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Homework – Top 3 Pros and Cons

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From dioramas to book reports, from algebraic word problems to research projects, whether students should be given homework, as well as the type and amount of homework, has been debated for over a century. [ 1 ]

While we are unsure who invented homework, we do know that the word “homework” dates back to ancient Rome. Pliny the Younger asked his followers to practice their speeches at home. Memorization exercises as homework continued through the Middle Ages and Enlightenment by monks and other scholars. [ 45 ]

In the 19th century, German students of the Volksschulen or “People’s Schools” were given assignments to complete outside of the school day. This concept of homework quickly spread across Europe and was brought to the United States by Horace Mann , who encountered the idea in Prussia. [ 45 ]

In the early 1900s, progressive education theorists, championed by the magazine Ladies’ Home Journal , decried homework’s negative impact on children’s physical and mental health, leading California to ban homework for students under 15 from 1901 until 1917. In the 1930s, homework was portrayed as child labor, which was newly illegal, but the prevailing argument was that kids needed time to do household chores. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 45 ] [ 46 ]

Public opinion swayed again in favor of homework in the 1950s due to concerns about keeping up with the Soviet Union’s technological advances during the Cold War . And, in 1986, the US government included homework as an educational quality boosting tool. [ 3 ] [ 45 ]

A 2014 study found kindergarteners to fifth graders averaged 2.9 hours of homework per week, sixth to eighth graders 3.2 hours per teacher, and ninth to twelfth graders 3.5 hours per teacher. A 2014-2019 study found that teens spent about an hour a day on homework. [ 4 ] [ 44 ]

Beginning in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic complicated the very idea of homework as students were schooling remotely and many were doing all school work from home. Washington Post journalist Valerie Strauss asked, “Does homework work when kids are learning all day at home?” While students were mostly back in school buildings in fall 2021, the question remains of how effective homework is as an educational tool. [ 47 ]

Is Homework Beneficial?

Pro 1 Homework improves student achievement. Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicated that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” [ 6 ] Students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework on both standardized tests and grades. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take-home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school. [ 10 ] Read More

Pro 2 Homework helps to reinforce classroom learning, while developing good study habits and life skills. Students typically retain only 50% of the information teachers provide in class, and they need to apply that information in order to truly learn it. Abby Freireich and Brian Platzer, co-founders of Teachers Who Tutor NYC, explained, “at-home assignments help students learn the material taught in class. Students require independent practice to internalize new concepts… [And] these assignments can provide valuable data for teachers about how well students understand the curriculum.” [ 11 ] [ 49 ] Elementary school students who were taught “strategies to organize and complete homework,” such as prioritizing homework activities, collecting study materials, note-taking, and following directions, showed increased grades and more positive comments on report cards. [ 17 ] Research by the City University of New York noted that “students who engage in self-regulatory processes while completing homework,” such as goal-setting, time management, and remaining focused, “are generally more motivated and are higher achievers than those who do not use these processes.” [ 18 ] Homework also helps students develop key skills that they’ll use throughout their lives: accountability, autonomy, discipline, time management, self-direction, critical thinking, and independent problem-solving. Freireich and Platzer noted that “homework helps students acquire the skills needed to plan, organize, and complete their work.” [ 12 ] [ 13 ] [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 49 ] Read More

Pro 3 Homework allows parents to be involved with children’s learning. Thanks to take-home assignments, parents are able to track what their children are learning at school as well as their academic strengths and weaknesses. [ 12 ] Data from a nationwide sample of elementary school students show that parental involvement in homework can improve class performance, especially among economically disadvantaged African-American and Hispanic students. [ 20 ] Research from Johns Hopkins University found that an interactive homework process known as TIPS (Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork) improves student achievement: “Students in the TIPS group earned significantly higher report card grades after 18 weeks (1 TIPS assignment per week) than did non-TIPS students.” [ 21 ] Homework can also help clue parents in to the existence of any learning disabilities their children may have, allowing them to get help and adjust learning strategies as needed. Duke University Professor Harris Cooper noted, “Two parents once told me they refused to believe their child had a learning disability until homework revealed it to them.” [ 12 ] Read More

