what is an unhealthy amount of homework

Is it time to get rid of homework? Mental health experts weigh in.

It's no secret that kids hate homework. And as students grapple with an ongoing pandemic that has had a wide range of mental health impacts, is it time schools start listening to their pleas about workloads?

Some teachers are turning to social media to take a stand against homework. 

Tiktok user @misguided.teacher says he doesn't assign it because the "whole premise of homework is flawed."

For starters, he says, he can't grade work on "even playing fields" when students' home environments can be vastly different.

"Even students who go home to a peaceful house, do they really want to spend their time on busy work? Because typically that's what a lot of homework is, it's busy work," he says in the video that has garnered 1.6 million likes. "You only get one year to be 7, you only got one year to be 10, you only get one year to be 16, 18."

Mental health experts agree heavy workloads have the potential do more harm than good for students, especially when taking into account the impacts of the pandemic. But they also say the answer may not be to eliminate homework altogether.

Emmy Kang, mental health counselor at Humantold , says studies have shown heavy workloads can be "detrimental" for students and cause a "big impact on their mental, physical and emotional health."

"More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies," she says, adding that staying up late to finish assignments also leads to disrupted sleep and exhaustion.

Cynthia Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Talkspace , says heavy workloads can also cause serious mental health problems in the long run, like anxiety and depression. 

And for all the distress homework  can cause, it's not as useful as many may think, says Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery treatment center.

"The research shows that there's really limited benefit of homework for elementary age students, that really the school work should be contained in the classroom," he says.

For older students, Kang says, homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night. 

"Most students, especially at these high achieving schools, they're doing a minimum of three hours, and it's taking away time from their friends, from their families, their extracurricular activities. And these are all very important things for a person's mental and emotional health."

Catchings, who also taught third to 12th graders for 12 years, says she's seen the positive effects of a no-homework policy while working with students abroad.

"Not having homework was something that I always admired from the French students (and) the French schools, because that was helping the students to really have the time off and really disconnect from school," she says.

The answer may not be to eliminate homework completely but to be more mindful of the type of work students take home, suggests Kang, who was a high school teacher for 10 years.

"I don't think (we) should scrap homework; I think we should scrap meaningless, purposeless busy work-type homework. That's something that needs to be scrapped entirely," she says, encouraging teachers to be thoughtful and consider the amount of time it would take for students to complete assignments.

The pandemic made the conversation around homework more crucial 

Mindfulness surrounding homework is especially important in the context of the past two years. Many students will be struggling with mental health issues that were brought on or worsened by the pandemic , making heavy workloads even harder to balance.

"COVID was just a disaster in terms of the lack of structure. Everything just deteriorated," Kardaras says, pointing to an increase in cognitive issues and decrease in attention spans among students. "School acts as an anchor for a lot of children, as a stabilizing force, and that disappeared."

But even if students transition back to the structure of in-person classes, Kardaras suspects students may still struggle after two school years of shifted schedules and disrupted sleeping habits.

"We've seen adults struggling to go back to in-person work environments from remote work environments. That effect is amplified with children because children have less resources to be able to cope with those transitions than adults do," he explains.

'Get organized' ahead of back-to-school

In order to make the transition back to in-person school easier, Kang encourages students to "get good sleep, exercise regularly (and) eat a healthy diet."

To help manage workloads, she suggests students "get organized."

"There's so much mental clutter up there when you're disorganized. ... Sitting down and planning out their study schedules can really help manage their time," she says.

Breaking up assignments can also make things easier to tackle.

"I know that heavy workloads can be stressful, but if you sit down and you break down that studying into smaller chunks, they're much more manageable."

If workloads are still too much, Kang encourages students to advocate for themselves.

"They should tell their teachers when a homework assignment just took too much time or if it was too difficult for them to do on their own," she says. "It's good to speak up and ask those questions. Respectfully, of course, because these are your teachers. But still, I think sometimes teachers themselves need this feedback from their students."

More: Some teachers let their students sleep in class. Here's what mental health experts say.

More: Some parents are slipping young kids in for the COVID-19 vaccine, but doctors discourage the move as 'risky'

How Much Homework Is Too Much for Our Teens?

Here's what educators and parents can do to help kids find the right balance between school and home.

Does Your Teen Have Too Much Homework?

Today’s teens are under a lot of pressure.

They're under pressure to succeed, to win, to be the best and to get into the top colleges. With so much pressure, is it any wonder today’s youth report being under as much stress as their parents? In fact, during the school year, teens say they experience stress levels higher than those reported by adults, according to a previous American Psychological Association "Stress in America" survey.

Odds are if you ask a teen what's got them so worked up, the subject of school will come up. School can cause a lot of stress, which can lead to other serious problems, like sleep deprivation . According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens need between eight and 10 hours of sleep each night, but only 15 percent are even getting close to that amount. During the school week, most teens only get about six hours of zzz’s a night, and some of that sleep deficit may be attributed to homework.

When it comes to school, many adults would rather not trade places with a teen. Think about it. They get up at the crack of dawn and get on the bus when it’s pitch dark outside. They put in a full day sitting in hours of classes (sometimes four to seven different classes daily), only to get more work dumped on them to do at home. To top it off, many kids have after-school obligations, such as extracurricular activities including clubs and sports , and some have to work. After a long day, they finally get home to do even more work – schoolwork.

[Read: What Parents Should Know About Teen Depression .]

Homework is not only a source of stress for students, but it can also be a hassle for parents. If you are the parent of a kid who strives to be “perfect," then you know all too well how much time your child spends making sure every bit of homework is complete, even if it means pulling an all-nighter. On the flip side, if you’re the parent of a child who decided that school ends when the last bell rings, then you know how exhausting that homework tug-of-war can be. And heaven forbid if you’re that parent who is at their wit's end because your child excels on tests and quizzes but fails to turn in assignments. The woes of academics can go well beyond the confines of the school building and right into the home.

This is the time of year when many students and parents feel the burden of the academic load. Following spring break, many schools across the nation head into the final stretch of the year. As a result, some teachers increase the amount of homework they give. The assignments aren’t punishment, although to students and parents who are having to constantly stay on top of their kids' schoolwork, they can sure seem that way.

From a teacher’s perspective, the assignments are meant to help students better understand the course content and prepare for upcoming exams. Some schools have state-mandated end of grade or final tests. In those states these tests can account for 20 percent of a student’s final grade. So teachers want to make sure that they cover the entire curriculum before that exam. Aside from state-mandated tests, some high school students are enrolled in advanced placement or international baccalaureate college-level courses that have final tests given a month or more before the end of the term. In order to cover all of the content, teachers must maintain an accelerated pace. All of this means more out of class assignments.

Given the challenges kids face, there are a few questions parents and educators should consider:

Is homework necessary?

Many teens may give a quick "no" to this question, but the verdict is still out. Research supports both sides of the argument. Personally, I would say, yes, some homework is necessary, but it must be purposeful. If it’s busy work, then it’s a waste of time. Homework should be a supplemental teaching tool. Too often, some youth go home completely lost as they haven’t grasped concepts covered in class and they may become frustrated and overwhelmed.

For a parent who has been in this situation, you know how frustrating this can be, especially if it’s a subject that you haven’t encountered in a while. Homework can serve a purpose such as improving grades, increasing test scores and instilling a good work ethic. Purposeful homework can come in the form of individualizing assignments based on students’ needs or helping students practice newly acquired skills.

Homework should not be used to extend class time to cover more material. If your child is constantly coming home having to learn the material before doing the assignments, then it’s time to contact the teacher and set up a conference. Listen when kids express their concerns (like if they say they're expected to know concepts not taught in class) as they will provide clues about what’s happening or not happening in the classroom. Plus, getting to the root of the problem can help with keeping the peace at home too, as an irritable and grumpy teen can disrupt harmonious family dynamics .

[Read: What Makes Teens 'Most Likely to Succeed?' ]

How much is too much?

According to the National PTA and the National Education Association, students should only be doing about 10 minutes of homework per night per grade level. But teens are doing a lot more than that, according to a poll of high school students by the organization Statistic Brain . In that poll teens reported spending, on average, more than three hours on homework each school night, with 11th graders spending more time on homework than any other grade level. By contrast, some polls have shown that U.S. high school students report doing about seven hours of homework per week.

Much of a student's workload boils down to the courses they take (such as advanced or college prep classes), the teaching philosophy of educators and the student’s commitment to doing the work. Regardless, research has shown that doing more than two hours of homework per night does not benefit high school students. Having lots of homework to do every day makes it difficult for teens to have any downtime , let alone family time .

How do we respond to students' needs?

As an educator and parent, I can honestly say that oftentimes there is a mismatch in what teachers perceive as only taking 15 minutes and what really takes 45 minutes to complete. If you too find this to be the case, then reach out to your child's teacher and find out why the assignments are taking longer than anticipated for your child to complete.

Also, ask the teacher about whether faculty communicate regularly with one another about large upcoming assignments. Whether it’s setting up a shared school-wide assignment calendar or collaborating across curriculums during faculty meetings, educators need to discuss upcoming tests and projects, so students don’t end up with lots of assignments all competing for their attention and time at once. Inevitably, a student is going to get slammed occasionally, but if they have good rapport with their teachers, they will feel comfortable enough to reach out and see if alternative options are available. And as a parent, you can encourage your kid to have that dialogue with the teacher.

Often teens would rather blend into the class than stand out. That’s unfortunate because research has shown time and time again that positive teacher-student relationships are strong predictors of student engagement and achievement. By and large, most teachers appreciate students advocating for themselves and will go the extra mile to help them out.

Can there be a balance between home and school?

Students can strike a balance between school and home, but parents will have to help them find it. They need your guidance to learn how to better manage their time, get organized and prioritize tasks, which are all important life skills. Equally important is developing good study habits. Some students may need tutoring or coaching to help them learn new material or how to take notes and study. Also, don’t forget the importance of parent-teacher communication. Most educators want nothing more than for their students to succeed in their courses.

Learning should be fun, not mundane and cumbersome. Homework should only be given if its purposeful and in moderation. Equally important to homework is engaging in activities, socializing with friends and spending time with the family.

[See: 10 Concerns Parents Have About Their Kids' Health .]

Most adults don’t work a full-time job and then go home and do three more hours of work, and neither should your child. It's not easy learning to balance everything, especially if you're a teen. If your child is spending several hours on homework each night, don't hesitate to reach out to teachers and, if need be, school officials. Collectively, we can all work together to help our children de-stress and find the right balance between school and home.

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

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.

The paper was co-authored by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner from Villanova University.

Media Contacts

Denise Pope, Stanford Graduate School of Education: (650) 725-7412, [email protected] Clifton B. Parker, Stanford News Service: (650) 725-0224, [email protected]

Home » Tips for Teachers » 7 Research-Based Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework: Academic Insights, Opposing Perspectives & Alternatives

7 Research-Based Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework: Academic Insights, Opposing Perspectives & Alternatives

In recent years, the question of why students should not have homework has become a topic of intense debate among educators, parents, and students themselves. This discussion stems from a growing body of research that challenges the traditional view of homework as an essential component of academic success. The notion that homework is an integral part of learning is being reevaluated in light of new findings about its effectiveness and impact on students’ overall well-being.

The push against homework is not just about the hours spent on completing assignments; it’s about rethinking the role of education in fostering the well-rounded development of young individuals. Critics argue that homework, particularly in excessive amounts, can lead to negative outcomes such as stress, burnout, and a diminished love for learning. Moreover, it often disproportionately affects students from disadvantaged backgrounds, exacerbating educational inequities. The debate also highlights the importance of allowing children to have enough free time for play, exploration, and family interaction, which are crucial for their social and emotional development.

Checking 13yo’s math homework & I have just one question. I can catch mistakes & help her correct. But what do kids do when their parent isn’t an Algebra teacher? Answer: They get frustrated. Quit. Get a bad grade. Think they aren’t good at math. How is homework fair??? — Jay Wamsted (@JayWamsted) March 24, 2022

As we delve into this discussion, we explore various facets of why reducing or even eliminating homework could be beneficial. We consider the research, weigh the pros and cons, and examine alternative approaches to traditional homework that can enhance learning without overburdening students.

Once you’ve finished this article, you’ll know:

• Insights from Teachers and Education Industry Experts →
• 7 Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework →
• Opposing Views on Homework Practices →
• Exploring Alternatives to Homework →

Insights from Teachers and Education Industry Experts: Diverse Perspectives on Homework

In the ongoing conversation about the role and impact of homework in education, the perspectives of those directly involved in the teaching process are invaluable. Teachers and education industry experts bring a wealth of experience and insights from the front lines of learning. Their viewpoints, shaped by years of interaction with students and a deep understanding of educational methodologies, offer a critical lens through which we can evaluate the effectiveness and necessity of homework in our current educational paradigm.

Check out this video featuring Courtney White, a high school language arts teacher who gained widespread attention for her explanation of why she chooses not to assign homework.

Here are the insights and opinions from various experts in the educational field on this topic:

“I teach 1st grade. I had parents ask for homework. I explained that I don’t give homework. Home time is family time. Time to play, cook, explore and spend time together. I do send books home, but there is no requirement or checklist for reading them. Read them, enjoy them, and return them when your child is ready for more. I explained that as a parent myself, I know they are busy—and what a waste of energy it is to sit and force their kids to do work at home—when they could use that time to form relationships and build a loving home. Something kids need more than a few math problems a week.” — Colleen S. , 1st grade teacher

“The lasting educational value of homework at that age is not proven. A kid says the times tables [at school] because he studied the times tables last night. But over a long period of time, a kid who is drilled on the times tables at school, rather than as homework, will also memorize their times tables. We are worried about young children and their social emotional learning. And that has to do with physical activity, it has to do with playing with peers, it has to do with family time. All of those are very important and can be removed by too much homework.” — David Bloomfield , education professor at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York graduate center

“Homework in primary school has an effect of around zero. In high school it’s larger. (…) Which is why we need to get it right. Not why we need to get rid of it. It’s one of those lower hanging fruit that we should be looking in our primary schools to say, ‘Is it really making a difference?’” — John Hattie , professor

”Many kids are working as many hours as their overscheduled parents and it is taking a toll – psychologically and in many other ways too. We see kids getting up hours before school starts just to get their homework done from the night before… While homework may give kids one more responsibility, it ignores the fact that kids do not need to grow up and become adults at ages 10 or 12. With schools cutting recess time or eliminating playgrounds, kids absorb every single stress there is, only on an even higher level. Their brains and bodies need time to be curious, have fun, be creative and just be a kid.” — Pat Wayman, teacher and CEO of HowtoLearn.com

7 Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework

Let’s delve into the reasons against assigning homework to students. Examining these arguments offers important perspectives on the wider educational and developmental consequences of homework practices.

1. Elevated Stress and Health Consequences

The ongoing debate about homework often focuses on its educational value, but a vital aspect that cannot be overlooked is the significant stress and health consequences it brings to students. In the context of American life, where approximately 70% of people report moderate or extreme stress due to various factors like mass shootings, healthcare affordability, discrimination, racism, sexual harassment, climate change, presidential elections, and the need to stay informed, the additional burden of homework further exacerbates this stress, particularly among students.

Key findings and statistics reveal a worrying trend:

• Overwhelming Student Stress: A staggering 72% of students report being often or always stressed over schoolwork, with a concerning 82% experiencing physical symptoms due to this stress.
• Serious Health Issues: Symptoms linked to homework stress include sleep deprivation, headaches, exhaustion, weight loss, and stomach problems.
• Sleep Deprivation: Despite the National Sleep Foundation recommending 8.5 to 9.25 hours of sleep for healthy adolescent development, students average just 6.80 hours of sleep on school nights. About 68% of students stated that schoolwork often or always prevented them from getting enough sleep, which is critical for their physical and mental health.
• Turning to Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms: Alarmingly, the pressure from excessive homework has led some students to turn to alcohol and drugs as a way to cope with stress.

This data paints a concerning picture. Students, already navigating a world filled with various stressors, find themselves further burdened by homework demands. The direct correlation between excessive homework and health issues indicates a need for reevaluation. The goal should be to ensure that homework if assigned, adds value to students’ learning experiences without compromising their health and well-being.

By addressing the issue of homework-related stress and health consequences, we can take a significant step toward creating a more nurturing and effective educational environment. This environment would not only prioritize academic achievement but also the overall well-being and happiness of students, preparing them for a balanced and healthy life both inside and outside the classroom.

2. Inequitable Impact and Socioeconomic Disparities

In the discourse surrounding educational equity, homework emerges as a factor exacerbating socioeconomic disparities, particularly affecting students from lower-income families and those with less supportive home environments. While homework is often justified as a means to raise academic standards and promote equity, its real-world impact tells a different story.

The inequitable burden of homework becomes starkly evident when considering the resources required to complete it, especially in the digital age. Homework today often necessitates a computer and internet access – resources not readily available to all students. This digital divide significantly disadvantages students from lower-income backgrounds, deepening the chasm between them and their more affluent peers.

Key points highlighting the disparities:

• Digital Inequity: Many students lack access to necessary technology for homework, with low-income families disproportionately affected.
• Impact of COVID-19: The pandemic exacerbated these disparities as education shifted online, revealing the extent of the digital divide.
• Educational Outcomes Tied to Income: A critical indicator of college success is linked more to family income levels than to rigorous academic preparation. Research indicates that while 77% of students from high-income families graduate from highly competitive colleges, only 9% from low-income families achieve the same . This disparity suggests that the pressure of heavy homework loads, rather than leveling the playing field, may actually hinder the chances of success for less affluent students.

Moreover, the approach to homework varies significantly across different types of schools. While some rigorous private and preparatory schools in both marginalized and affluent communities assign extreme levels of homework, many progressive schools focusing on holistic learning and self-actualization opt for no homework, yet achieve similar levels of college and career success. This contrast raises questions about the efficacy and necessity of heavy homework loads in achieving educational outcomes.

The issue of homework and its inequitable impact is not just an academic concern; it is a reflection of broader societal inequalities. By continuing practices that disproportionately burden students from less privileged backgrounds, the educational system inadvertently perpetuates the very disparities it seeks to overcome.

3. Negative Impact on Family Dynamics

Homework, a staple of the educational system, is often perceived as a necessary tool for academic reinforcement. However, its impact extends beyond the realm of academics, significantly affecting family dynamics. The negative repercussions of homework on the home environment have become increasingly evident, revealing a troubling pattern that can lead to conflict, mental health issues, and domestic friction.

