer empirical evidence that many students struggle to find balance between homework, extracurricular activities and social time, the researchers said. Many students felt forced or obligated to choose homework over developing other talents or skills.

Also, there was no relationship between the time spent on homework and how much the student enjoyed it. The research quoted students as saying they often do homework they see as "pointless" or "mindless" in order to keep their grades up.

"This kind of busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points," Pope said.

She said the research calls into question the value of assigning large amounts of homework in high-performing schools. Homework should not be simply assigned as a routine practice, she said.

"Rather, any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development," wrote Pope.
High-performing paradox
In places where students attend high-performing schools, too much homework can reduce their time to foster skills in the area of personal responsibility, the researchers concluded. "Young people are spending more time alone," they wrote, "which means less time for family and fewer opportunities to engage in their communities."
Student perspectives
The researchers say that while their open-ended or "self-reporting" methodology to gauge student concerns about homework may have limitations - some might regard it as an opportunity for "typical adolescent complaining" - it was important to learn firsthand what the students believe.

More information: Mollie Gallowaya, Jerusha Connerb & Denise Popec, "Nonacademic Effects of Homework in Privileged, High-Performing High Schools." The Journal of Experimental Education Volume 81, Issue 4, 2013, pages 490-510, DOI: 10.1080/00220973.2012.745469

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Study suggests more than two hours of homework a night may be counterproductive

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Education scholar Denise Pope has found that too much homework has negative effects on student well-being and behavioral engagement. A Stanford researcher found that too much homework can negatively affect kids, especially their lives away from school, where family, friends and activities matter.

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Homework takes away time from leisure activities, which can help develop important life skills for the future ( Warton, 2001; Coutts, 2004).

C: Cooper, Harris, et al. “Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Research.” Review of Educational Research Spring, vol. 76, no. 1, 2006, pp. 1–62, upload-community.kipa.co.il/819201525856.pdf. Accessed 10 Oct. 2021.
In-text: (Cooper et al.)

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A study by the OECD showed that after 4 hours of homework per week, student performance began to decline.

C: Lathan, Joseph. “Education Inequity: Homework and Its Negative Impact on Students.” University of San Diego, 4 Jan. 2018, onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu/education-inequity-and-homework/.
In-text: (Lathan)

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Schools are getting rid of homework from Essex, Mass., to Los Angeles, Calif. Although the no-homework trend may sound alarming, especially to parents dreaming of their child's acceptance to Harvard, Stanford or Yale, there is mounting evidence that eliminating homework in grade school may actually have great benefits, especially with regard to educational equity.

In fact, while the push to eliminate homework may come as a surprise to many adults, the debate is not new. Parents and educators have been talking about this subject for the last century, so that the educational pendulum continues to swing back and forth between the need for homework and the need to eliminate homework.

The Problem with Homework: It Highlights Inequalities

One of the most pressing talking points around homework is how it disproportionately affects students from less affluent families. The American Psychological Association (APA) explained:

"Kids from wealthier homes are more likely to have resources such as computers, internet connections, dedicated areas to do schoolwork and parents who tend to be more educated and more available to help them with tricky assignments. Kids from disadvantaged homes are more likely to work at afterschool jobs, or to be home without supervision in the evenings while their parents work multiple jobs."
[RELATED] How to Advance Your Career: A Guide for Educators >>
While students growing up in more affluent areas are likely playing sports, participating in other recreational activities after school, or receiving additional tutoring, children in disadvantaged areas are more likely headed to work after school, taking care of siblings while their parents work or dealing with an unstable home life. Adding homework into the mix is one more thing to deal with - and if the student is struggling, the task of completing homework can be too much to consider at the end of an already long school day.

While all students may groan at the mention of homework, it may be more than just a nuisance for poor and disadvantaged children, instead becoming another burden to carry and contend with.

Beyond the logistical issues, homework can negatively impact physical health and stress - and once again this may be a more significant problem among economically disadvantaged youth who typically already have a higher stress level than peers from more financially stable families.

Yet, today, it is not just the disadvantaged who suffer from the stressors that homework inflicts. A 2014 CNN article, "Is Homework Making Your Child Sick?", covered the issue of extreme pressure placed on children of the affluent. The article looked at the results of a study surveying more than 4,300 students from 10 high-performing public and private high schools in upper-middle-class California communities.

"Their findings were troubling: Research showed that excessive homework is associated with high stress levels, physical health problems and lack of balance in children's lives; 56% of the students in the study cited homework as a primary stressor in their lives," according to the CNN story. "That children growing up in poverty are at-risk for a number of ailments is both intuitive and well-supported by research. More difficult to believe is the growing consensus that children on the other end of the spectrum, children raised in affluence, may also be at risk."

When it comes to health and stress it is clear that excessive homework, for children at both ends of the spectrum, can be damaging. Which begs the question, how much homework is too much?

How Much Homework Is Too Much Homework?

The National Education Association and the National Parent Teacher Association recommend that students spend 10 minutes per grade level per night on homework. That means that first graders should spend 10 minutes on homework, second graders 20 minutes and so on. But a study published by The American Journal of Family Therapy found that students are getting much more than that.

While 10 minutes per day doesn't sound like much, that quickly adds up to an hour per night by sixth grade. The National Center for Education Statistics found that high school students get an average of 6.8 hours of homework per week, a figure that is much too high according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is also to be noted that this figure does not take into consideration the needs of underprivileged student populations.

In a study conducted by the OECD it was found that "after around four hours of homework per week, the additional time invested in homework has a negligible impact on performance." That means that by asking our children to put in an hour or more per day of dedicated homework time, we are not only not helping them, but - according to the aforementioned studies - we are hurting them, both physically and emotionally.