Con 1 Too much homework can be harmful. A poll of California high school students found that 59% thought they had too much homework. 82% of respondents said that they were “often or always stressed by schoolwork.” High-achieving high school students said too much homework leads to sleep deprivation and other health problems such as headaches, exhaustion, weight loss, and stomach problems. [ 24 ] [ 28 ] [ 29 ] Alfie Kohn, an education and parenting expert, said, “Kids should have a chance to just be kids… it’s absurd to insist that children must be engaged in constructive activities right up until their heads hit the pillow.” [ 27 ] Emmy Kang, a mental health counselor, explained, “More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies.” [ 48 ] Excessive homework can also lead to cheating: 90% of middle school students and 67% of high school students admit to copying someone else’s homework, and 43% of college students engaged in “unauthorized collaboration” on out-of-class assignments. Even parents take shortcuts on homework: 43% of those surveyed admitted to having completed a child’s assignment for them. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] Read More

Con 2 Homework exacerbates the digital divide or homework gap. Kiara Taylor, financial expert, defined the digital divide as “the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology and those that don’t. Though the term now encompasses the technical and financial ability to utilize available technology—along with access (or a lack of access) to the Internet—the gap it refers to is constantly shifting with the development of technology.” For students, this is often called the homework gap. [ 50 ] [ 51 ] 30% (about 15 to 16 million) public school students either did not have an adequate internet connection or an appropriate device, or both, for distance learning. Completing homework for these students is more complicated (having to find a safe place with an internet connection, or borrowing a laptop, for example) or impossible. [ 51 ] A Hispanic Heritage Foundation study found that 96.5% of students across the country needed to use the internet for homework, and nearly half reported they were sometimes unable to complete their homework due to lack of access to the internet or a computer, which often resulted in lower grades. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] One study concluded that homework increases social inequality because it “potentially serves as a mechanism to further advantage those students who already experience some privilege in the school system while further disadvantaging those who may already be in a marginalized position.” [ 39 ] Read More

Con 3 Homework does not help younger students, and may not help high school students. We’ve known for a while that homework does not help elementary students. A 2006 study found that “homework had no association with achievement gains” when measured by standardized tests results or grades. [ 7 ] Fourth grade students who did no homework got roughly the same score on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math exam as those who did 30 minutes of homework a night. Students who did 45 minutes or more of homework a night actually did worse. [ 41 ] Temple University professor Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek said that homework is not the most effective tool for young learners to apply new information: “They’re learning way more important skills when they’re not doing their homework.” [ 42 ] In fact, homework may not be helpful at the high school level either. Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth, stated, “I interviewed high school teachers who completely stopped giving homework and there was no downside, it was all upside.” He explains, “just because the same kids who get more homework do a little better on tests, doesn’t mean the homework made that happen.” [ 52 ] Read More

Discussion Questions

1. Is homework beneficial? Consider the study data, your personal experience, and other types of information. Explain your answer(s).

2. If homework were banned, what other educational strategies would help students learn classroom material? Explain your answer(s).

3. How has homework been helpful to you personally? How has homework been unhelpful to you personally? Make carefully considered lists for both sides.

Take Action

1. Examine an argument in favor of quality homework assignments from Janine Bempechat.

2. Explore Oxford Learning’s infographic on the effects of homework on students.

3. Consider Joseph Lathan’s argument that homework promotes inequality .

4. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? If so, how? List two to three ways. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the “other side of the issue” now helps you better argue your position.

5. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives .

More School Debate Topics

Should K-12 Students Dissect Animals in Science Classrooms? – Proponents say dissecting real animals is a better learning experience. Opponents say the practice is bad for the environment.

Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms? – Proponents say uniforms may increase student safety. Opponents say uniforms restrict expression.

Should Corporal Punishment Be Used in K-12 Schools? – Proponents say corporal punishment is an appropriate discipline. Opponents say it inflicts long-lasting physical and mental harm on students.

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Sport and Competition

Is too much homework unhealthy, a grassroots movement led by parents is backed by science..