A study conducted in 2015 involving 1,100 parents sheds light on the strain homework places on family relationships. The findings are telling:

• Increased Likelihood of Conflicts: Families where parents did not have a college degree were 200% more likely to experience fights over homework.
• Misinterpretations and Misunderstandings: Parents often misinterpret their children’s difficulties with homework as a lack of attention in school, leading to feelings of frustration and mistrust on both sides.
• Discriminatory Impact: The research concluded that the current approach to homework disproportionately affects children whose parents have lower educational backgrounds, speak English as a second language, or belong to lower-income groups.

The issue is not confined to specific demographics but is a widespread concern. Samantha Hulsman, a teacher featured in Education Week Teacher , shared her personal experience with the toll that homework can take on family time. She observed that a seemingly simple 30-minute assignment could escalate into a three-hour ordeal, causing stress and strife between parents and children. Hulsman’s insights challenge the traditional mindset about homework, highlighting a shift towards the need for skills such as collaboration and problem-solving over rote memorization of facts.

The need of the hour is to reassess the role and amount of homework assigned to students. It’s imperative to find a balance that facilitates learning and growth without compromising the well-being of the family unit. Such a reassessment would not only aid in reducing domestic conflicts but also contribute to a more supportive and nurturing environment for children’s overall development.

4. Consumption of Free Time

In recent years, a growing chorus of voices has raised concerns about the excessive burden of homework on students, emphasizing how it consumes their free time and impedes their overall well-being. The issue is not just the quantity of homework, but its encroachment on time that could be used for personal growth, relaxation, and family bonding.

Authors Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish , in their book “The Case Against Homework,” offer an insightful window into the lives of families grappling with the demands of excessive homework. They share stories from numerous interviews conducted in the mid-2000s, highlighting the universal struggle faced by families across different demographics. A poignant account from a parent in Menlo Park, California, describes nightly sessions extending until 11 p.m., filled with stress and frustration, leading to a soured attitude towards school in both the child and the parent. This narrative is not isolated, as about one-third of the families interviewed expressed feeling crushed by the overwhelming workload.

Key points of concern:

• Excessive Time Commitment: Students, on average, spend over 6 hours in school each day, and homework adds significantly to this time, leaving little room for other activities.
• Impact on Extracurricular Activities: Homework infringes upon time for sports, music, art, and other enriching experiences, which are as crucial as academic courses.
• Stifling Creativity and Self-Discovery: The constant pressure of homework limits opportunities for students to explore their interests and learn new skills independently.

The National Education Association (NEA) and the National PTA (NPTA) recommend a “10 minutes of homework per grade level” standard, suggesting a more balanced approach. However, the reality often far exceeds this guideline, particularly for older students. The impact of this overreach is profound, affecting not just academic performance but also students’ attitudes toward school, their self-confidence, social skills, and overall quality of life.

Furthermore, the intense homework routine’s effectiveness is doubtful, as it can overwhelm students and detract from the joy of learning. Effective learning builds on prior knowledge in an engaging way, but excessive homework in a home setting may be irrelevant and uninteresting. The key challenge is balancing homework to enhance learning without overburdening students, allowing time for holistic growth and activities beyond academics. It’s crucial to reassess homework policies to support well-rounded development.

5. Challenges for Students with Learning Disabilities

Homework, a standard educational tool, poses unique challenges for students with learning disabilities, often leading to a frustrating and disheartening experience. These challenges go beyond the typical struggles faced by most students and can significantly impede their educational progress and emotional well-being.

Child psychologist Kenneth Barish’s insights in Psychology Today shed light on the complex relationship between homework and students with learning disabilities:

• Homework as a Painful Endeavor: For students with learning disabilities, completing homework can be likened to “running with a sprained ankle.” It’s a task that, while doable, is fraught with difficulty and discomfort.
• Misconceptions about Laziness: Often, children who struggle with homework are perceived as lazy. However, Barish emphasizes that these students are more likely to be frustrated, discouraged, or anxious rather than unmotivated.
• Limited Improvement in School Performance: The battles over homework rarely translate into significant improvement in school for these children, challenging the conventional notion of homework as universally beneficial.

These points highlight the need for a tailored approach to homework for students with learning disabilities. It’s crucial to recognize that the traditional homework model may not be the most effective or appropriate method for facilitating their learning. Instead, alternative strategies that accommodate their unique needs and learning styles should be considered.

In conclusion, the conventional homework paradigm needs reevaluation, particularly concerning students with learning disabilities. By understanding and addressing their unique challenges, educators can create a more inclusive and supportive educational environment. This approach not only aids in their academic growth but also nurtures their confidence and overall development, ensuring that they receive an equitable and empathetic educational experience.

6. Critique of Underlying Assumptions about Learning

The longstanding belief in the educational sphere that more homework automatically translates to more learning is increasingly being challenged. Critics argue that this assumption is not only flawed but also unsupported by solid evidence, questioning the efficacy of homework as an effective learning tool.

Alfie Kohn , a prominent critic of homework, aptly compares students to vending machines in this context, suggesting that the expectation of inserting an assignment and automatically getting out of learning is misguided. Kohn goes further, labeling homework as the “greatest single extinguisher of children’s curiosity.” This critique highlights a fundamental issue: the potential of homework to stifle the natural inquisitiveness and love for learning in children.

The lack of concrete evidence supporting the effectiveness of homework is evident in various studies:

• Marginal Effectiveness of Homework: A study involving 28,051 high school seniors found that the effectiveness of homework was marginal, and in some cases, it was counterproductive, leading to more academic problems than solutions.
• No Correlation with Academic Achievement: Research in “ National Differences, Global Similarities ” showed no correlation between homework and academic achievement in elementary students, and any positive correlation in middle or high school diminished with increasing homework loads.
• Increased Academic Pressure: The Teachers College Record published findings that homework adds to academic pressure and societal stress, exacerbating performance gaps between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

These findings bring to light several critical points:

• Quality Over Quantity: According to a recent article in Monitor on Psychology , experts concur that the quality of homework assignments, along with the quality of instruction, student motivation, and inherent ability, is more crucial for academic success than the quantity of homework.
• Counterproductive Nature of Excessive Homework: Excessive homework can lead to more academic challenges, particularly for students already facing pressures from other aspects of their lives.
• Societal Stress and Performance Gaps: Homework can intensify societal stress and widen the academic performance divide.

The emerging consensus from these studies suggests that the traditional approach to homework needs rethinking. Rather than focusing on the quantity of assignments, educators should consider the quality and relevance of homework, ensuring it truly contributes to learning and development. This reassessment is crucial for fostering an educational environment that nurtures curiosity and a love for learning, rather than extinguishing it.

7. Issues with Homework Enforcement, Reliability, and Temptation to Cheat

In the academic realm, the enforcement of homework is a subject of ongoing debate, primarily due to its implications on student integrity and the true value of assignments. The challenges associated with homework enforcement often lead to unintended yet significant issues, such as cheating, copying, and a general undermining of educational values.

Key points highlighting enforcement challenges:

• Difficulty in Enforcing Completion: Ensuring that students complete their homework can be a complex task, and not completing homework does not always correlate with poor grades.
• Reliability of Homework Practice: The reliability of homework as a practice tool is undermined when students, either out of desperation or lack of understanding, choose shortcuts over genuine learning. This approach can lead to the opposite of the intended effect, especially when assignments are not well-aligned with the students’ learning levels or interests.
• Temptation to Cheat: The issue of cheating is particularly troubling. According to a report by The Chronicle of Higher Education , under the pressure of at-home assignments, many students turn to copying others’ work, plagiarizing, or using creative technological “hacks.” This tendency not only questions the integrity of the learning process but also reflects the extreme stress that homework can induce.
• Parental Involvement in Completion: As noted in The American Journal of Family Therapy , this raises concerns about the authenticity of the work submitted. When parents complete assignments for their children, it not only deprives the students of the opportunity to learn but also distorts the purpose of homework as a learning aid.

In conclusion, the challenges of homework enforcement present a complex problem that requires careful consideration. The focus should shift towards creating meaningful, manageable, and quality-driven assignments that encourage genuine learning and integrity, rather than overwhelming students and prompting counterproductive behaviors.

Addressing Opposing Views on Homework Practices

While opinions on homework policies are diverse, understanding different viewpoints is crucial. In the following sections, we will examine common arguments supporting homework assignments, along with counterarguments that offer alternative perspectives on this educational practice.

1. Improvement of Academic Performance

Homework is commonly perceived as a means to enhance academic performance, with the belief that it directly contributes to better grades and test scores. This view posits that through homework, students reinforce what they learn in class, leading to improved understanding and retention, which ultimately translates into higher academic achievement.

However, the question of why students should not have homework becomes pertinent when considering the complex relationship between homework and academic performance. Studies have indicated that excessive homework doesn’t necessarily equate to higher grades or test scores. Instead, too much homework can backfire, leading to stress and fatigue that adversely affect a student’s performance. Reuters highlights an intriguing correlation suggesting that physical activity may be more conducive to academic success than additional homework, underscoring the importance of a holistic approach to education that prioritizes both physical and mental well-being for enhanced academic outcomes.

2. Reinforcement of Learning

Homework is traditionally viewed as a tool to reinforce classroom learning, enabling students to practice and retain material. However, research suggests its effectiveness is ambiguous. In instances where homework is well-aligned with students’ abilities and classroom teachings, it can indeed be beneficial. Particularly for younger students , excessive homework can cause burnout and a loss of interest in learning, counteracting its intended purpose.

Furthermore, when homework surpasses a student’s capability, it may induce frustration and confusion rather than aid in learning. This challenges the notion that more homework invariably leads to better understanding and retention of educational content.

3. Development of Time Management Skills

Homework is often considered a crucial tool in helping students develop important life skills such as time management and organization. The idea is that by regularly completing assignments, students learn to allocate their time efficiently and organize their tasks effectively, skills that are invaluable in both academic and personal life.

However, the impact of homework on developing these skills is not always positive. For younger students, especially, an overwhelming amount of homework can be more of a hindrance than a help. Instead of fostering time management and organizational skills, an excessive workload often leads to stress and anxiety . These negative effects can impede the learning process and make it difficult for students to manage their time and tasks effectively, contradicting the original purpose of homework.

4. Preparation for Future Academic Challenges

Homework is often touted as a preparatory tool for future academic challenges that students will encounter in higher education and their professional lives. The argument is that by tackling homework, students build a foundation of knowledge and skills necessary for success in more advanced studies and in the workforce, fostering a sense of readiness and confidence.

Contrarily, an excessive homework load, especially from a young age, can have the opposite effect . It can instill a negative attitude towards education, dampening students’ enthusiasm and willingness to embrace future academic challenges. Overburdening students with homework risks disengagement and loss of interest, thereby defeating the purpose of preparing them for future challenges. Striking a balance in the amount and complexity of homework is crucial to maintaining student engagement and fostering a positive attitude towards ongoing learning.

5. Parental Involvement in Education

Homework often acts as a vital link connecting parents to their child’s educational journey, offering insights into the school’s curriculum and their child’s learning process. This involvement is key in fostering a supportive home environment and encouraging a collaborative relationship between parents and the school. When parents understand and engage with what their children are learning, it can significantly enhance the educational experience for the child.

However, the line between involvement and over-involvement is thin. When parents excessively intervene by completing their child’s homework,  it can have adverse effects . Such actions not only diminish the educational value of homework but also rob children of the opportunity to develop problem-solving skills and independence. This over-involvement, coupled with disparities in parental ability to assist due to variations in time, knowledge, or resources, may lead to unequal educational outcomes, underlining the importance of a balanced approach to parental participation in homework.

Exploring Alternatives to Homework and Finding a Middle Ground

In the ongoing debate about the role of homework in education, it’s essential to consider viable alternatives and strategies to minimize its burden. While completely eliminating homework may not be feasible for all educators, there are several effective methods to reduce its impact and offer more engaging, student-friendly approaches to learning.

Alternatives to Traditional Homework

• Project-Based Learning: This method focuses on hands-on, long-term projects where students explore real-world problems. It encourages creativity, critical thinking, and collaborative skills, offering a more engaging and practical learning experience than traditional homework. For creative ideas on school projects, especially related to the solar system, be sure to explore our dedicated article on solar system projects .
• Flipped Classrooms: Here, students are introduced to new content through videos or reading materials at home and then use class time for interactive activities. This approach allows for more personalized and active learning during school hours.
• Reading for Pleasure: Encouraging students to read books of their choice can foster a love for reading and improve literacy skills without the pressure of traditional homework assignments. This approach is exemplified by Marion County, Florida , where public schools implemented a no-homework policy for elementary students. Instead, they are encouraged to read nightly for 20 minutes . Superintendent Heidi Maier’s decision was influenced by research showing that while homework offers minimal benefit to young students, regular reading significantly boosts their learning. For book recommendations tailored to middle school students, take a look at our specially curated article .

Ideas for Minimizing Homework

• Limiting Homework Quantity: Adhering to guidelines like the “ 10-minute rule ” (10 minutes of homework per grade level per night) can help ensure that homework does not become overwhelming.
• Quality Over Quantity: Focus on assigning meaningful homework that is directly relevant to what is being taught in class, ensuring it adds value to students’ learning.
• Homework Menus: Offering students a choice of assignments can cater to diverse learning styles and interests, making homework more engaging and personalized.
• Integrating Technology: Utilizing educational apps and online platforms can make homework more interactive and enjoyable, while also providing immediate feedback to students. To gain deeper insights into the role of technology in learning environments, explore our articles discussing the benefits of incorporating technology in classrooms and a comprehensive list of educational VR apps . These resources will provide you with valuable information on how technology can enhance the educational experience.

For teachers who are not ready to fully eliminate homework, these strategies offer a compromise, ensuring that homework supports rather than hinders student learning. By focusing on quality, relevance, and student engagement, educators can transform homework from a chore into a meaningful component of education that genuinely contributes to students’ academic growth and personal development. In this way, we can move towards a more balanced and student-centric approach to learning, both in and out of the classroom.

Useful Resources

• Is homework a good idea or not? by BBC
• The Great Homework Debate: What’s Getting Lost in the Hype
• Alternative Homework Ideas

The evidence and arguments presented in the discussion of why students should not have homework call for a significant shift in homework practices. It’s time for educators and policymakers to rethink and reformulate homework strategies, focusing on enhancing the quality, relevance, and balance of assignments. By doing so, we can create a more equitable, effective, and student-friendly educational environment that fosters learning, well-being, and holistic development.

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• “COVID-19 exposed the digital divide. Here’s how we can close it”, World Economic Forum
• “PBS NewsHour: Biggest Predictor of College Success is Family Income”, America’s Promise Alliance
• “Homework and Family Stress: With Consideration of Parents’ Self Confidence, Educational Level, and Cultural Background”, Taylor & Francis Online
• “What Do You Mean My Kid Doesn’t Have Homework?”, EducationWeek
• “Excerpt From The Case Against Homework”, Penguin Random House Canada
• “How much homework is too much?”, neaToday
• “The Nation’s Report Card: A First Look: 2013 Mathematics and Reading”, National Center for Education Statistics
• “Battles Over Homework: Advice For Parents”, Psychology Today
• “How Homework Is Destroying Teens’ Health”, The Lion’s Roar
• “ Breaking the Homework Habit”, Education World
• “Testing a model of school learning: Direct and indirect effects on academic achievement”, ScienceDirect
• “National Differences, Global Similarities: World Culture and the Future of Schooling”, Stanford University Press
• “When school goes home: Some problems in the organization of homework”, APA PsycNet
• “Is homework a necessary evil?”, APA PsycNet
• “Epidemic of copying homework catalyzed by technology”, Redwood Bark
• “High-Tech Cheating Abounds, and Professors Bear Some Blame”, The Chronicle of Higher Education
• “Homework and Family Stress: With Consideration of Parents’ Self Confidence, Educational Level, and Cultural Background”, ResearchGate
• “Kids who get moving may also get better grades”, Reuters
• “Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Research, 1987–2003”, SageJournals
• “Is it time to get rid of homework?”, USAToday
• “Stanford research shows pitfalls of homework”, Stanford
• “Florida school district bans homework, replaces it with daily reading”, USAToday
• “Encouraging Students to Read: Tips for High School Teachers”, wgu.edu
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Health Hazards of Homework

March 18, 2014 | Julie Greicius Pediatrics .

A new study by the Stanford Graduate School of Education and colleagues found that students in high-performing schools who did excessive hours of homework “experienced greater behavioral engagement in school but also more academic stress, physical health problems, and lack of balance in their lives.”

Those health problems ranged from stress, headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems, to psycho-social effects like dropping activities, not seeing friends or family, and not pursuing hobbies they enjoy.

In the Stanford Report story about the research, Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of the  study published in the  Journal of Experimental Education , says, “Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good.”

The study was based on survey data from a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in California communities in which median household income exceeded $90,000. Of the students surveyed, homework volume averaged about 3.1 hours each night.

“It is time to re-evaluate how the school environment is preparing our high school student for today’s workplace,” says Neville Golden, MD , chief of adolescent medicine at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and a professor at the School of Medicine. “This landmark study shows that excessive homework is counterproductive, leading to sleep deprivation, school stress and other health problems. Parents can best support their children in these demanding academic environments by advocating for them through direct communication with teachers and school administrators about homework load.”

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More than two hours of homework may be counterproductive, research suggests.

A Stanford education 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," said Pope, who is also a co-founder of Challenge Success , a nonprofit organization affiliated with the GSE that conducts research and works with schools and parents to improve students' educational experiences..   Pope 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.   The paper was co-authored by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner from Villanova University.

Clifton B. Parker is a writer at the Stanford News Service .

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What’s the Right Amount of Homework?

Decades of research show that homework has some benefits, especially for students in middle and high school—but there are risks to assigning too much.

Many teachers and parents believe that homework helps students build study skills and review concepts learned in class. Others see homework as disruptive and unnecessary, leading to burnout and turning kids off to school. Decades of research show that the issue is more nuanced and complex than most people think: Homework is beneficial, but only to a degree. Students in high school gain the most, while younger kids benefit much less.

The National PTA and the National Education Association support the “ 10-minute homework guideline ”—a nightly 10 minutes of homework per grade level. But many teachers and parents are quick to point out that what matters is the quality of the homework assigned and how well it meets students’ needs, not the amount of time spent on it.

The guideline doesn’t account for students who may need to spend more—or less—time on assignments. In class, teachers can make adjustments to support struggling students, but at home, an assignment that takes one student 30 minutes to complete may take another twice as much time—often for reasons beyond their control. And homework can widen the achievement gap, putting students from low-income households and students with learning disabilities at a disadvantage.

However, the 10-minute guideline is useful in setting a limit: When kids spend too much time on homework, there are real consequences to consider.