What's more is that homework is, as the name implies, to be completed at home, after a full day of learning that is typically six to seven hours long with breaks and lunch included. However, a study by the APA on how people develop expertise found that elite musicians, scientists and athletes do their most productive work for about only four hours per day. Similarly, companies like Tower Paddle Boards are experimenting with a five-hour workday, under the assumption that people are not able to be truly productive for much longer than that. CEO Stephan Aarstol told CNBC that he believes most Americans only get about two to three hours of work done in an eight-hour day.

When Does Homework Actually Help?

In the scope of world history, homework is a fairly new construct in the U.S. Students of all ages have been receiving work to complete at home for centuries, but it was educational reformer Horace Mann who first brought the concept to America from Prussia.

Since then, homework's popularity has ebbed and flowed in the court of public opinion. In the 1930s, it was considered child labor (as, ironically, it compromised children's ability to do chores at home). Then, in the 1950s, implementing mandatory homework was hailed as a way to ensure America's youth were always one step ahead of Soviet children during the Cold War. Homework was formally mandated as a tool for boosting educational quality in 1986 by the U.S. Department of Education, and has remained in common practice ever since.
Homework improves student achievement. Homework helps reinforce classroom learning. Homework helps students develop good study habits and life skills.
School work assigned and completed outside of school hours is not without its benefits. Numerous studies have shown that regular homework has a hand in improving student performance and connecting students to their learning. When reviewing these studies, take them with a grain of salt; there are strong arguments for both sides, and only you will know which solution is best for your students or school.
Homework allows parents to be involved with their children's learning.
Being responsible for completing at-home assignments helps students practice organization, time management, following directions, critical thinking and independent problem-solving.

Parents can see what their children are learning and working on in school every day.

Parents can participate in their children's learning by guiding them through homework assignments and reinforcing positive study and research habits.

Homework observation and participation can help parents understand their children's academic strengths and weaknesses, and even identify possible learning difficulties.

Negative Effects of Homework for Students
Students with too much homework have elevated stress levels. Students with too much homework may be tempted to cheat. Homework highlights digital inequity.
While some amount of homework may help students connect to their learning and enhance their in-class performance, too much homework can have damaging effects.

Today, homework often requires a computer and/or internet connection, which many students do not have access to outside of school.
Homework does not help younger students.
Students in low-income families are disproportionately affected by a lack of internet access, which further exacerbates the social and economic divide between them and their more affluent peers.

How Teachers Can Help

To help students find the right balance and succeed, teachers and educators must start the homework conversation, both internally at their school and with parents. But in order to successfully advocate on behalf of students, teachers must be well educated on the subject, fully understanding the research and the outcomes that can be achieved by eliminating or reducing the homework burden. There is a plethora of research and writing on the subject for those interested in self-study.
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For teachers looking for a more in-depth approach or for educators with a keen interest in educational equity, formal education may be the best route. If this latter option sounds appealing, there are now many reputable schools offering online master of education degree programs to help educators balance the demands of work and family life while furthering their education in the quest to help others.

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Is Homework Necessary? Education Inequity and Its Impact on Students

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Does homework help students? Discussing the pros and cons of homework, plus discerning how much homework is too much.

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Optional homework

One study by Di Napoli showed that elementary school students given only voluntary homework scored the same or slightly above students assigned compulsory homework.

Another study by  Crawford and Carmichael showed that when given no homework, children showed a decrease in academic performance entering high school compared to those with homework throughout their previous years of schooling.

Rosenstengel and Turner show that supervised study in class has a higher benefit than at home study.

C: Goldstein, Avram. “Does Homework Help? A Review of Research.” The Elementary School Journal, vol. 60, no. 4, 1960, pp. 212–224, www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/999298.pdf. Accessed 10 Oct. 2021.
In-text: (Goldstein)

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Does Homework Help? A Review of Research on JSTOR

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Avram Goldstein, Does Homework Help? A Review of Research, The Elementary School Journal, Vol. 60, No. 4 (Jan., 1960), pp. 212-224

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Spending too much time on homework can lead to a lack of other critical life skills. Students are less likely to pursue things they enjoy when they are assigned too much homework.

C: Parker, Clifton B. “Stanford Research Shows Pitfalls of Homework.” Stanford News, Stanford University, 10 Mar. 2014, news.stanford.edu/2014/03/10/too-much-homework-031014/.
In-text: (Parker)

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Stanford research shows pitfalls of homework

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A Stanford researcher found that students in high-achieving communities who spend too much time on homework experience more stress, physical health problems, a lack of balance and even alienation from society.

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Homework develops important life skills for young kids, but an excess of homework can result in early burn out. This burnout can result in students not completing other assignments, and in a lack of motivation for the future.

C: Costley, Kevin. Homework Does Homework Really Improve Achievement? Introduction and Literature Review. 2013.
In-text: (Costley)

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Working in high school can provide a valuable experience for students. When students have too much homework, it can decrease the amount of time they have for activities such as work. Studies by  (Kuhn and Weinberger 2005; Barron, Ewing, and Waddell 2000; Persico, Postlewaite, and Silverman 2004) show students who participate in extracurricular activities such as sports will earn higher wages in the future. But excessive amounts of homework place a barrier on these types of activities.

C: Koski, KalenSabrina, et al. A Service of Zbw. 2009.
In-text: (Koski et al.)

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P 2: How does the amount of homework a student receives effect their future in the workforce? 

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P 2: How does the amount of homework a student receives effect their future in the workforce? 

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P 1: How does time spent on HW take away other important opportunities in the future from students?

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P 1: How does time spent on HW take away other important opportunities in the future from students?