Posted October 10, 2014

This is the question at the heart of the homework debate. The Washington Post education reporter Jay Mathews wrote a powerful article: “ Parents Saying No to Too Much Homework .” The story was inspired by a chapter in the new book, The Learning Habit: A Groundbreaking Approach to Homework and Parenting That Helps Our Children Succeed in School and Life . (Perigee, 2014)

The Learning Habit separates fact from fiction about homework and has started a grassroots movement led by parents. Instead of encouraging a homework revolt, it asks for parents to institute a regular, balanced homework routine . This includes having children stop doing academic homework after a reasonable amount of time. When children can’t understand the assignment, parents will not make the children sit for extended time and try to help them figure it out; they will write a note on the paper asking the teacher for extra help.

At the root of the movement is science. It’s not developmentally appropriate to ask a third grader to sit for 120 minutes and complete an academic assignment. It’s also not psychologically healthy to have a fourth grader in tears every night over homework. The focus on a "the whole child" approach is resonating with parents and administrators in school districts such as Barrington, Rhode Island.

So how much academic homework should a child have?

10 minutes per grade in school, and then children can move onto other activities. If they don’t understand the assignment or get frustrated, they should stop and read a book for the remaining time.

The facts are clear when it comes to academic homework . There is a point of diminishing returns, and it is anything over 10 minutes per grade. We now understand that the concept of “homework” involves balancing many opportunities that provide our kids with healthy learning experiences.. Activities such as neighborhood play, sports, dancing, family time, chores, and sleeping are equally important for whole-child enrichment. Additionally, children who participate in extra-curricular activities such as sports, dance, and clubs score higher on academic, social and emotional scales.

• All students work at a different pace.
• Think big picture. Forcing a child to complete a homework assignment, after they have spent a reasonable amount of time on it (10 minutes per grade), is not promoting balance.
• Keep academic homework time balanced and consistent. On nights children don’t have schoolwork, they will read. Reading is important for both ELA and Mathematics.
• No tears policy: When kids feel frustrated or don’t understand an academic assignment, they can choose to read a book instead and ask the teacher for extra help the next day.

GET THE FACTS ON HOMEWORK: Fact Sheet Balanced Homework Habit

For more information on The Learning Habit (Perigee) click HERE

Rebecca Jackson is a neuropsychological educator and the co-author of The Learning Habit

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Is My Kid the Asshole?

Is Homework Helpful or Harmful?

Research suggests homework doesn’t make young kids smarter. but it may widen the achievement gap..

Welcome to  Is My Kid the Asshole? , a newsletter from science journalist and author Melinda Wenner Moyer, which you can  read more about here . If you like it, please  subscribe  and/or  share  this post with someone else who would too.

Hello! I’m excited to be sharing my inaugural Dear Melinda column . This week it’s free for everyone, but next week my Friday column will only go out to paid subscribers , so don’t forget to subscribe. These columns will address a broad range of parenting questions with science.

Right before the pandemic hit, I dug into the science of homework. I had heard from parents that many elementary-aged kids were getting more than the recommended amount — the National Parent Teacher Association and the National Education Association have long advised that students should get a maximum of 10 minutes of homework per grade level per night, meaning that first graders should have at most 10 minutes, second graders 20 minutes, and so on — and I wondered: What do we know about how homework affects young kids? Does it help them learn? Does it pose any downsides?

Now that kids are back in school again (and my kids, at least, are once again getting homework), I thought it would be a good time to share what I learned.

First, it’s important to point out that kids didn’t always get homework. In the early 20th century, educators and politicians were adamantly against it. The California state legislature passed a law banning homework for children under the age of 15 in 1901, and in 1930, the American Child Health Association lumped homework in with child labor as the “chief causes of the high death and morbidity rates from tuberculosis and heart disease among adolescents.” Oh my.

Everything changed when the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957. Worries mounted that American children weren’t as smart as their Russian counterparts. At that point, “homework became an instrument of national defense policy,” explained Carnegie Mellon historian Steven Schlossman and education researcher Brian Gill in a 2011 paper . From 1952 to 1962, the proportion of homework that high schoolers reported doing every night tripled. It dipped again in the anti-establishment ’60s, but in 1983, President Reagan’s National Commission on Excellence in Education lamented  that “our once unchallenged pre-eminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world” and called for more homework to help address that concern.