Small Benefits for Elementary Students

As young children begin school, the focus should be on cultivating a love of learning, and assigning too much homework can undermine that goal. And young students often don’t have the study skills to benefit fully from homework, so it may be a poor use of time (Cooper, 1989 ; Cooper et al., 2006 ; Marzano & Pickering, 2007 ). A more effective activity may be nightly reading, especially if parents are involved. The benefits of reading are clear: If students aren’t proficient readers by the end of third grade, they’re less likely to succeed academically and graduate from high school (Fiester, 2013 ).

For second-grade teacher Jacqueline Fiorentino, the minor benefits of homework did not outweigh the potential drawback of turning young children against school at an early age, so she experimented with dropping mandatory homework. “Something surprising happened: They started doing more work at home,” Fiorentino writes . “This inspiring group of 8-year-olds used their newfound free time to explore subjects and topics of interest to them.” She encouraged her students to read at home and offered optional homework to extend classroom lessons and help them review material.

Moderate Benefits for Middle School Students

As students mature and develop the study skills necessary to delve deeply into a topic—and to retain what they learn—they also benefit more from homework. Nightly assignments can help prepare them for scholarly work, and research shows that homework can have moderate benefits for middle school students (Cooper et al., 2006 ). Recent research also shows that online math homework, which can be designed to adapt to students’ levels of understanding, can significantly boost test scores (Roschelle et al., 2016 ).

There are risks to assigning too much, however: A 2015 study found that when middle school students were assigned more than 90 to 100 minutes of daily homework, their math and science test scores began to decline (Fernández-Alonso, Suárez-Álvarez, & Muñiz, 2015 ). Crossing that upper limit can drain student motivation and focus. The researchers recommend that “homework should present a certain level of challenge or difficulty, without being so challenging that it discourages effort.” Teachers should avoid low-effort, repetitive assignments, and assign homework “with the aim of instilling work habits and promoting autonomous, self-directed learning.”

In other words, it’s the quality of homework that matters, not the quantity. Brian Sztabnik, a veteran middle and high school English teacher, suggests that teachers take a step back and ask themselves these five questions :

• How long will it take to complete?
• Have all learners been considered?
• Will an assignment encourage future success?
• Will an assignment place material in a context the classroom cannot?
• Does an assignment offer support when a teacher is not there?

More Benefits for High School Students, but Risks as Well

By the time they reach high school, students should be well on their way to becoming independent learners, so homework does provide a boost to learning at this age, as long as it isn’t overwhelming (Cooper et al., 2006 ; Marzano & Pickering, 2007 ). When students spend too much time on homework—more than two hours each night—it takes up valuable time to rest and spend time with family and friends. A 2013 study found that high school students can experience serious mental and physical health problems, from higher stress levels to sleep deprivation, when assigned too much homework (Galloway, Conner, & Pope, 2013 ).

Homework in high school should always relate to the lesson and be doable without any assistance, and feedback should be clear and explicit.

Teachers should also keep in mind that not all students have equal opportunities to finish their homework at home, so incomplete homework may not be a true reflection of their learning—it may be more a result of issues they face outside of school. They may be hindered by issues such as lack of a quiet space at home, resources such as a computer or broadband connectivity, or parental support (OECD, 2014 ). In such cases, giving low homework scores may be unfair.

Since the quantities of time discussed here are totals, teachers in middle and high school should be aware of how much homework other teachers are assigning. It may seem reasonable to assign 30 minutes of daily homework, but across six subjects, that’s three hours—far above a reasonable amount even for a high school senior. Psychologist Maurice Elias sees this as a common mistake: Individual teachers create homework policies that in aggregate can overwhelm students. He suggests that teachers work together to develop a school-wide homework policy and make it a key topic of back-to-school night and the first parent-teacher conferences of the school year.

Parents Play a Key Role

Homework can be a powerful tool to help parents become more involved in their child’s learning (Walker et al., 2004 ). It can provide insights into a child’s strengths and interests, and can also encourage conversations about a child’s life at school. If a parent has positive attitudes toward homework, their children are more likely to share those same values, promoting academic success.

But it’s also possible for parents to be overbearing, putting too much emphasis on test scores or grades, which can be disruptive for children (Madjar, Shklar, & Moshe, 2015 ). Parents should avoid being overly intrusive or controlling—students report feeling less motivated to learn when they don’t have enough space and autonomy to do their homework (Orkin, May, & Wolf, 2017 ; Patall, Cooper, & Robinson, 2008 ; Silinskas & Kikas, 2017 ). So while homework can encourage parents to be more involved with their kids, it’s important to not make it a source of conflict.

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Is Homework Bad? Here Is What Research Says

By Med Kharbach, PhD | Last Update: April 30, 2024

Homework is a controversial topic and the object of differing opinions among teachers, parents, and educators . While some highly value it considering it key in scholarly achievement and academic performance, others view it as a nuisance to students’ independence and a cause for unwarranted emotional and physical stress for kids. 

The controversy surrounding homework does not only revolve around its value, but also around questions such as: How much homework is enough homework? How much time should be allotted to homework? How frequent should homework be assigned? Does help from others (e.g., parents or other students) undermine the value of homework? Should homework be banned? Should kids be assigned homework? and many more.

However, as the research cited in this article demonstrates, homework, controversial as it is, has some benefits for students although these benefits differ according to various factors including students age, skill and grade level, students socio-economic status, purpose behind homework, duration of the homework, among other considerations. In this article, I cover some of the key issues related to homework and provide research resources to help teachers and parents learn more about homework.

What Does Homework Mean? 

According to Cooper (1989), homework is defined as “tasks assigned to students by school teachers that are meant to be carried out during non-school hours”. Cooper’s definition is similar to the one found in Cambridge Dictionary which defines homework as “work that teachers give their students to do at home” or as “studying that students do at home to prepare for school”.

There is way more to homework than what these general definitions outline. Homework assignments are not equal and there are various variables that can affect the value and effectiveness of homework.

Some of these variables, according to Blazer (2009) , include difficulty level of assigned tasks, skill and subject areas covered, completion timeframe (short or long term), degree of autonomy and individualization, social context (done independently or with the help of others), obligatory or voluntary, whether it will be submitted for grading or not, among other variables.

Is Homework Bad?

Going through the scholarly literature and regardless of the disagreement and controversies the topic of homework raises, there is a growing consensus that homework has some benefits , especially for students in middle and high school ( National Education Association ).

One of the most comprehensive research studies on homework is a meta-analysis done by professor Harris Cooper and his colleagues (2006) and published in the journal Review of Educational Research .

In this study, Cooper et al analyzed a large pool of research studies on homework conducted in the United States between between 1987 and 2003. Their findings indicate the existence of ‘a positive influence of homework on achievement’.

The influence is mainly noticed in students in grades 7-12 and less in students grades K-6. However, even though kids benefit less from homework, Cooper et al. confirm the importance of some form of homework for students of all ages.

What Is The Purpose of Homework? 

There are several reasons for assigning homework. Some of these reasons according to Blazer include:

– Review and reinforce materials learned in class – Check students understanding and assess their skills and knowledge – Enhance students study skills – Provide students with learning opportunities where they can use their newly acquired skills to explore new insights. – Enable students to hone in their search skills and apply them to find resources on an assigned topic – Help students develop social emotional learning skills – Enable students to develop functional study habits and life skills. These include time management and organization skills, problem solving skills, self-discipline, accountability, self-confidence, communication skills, critical thinking skills, inquisitiveness, among others.

Drawbacks of Homework  

Critics of homework argue that it has less value and can result in negative consequences. In her literature review, Blazer (2009) summarized some of these drawbacks in the following points:

– Homework can cause emotional and physical fatigue – Homework takes away from kids’ leisure time and interferes with their natural development. – Homework can drive students to develop negative attitudes towards school and learning. – Assigned homework prevents students from engaging in self-directed and independent learning. – Homework can interfere with students’ engagement in social activities including sports and community involvement. – Excessive homework can create tension and stress and lead to friction between parents and kids. – Homework may encourage a culture of cheating – Homework “can widen social inequalities. Compared to their higher income peers, students from lower income homes are more likely to work after school and less likely to have an environment conducive to studying”.

How Much Homework Should Students Have? 

According to Fernández-Alonso, Suárez-Álvarez and Muñiz ( 2015 ), spending 60 minutes per day doing homework is considered a reasonably effective time. However, the study also added that the amount of help and effort needed to do homework is key in this equation because “when it comes to homework”, as the authors concluded, “how is more important than how much”. 

This conclusion is congruent with several other studies (e.g., Farrow et al. (1999), that emphasize the idea that when doing homework, quality is more important than quantity. When the variables of time and effort are taken into account, the question of how much homework should students have becomes statistically irrelevant.

Catty Vatterott, author of Rethinking Homework: Best Practices that Support Diverse Needs , also advocates for quality over quantity when assigning homework tasks.She argues that instead of banning homework altogether, we can embrace a more open approach to homework; one that deemphasizes grading and differentiates tasks.

Along similar lines, studies have also confirmed the correlation between autonomy and positive performance. Autonomous students, that is those who can do homework on their own, are more likely to perform better academically (Fernández-Alonso, 2015; Dettmers et al.,2010, 2011; Trautwein & Lüdtke, 2007, (Xu, 2010a). Findings from these studies indicate that “students who need frequent or constant help with homework have worse academic results.” (Fernández-Alonso, 2015)

Besides the 60 minutes per day recommendation for older students, there is also the 10 minutes rule which, according to Harris Cooper , works by multiplying a kid’s grade by 10 to determine how much time they need for homework per day.

According to the 10 minute rule, first graders require 10 minutes per day of homework, second graders 20 minutes, and for each subsequent year you add another 10 minutes so that at the last year of high school, grade 12 students will have 2 hours of daily homework. As Cooper argues, “when you assign more than these levels, the law of diminishing returns or even negative effects – stress especially – begin to appear”.

The debate over homework is far from being settled and probably will never reach definitive conclusions. With that being said, l personally view homework as a heuristic for learning. It scaffolds classroom learning and helps students reinforce learned skills. For elementary students, homework should not be tied to any academic grades or achievement expectation.

In fact, kids’ homework assignments, if any, should align with the overall interests of kids in that it should support and include elements of play, fun, and exploration. Needless to mention that, once outside school, kids are to be given ample time to play, explore, and learn by doing.

As Cooper stated “A good way to think about homework is the way you think about medications or dietary supplements. If you take too little, they’ll have no effect. If you take too much, they can kill you. If you take the right amount, you’ll get better.”

Research on Homework 

The topic of homework has been the subject of several academic research studies. The following is a sample of some of these research studies:

• Blazer, C. (2009). Literature review: Homework. Miami, FL: Miami Dade County Public Schools.
• Cooper, H. (1989). Synthesis of research on homework. Educational Leadership, 47, 85–91.
• Cooper, H., Robinson, J. C., & Patall, E. A. (2006). Does homework improve academic achievement? A synthesis of research, 1987–2003. Review of Educational Research, 76, 1– 62.
• Dettmers, S., Trautwein, U., Lüdtke, M., Kunter, M., & Baumert, J. (2010). Homework works if homework quality is high: Using multilevel modeling to predict the development of achievement in mathematics. Journal of Educational Psychology,
• Dettmers, S., Trautwein, U., & Lüdtke, O. (2009). The relationship between homework time and achievement is not universal: Evidence from multilevel analyses in 40 countries. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 20, 375– 405.
• Epstein, J. L., & van Voorhis, F. L. (2001). More than minutes: Teachers’ roles in designing homework. Educational Psychologist, 36, 181–193
• Farrow, S., Tymms, P., & Henderson, B. (1999). Homework and attainment in primary schools. British Educational Research Journal, 25, 323–341
• Goldstein, A. (1960). Does homework help? A review of research. The Elementary School Journal, 60, 212–224.
• Trautwein, U., & Köller, O. (2003). The relationship between homework and achievement: Still much of a mystery. Educational Psychology Review, 15, 115–145
• Warton, P. M. (2001). The forgotten voices in homework: Views of students. Educational Psychologist, 36, 155–165.
• Xu, J. (2013). Why do students have difficulties completing homework? The need for homework management. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 1, 98 –105.
• Zimmerman, B. J., & Kitsantas, A. (2005). Homework practices and academic achievement: The mediating role of self-efficacy and perceived responsibility beliefs. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 30, 397– 417.
• Kralovec, E., & Buell, J. (2001). End Homework Now. Educational Leadership, 58(7), 39-42.
• Krashen, S. (2005). The Hard Work Hypothesis: Is Doing Your Homework Enough to Overcome the Effects of Poverty? Multicultural Education, 12(4), 16-19.
• Lenard, W. (1997). The Homework Scam. Teacher Magazine, 9(1), 60-61.
• Marzano, R.J., & Pickering, D.J. (2007). The Case For and Against Homework. Educational Leadership, 64(6), 74-79.
• Skinner, D. (2004). The Homework Wars. Public Interest, 154, Winter, 49-60.
• Corno, L. (1996). Homework is a Complicated Thing. Educational Researcher, 25(8), 27-30.
• Forster, K. (2000). Homework: A Bridge Too Far? Issues in Educational Research, 10(1), 21-37.
• Hoover-Dempsey, K.V., Battiato, A.C., Walker, J.M., Reed, R.P., DeLong, J.M., & Jones, K.P. (2001). Parent Involvement in Homework. Educational Psychologist, 36(3), 195-209.

Books on Homework 

Here are some interesting books that profoundly explore the concept of homework:

1. The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing , by Kohn (2006)

• 2. Rethinking Homework: Best Practices that Support Diverse Needs , by Catty Vatterot
• 3. The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning , by Kralovec, E., & Buell, J. (2000)
• 4. The Case Against Homework: How Homework Is Hurting Children and What Parents Can Do About It , by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish

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Meet Med Kharbach, PhD

Dr. Med Kharbach is an influential voice in the global educational technology landscape, with an extensive background in educational studies and a decade-long experience as a K-12 teacher. Holding a Ph.D. from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Canada, he brings a unique perspective to the educational world by integrating his profound academic knowledge with his hands-on teaching experience. Dr. Kharbach's academic pursuits encompass curriculum studies, discourse analysis, language learning/teaching, language and identity, emerging literacies, educational technology, and research methodologies. His work has been presented at numerous national and international conferences and published in various esteemed academic journals.

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Homework: An Hour a Day Is All the Experts Say

Too much homework can be counterproductive..

Posted April 20, 2015

How much time does your teen spend doing busy school work each night? According to a recent study, if it's more than one hour… then it's too much. A study from Spain published in the Journal of Educational Psychology by the American Psychological Association found that spending more than one hour on math and science homework can be counterproductive. Students seem to gain the most benefit when a small amount of homework is consistently assigned, rather than large portions assigned at once.

The study examined the performance of 7,725 public and private school students (mean age 13.78 years). Students answered questions about the frequency of homework assigned and how long it took them to complete assignments. Researchers looked at standardized tests to examine academic performance in math and science. They found that students in Spain spent approximately one to two hours per day doing homework. Compare that to studies that indicate American students spent more than three hours a day doing homework!

Researchers found that teachers who assigned 90-100 minutes of homework per day had students who performed poorer on standardized tests than those with less homework. However when teachers consistently assigned small amounts of homework students scored nearly 50 points higher on standardized test than those who had daunting amounts of homework. Another interesting finding from this study was students who were assigned about 70 minutes of homework, of which they needed help from someone else to complete, scored in the 50th percentile on standardized tests. Whereas those who were assigned the same amount of homework, but could do it independently, scored in the 70th percentile. So clearly, not only is the amount of homework assigned of importance, but so is the ability to master it independently.

There are several possible explanations for these findings. First, teachers may be using homework as a means to cover what was not completed in class. So rather than practicing concepts taught in class, students are left to self-teach material not covered in class. Homework should supplement learning, and not be used as a tool to keep up with a curriculum pacing guide. Another explanation for testing gains is those who work to master material independently experience more academic success.

The study out of Spain supports findings from another study published a year ago published in the Journal of Experimental Education which found that too much homework can have a negative impact on teens’ lives outside of the academic setting. In this study, researchers surveyed 4,317 American high school students’ perceptions about homework, in relation to their well-being and behavioral engagement in school work. On average, these students reported spending approximately 3.1 hours of homework each night—a far reach from the hour per night recommendation by the first study.

This second study found that too much homework can be counterproductive and diminish the effectiveness of learning. The negative effects of lots of homework can far outweigh the positive ones. Researchers found that a lot of homework can result in:

Students reported high levels of stress associated with school work. Below is the breakdown of student responses.

56% of students in this study reported that homework was a primary source of stress 43% of students in this study reported that tests were another source of stress 33% of students in this study reported that pressure to get good grades was a source of stress

• Physical Problems:

Students reported that homework led to:

poor sleep frequent headaches gastro intestinal problems weight loss/gain.

• Social life problems.

How can students expect to spend time with others when they are too busy completing homework? Students reported that having too much school work keeps them from spending time with friends and family.

Plus too much school work keep them from participating in extra-curricular activities and engaging in activities they enjoy doing. Interestingly, many students reported that homework was a “pointless” or “mindless” way to keep their grades up. In other words… it was "busy" work.

When is homework beneficial? If homework is used as a tool to facilitate learning and reinforce concepts taught in the classroom then it enriches students academic experience. While homework does serve a purpose, so does having a life outside of school. Sometimes social development can be just as important as academic development. So the answer may be helping youth find a balance between school and social life.

Journal Reference:

Rubén Fernández-Alonso, Javier Suárez-Álvarez, José Muñiz. Adolescents’ Homework Performance in Mathematics and Science: Personal Factors and Teaching Practices. Journal of Educational Psychology, 2015; DOI:10.1037/edu0000032

Raychelle Cassada Lohman n , M.S., LPC, is the author of The Anger Workbook for Teens .

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August 16, 2021

Is it time to get rid of homework? Mental health experts weigh in

by Sara M Moniuszko

It's no secret that kids hate homework. And as students grapple with an ongoing pandemic that has had a wide-range of mental health impacts, is it time schools start listening to their pleas over workloads?

Some teachers are turning to social media to take a stand against homework .

Tiktok user @misguided.teacher says he doesn't assign it because the "whole premise of homework is flawed."

For starters, he says he can't grade work on "even playing fields" when students' home environments can be vastly different.

"Even students who go home to a peaceful house, do they really want to spend their time on busy work? Because typically that's what a lot of homework is, it's busy work," he says in the video that has garnered 1.6 million likes. "You only get one year to be 7, you only got one year to be 10, you only get one year to be 16, 18."

Mental health experts agree heavy work loads have the potential do more harm than good for students, especially when taking into account the impacts of the pandemic. But they also say the answer may not be to eliminate homework altogether.

Emmy Kang, mental health counselor at Humantold, says studies have shown heavy workloads can be "detrimental" for students and cause a "big impact on their mental, physical and emotional health."

"More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies," she says, adding that staying up late to finish assignments also leads to disrupted sleep and exhaustion.

Cynthia Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Talkspace, says heavy workloads can also cause serious mental health problems in the long run, like anxiety and depression.

And for all the distress homework causes, it's not as useful as many may think, says Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery treatment center.

"The research shows that there's really limited benefit of homework for elementary age students, that really the school work should be contained in the classroom," he says.

For older students, Kang says homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night.

"Most students, especially at these high-achieving schools, they're doing a minimum of three hours, and it's taking away time from their friends from their families, their extracurricular activities. And these are all very important things for a person's mental and emotional health."

Catchings, who also taught third to 12th graders for 12 years, says she's seen the positive effects of a no homework policy while working with students abroad.

"Not having homework was something that I always admired from the French students (and) the French schools, because that was helping the students to really have the time off and really disconnect from school ," she says.

The answer may not be to eliminate homework completely, but to be more mindful of the type of work students go home with, suggests Kang, who was a high-school teacher for 10 years.

"I don't think (we) should scrap homework, I think we should scrap meaningless, purposeless busy work-type homework. That's something that needs to be scrapped entirely," she says, encouraging teachers to be thoughtful and consider the amount of time it would take for students to complete assignments.

The pandemic made the conversation around homework more crucial

Mindfulness surrounding homework is especially important in the context of the last two years. Many students will be struggling with mental health issues that were brought on or worsened by the pandemic, making heavy workloads even harder to balance.

"COVID was just a disaster in terms of the lack of structure. Everything just deteriorated," Kardaras says, pointing to an increase in cognitive issues and decrease in attention spans among students. "School acts as an anchor for a lot of children, as a stabilizing force, and that disappeared."

But even if students transition back to the structure of in-person classes, Kardaras suspects students may still struggle after two school years of shifted schedules and disrupted sleeping habits.

"We've seen adults struggling to go back to in-person work environments from remote work environments. That effect is amplified with children because children have less resources to be able to cope with those transitions than adults do," he explains.

'Get organized' ahead of back-to-school

In order to make the transition back to in-person school easier, Kang encourages students to "get good sleep, exercise regularly (and) eat a healthy diet."

To help manage workloads, she suggests students "get organized."

"There's so much mental clutter up there when you're disorganized... sitting down and planning out their study schedules can really help manage their time," she says.

Breaking assignments up can also make things easier to tackle.

"I know that heavy workloads can be stressful, but if you sit down and you break down that studying into smaller chunks, they're much more manageable."

If workloads are still too much, Kang encourages students to advocate for themselves.

"They should tell their teachers when a homework assignment just took too much time or if it was too difficult for them to do on their own," she says. "It's good to speak up and ask those questions. Respectfully, of course, because these are your teachers. But still, I think sometimes teachers themselves need this feedback from their students."

©2021 USA Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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The Mental Health Impact of Excessive Homework on Students

By Happy Sharer

Introduction

Homework has been an integral part of the educational system for decades. While it is important for students to do their homework, excessive amounts of homework can have a negative impact on their mental health. The purpose of this article is to explore how too much homework affects mental health, what strategies can be used to manage the problem, and the role of parents in preventing homework-related mental health issues.

Examining the Mental Health Impacts of Excessive Homework

It is no surprise that too much homework can lead to stress and anxiety. Studies have shown that when students are given too much homework, they are more likely to experience symptoms of depression, including feeling overwhelmed, unmotivated, and isolated. In addition to these psychological effects, too much homework can also lead to physical ailments such as headaches, fatigue, and poor sleep.

When it comes to children, the effects of too much homework can be even more severe. Children may feel pressure to complete assignments quickly and accurately, leading to feelings of inadequacy and frustration. They may also feel like they are missing out on important social activities with their friends due to their heavy workloads.

How Balancing School Work and Social Life Can Help Manage Mental Health

Maintaining a healthy balance between school work and leisure activities is essential to managing mental health. It is important to remember that while homework is important, it should not take precedence over other aspects of life. Taking regular breaks and engaging in enjoyable activities can help reduce stress levels and improve mental wellbeing.

In addition, setting realistic expectations and creating a schedule for completing assignments can help students manage their workload. Allowing for some flexibility in the schedule can also be beneficial, as it allows for unexpected changes or delays. Furthermore, establishing a quiet, distraction-free workspace can help students stay focused and motivated.

The Role of Parents in Preventing Homework-Related Mental Health Issues

Parents can play an important role in helping their children prevent homework-related mental health issues. Talking to children about expectations and limits can help ensure that assignments are completed on time and without undue stress. It is also important to encourage communication about any difficulties children may be having with their homework. Parents should be supportive and understanding if children express feeling overwhelmed or frustrated.

In addition, parents should be mindful of the amount of time their children are spending on homework. If a child is consistently struggling to complete assignments within the allotted timeframe, it may be necessary to reassess the amount of homework given. Parents should also monitor their children’s activities to ensure that they are still engaging in leisure activities and socializing with their peers.

In conclusion, excessive homework can have a detrimental effect on students’ mental health. It is important for students to find a balance between schoolwork and leisure activities, and parents can play an important role in helping their children manage their workloads. By discussing expectations and setting limits on homework, parents can help ensure that their children are able to complete their assignments without feeling overwhelmed or stressed.

(Note: Is this article not meeting your expectations? Do you have knowledge or insights to share? Unlock new opportunities and expand your reach by joining our authors team. Click Registration to join us and share your expertise with our readers.)

Hi, I'm Happy Sharer and I love sharing interesting and useful knowledge with others. I have a passion for learning and enjoy explaining complex concepts in a simple way.

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Homework could have an impact on kids’ health. Should schools ban it?

Professor of Education, Penn State

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Reformers in the Progressive Era (from the 1890s to 1920s) depicted homework as a “sin” that deprived children of their playtime . Many critics voice similar concerns today.

Yet there are many parents who feel that from early on, children need to do homework if they are to succeed in an increasingly competitive academic culture. School administrators and policy makers have also weighed in, proposing various policies on homework .

So, does homework help or hinder kids?

For the last 10 years, my colleagues and I have been investigating international patterns in homework using databases like the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) . If we step back from the heated debates about homework and look at how homework is used around the world, we find the highest homework loads are associated with countries that have lower incomes and higher social inequality.

Does homework result in academic success?

Let’s first look at the global trends on homework.

Undoubtedly, homework is a global phenomenon ; students from all 59 countries that participated in the 2007 Trends in Math and Science Study (TIMSS) reported getting homework. Worldwide, only less than 7% of fourth graders said they did no homework.

TIMSS is one of the few data sets that allow us to compare many nations on how much homework is given (and done). And the data show extreme variation.

For example, in some nations, like Algeria, Kuwait and Morocco, more than one in five fourth graders reported high levels of homework. In Japan, less than 3% of students indicated they did more than four hours of homework on a normal school night.

TIMSS data can also help to dispel some common stereotypes. For instance, in East Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan – countries that had the top rankings on TIMSS average math achievement – reported rates of heavy homework that were below the international mean.

In the Netherlands, nearly one out of five fourth graders reported doing no homework on an average school night, even though Dutch fourth graders put their country in the top 10 in terms of average math scores in 2007.

Going by TIMSS data, the US is neither “ A Nation at Rest” as some have claimed, nor a nation straining under excessive homework load . Fourth and eighth grade US students fall in the middle of the 59 countries in the TIMSS data set, although only 12% of US fourth graders reported high math homework loads compared to an international average of 21%.

So, is homework related to high academic success?

At a national level, the answer is clearly no. Worldwide, homework is not associated with high national levels of academic achievement .

But, the TIMSS can’t be used to determine if homework is actually helping or hurting academic performance overall , it can help us see how much homework students are doing, and what conditions are associated with higher national levels of homework.

We have typically found that the highest homework loads are associated with countries that have lower incomes and higher levels of social inequality – not hallmarks that most countries would want to emulate.

Impact of homework on kids

TIMSS data also show us how even elementary school kids are being burdened with large amounts of homework.

Almost 10% of fourth graders worldwide (one in 10 children) reported spending multiple hours on homework each night. Globally, one in five fourth graders report 30 minutes or more of homework in math three to four times a week.

These reports of large homework loads should worry parents, teachers and policymakers alike.

Empirical studies have linked excessive homework to sleep disruption , indicating a negative relationship between the amount of homework, perceived stress and physical health.

What constitutes excessive amounts of homework varies by age, and may also be affected by cultural or family expectations. Young adolescents in middle school, or teenagers in high school, can study for longer duration than elementary school children.

But for elementary school students, even 30 minutes of homework a night, if combined with other sources of academic stress, can have a negative impact . Researchers in China have linked homework of two or more hours per night with sleep disruption .

Even though some cultures may normalize long periods of studying for elementary age children, there is no evidence to support that this level of homework has clear academic benefits . Also, when parents and children conflict over homework, and strong negative emotions are created, homework can actually have a negative association with academic achievement.

Should there be “no homework” policies?

Administrators and policymakers have not been reluctant to wade into the debates on homework and to formulate policies . France’s president, Francois Hollande, even proposed that homework be banned because it may have inegaliatarian effects.

However, “zero-tolerance” homework policies for schools, or nations, are likely to create as many problems as they solve because of the wide variation of homework effects. Contrary to what Hollande said, research suggests that homework is not a likely source of social class differences in academic achievement .

Homework, in fact, is an important component of education for students in the middle and upper grades of schooling.

Policymakers and researchers should look more closely at the connection between poverty, inequality and higher levels of homework. Rather than seeing homework as a “solution,” policymakers should question what facets of their educational system might impel students, teachers and parents to increase homework loads.

At the classroom level, in setting homework, teachers need to communicate with their peers and with parents to assure that the homework assigned overall for a grade is not burdensome, and that it is indeed having a positive effect.

Perhaps, teachers can opt for a more individualized approach to homework. If teachers are careful in selecting their assignments – weighing the student’s age, family situation and need for skill development – then homework can be tailored in ways that improve the chance of maximum positive impact for any given student.

I strongly suspect that when teachers face conditions such as pressure to meet arbitrary achievement goals, lack of planning time or little autonomy over curriculum, homework becomes an easy option to make up what could not be covered in class.

Whatever the reason, the fact is a significant percentage of elementary school children around the world are struggling with large homework loads. That alone could have long-term negative consequences for their academic success.

• Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
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Is Homework Necessary? Education Inequity and Its Impact on Students

The Problem with Homework: It Highlights Inequalities

How much homework is too much homework, when does homework actually help, negative effects of homework for students, how teachers can help.

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.

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?

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.

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.  

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 improves student achievement.

• Source: The High School Journal, “ When is Homework Worth the Time?: Evaluating the Association between Homework and Achievement in High School Science and Math ,” 2012. 
• Source: IZA.org, “ Does High School Homework Increase Academic Achievement? ,” 2014. **Note: Study sample comprised only high school boys. 

Homework helps reinforce classroom learning.

• Source: “ Debunk This: People Remember 10 Percent of What They Read ,” 2015.

Homework helps students develop good study habits and life skills.

• Sources: The Repository @ St. Cloud State, “ Types of Homework and Their Effect on Student Achievement ,” 2017; Journal of Advanced Academics, “ Developing Self-Regulation Skills: The Important Role of Homework ,” 2011.
• Source: Journal of Advanced Academics, “ Developing Self-Regulation Skills: The Important Role of Homework ,” 2011.

Homework allows parents to be involved with their children’s learning.

• 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.
• Source: Phys.org, “ Sociologist Upends Notions about Parental Help with Homework ,” 2018.

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. 

Students with too much homework have elevated stress levels. 

• Source: USA Today, “ Is It Time to Get Rid of Homework? Mental Health Experts Weigh In ,” 2021.
• Source: Stanford University, “ Stanford Research Shows Pitfalls of Homework ,” 2014.

Students with too much homework may be tempted to cheat. 

• Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education, “ High-Tech Cheating Abounds, and Professors Bear Some Blame ,” 2010.
• Source: The American Journal of Family Therapy, “ Homework and Family Stress: With Consideration of Parents’ Self Confidence, Educational Level, and Cultural Background ,” 2015.

Homework highlights digital inequity. 

• Sources: NEAToday.org, “ The Homework Gap: The ‘Cruelest Part of the Digital Divide’ ,” 2016; CNET.com, “ The Digital Divide Has Left Millions of School Kids Behind ,” 2021.
• Source: Investopedia, “ Digital Divide ,” 2022; International Journal of Education and Social Science, “ Getting the Homework Done: Social Class and Parents’ Relationship to Homework ,” 2015.
• Source: World Economic Forum, “ COVID-19 exposed the digital divide. Here’s how we can close it ,” 2021.

Homework does not help younger students.

• Source: Review of Educational Research, “ Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Researcher, 1987-2003 ,” 2006.

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.

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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A survey of more than 4,000 students from ten high-performing high schools showed that excessive homework produces unhealthy levels of stress, sleep deprivation and related health problems as well as reduced social engagement, a Stanford researcher has found.

Denise Clark Pope, senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, co-authored this new study , published in the Journal of Experimental Education. She and her colleagues used open-ended questions to examine perceptions about homework, behavioral engagement and student well-being in 4,317 students in California communities where the median household income exceeded $90,000 a year.

Too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and be counterproductive, said Pope and her colleagues, citing prior research suggesting 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 students.

Fifty-six percent of the students surveyed considered homework a primary source of stress, the study said. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent said it was the pressure to get good grades. Less than 1 percent said homework was not a cause of stress.

In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems, including headaches, exhaustion, weight loss and stomach problems.

Pope and her colleagues reported that spending too much time on homework meant students were “not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills,” failing to pursue hobbies they enjoy, dropping activities and not keeping up with family and friends.

“Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good,” Pope wrote.

Ideally, homework “should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development.

“…Busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points.”

Mollie Galloway of Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner of Villanova University co-authored the paper with Pope. Pope is also the co-founder of Challenge Success, a research-based expansion of the Stressed-Out Students Project at Stanford University that develops curriculum, conferences and other programs for students, schools and parents.

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89 Comments

I never did no homework and I do just fine for myslef.

“90 minutes to two-and-a-half hours is optimal for high school students.” Then our middle and high schools are WAY off base, assigning excessive homework (which we all knew anyway). There is no way Paly and Gunn are going to bring it to this level, although would be fantastic. Also, any AP or honors class adds at least an hour per class. Think of the students who are taking 3-5 APs – torturous sleep deprivation.

The sleep deprivation and “reduced social engagement” are both torturous for our students and affects even students who take no AP or honors classes. Weekends are full of homework for most of our students. Thank you, Ms. Pope, for fighting for the health of our students.

I have two children that went through the Palo Alto school system El Carmelo/JLS/Gunn. We are not “Tiger” parents and I can say that they never had too much homework. I didn’t see any of their peers too stressed out and they all graduated and are in good colleges and doing fine.

I think the problem is more with the adults involved, rather than the students.

Part of the “homework problem” is related to course selection. It is easy to have too much work if you are taking too many / too hard courses. Our younger child doesn’t want the load our older one took, so she is taking less demanding courses. That’s fine with us. This is a Parent Education issue as much as a school issue.

My son has been in two different high-pressure school districts. In the first district, he had so much homework by the first grade that he had no time for play time after school. By the time he finished his homework, it was dark outside. By the end of the school year, he was overweight. Then, because he did not do so well in first grade, the school district there required him to attend summer school, so his physical activity was cut into again by homework from summer school.

My son had, until the end of the first grade year, been a skinny child. By fourth grade, he was bordering on obese and had over three hours of homework per night, including Christmas vacation ( Christmas Day in second grade, spent at his grandparents’ home, was ruined by the fact that he spent most of the day working on reports for school).

I took him out of that district and put him in a private school for two years, which capped homework at one hour per night, and he lost the excess weight . He had more time to play with friends and joined Little League and Cub Scouts.

Then we moved to Palo Alto. Suddenly, my son was inundated with so much homework there was no more time for Little League, Cub Scouts, or friends. In the sixth grade, he was doing four hours of homework, and by his freshman year he was drowning in nearly five-and-half hours of it.

His sophomore year he rebelled BIG time against all this homework! which led to several family talks with his counselor. She got him into two study hall classes per day, which enabled him to finish a lot of the homework and have help to do it. Now, he is losing some of the weight he regained, but he is so burned out on school that he has no interest in AP classes or even college.

Due to the fact that Paly keeps bragging about its college-like atmosphere, my son is afraid that college will simply be a big Paly, and he is refusing to go. He reads a lot, and likes to learn on his own, but he is completely burned out on institutionalized learning, mostly due to PAUSD.

My son will be the first kid in at least four generations NOT to earn a graduate degree. Thanx, Paly, Jordan, and New Haven!

“Fifty-six percent of the students surveyed considered homework a primary source of stress, the study said. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent said it was the pressure to get good grades.”

Let’s see, 56 + 43 + 33 = 132%. Seems wrong, but then I am not a college grad. Is this new math?

The timed idea of homework makes no sense.

One student will take 30 minutes to do an assignment while another takes 15 or another will take 60. Some students fill 2 hours homework time doing review while others will only barely have time to do their assignments.

No a better way to discuss this is the value of homework. I think homework should be for review that the student has understood the material presented in class, for research in subjects like history, or for comparable reading and written assignments to develop opinion in subjects like English. Making a student teach himself a concept through homework is a bad idea, also anything that is designed to decorate the classroom walls is a bad idea.

The value of homework is a big topic and this study does not address homework, just the time it takes to do it. Waste of time as far as I am concerned.

Studies like this might as well be about homework on Mars for all the good they will ever do in penetrating the cult of homework in PAUSD. We have had a takeover of our schools by conservative theorists of the “high test scores” and ‘back to basics’ crowd (Lowell, Mitchell, Townsend, Caswell, Tom, etc.). We have also seen the marginalization of anyone who wanted anything other than bigger, faster, higher, more as “watering down” our “excellent schools” . The net result: some of the most stressed out students anywhere in America.

Where is SHARE? Where is SOS? They were dismantled in favor of PSN, which is nothing but a club for giving out money to block parties. Where are our advocates for less stress in the schools? They all got burned out, beat up, and quit.

Is this who PA is now? Do we even care what is a good or sound educational practice? My answer is no, we do not. We care about our home prices, which are linked to homework and test scores. In a very insidious way we are forcing our own children to work to keep our family home prices up. It is almost a form of child labor.

Contrasting the treatment of the Paly math department and the Paly english department is highly instructive. On the one hand, the math department wrote a letter about how they could not be forced to teach Algebra 2 (not even a very advanced class) to VTP kids because they would have to “dilute” their “standards” to do it. Nothing happened to them and Mr. Toma was not even replaced as the IS. The English department tried to de-lane 9th grade english to the benefit of all students, and they were put in the stocks.

Get to work kids, daddy needs a boat.

Our kids got an intimidating amount of homework from the 6th grade Terman teachers and it continued through with some of the 7th grade teachers (math in particular). They were miserable those years – anxiety was at an all time high. It was totally unnecessary. Other years, including those at Gunn, were not so bad.

It all depends on the teachers the students have, and it’s luck-of-the-draw. So some students might get lucky and have less demanding teachers while others don’t. What ends up happening is the parents do the homework when there is excessive homework that the student can’t complete.

Applause to Denise Pope for opening this conversation through Stanford’s Dept. of Education. However, since the beginning of her crusade (when it was known as SOS, Stressed Out Students), I always found it ironic and hypocritical that this campaign started at Stanford. It’s exactly Ivy League schools like Stanford, where students are literally killing themselves to get in, that drive students’ crazy work load: too many APs, shooting for 5.0 GPAs, every activity in the book. If students were to limit their time doing homework, and accept lower grades for sleep , you can betcha Stanford would not consider their applications! Maybe Denise and her Challenge Success crew should hop off the pulpit and do something that’s not connected to Stanford, the very type of university that drives this insane pressure high school students feel. The pressure comes from the top (colleges) and trickles down!

The district had a homework committee of parents and teachers that unanimously adopted homework time guidelines similar to those supported by Pope’s study: 10 minutes per night per grade, topping out at 120 minutes per night for seniors. Two problems: they don’t apply to honors and AP classes, and the school board adopted the time limits but balked at monitoring whether they are being applied. Guess what? They’re not.

As to Stanford causing the problem: Stanford and the Ivies want our top kids. They don’t care if they kill themselves in high school or not. They’re aren’t going to stop wanting them because they are doing 2 hours of homework a night rather than 6.

This is our problem. We can solve it, or we can blame it on the kids, the parents, Stanford, or the Russians.

Gunn Mom: Blame the Russians, LOL. Regarding homework guidelines, “they don’t apply to honors and AP classes”. SO TRUE. Somehow, the teachers seem to have a YOU ASKED FOR IT attitude. So if our students want balance in their life, they have to avoid accelerated lanes and AP classes. Yet, the colleges want to see AP classes on the transcript. Our capable children can take many AP classes elsewhere and do fine while they have to take regular lanes in PAUSD to keep sane?

In Taiwan, after school and homework many students take additional course work at night in downtown teaching centers. The government last year required the centers to close at 10PM so the students would not stay and study endlessly. That’s why they are successful and the US is 23rd in math and dropping fast. Lazy students that think the world owes them a living and because their parents make a great deal of money that they should be treated differently. Two hours/night of homework is not much.

And “excessive homework produces unhealthy levels of stress, sleep deprivation and related health problems as well as reduced social engagement,” is just nonsense. Reduced Social Engagement??? The students are there to learn, not to make friends or text or use Facebook. Grow up and understand that if we want the student to be working they have to shape up and study- simple as that.

I wish all the colleges would stop accepting AP classes, the problem would be solved. Are these classes really college level anyway? If they are, why not wait until college to take them and enjoy a more “normal” high school life. My son, who chooses a heavier load than we would like, also chooses not to be involved in other after school activities such as sports, volunteering and clubs so he can get his work done in a more relaxed manner. Sadly, I think these choices will effect his life as an adult; he won’t see that sports offer a lifetime of health and other activities offer a more creative life balance. Each of our children approached high school differently and we try to let each make their choices and live with them. But I find it sad they work so hard–there is so much time to work hard in the future. We are squelching their youthful joy and creativity.

Do kids still average 3 hours a day watching television? That’s what the Nielsen studies say. http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/television/are-young-people-watching-less-tv-24817/

Dear Oriflamme, I was very sad reading your letter. There is absolutely no valid research showing that there is any meaningful benefit to homework prior to 8th grade; yet schools keep piling it on. You only get one chance to be a kid and the social, emotional and healthy physical growth are critical to developing the whole person. When we value grades and achievement over kindness and creativity, we get sharp-elbowed, self centered “citizens”. What a tragedy. My daughter was a mostly happy B student who followed her various interests and got accepted by a lot of colleges, including an excellent liberal arts school which offered her a huge scholarship we didn’t even ask for. I am glad she chose to follow her own path; she has become a young adult of whom we are very proud. She has always been the kid who would stop to talk to a friend who was upset, rather than cramming for the big test next class. I salute those values. i hope your son finds joy in some activity. The best value in education is two years at community college (practically free) and transfer into UC. When he gets his degree from UC, nobody will care that he spent two years at Foothill/DeAnza!! And he will have met a lot of real people from a tremendous number of backgrounds giving him insight.

The problem is that middle school and high school are in session a lot more of the day than college is. Kids in our high schools get hours of homework after being in class about 3 times longer every day than a college student would be.

I do think the schools should get better at getting the kids to learn how to focus and produce during the school day, then relax when they get home and pursue other things – sports, hobbies, science projects, music – after all, that’s pretty good practice for work life! Instead, it’s almost like the day classes are some kind of prelude to the “real” work that will happen “later” at home. It’s very unhealthy.

My kid’s after school life includes high-level music, sports, language, writing and science projects not possible in school, all his choice — in fact, what I see him write at home on his own accord versus what he’s willing to do at school is like night and day. I’m so tired of being a cattle prod to get him to do work he is spending all his home time on at the expense of things he would both be learning from and deriving joy from, and at the expense of his friendships and family time.

I am standing on my chair applauding this work. We do have amazing teaching staff in this district. Now we need a school administration that understands this work and will help our teaching staff incorporate changes to bring our education here to the next level.

I would just like to add…

I think 90 minutes of homework is too long, speaking as one whose child will usually stretch that 90 minutes into 5 hours (of pulling teeth)….

I wonder where that “optimal” designation comes from, and if it would drop if our schools did a more optimal job of getting kids to produce focused work in the middle of the school day…. Like I said, it’s better practice for life!

“Applause to Denise Pope for opening this conversation through Stanford’s Dept. of Education. However, since the beginning of her crusade (when it was known as SOS, Stressed Out Students), I always found it ironic and hypocritical that this campaign started at Stanford. It’s exactly Ivy League schools like Stanford, where students are literally killing themselves to get in, that drive students’ crazy work load: too many APs, shooting for 5.0 GPAs, every activity in the book. If students were to limit their time doing homework, and accept lower grades for sleep , you can betcha Stanford would not consider their applications! Maybe Denise and her Challenge Success crew should hop off the pulpit and do something that’s not connected to Stanford, the very type of university that drives this insane pressure high school students feel. The pressure comes from the top (colleges) and trickles down!”

I agree, Challenge Success is not really challenging the real problem, which is the college board and college industry.

Pressuring the parents and schools will add no further value except to cause anxiety about the politics of reducing homework when schools like Stanford are rewarding the kids who can do “more.”

What is missing is research or an outing of the insane college admissions game which uses silly words like “holistic” to evaluate equally capable candidates. The black box has never been researched.

Why not make a big part of Stanford’s admissions a lottery? What would be the risk?

Time to change the focus of challenge success’ research, and look within.

I’m surprised that kids have any time at all to do homework, between TV and cell phones. Didn’t I hear that they sleep with their phones? Makes for a lot of lost sleep, eh? I’m not sure that I believe that homework is the villain here.

“I’m surprised that kids have any time at all to do homework, between TV and cell phones. Didn’t I hear that they sleep with their phones? Makes for a lot of lost sleep, eh? I’m not sure that I believe that homework is the villain here.”

Though phones and social media are a problem, it could also be the three sports, the three tutors, the viola, the first novel, or finding the cure for something that is making after school like a second or third job.

Any of the leaders of faith communities in Palo Alto can attest to the high level of stress over homework of the youth of our community.

Posted by Ironic, a resident of Midtown 4 hours ago

“Applause to Denise Pope for opening this conversation through Stanford’s Dept. of Education. However, since the beginning of her crusade (when it was known as SOS, Stressed Out Students), I always found it ironic and hypocritical that this campaign started at Stanford. It’s exactly Ivy League schools like Stanford,” Stanford people are trying ultra hard to claim to be Ivy league…but they ‘aint.

And I used to stress over delivering the Palo Alto Times to a hundred customers six afternoons a week. Until I started stressing about my draft lottery number and Vietnam. But stress was a way of life when you grow up cowering under the school desks once a quarter listening to the air-raid sirens that would signal incoming H-bombs. Oh, the halcyon days of my youth. Amazing what one can become inured to.

Having lived on Taiwan for two years, I can attest to the fact that most Taiwanese kids ( as well as Japanese kids) are very overstressed. They have a higher rate of teen suicide there and in Japan than anywhere else in the world. Their parents pressure them so much that they have a high rate of nervous breakdowns that usually go untreated, as to do so would shame the parents. The parents achieve high results from their kids with horrible threats ( such as being disowned or kicked out on the street for a month) which they usually follow through with.

These kids often come over here for college, and away from their parents, they GO WILD with freedom. In Taiwan and Japan, all the real work is in high schools. my cousin is a professor at Tokyo University, where he teaches advanced English. His first semester there he flunked half the class. The dean asked him why he did this, and he replied that half the students never showed up, the other half did sloppy work, so to them he gave Cs. The dean replied, NO! NO! To the ones who attended,you give As. To the ones who never showed, you give Bs. Understand?”

So many excellent comments here. Personally, I am intrigued by those who are “flipping” the classroom, esp AP classes. Teachers video their lecture and that is the homework, plus reading. Then class is spent in discussion, projects, problem-solving. At the end of the day, I don’t think it is homework, but our outdated style of pedagogy that needs to be examined.

Bravo!!! The truth about homework is finally outed. This report should be mandatory reading for the whack job, neurotic parental units in Palo Alto/Los Altos Hills. The 5% fringe group of parents need to digest this research and take it to heart. This will take the pressure off teachers who are trying to accommodate the whims of the crazies (aka parents).

I read a book a while back about the education system in Finland. While they do have a longer school day, they also get more recess time, even at the high school level. Homework is non-existent before 10th grade, at which time it is only one-half hour , the school work gets done IN school, with teachers there to assist.

And Finnish kids are kicking the butts of Asian kids with their scores! Go figure.

I was just about to talk about Europe. We all keep being told about how hard the kids work in Asia, but Europeans tend to have a longer school year, a longer school day and much less homework. They tend to have a central college application process too which makes a lot less stress. They can only apply for 5 or 6, get accepted to no more than 3 and depending on exam results are selected for 1.

It is about time education was simplified and quantified here.

@Think again – In the most recent PISA math scores, FInland ranked 12th. The top 7 were all in Asia:

1: Shanghai-China 2: Singapore 3: Hong Kong 4: Chinese Taipei 5: Korea 6:Macao-China 7: Japan … 31: United States

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/dec/03/pisa-results-country-best-reading-maths-science

I guess my kids are among the 44% students who don’t think homework is overly taxing in PA high schools… My kids took AP classes including in math, science and languages, so they were in high lane classes. However, they refused to take all APs (no AP English or AP history). I’ve never seen them spend that much time studying. They certainly are in bed at a reasonable time every night (between 10 and 11 PM for my senior). And he has a job outside of school and belongs to a club at school.

Honestly, if my kids had less homework, I’d worry that it’s way too little.

So, you can be in high school in PA and not be the stereotypical kid drowning in homework. I think some kids take on too much, either because of parental, or peer pressure, or for college admissions (we circle back to parental and peer pressure on this one).

Parent of a senior: If your children are sailing through the most difficult AP classes doing fine and well-rested, holding a job, it points to one thing: they are supersmart. Don’t give people the wrong impression because not all have it as easy as yours do.

Wouldn’t it be great if Ohlone extended through 8th grade or even high school? After school today my daughter attended play rehersal, built a Lego city, made Jello AND baked a cake with her big sis. Then they played in the back yard until dusk and finished a book before going to sleep at 8:30pm. So much learning happens after school – memorization, fractions, design, reading and so on. Ohlone rocks.

@Paul, Do up you actually know any parents here or are you just one of the whack job trolls who likes to make strong comments about things you don’t have a clue? Or maybe you’re one of the administrators who is so threatened by smart peope you have to anonymously attack parents every chance you get? Because we’ve been to three area schools and still don’t know any of those mythical stress mngerong pa parents.

A totally different era! Grew up long ago (1930s/40s) when TV, cell phones, computers and computer games did not exist. Homework was mostly in math, which took 30-45 min. to complete. Then: stickball, hide & seek, tree climbing, long bike rides, the occasional fight with the neighborhood bully, or reading a book. AP did not exist. I went on to finish college in 2 and a half years, was invited to Phi Beta Kappa, and went on to a great career in a highly competitive field: administration in higher education. Today’s kids face far too many demands on their time and energy; they have little time for unprogrammed fun. No wonder they’re stressed out!

I have 2 kids who went through the entire Paly public school system. They took mostly the same classes up through junior year in high school.

One spent maybe 45 minutes per night on homework. The other one spent probably 2hrs per night on average, but many nights much more than that. Both learned the material although to varying degrees, and they were also better and worse at different subject areas.

Given the differences in kids (even apparently between siblings), “hours of homework” seems like a metric hard to draw conclusions from. Or maybe it’s really argument for lane-ing, yet you can find plenty of people in this district who don’t want lane-ing either.

At the very least, I hope the study came to deeper conclusions than “homework which ‘cultivates learning and development’ is good, but homework which is ‘busy work’ is bad.”

G6od bless the Experimental School of Education! I trust school officials and parents in Asia are paying attention to this!

My oldest child is in 5th grade, both are in elementary school – they have never had homework that couldn’t be completed in under an hour (often far less), and often have no homework nights. Maybe things will change radically in middle school and high school, but so far we have found our school to be a good balance of work and play. I don’t get the depictions of this district as a pressure cooker. It hasn’t been our experience at all.

the problem with classroom flipping is that kids become so dependent on who they are sitting next to. to be effective it also necessitates that teachers enforce a rule that the classroom operates in english only so that kids can’t be excluded by a table group where they are the only english speaker and everyone else speaks spanish or russian or chinese or urdu or farsi. teachers are afraid of being perceived as racist so they usually turn a blind eye to that phenomenon making them, of course, reverse racists.

Yes, things will change radically. Get ready for 8th grade. That’s when the demands really went to 11.

I have a senior at Gunn (Palo Verde/JLS/Gunn) and an 8th grader at JLS. Both kids are rarely overwhelmed by homework and have plenty of time for sports, socializing with friends, and other extracurriculars. My younger child does do more than her brother did, but she is a different student than he is and the assignments take her longer. BUT both my kids (and my husband and I) are OK with Bs, which around here are often considered “bad” grades. My son is graduating Gunn with a GPA that is definitely below their average but we’re in the middle of college acceptance letters and so far he is 6 or 6 in acceptances. His GPA might not have gotten him into MIT, Stanford or Harvard, but there are 1,000s of other colleges out there and 6 very good ones have accepted him. He’s happy, well adjusted and not stressed or sleep deprived.

@pa parent: The study was on high school homework. Elementary schools here don’t have much homework and were easy academically. Middle and high school will be much different unless your children have easy teachers.

Always hard to know if conclusions drawn in reports like this, where all the authors are affiliated with an advocacy group and so are like-mind going into it, are sound. It looks like Galloway and Conner were Pope’s students and involved in Challenge Success’ advocacy efforts before they took jobs at other universities.

Were the survey questions clear and unbiased? When my child took a Challenge Success survey what I heard afterwards was that the questions were confusing and the answers that could be checked were too narrow.

Add to that that the questions were “open-ended,” that leaves lots of room for confirmation bias when interpreting the responses.

Same can be said about the findings. I am confused by Challenge Success’ conclusion: “many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems, including headaches, exhaustion, weight loss and stomach problems”

How many? If it was a high number Challenge Success would likely have noted the percentage like it did in its other findings. Could “many” have been better stated as “not many?” No way to know without more.

I tried to pull up the report through the Weekly’s link but you have to pay to get the details which makes it hard to verify. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220973.2012.745469 .

On homework, I agree with Another Paly Parent. The same homework assignment can take two students a vastly different amount of time to complete. Homework expectations should be clear at registration so each high school student can select the class mix that will have the right amount of homework for him.

I heard that Paly wanted to take away lanes and make ALL 9th graders take the hardest, most advanced English class. I hope that student choice – and the ability to self-regulate the homework load that comes with that – prevailed in the end.

Agree with Parent: “I wish all the colleges would stop accepting AP classes, the problem would be solved. “ We have never had college level classes in high school back to Russia ( so don’t blame Russians :-), spent about a couple of hours for HW, were accepted to great colleges and got good jobs in competitive Silicon Valley market.

Smooth move, censors, deleting me for commentary about Paul above calling parents “ whack os” but still letting him call them “ crazies”. I’ll bet Paul doesn’t even know any PAUSD parents but just finds it easy to pile on the nasty lobs by a few admins secretly posting their bile against parents on other school threads (kind of obvious, too).

The parents in this district are a dream compared to other places I’ve been. What’s the group word for ad hominem?

@ Mom – Palo Verde resident

Exactly!! I so totally agree. My senior (Palo Verde/JLS/Paly – so our kids were classmates for a long time obviously) followed the same route as yours, and the end results are very similar.

I believe the stress comes from wanting to go to Ivy Leagues or Stanford at any cost. Silly, especially at the undergraduate level.

It’s interesting to me that there are so many more comments on this thread here, than on the Almanac thread with the same article. Many of the Menlo/Atherton/Woodside/PV kids I know are stressed, too, whether they’re in private schools or public.

Maybe, just maybe, it is because Palo Alto parents tend to blame their schools for anything that can possibly be an issue with their kids. Perhaps Menlo/Atherton/Woodside/PV residents have a different outlook on this.

@Mom from Palo Verde – I like your approach. No need blame others – the high schools, the colleges, “Tiger Moms,” etc. – for something that is really under our own control. We too accept Bs (though cheer As), and adjust the lane to the interest and ambition level of our children. Our kids do deal with stress and failure at times, but when and how they choose.

As you say, there are lots of colleges out there that will be lucky to have our kids. And I’ve known many, many folks who somehow managed to be quite happy and fulfilled despite not attending a college ranked high by US News!

Parents of a Senior – good observation. I don’t know the answer, but it’s good that parents are paying attention and concerned. The other parents I mention seem to put into place as much help as possible, via programs, tutoring, etc. It’s a huge amount of context shifting for all involved, and I feel for all of them!

I recall being shocked by a weird combination of helicopter parenting and ignoring kids to pursue their own agendas from the parents of a number of kids at Paly when I went there. I know now that some of it was just their way of trying to balance demanding careers, personal ambitions and kids’ needs – not easy at all – in order to keep up with the Joneses. Of course that happens everywhere, but this particular combo seemed to be really obvious in Palo Alto.

When I look back at who went to what school and what they’re doing now, I honestly see a mixture of kids who went to both junior college first and those who went straight to a four year school. Many of them went to state schools, not UCs, and they’re employed, seemingly happy, make a good income and are raising kids on their own.

Of those from my AP classes, I’m more in touch with those from AP English, many of whom went to fancier universities. I can’t honestly say that they’re more successful than the ones who went to state, because as we grow and change, hopefully our idea of what constitutes success does, too.

And amongst the younger generation – the only recent college grad I know who actually owns property on the Peninsula went to San Jose State, working the whole time 🙂

Posted by Allen Veaner, a resident of another community 4 hours ago A totally different era! Grew up long ago (1930s/40s) when TV, cell phones, computers and computer games did not exist. Homework was mostly in math, which took 30-45 min. to complete. Then: stickball, hide & seek, tree climbing, long bike rides, the occasional fight with the neighborhood bully, or reading a book. AP did not exist. I went on to finish college in 2 and a half years, was invited to Phi Beta Kappa, and went on to a great career in a highly competitive field: administration in higher education. Today’s kids face far too many demands on their time and energy; they have little time for unprogrammed fun. No wonder they’re stressed out!

***************

Wonderful post, Allen! I love the idea of “unprogrammed fun.” Rarely do I see kids in my neighborhood out playing, running around, exploring, and doing the things they should be doing in childhood. Sad.

It seems very unfair to all of the Gunn kids that across town the Paly kids are benefiting from a block schedule. Block scheduling helps alleviate the stress of daily homework, as advocated by Challenge Success. At Gunn we still have students trying to jam their load of college-like courses into a high-school schedule and it simply doesn’t work. Something has to give. That’s why nearly all of the local public and private high schools have moved toward block scheduling. Except for Gunn.

As Dana Tom said to Gunn parents about counseling, sit down and be quiet. Paly is no Shangri La.

“That’s why nearly all of the local public and private high schools have moved toward block scheduling. “

That’s interesting. It seems like most schools do have some blocking – some have 2-3 days blocks, others 4-5, but most have many days with longer periods. As with the calender, there is some sense in following the crowd on things like this.

Here’s a nice “Pro and Con” article from the Gunn Oracle last year on this very topic: http://gunnoracle.com/2013/04/palys-block-schedule-is-superior-to-gunns-rotating-schedule/

@hmmmm and @parents of a senior bring up an interesting question i have never understood.

These discussion boards are full of paly/gunn related issues and commenters: too much homework, too much pressure, too much tutoring, ucla didnt take my kid, go east kids, we can do better, no we can’t, etc.

there is rarely (that i have found at least) a similar discussion re nearby highschools, be the Menlo Atherton, Woodside, etc.

MA for example does not have the same net high test scores across the board (more diverse student body) — but a very large cohort of kids there go to great colleges each year (stanford, cal, ivies, great independent small schools, etc etc, plus do marvelous things and seemingly much less energy is expended on this stuff.

are they less stressed? is that just that they are sleepy in menlo/portola? or are we uniquely frantic even as others do similar things without all the hoopla? are palo alto schools really that different? seriously — what is the comparison and why is it so different (or silent) nearby?

Confused: Do they have Town Forums? People move to Palo Alto for the schools so there is more competition of nerd genes. It’s perhaps easier to attain a higher GPA at M-A for the same amount of work that would get a B in PAUSD?

Answers — thanks. I am not trying to offend, but my concern is those are stereotypes we create and then attempt to force for ourselves. i say that mainly because i am in this district and have friends who send kids to MA. the idea that effort X gets you grade Y there vs here rings false from a number of parents i talk to.

here is what i understand:

– on a test score basis — PA/GUNN does better than MA — but that is mainly do to MA having a large population of students learning english (so the scores are more widely distributed). this test score alone is the source of how we compare the schools.

– that said there is a cohort of 400 kids every year at MA who are are quite good. a friend of mine recently attended an 8th grade info night with a table full of older MA kids as speakers — ALL of whom were on their way to stanford, brown, wellseley, etc.

– that cohort of 400 plus apparently operates with way less stress, agita, etc. vs what we do to ourselves.

– the parent group in PA may just approach things differently — ie more aggressively in a way that creates agita that otherwise would just be a normal demanding school like exists in many well off areas without anywhere near the stress etc

the question is if groups in other places dont have the same madness — but perform very near the same — what can we do to be less insane. its concerning.

It could very well be that Menlo Atherton handles diversity better than Paly and Gunn. One look at their College Counseling website and it’s much easier to understand than Gunn’s or Paly; they even have a section in Spanish.

Handling diversity better means they probably handle kids in the middle better too. That’s a huge indicator of school culture.

We have all sorts of drama like the Paly Math letter, and the English 9 de-laning. Both related to better serving under represented minorities. That’s all at Paly alone. Gunn has it’s own issues. Two schools, double drama.

The overall pressure though comes from the top though. AP’s are really unnecessary. What possible rationale is there to take college level work in high school, when you are going to be taking college level courses for four years.

Hey J99 you scare me Sounds like a terrible lifestyle

Homework and education are mortal enemies. Homestudy and education are best friends.

PA Parent and Rocket Science,

My PAUSD 5th grader has had TONS of homework and big projects so both of you are mistaken about the current amount of elementary school homework, at least at my son’s school. My child just turned in a long term project that was mostly worked on at home and that we spent many weekends working on! Many of the other parents here have been complaining about this project too. That is not the only one. My child is about to begin another huge project and that will be interspersed with math, science, book reports, and other miscellaneous work. Much of this work is worthwhile, in my opinion, but it is just too much to do at home and too difficult for my chid to do without help from parents and teachers. I really wish most if not all of this work could be done in school. I blame it on the new Common Core tests all of the schools are trying to get ready for.

@ parent 2 Challenge Success did a survey at Gunn a few years ago and would not release the results to the school, the challenge success club at the school, the ptsa or the site council. Presumably the results did not coincide with their theories at the time. I would never let my kids fill out one of their surveys again because of the way the data is used/not used.

I hear that their theories on stress have changed recently anyhow.

The other big problem is that their message to high schoolers was “its okay if you go to Tulane, Wash U, or other high-priced private schools instead of Stanford” while completely ignoring kids who will be going to state schools or community colleges. So elitist that people were walking out of their seminars.

Wow, that is a huge amount of misinformation crammed into one post. A nice mix of falsehoods and unsourced rumor. Wonder why you have an ax to grind on this?

@Pressure Here!: Sometimes there are super-challenging elementary school teachers and it seems your child has one. The last of my three children is in 6th now and we never had much homework in elementary school – usually none at all or 15 minutes occasionally. Perhaps talk to your principal. Are you at Hoover? The Hoover parents have no problem with hours of homework, as many of them grew up with hours of it in Asia.

I find it hard to believe Common Core is going to change anything in PAUSD since our district already over prepares our children.

This isn’t rocket science,

“I find it hard to believe Common Core is going to change anything in PAUSD since our district already over prepares our children.”

This term “over prepared” should give people pause, as it relates to homework and stress.

The college racket has caused an official system of over preparing. It is carried out in a million ways, and kids, and families are under assault. Colleges border on being family life wreckers.

Change the college application system to a lottery. Colleges should trust districts like PAUSD who turn out decent kids to have a pool of kids who are considered qualified if they have completed normal, regular work. Make a separate small pool for first generation, and athletes, if that is so important.

Anyone who wants to “over prepare”, do it by choice, and that should not be on the application.

What colleges want is a steady flow of olympians and rocket scientists, and they have corrupted the system to attract these types. Colleges should suffer the reality of the stats on how many of those there really are instead of making everyone work as if.

I am a sophomore at Woodside Priory School and I think that there is way too much homework. I remember the days in elementary school when I would come home, do around half an hour of homework, and then play with my brother until the sun went down. High school students need time to play just like younger kids and we should not be spending our time stressed out over homework. I really wish that I had a chance to just have fun and figure out what I want to to with my life.

@pressure here – your 5th grader’s homework has nothing to do with the Common Core. 5th grade at Addison (my kids are now in high school and college) was filled with project, events, assemblies, etc. The teachers were fabulous and caring BUT a lot of the work required significant parental time, involvement, and often $$ (my eldest’s 5th grade class had many kids who rented costumes for the “Wax Museum” project of famous, deceased americans).

You can pretty much ignore any individual anecdote which indicates homework is easy or non-existant. Dr. Pope’s statistics capture a much broader view of homework than a single Parent bragging that their kid has no problem.

Dr Pope’s data pretty much matches surveys done locally by the city – youth council and by the district, over multiple years of surveys. about half the kids are Very stressed, and the time spent on homework skyrockets in middle school. Teachers here assign about 50% more than guidelines ( yes we have guidelines) and about 1/4 of the students are burning almost 20 hrs/week on hw.

Homework load varys by teacher, and many are quite rigid about hw rules and grading. in Jordan we saw excessive pressure from teachers intimidating students about hw: “…you’ll fail high school if you don’t do this work!” you can almost hear the witches cackle.

Anyhoo, get yourself a tutor in middleschool – that’s what the teachers want you to do, and there is no use fighting it. This will make your students life easier, the tutor will actually teach your kid the material, and hw will go much faster once they know the subject. Also, you are not the hw whip anymore. plus they can edit your kids papers and give your student the immediate writing feedback which they get so rarely from most of the English teachers.

Once you understand the dysfunction of this district, the solution is not too hard to accept. Either a tutor, or private school, or depression & darkness.

@ gunn mom No axe, just a point of view. And not misinformation either. I was one parent who attended presentations at Stanford and at Gunn by Challenge Success where they specifically said there are dozens schools worth attending and advised students to go just beyond the Ivies and Stanford. In fact there are thousands of schools in the US alone. At least once I witnessed another panel member challenge Denise on that topic. I think Challenge Success should really put their money where their mouth is and embrace all kids, not just the sub-Ivy set. Otherwise they are Elitist. Period. The presentations were probably recorded so you might check for yourself.

“Anyhoo, get yourself a tutor in middleschool – that’s what the teachers want you to do, and there is no use fighting it. This will make your students life easier, the tutor will actually teach your kid the material”

If you want to go this way, that’s fine. It is not necessary of course – many (most?) do without tutors, or get spot support when needed. They do fine too.

In my view, the dysfunction isn’t so much in the schools, as in some of the families. The teachers and material seem fine (esp. if you and your kids select lanes/classes that are a good fit for them). Some families treat education as an arms race, which we simply try to ignore.

Fred’s “everything’s fine, and if it’s not it’s your fault” perspective doesn’t fit my experience. My son went to Gunn excited to be in high school, and intellectually curious. Not a powerhouse, but interested in school and in his friends. He quickly realized that there is no place for kids who don’t or can’t want to do many hours of homework a night, but don’t want to be in the lowest lane in terms of content. I can’t believe that there is no way to provide the average kid a stimulating education that doesn’t require that that they give up their after-school activities and weekends, and that doesn’t leave them feeling like they aren’t cut out for school.

I just don’t buy the Libertarian, blame the kid view that I see some holding around Palo Alto.

Palo Alto Parent,

Funny you should mention Addison because guess where my kid goes? Yes, Addison, not Hoover, like somebody else guessed! And the Wax Museum was a major endeavor and like you said it required significant help from parents. I thought the project was interesting and definitely worthwhile, but why not have it shorter, less involved and much more manageable so that a kid could do it him/herself? I don’t know about you, but my husband and I had to help in every aspect of this nightmare project! Will it really help my child once he gets to Jordan next year to have completed a project for which he had to have a lot of help from his parents? And he continues to be bombarded with one project after another, reading letters (essentially mini literary essays), the Inquiry Fair, etc… The teachers are good and I feel are preparing him well, but why can’t a lot of this work be done in school? It is almost like there are really two separate issues, not only the excessive amount of HW, but that the HW is so difficult that the kids can’t complete by themselves. It’s almost as though the school/district has some lofty image to uphold and they don’t want to tarnish it by having the kids do less and easier work otherwise that will decrease the rigor thereby decreasing the reputation of the school and district. And the 5th grade teachers (who all collaborate on the curriculum, at least three of them do) explained that each project/assignment was to be explored MUCH more in depth than in previous years in order to comply with the Common Core. So yes, they did mention part of all of this is due to the Common Core.

@Pressure Here, Funny you should give the “wax museum” as an example of additional homework, my child did it all alone. The only part we, as parents, got involved with was help in learning the lines. Her teacher adjusted other homework to limit the impact on homework overall. To be honest there was no notable spike in homework effort and it was managed very well by the teacher involved.

@Pressure here! Maybe it’s the Addison parents who are kicking it up because we experienced the Wax Museum three times and it was easy – they did the work in class besides memorizing. Or perhaps it’s an issue with your specific teacher – when things are out-of-control difficult, it’s the teacher.

@Fred: You are partially correct – some parents expect too much from their children. But there are also teachers who expect too much from our children. It’s not one or the other.

Confused – I don’t know the answer as to why there’s more hoopla/conversation in PA than in MP/PV/EPA/, etc. In my experience, many of the PA adults do get all het up in a much more entitled fashion than the other parents. But when it’s PA monied parents vs the other local wealthy parents, I’ve seen things much more contained amongst the non-PA parents. Money gets quietly thrown at problems, whereas in PA, money gets thrown w/a lot more drama. And of course, the infamous Palo Alto Process, which has now been around for decades, creates an ongoing wrench in the works when it comes to civic and school matters.

In Menlo, there used to a be more quiet modesty about things were handled – which wasn’t always for the better, but of course, that is changing.

Hey no pressure,

Is your child a current student at Addison or a past one? Why are you bragging for him/her and what is the point of being so smug? The Wax Museum was only one project (a huge one nonetheless) out of many and I think I made that clear. That combined with everything else is hard. Not sure who your kid has but not all of the teachers adjusted the homework schedule to compensate. In fact one of the classes did the entire thing in school, but the other three did not. Not sure who you talked to but every parent I did said what a huge project it was and how they had to help their children. Plus we are talking 5th grade here. If your kid can do Wax Museum by himself good for him, but that wasn’t the case for many of the families I know of. Plus what does it say about you to be bragging about your kid on this forum anyway? That you live through your kid’s accomplishments?My kid needed absolutely no help whatsoever with his lines and gave his performance beautifully! He will also need no help with his Inquiry Fair because that is more his thing. But that is not the point. the point is that our child and others at Addison have been experiencing quite the HW load this year and I think it’s too much and too difficult. Every family and each child is different but that’s our experience. And for the record, my child is pretty smart too.

Not bragging, didn’t give any results. Just stating how it was managed by the teacher (well) and how it impacted homework overall (not at all). This was down to the teacher not the child. As I stated, the only time we got involved was on helping to memorize the lines and I’d expect to help out on that. It’s easier when you have someone to work with. Hardly a “project from hell”.

Pressure and no pressure,

Depending on the child or the family, historical re-enactments can be grueling. That fact alone is enough to reconsider their value.

I always found projects for “show” or “tell” fun and cute for the people taking pictures, and great for the family photo albums, but it is not for sure that they add a huge amount of depth to learning compared to the theater involved. Theater is simply not something that works for everyone, and people who are not into that kind of pressure should not be forced into it. Maybe one max in elementary, end of story.

Theater just compounds the idea that kids have to “demonstrate” something, and the bigger the production the better?

PAUSD is too full of these re-enactments. How about Medieval Feast at Jordan?

Worst part, when you get graded on costume, or whatever. They can be really annoying after second grade.

In response to the comment about Hoover, above, and as a data point for others: my child attends Hoover and he really likes it.

He is in fourth grade, and has never been deluged with homework. He enjoys school, feels safe, likes the teachers and staff, and has good friends there.

As a family, we find the diversity of the student body to be a strength of the school.

the answer is easy. school choice and vouchers. take your kids to where they want or need to be. ivy league at all costs! – public education in palo alto is an absolute disgrace!

Vouchers are utter bullcrap, but leave it to a Libertarian to think they’re a good answer.

Parents: some advice – ignore Fred. His single point of view is not representative of the actual statistics in our district.

Addison parents: no matter how well you think your child is prepared, they aren’t. The surveys show the transition to 6th grade is hard. You kids will face an ungodly crap-ton mountain of homework at Jordan, the likes of which would make a Tiger mom quiver. You see, teacher success comes with scores, and they get this success on the backs of student labor, not teaching brilliance. The teachers will pressure your kids quite enough.

If you want to lower your students stress level (without dropping lanes, skipping class, or shirking) your student will need help. We’re not talking about the 1% genius kid, but rather an average kid who is fine with a mix of A’s and B’s. School will be he’ll for that kid, and they will burnout and checkout.

But – a little help will go a long way. You can tutor them, or hire a tutor, or look for free tutoring services/help after school. 1or2 times a week. It will boost their confidence, give them help understanding material, and they can connect with someone in the education process who encourages them as students. (something you ‘LL find rare at Jordan)

The surveys are clear – you are facing difficult times ahead, and the school has no motivation to address the issues that are there. Don’t pressure your kid – help them.

Heh, heh,.. . Wow I have been remembering our days at the Jordan Gulag, and I am so relieved to be out of THAT hellhole.

Good example of too much pointless homework and the innovative skills of the teachers. Apparently they got together in a coven and decided that literacy and writing skills should be distributed across all classes. No research backing this up, just a pure-hearted motivation to ruin the one class that had no homework.

THEY MADE THE KIDS WRITE AN ESSAY IN P.E. !!

No shizzle. True story. Of course this was not part of any unit, there were no writing skills or analysis skills presented in class. They were not practicing anything taught in class. Just pure work for the sake of work. When it was graded, there was no feedback that would help them write better, nor help them improve at P. E.

Of course, not that we expected a useful educational experience; we had learned by now that this game is about obedience, compliance, organization, and work volume.

So the net result of an assignment with 1) no relevance 2) no class support 3) no useful feedback ?; it was actually a net negative experience. Like most things at Jordan Gulag it burned time, deprived sleep and demotivated kids. In P.E no less!

The fires burned high in the coven that night! You could hear the witches cackle as they finally figured out how to load homework in the one class that had avoided pointless drudgery -P.E. It was a moral victory for the side of evil.

Anyhoo, that kind of nonsense was a weekly drama at Jordan Gulag. Boy am I glad to be out of there!!

Trust me, you don’t need to pressure your kid – there is plenty pressure already in th Gulag.

Homework Parent’s summary could be appropriate for one of my children, who had a difficult duo of teachers (but is no longer a duo). But another child had a different duo and it wasn’t so dire.

I do agree with HP that paying tutors lessens stress for both parent and child. I formerly thought people paid tutors to ace classes, however, we have hired them to clarify for our children so they are less frustrated and this has not always resulted in “A”s but has resulted in far less stress for us. Some of the math/science is quite difficult in high school, and my husband has a math/science graduate degree but claims he has to relearn so it’s just easier to hire a tutor. Chemistry at Paly is challenging (college textbook), both in regular and honors lane (most have tutors in AP and honors lanes of math and science). Surely, someone will brag about their children never having tutors and taking advanced classes – kudos to you for having super-intelligent, driven children.

My biggest disappointment is that the Jordan English department has been failing students for at least a decade now. PAUSD’s English department was excellent back in the 70s and 80s. We all learned to write and papers were returned with comments. Nowadays, both Jordan and Paly fail to teach writing skills or return papers with useful comments so we have had to find instruction outside of school or I have helped our children learn. There are a few good English teachers at Jordan/Paly, but I emphasize “few” between the two schools.

To those of you elementary parents who are living from mortgage to mortgage, I encourage you to save for tutoring, which costs $45-$85/hour.

The middle,schools,in Palo Alto, especially Jordan , simply do NOT prepare the kids well for high school. I have noticed a trend the last 15 years of Palo Alto parents taking their kids out of middle school and putting them in private schools for those three years, THEN placing them back in Paly or Gunn.

Amazingly, many parents who do this state that’s their kids have less homework in private school ( with the exception of Castilleja) than at Jordan, JLS, or Terman.

@PAmiddle school Sucks: yep, that pretty much sums it up. Jordan creates a ton of work, and results in underprepared, burned-out students.

No surprise that parents look elsewhere. The Jordan Gulag has an image problem and a dissatisfied customer problem. Neither will be fixed of course, because – hey we’re PAUSD, and we don’t have to reform broken culture.

I used to only have 1 sheet a day in elementary school and when I went up to middle school I got more and more so I couldn’t spend time with friends and family.

You may be good at simple arithmetic, but it is obvious that many kids were in more than one group, such as “ homework is primary stress” AND “getting good grades”, OR some may have fit into all three categories, even.

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Knight Life

A source of stress: why homework needs to go away

Hank Perkins , Staff Writer December 17, 2021

When Owen Davis goes home after a long day of school at Loy Norrix and KAMSC, all he wants to do is relax and spend time with friends and family, but he realizes he has loads of homework to complete for the next day. Davis is in difficult classes, including Geology, AP Statistics, and Advanced Computer Science, which all give him a lot of homework. 

Homework is a burden for students, as they usually have substantial amounts of homework every day after school where they do not have a sufficient amount of time to complete it due to other priorities they have, such as extracurriculars and family obligations. Homework is supposed to be beneficial for students, yet it is the complete opposite as all it does is increase student’s levels of stress dramatically and makes their life harder. 

According to When Homework Causes Stress , “In 2013, research conducted by Stanford University demonstrated that students from high-achieving communities experience stress, physical health problems, an imbalance in their lives, and alienation from society as a result of spending too much time on homework. According to the survey data, 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress. The remaining students viewed tests and the pressure to get good grades as the primary stressors. Notably, less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.”

Many students at Loy Norrix feel tremendous stress due to the large amount of homework they get every night as they would like to relax after a long day at school, yet they need to continue their diligent studies at home. 

From a survey of 124 students, about 100 agreed that homework is unnecessary and students feel overwhelmed from it due to their extracurriculars outside of school. 

A majority of students claim to spend 2+ hours on doing homework every night.

One third of students surveyed are in AP classes or are in KAMSC and claim these types of classes assign them a lot of homework, causing them stress. 

Students in regular classes claim to have less homework than those in honors and AP classes, yet these students in regular classes still believe their homework is unnecessary. 

Senior Ari’el Abbott who is taking AP classes at Loy Norrix mentioned her disapproval of homework’s effects on her mental strength.

“ Sometimes homework goes to the point where you are doing so much it’s harder to retain what you are learning compared to what is needed to know,” Abbott said. “I can be working for 4 hours in a class, and by the time I finish with the one class, I am too tired to even attempt to do another class which could cause one of two things: me working hard overdoing myself and possibly getting a bad grade on the assignments or mentally exhausting myself and then becoming behind in multiple classes. Either way the assignments are taking too long to complete which causes me to overwork myself.”

According to Kalamazoo Public Schools sets districtwide homework policy , the KPS District suggests that teachers give 10 minutes of homework per night for students in kindergarten and first grade and increase the amount by 10 minutes per night as grade levels go up. This means that seniors in high school are recommended to have roughly two hours of homework per night. 

Students in high school get way too much homework every night as they also have extracurricular activities and other duties to do, and the last thing they want to do after a hard day of school is to continue learning what they have already covered in school. 

Many students feel the amount of homework they receive influences their lives in a way where they cannot do the things they love. Senior Matthew Gray said how homework has affected his life during virtual learning.

“Online, I’d be getting huge projects and essays to do, so I would just be on my computer all day and miss out on other things I could be doing, such as hanging out with friends and family, since I have things to get done,” Gray said.

Another person that doesn’t see the positives of homework is AP Spanish teacher Christina Holmes.

“I try to keep homework to a minimum,” Holmes said. “I feel like homework should only continue something that has been worked on in class. I would never assign new material as homework. Homework, if given, is one of two things, an opportunity to complete an assignment that was worked on in class or an opportunity to use the language in a real life setting, such as watching a TV show in Spanish or talking to someone in Spanish,” Holmes said. 

While some students and teachers do not admire and agree with homework, other students and teachers do see the necessity of homework. AP Calculus teacher Adam Hosler is a proponent in favor of homework. 

“Homework is especially important for math as you have to practice the skills on your own to internalize it, to know what you’re doing,” Hosler said, “I think the amount of homework students should do is dependent on the student’s level, so AP kids would have more homework than kids in Algebra II, so I think there’s a feel on how much homework students should do. I base homework on quality over quantity: as long as you understand the topics, instead of how much homework you do. Students do need more practice based on their levels on certain topics though.”

According to Is Homework Beneficial? – Top 3 Pros and Cons , students who do homework for 30 to 90 minutes a day score 40 points higher on the SAT Math portion than students who do no homework a day. 

Additionally, in relation to standardized tests and grades, students who do homework perform better than 69% of students who do not have homework. 

Statistical research from the High School Journal on the impact of homework showed that 64% of students in one study and 72% of students in another study, improved academic achievement due to having homework.

Homework’s so-called purpose is to be beneficial to students, yet it appears to be the direct opposite, as homework usually causes negative effects for students. 

If teachers are to give students homework, it should be homework that is relevant to the real world. It should contain skills that are realistic to the skills you would use in real life. Homework should not be worksheets that are irrelevant to the world outside of their classes. 

Teachers should be more mindful of students’ lives outside of school as teachers often load students with immense amounts of homework that students are not capable of completing, which makes their lives even more difficult on top of other obligations outside of school. 

A change needs to be made on the homework policy. Homework should be relevant to the real world and not just monotonous daily worksheets that don’t seem to serve a purpose to the real world. 

Less amounts of homework need to be given to allow students to relax outside of school and enjoy their lives, instead of constantly being stressed due to their homework duties. 

• adam hosler
• Ari'el Abbott
• Christina Holmes
• hank perkins
• Matthew Gray

Sahriah Casey , Staff Writer

May 22, 2024

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The educational process gives many benefits for the youth as it helps children obtain knowledge, improve skills, and get ready for a future career. However, there’s one thing that bothers: Both children and parents are worried about the amount of homework teachers assign kids to study in their free time.

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It’s no secret that most students share the same idea that teachers give them too much homework. And a logical question appears: How many minutes of homework should school students have? Is homework bad ? The short answer is 10 minutes of homework for each grade reacher. Obviously, school, college, and university students can’t get the same amount of homework.

In partnership with the National Parent Teacher Association, The National Education Association has created the 10-minute rule, according to which students shouldn’t be spending more than 10 minutes on doing homework each day for each grade reached. In other words, being a student of the 12th grade, children should spend up to 120 minutes on homework daily which means up to 10 hours a week.

However, statistics on homework claim that children spend around 17.5 hours a week on homework. Simply put, teachers assign too much homework as they lack the knowledge of teaching with SCDL , which may lead to health problems.

Although out-of-class activity is an essential part of the educational process, there are five reasons why too much homework is bad for health.

The Main Source of Stress

There’s a great variety of homework facts and one of them claims that 56% of students consider homework a primary source of stress. Not only does homework help to improve academic achievements, but it also affects students’ grades. Thus, it’s no wonder that students want to complete their homework assignments on a good level. Once students don’t know how to do their task, they start worrying and it leads to stress. The more assignments students get, the higher risks of getting stressed.

Rising Levels of Anxiety

No matter how good as a student you are, you may still have a trouble keeping a work-life balance. Since schools ask students to do too many time-consuming things (attending lectures, reading materials, doing homework), children feel pressed. Unfortunately, more than 41% of college students suffer from anxiety disorders. And the pressure of homework assignments can increase anxiety, according to the facts about homework. If students can’t meet given deadlines, they start panicking and it results in anxiety. Thus, having too much homework isn’t a great idea if keeping students healthy is high on the list.

Chronic Daily Headaches

Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or student, you must know that homework leads to chronic daily headaches. When students get too much homework, they spend a considerable amount of time working on their tasks, so there are two main reasons why homework causes headaches: a student chooses a bad posture while sitting at the desk and he or she is worried about submitting the tasks on time. No matter why headache appears, it goes without saying that it negatively affects physical and mental health, so it also has an influence on the educational process which means students can’t concentrate on the learning materials. All in all, it’s nearly impossible to study well when you suffer from chronic headaches. Thus, it’s important for a parent to control the amount of homework teachers assign.

Lack of Socialization

Getting too much homework prevents kids from spending time with their friends.

At first blush, it seems that homework helps children spend time with their parents, as kids are more likely to ask their parents for help once they have some problems with out-of-class assignments . However, there’s no proof that working together with parents on assignments is beneficial. Firstly, many parents and teachers ask themselves: Should parents help with homework or not? Secondly, it can be daunting for adults to help with homework if they don’t remember the material. Thirdly, students need socialization with their peers.

When students are overwhelmed with the amount of homework, they can’t afford to spend time with their friends which leads to a lack of socialization.

Loss of Creativity

Have you ever heard about the idea that schools are killing creativity ? Since most teachers are focused on honing theoretical skills rather than boosting creativity , they assign homework that doesn’t help students showcase their creative nature. With the growing amount of homework assignments, children don’t seek out creative ways to complete their tasks; they are focused on submitting tasks without spending much time or effort. Most kids study for the test and forget, and it’s no doubt that this approach leads to the loss of creativity, which is an important soft skill every person needs.

If you have ever paid attention to the homework statistics, you know that getting a great number of homework assignments won’t help to become smarter. It has a negative effect on physical and mental health which also affects academic performance. All in all, it seems to be a closed circle: young people should keep a balance in life to stay happy and productive and working too much on assignments isn’t the way to achieve it. Thus, it’s important to control how much time students spend doing homework.

• Open access
• Published: 29 May 2024

Prevalence of unhealthy behaviors and their associations with non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal ideation and suicide attempt among Chinese adolescents

• Wenjian Lai 1 ,
• Herui Wu 1 ,
• Liwen Yang 1 ,
• Ruiying Chen 1 ,
• Zhiyao Xin 1 ,
• Xiaojuan Zhang 1 ,
• Wanxin Wang 1 ,
• Lan Guo 1 ,
• Guoliang Huang 2   na1 &
• Ciyong Lu 1   na1  

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health volume  18 , Article number:  61 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Metrics details

Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors among adolescents have emerged as a significant public health concern worldwide, however, there is little investigation on the impact of unhealthy behaviors on non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempt (SA). This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of seven unhealthy behaviors as well as their associations with NSSI, SI and SA, and to explore whether the aforementioned associations differ across sex.

A total of 74,152 adolescents were included in this study via a multi-stage, stratified cluster, random sampling method in 2021. Information about unhealthy behaviors (insufficient physical activity, current smoking, current drinking, excessive screen time, long homework time, insufficient sleep and unhealthy BMI), NSSI, SI, SA and other demographics was collected. Sampling weights were used to estimate the prevalence, and the weighted logistic regression models were performed. Stratified analyses by sex and sensitive analyses were conducted.

Overview, the weighted prevalence of adolescents had more than five unhealthy behaviors were 5.2%, with boys showing a higher prevalence than girls (6.5% vs.3.8%). Current smoking, current drinking, excessive screen use, long homework time, insufficient sleep, and unhealthy BMI were significantly associated with NSSI, SI and SA. Moreover, adolescents with high lifestyle risk scores were associated with an increased risk of NSSI (5–7 vs. 0: OR 6.38, 95% CI 5.24–7.77), SI (5–7 vs. 0: OR 7.67, 95% CI 6.35–9.25), and SA (5–7 vs. 0: OR 9.57, 95% CI 6.95–13.17). Significant sex differences were found in the associations of unhealthy behaviors with NSSI, SI and SA.

Unhealthy behaviors are quite common among Chinese adolescents. Adolescents with multiple unhealthy behaviors are associated with increased risks of NSSI, SI, and SA. The implementation of school and family-based interventions to promote healthy lifestyles is recommended as a preventive measure against self-injurious behavior and suicidality in adolescents.

Introduction

Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among adolescents according to World Health Organization (WHO) [ 1 ], placing a tremendous burden on societies and families. Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempt (SA) are important predictors of future suicide and pose serious public health concerns for adolescents worldwide [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Previous evidence indicated that 26.1%, 17.5%, 4.4% of Chinese adolescents experienced NSSI, SI, and SA within the past 12 months, respectively [ 6 ], highlighting the urgent need to address self-injurious behavior and suicidality in adolescents. Therefore, it is vital to identify modifiable factors associated with NSSI, SI and SA to effectively prevent suicide in adolescents.

Recent studies have emphasized the links between unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and self-injurious behavior and suicidality [ 4 , 7 , 8 ]. Adopting a healthy lifestyle, which includes regular physical activity, avoiding smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, and ensuring sufficient sleep, plays a crucial role in promoting both physical and mental well-being [ 9 ]. Adolescence is a critical period of transitioning from childhood to adulthood, during which lifestyle habits are formed and developed [ 10 ]. Consequently, unhealthy lifestyle behaviors among adolescents have emerged as an important public health concern. Inadequate sleep, lack of physical activity, and excessive screen time are common lifestyle risk behaviors in adolescents recently [ 9 , 11 , 12 ]. It is recommended that adolescents aim for 8–10 h of sleep per night [ 13 ], however, a majority of Chinese adolescents sleep less than eight hours [ 14 ]. Although WHO recommends an average of 60 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity throughout the week for adolescents [ 15 ], a cross-sectional study conducted in China revealed that 65.9% of adolescents are physically inactive [ 16 ]. With the advancement of technology, screen usage, including watching TV, tablets, and smartphones, has also become an integral part of daily life. It is advised that adolescents limit their screen time to less than 2 h per day [ 17 ], however, most adolescents exceed this recommendation [ 18 ]. Additionally, smoking and drinking have been reported among Chinese adolescents [ 4 , 19 ].

There is growing attention on the associations of unhealthy behaviors with NSSI, SI and SA among adolescents. Previous studies have demonstrated that unhealthy BMI status, smoking and drinking, may increase the vulnerability of adolescents to engage in suicidal behaviors [ 19 , 20 ]. Moreover, excessive time spent on sedentary behaviors, such as screen time and homework time, has been associated with suicidal behavior in adolescents [ 21 , 22 ]. Additionally, inadequate sleep and lack of physical activity have been widely reported to be associated with suicidal behavior in adolescents [ 14 , 23 ].

However, most previous studies only consider the independent association of each unhealthy behavior with NSSI, SI and SA [ 7 , 14 , 19 , 22 ], while ignoring the impact of co-occurrence of multiple unhealthy behaviors. Furthermore, previous evidence has suggested that there are sex differences in the distribution of unhealthy behaviors among adolescents, with boys spending more time on physical activity and screens compared to girls [ 16 , 24 , 25 ]. Additionally, adolescent boys and girls exhibit different characteristics in terms of suicidal behavior [ 4 , 8 , 20 ], therefore, there is a great need to explore the associations of unhealthy behaviors with NSSI, SI and SA in different sex, which is critical for sex-specific risk identification and intervention.

Herein, to gain a better understanding of the impact of unhealthy behaviors on suicidal behaviors, we conducted this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of seven unhealthy behaviors as well as their associations with NSSI, SI and SA, and to explore whether the aforementioned associations differ between adolescent boys and girls.

Study design and participants

The study utilized the data from the 2021 School-based Chinese Adolescents Health Survey (SCAHS), which is a large-scale survey about the health-related behaviors and mental health problems among Chinses adolescents (grades 7–12) conducted from October 2021 to March 2022. A multi-stage, stratified cluster, random sampling method was used in the 2021 SCAHS to obtain a nationally representative sample of Chinese adolescents, and the procedures have been descried in previous studies [ 19 , 26 ]. In stage 1, the provinces in mainland China were divided into three economic strata (high, medium, low) based on per capita gross domestic product (GDP) level, and three provinces were randomly selected from each stratum (only two provinces from medium level were selected; see Fig.  S1 for the geographical distribution of the selected provinces). A total of eight provinces were selected. In stage 2, we divided the cities within each selected province into three economic strata (high, medium, low) according to per capita GDP level, and one city from each stratum was randomly chosen. In stage 3, six junior high schools, four senior high schools, and two vocational high schools were randomly chosen based on the proportion of the three types of schools in the selected cities. In stage 4, two classes were randomly selected from each grade within the chosen schools, and all students in the selected classes were invited to participated in the study voluntarily.

To protect the privacy of the students, information was collected via completing anonymous self-reported questionnaires by students in the classroom during a regular class period (i.e., 45 min), and the survey was administrated by the trained research assistants without the presence of teachers. Prior to the survey, the assistants informed all participants about the purpose of the study in detail, and the completeness and quality of the questionnaires were also checked by the assistants at the end of survey.

In total, 85,046 students aged 11–21 years were invited on the day of the survey, and 74,152 students’ questionnaires were completed and qualified for our study (a response rate of 87.2%).

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and was approved by Sun Yat-sen University School of Public Health Institutional Review Board. Written informed consents were obtained from each participant who was at least 18 years old or from one of the parents of each participant who was under 18 years old.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI)

NSSI was measured by the Chinese version of the Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation, which has been widely used in Chinese adolescents [ 6 , 27 ]. The scale consisted of eight different forms of NSSI (i.e., hitting, head banging, stabbing, pinching, scratching, biting, burning, and cutting), and respondents were asked to report the frequency they harmed themselves deliberately in the above forms without the thought of taking the life during the past 12 months. Students who reported the frequency of NSSI of three or more times were classified as having NSSI [ 6 ].

Suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt

SI was assessed by the question “During the past 12 months, how many times did you seriously consider attempting suicide?” SA was measured by the question “During the past 12 months, how many times did you actually attempt suicide?” For the above questions, students who reported one or more times were identified as having SI or SA.

• Unhealthy behaviors

Unhealthy behaviors included insufficient physical activity, current smoking, current drinking, excessive screen time, long homework time, insufficient sleep and unhealthy body mass index (BMI).

Physical activity was measured by the question “During the past week, how many days did you exercise that increased your heart rate or breathing rate for at least 60 min?” The response ranged from 0 to 7, and adolescents who reported less than 5 days were identified as having insufficient physical activity [ 16 ].

Current smoking/drinking was assessed by asking the adolescents how many days they smoke/drank alcohol during the last 30 days, and those answered one or more days were classified as current smoking/drinking.

Time spent on screen was investigated by self-reported time spent on a typical weekday and weekend day performing a variety of screen-based activities for entertainment, including surfing the Internet (e.g., video watching), watching TV and playing electronic devices (e.g., smartphone, tablet). Average daily time was calculated using the following formula: (weekday time*5 + weekend time*2)/7 [ 18 ]. Adolescents who spent screen time more than 2 h per day were identified as having excessive screen time [ 18 , 28 ].

Time spent on homework was also investigated by self-reported time spent on a typical weekday and weekend day doing homework, and the average daily time was calculated based on the above formula. Adolescents who spent homework time more than 3 h per day were classified as having long homework time [ 9 ].

Sleep duration was measured by asking adolescents how many hours they slept on weekdays and weekends during the last month, respectively. Daily sleep duration was calculated by the formula: (hours on weekdays*5 + hours on weekends*2)/7. Adolescents who reported sleep duration less than 8 h per day were identified as having insufficient sleep [ 14 ].

BMI was measured by self-report height and weight. Based on body mass index growth curves for Chinese children and adolescents [ 29 ], BMI was classified into four categories: normal, underweight (BMI < 5th), overweight (85th ≤ BMI < 95th), obesity (BMI ≥ 95th). BMI was also binned into a dichotomous variable indicating healthy (normal) or unhealthy (underweight, overweight and obesity) [ 30 ].

To evaluate the impact of multiple unhealthy behaviors on mental health, a lifestyle risk score was constructed. For the above seven behaviors, respondents were scored 1 if engaged in each of the unhealthy behaviors and 0 if they did not. Therefore, the lifestyle risk score was a sum of each score, with the score ranging from 0 to 7.

Other variables

Other variables included age, biological sex (male, female), residence (urban, rural), having brothers or sisters (yes, no), living arrangement (living with parents, living with a single parent, living with others), household socioeconomic status (HSS; good, average, poor), and parents’ education level (primary school or below, middle school, university or above).

Statistical analysis

Considering the intricate multistage sampling design, for all statistical analyses, data were weighted via appropriate sampling weights to adjust for unequal probabilities of selection. In the current study, the missing data of the potential covariates were imputed using multiple imputations by chained equations.

First, descriptive analyses stratified by NSSI, SI and SA, respectively, were conducted to describe the demographic characteristics. Data were presented as mean (standard deviation, SD) for continuous variables and frequencies (proportions) for categorical variables, and the differences among groups were tested using appropriate statistical approaches such as t -test or Chi-square test. Second, the weighted prevalence of each lifestyle risk behavior among Chinese adolescents was estimated, and differences in distribution between boys and girls were also compared. Third, weighted logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) to explore the association of lifestyle risk behavior with NSSI, SI and SA. Two models were conducted to assess the impact of potential covariates based on previous literature. Model 1 was adjusted for age and sex. Model 2 was adjusted for age, sex, province, residence, having brothers/sisters, living arrangement, HSS, father’s education level, and mother’s education level.

Subgroup analyses were also conducted to examine whether the associations of lifestyle risk behavior with NSSI, SI and SA varied by sex, and any sex difference in the associations were also examined via calculating a ratio of ORs. In sensitivity analyses, we repeated all analyses using the complete dataset to test the robustness of the results.

All data analyses were carried out using R 4.1.0 (the R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria), and the statistical tests were two-sided, with P  < 0.05 considered statistically significant.

Sample characteristic

Table  1 presents the sample characteristics stratified by NSSI, SI and SA. The study included 74,152 adolescents in the final analyses, with a mean (SD) age of 14.7 (1.8) years, and almost half were boys (weighted prevalence, 52.6%). The weighted prevalence of NSSI, SI and SA was 14.6%, 17.6% and 5.2%, respectively. Adolescents with NSSI, SI and SA were more likely to be girls, from urban residences, living with a single parent or others, have poor HSS than those without NSSI, SI and SA.

Prevalence of unhealthy behaviors among Chinese adolescents

Sex-specific distribution of unhealthy behaviors are presented in Fig.  1 and Table S1 . The weighted prevalence of adolescents had zero or more than five unhealthy behaviors was 4.1 and 5.2%, respectively. The most common unhealthy behaviors among Chinese adolescents were insufficient physical activity (76.3%), followed by insufficient sleep (63.2%), excessive screen time (44.9%), unhealthy BMI (25.2%), long homework time (23.8%), current drinking (12.4%) and current smoking (4.7%). There were significant differences in the distribution of unhealthy behaviors between boys and girls, where boys were more likely to have excessive screen time, unhealthy BMI, current drinking and current smoking.

The weighted prevalence of unhealthy behaviors among Chinese adolescents

Association of unhealthy behaviors with NSSI, SI and SA

As presented in Table  2 , the weighted prevalence of NSSI, SI, and SA among Chinese adolescents with more than five unhealthy behaviors was 24.7%, 30.7% and 11.5%, respectively. After adjusting for covariates in Model 2, adolescents with high lifestyle risk scores were associated with an increased risk of NSSI (5–7 vs. 0: OR 6.38, 95% CI 5.24–7.77), SI (5–7 vs. 0: OR 7.67, 95% CI 6.35–9.25), and SA (5–7 vs. 0: OR 9.57, 95% CI 6.95–13.17). A trend on the association of the number of unhealthy behaviors with NSSI, SI and SA was also observed ( P for trend < 0.001).

For each unhealthy behavior, after adjusting for covariates in Model 2, current smoking, current drinking, excessive screen time, long homework time, insufficient sleep, and unhealthy BMI were significantly associated with NSSI, SI and SA. In addition, insufficient physical activity was only associated with NSSI and SI (shown in Fig.  2 and Table S2 ).

The weighted associations of specific unhealthy behavior with NSSI, suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt among Chinese adolescents. Model 2 adjusted for age, sex, province, residence, having brothers/sisters, living arrangement, HSS, and parents’ education level

Subgroup analyses

The results stratified by sex were shown in Fig.  3 . After adjusting for covariates, the significant associations of lifestyle risk scores with NSSI, SI and SA were also found among boys and girls. Adolescent girls who had more than 5 unhealthy behaviors was associated with higher odds of NSSI (OR 7.95, 95% CI 6.12–10.32) and SI (OR 9.75, 95% CI 7.57–12.55) than boys, and significant sex difference were found for the above associations ( P for ROR < 0.05; Table S3 ).

The weighted associations of lifestyle risk score with NSSI, suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt among boys and girls. All models were adjusted for age, sex, province, residence, having brothers/sisters, living arrangement, HSS, and parents’ education level (models for boys and girls were not adjusted for sex)

Regarding each unhealthy behavior, girls who engaged in current smoking, current drinking was associated with a higher risk of NSSI, SI and SA compared to boys. In addition, the association between long homework time and NSSI was stronger among boys, while the association between excessive screen time and SI was stronger in girls (Table S4 ).

Sensitivity analyses

Sensitivity analyses using complete dataset ( n  = 64,716) to repeat the main analyses to examine the robustness of the results. The main analyses with complete dataset showed that the associations of lifestyle risk score with NSSI, SI and SA remained essentially unchanged (Table S5 ).

A large-scale, school-based survey was conducted to investigate the prevalence of seven unhealthy behaviors and their associations with NSSI, SI and SA. The data revealed that 5.2% of Chinese adolescents had more than five unhealthy behaviors, and the prevalence among boys (6.5%) was higher than girls (3.8%). Unhealthy behaviors, including current smoking, current drinking, excessive screen time, long homework time, insufficient sleep and unhealthy BMI status, had a negative impact on self-injurious behavior and suicidality. Moreover, adolescents with high lifestyle risk scores were associated with an increased risk of NSSI, SI, and SA, and girls showed stronger association than boys.

Although only 5.2% of adolescents had more than five unhealthy behaviors, the majority of them experienced physical inactivity (76.3%), sleep deficiency (63.2%), and excessive screen time (44.9%). Similarly, the US Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) had shown that 77.9% of US adolescents slept less than 8 h per day and 76.8% of them did not get sufficient physical activity [ 7 ]. Another cross-sectional study conducted in Australia had found that most adolescents exceeded guidelines for screen time (84%), did not achieve sufficient moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (75%) and got inadequate sleep (56%) [ 31 ]. Discrepancies in the prevalence of these behaviors may be attributed to cultural backgrounds or different characteristics of the study populations, such as different sampling methods, measurements, and criteria. Consistent with previous evidence [ 12 , 14 , 19 ], the current study also found that adolescent boys and girls show different patterns in the distribution of unhealthy behaviors. Boys were more likely to smoke, drink, spend excessive time on screen-based activities, and have an unhealthy BMI status, while girls were more likely to be physically inactive, spend too much time on homework, and not get enough sleep. Despite the low rate of having more than five unhealthy behaviors, the negative impact of these behaviors emphasizes the need for schools and families to assist adolescents in developing healthy lifestyle habits to improve their well-being.

In line with previous evidence, this study suggested that excessive screen time was associated with NSSI and suicidality among adolescents. Jin and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study involving 16,853 Chinese adolescents and found that those who spent more than 2 h per day on screen had an increased risk of SI and SA [ 8 ]. Similarly, a separate cross-sectional study conducted in Canada indicated that screen time ≤ 2 h/d had a protective effect against suicidality among adolescents [ 28 ]. Excessive screen time may lead adolescents to become immersed in a virtual world where rules may not apply, potentially increasing the likelihood of behavioral problems such as aggressive behaviors [ 32 ]. Notably, the study found that the association between screen time and SI was stronger in girls. This could be attributed to the fact that females tend to adopt avoidant and inactive coping styles, and previous research has reported a higher prevalence of emotional problems among female adolescents [ 33 ]. The accumulation of negative emotions after prolonged screen time may therefore make them more susceptible to engaging in suicidal behavior [ 27 ].

Our findings indicated that insufficient sleep duration was associated with NSSI, SI and SA, which was consistent with previous literature. Similarly, YRBS has demonstrated that US adolescents who sleep less than 8 h per day have a higher risk of SI and SA [ 34 ]. The possible explanation may be that sleep deprivation exerts a negative impact on adolescents’ attention, judgment and impulse control, which contributes to self-injurious behavior and suicidality due to impulsivity and loss of inhibition [ 35 , 36 ]. Additionally, our study found an association between unhealthy BMI status and suicidal behaviors, which aligns with previous evidence. A meta-analysis including 104,907 adolescents in 45 low- and middle-income countries also suggested that overweight and obesity were significantly associated with SI and SA [ 37 ]. Kim et al. indicated that adolescents being underweight were significantly associated with increased odds of having a suicidal attempt [ 38 ]. Given the current popularity of fitness among adolescents, adolescents being obese may be perceived as lacking self-control, while those being underweight may be stigmatized as skinny [ 39 , 40 ]. The negative attitudes towards obesity and the stigma faced by those identified as underweight can influence self-esteem during adolescence, resulting in poor mental health [ 19 , 41 ]. Consequently, adolescents with an unhealthy BMI status may experience more social support frustration and self-stigma, leading to an elevated risk of suicidal behavior. However, we did not observe a significant sex difference in the associations of sleep and BMI with NSSI, SI and SA.

In addition, the study found that both current smoking and current drinking were positively associated with suicidal behaviors among adolescents. Several studies found similar associations corroborating [ 42 , 43 ]. It is well established that smoking and excessive alcohol consumption can disturb the neuroendocrine system, which subsequently increases the risk of suicide-related behaviors [ 44 , 45 ]. Previous evidence has also suggested that smoking, drinking, and self-injurious behavior share similar psychological processes, and substance use may contribute to the habituation of self-injurious behavior [ 46 ]. Interestingly, this study found that the associations of current smoking and drinking with NSSI, SI and SA were stronger in adolescent girls compared to boys, which supports prior evidence. Similarly, a cross-sectional study conducted in Korean adolescents also showed that current smoking had a greater impact on suicidal behaviors among female adolescents than males [ 43 ]. Likewise, Phillips et al. also found that the associations between alcohol use and suicidality were stronger in adolescent girls than boys [ 47 ].

Despite the extensive body of research on the associations of unhealthy behaviors with self-injurious behavior and suicidality, there are few studies focusing on the number of unhealthy behaviors on suicidal behaviors while considering a range of covariates. It is worth noting that the occurrence of multiple unhealthy behaviors has a more detrimental impact on suicidal behaviors compared to single behavior, as supported by previous studies. Engaging in a single unhealthy behavior may increase the likelihood of engaging in other unhealthy behaviors, and when these risky behaviors are combined, the possibility of mental health problems increases [ 48 ]. For instance, Hwang et al. suggested that adolescents with a higher lifestyle risk score were more prone to suicidal ideation [ 30 ], and a similar finding was also observed in Australian adolescents [ 49 ]. The probability of mental health problems increases with the number of unhealthy behaviors, providing strong evidence for population-level interventions for integrated unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. Additionally, we could observe significant sex differences in the foregoing associations, which was consistent with prior research [ 9 ]. This study revealed that a considerable number of adolescents engaged in multiple unhealthy behaviors simultaneously, and the results also suggested that the co-occurrence of multiple risk factors heightens the likelihood of adverse health outcomes [ 50 , 51 ]. In sum, this study highlights the importance of not only considering the impact of specific unhealthy behavior on self-injurious behavior and suicidality among adolescents, but also recognizing the co-occurrence of multiple risk behaviors. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the necessity for school and family-based health promotion efforts and the development of strategies to prevent self-injurious and suicidal behaviors in adolescents by promoting healthy lifestyles, ultimately improving their quality of life.

The main strength of our study is that our study uses a multi-stage, stratified cluster, random sampling method to obtain a nationally representative sample of Chinese adolescents, which provides sufficient statistical power and broad representativeness to investigate the prevalence of multiple unhealthy behaviors and their associations with NSSI, SI and SA. However, several limitations are worth noting. First, the information about unhealthy behaviors, self-injurious behavior and suicidality was collected via self-report, which can not preclude recall bias. Meanwhile, despite the survey was anonymous, adolescents may provide answers influenced by social desirability because of the sensitivity to such questions (such as current smoking and suicidal behaviors). However, previous evidence has demonstrated that self-reporting is a common and widely accepted method [ 52 ]. Second, this study did not include diet-related behaviors (e.g., breakfast and beverage consumption), which is also an important part of lifestyle behavior. Future studies need to consider the impact of these behaviors. Third, the study sample was primarily derived from school students and did not include adolescents absent from school, nevertheless, suicidal behaviors may be more common among those absent students. Fourth, the causality of the assessed factors is difficult to determine since the nature of current research is a cross-sectional study design. Given that the measurement of outcome (NSSI, SI, SA) was limited to last 12 months while the measurement of partial exposure (e.g. current smoking/drinking) was limited to the past month, the possibility of potential reverse causation also exists. Fifth, the study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the results might be biased due to the influence of COVID-19. Therefore, there is a need for future studies to remove the effect of COVID-19 and verify our findings.

The results of this study demonstrate that multiple unhealthy behaviors are quite common among adolescents. Furthermore, this study expands upon existing evidence by highlighting the association of high lifestyle risk scores with NSSI, SI, and SA in adolescents. These findings have important implications for the development of early interventions aimed at enhancing the well-being of adolescents. Considering the modifiable nature of unhealthy behaviors, it is crucial for adolescents to recognize the potential benefits of adopting healthy lifestyles. Therefore, we recommend implementing school and family-based interventions that promote healthy lifestyles as a preventive measure against self-injurious behavior and suicidality in adolescents.

Availability of data and materials

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Abbreviations

• Non-suicidal self-injury
• Suicidal ideation

Suicidal attempt

School-based Chinese Adolescents Health Survey

Body mass index

Household socioeconomic status

Standard deviation

Confidence interval

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Acknowledgement

The authors expressed the gratitude to all the participants in our study and acknowledge the contribution of the local health professionals, the Department of Education, and the participating schools.

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81761128030).

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Guoliang Huang and Ciyong Lu have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen university, 74 Zhongshan Rd 2, Guangzhou, 510080, China

Wenjian Lai, Herui Wu, Liwen Yang, Ruiying Chen, Zhiyao Xin, Xiaojuan Zhang, Wanxin Wang, Lan Guo & Ciyong Lu

Center for Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring of Guangdong, 753 Dongfeng East Road, Guangzhou, 510080, China

Guoliang Huang

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W.L. participated in the study design and coordination, performed the statistical analysis, and drafted the manuscript; H.W. and L.Y. participated in the interpretation of the data, and reviewed the article; R.C., Z.X., and X.Z. participated in the investigation and data collection; W.W. and L.G. reviewed and revised the manuscript; G.H. and C.L. conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, and helped to draft the manuscript. G.H. and C.L. had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. All authors were in agreement with the final submitted manuscript.

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Additional file 1: table s1..

Prevalence of unhealthy behaviors among Chinese adolescents. Table S2. The weighted associations of different unhealthy behaviors with NSSI, suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt among Chinese adolescents. Table S3. The weighted associations of lifestyle risk score with NSSI, suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt among boys and girls. Table S4. The weighted associations of different unhealthy behaviors with NSSI, suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt among boys and girls. Table S5. . The Weighted associations of lifestyle risk score with NSSI, suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt among Chinese adolescents: using the complete dataset (n = 64176). Figure S1. The geographical distribution of the selected provinces.

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Lai, W., Wu, H., Yang, L. et al. Prevalence of unhealthy behaviors and their associations with non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal ideation and suicide attempt among Chinese adolescents. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 18 , 61 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-024-00742-y

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-024-00742-y

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