All that is to say: Arguments over homework aren’t new. What’s interesting about this historical back-and-forth, though, is that it has centered almost entirely around homework in high school. At no point did educators and politicians argue that elementary school students should be doing homework. Until very recently.

In 1984, just over 40 percent of American 9-year-olds were doing up to an hour of homework a night. In 2012, that percentage had risen to 57 percent. (These may well be underestimates, too: The numbers are from the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests, which ask students how much homework they had the night before, but teachers often ease up on homework the night before standardized tests.) A 2015 survey of nearly 1,200 parents in Rhode Island revealed that even kindergartners were spending an average of 25 minutes each night on schoolwork.  

Pro-homework experts argue that, in addition to helping young kids master lessons, homework is crucial because it teaches self-discipline, responsibility, resilience and conscientiousness. The anti-homework camp, on the other hand, thinks it’s busy work that does more harm than good: “Young children need time outside to move their bodies, free time to recover from the structure and demands placed on them, and quiet time to be alone with their thoughts,” said Emily W. King, a child psychologist in private practice in Raleigh, N.C., and a former school psychologist. Kids also need sleep, and yet surveys show that the more homework kids have, the less sleep they get.

In my house, there’s a four-hour window between the end of the school day and the beginning of the bedtime shuffle. After squeezing in sports, dinner and showers for my kids, there’s barely any time for downtime or imaginative play. The last thing I want to do is sit my kids back down to do more schoolwork.

Plus, overall, the research suggests that homework in elementary school doesn’t do much good.

In middle school and high school, research does generally find a positive association between homework and achievement (though the effects can be hard to tease out; kids who do more homework might fare better because they might come from higher-income families, attend better schools, or are simply more motivated). But that is not the case in elementary school.

In what is by far the most comprehensive analysis of the research on homework, published in 2006, Harris Cooper, a neuroscientist and social psychologist at Duke, and his colleagues found no relationship between the amount of homework elementary school students did and their overall academic achievement. In 2019, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, average mathematics test scores were actually lower among fourth graders whose teachers assigned more than 30 minutes of math homework a day.

“There is a misconception that the more homework you give, the more rigorous the education,” said Cathy Vatterott, a professor of education at the University of Missouri at St. Louis and a former middle school teacher and principal.

And yet some experts keep insisting on its value, arguing that homework helps children learn complex tasks and develop resilience. Cooper, the neuroscientist whose study found no relationship between homework and achievement in elementary school, agrees, arguing that homework builds conscientiousness. 

I certainly want my kids to develop these skills. But when I hunted for research to support this assertion, all I could find was one 2017 study reporting that German fifth graders who spent more effort on their homework also became more conscientious over the next three years compared to students who put less effort into their homework. When I asked Cooper why, if homework makes elementary school kids more conscientious, this skill isn’t reflected in better academic performance, he told me it’s partly because kids aren’t doing enough homework for it to show an effect.

Even if homework does teach kids to be conscientious, other activities achieve the same goal. “Washing the dishes will teach discipline,” says Barbara Stengel, an education professor emerita at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education. “Making your bed in the morning will teach discipline.” My son developed resilience playing soccer (especially since his team usually lost); my daughter has learned self-control helping her dad make pancakes.

And too much homework can deprive kids of activities that we know are enriching. Childhood is the one and only period in which we get to enjoy imaginative play and explore diverse interests, yet adults seem hellbent on taking that freedom away and starting the never-ending grind of “real life” ever earlier. It’s cruel — and counterproductive. Studies have shown, for instance, that young kids learn more academic skills when they attend play-based schools rather than more academically oriented schools.

Many educators and psychologists therefore argue that elementary school homework is, for most students, more of a burden than a boon. This can be especially true for disadvantaged kids, who may not have a quiet place in which to do their homework, or who have to look after their siblings, or who don’t have parents (or tutors) available to help with confusing assignments. In these situations, homework can become a major source of stress, a situation in which “all we’re doing is taking family time away, reinforcing failure and causing confusion,” Stengel said.

Some research even suggests that homework worsens the achievement gap, which is as vast now as it was back in 1954.

In a 2011 study , the economist Marte Ronning analyzed data from more than 4,000 Dutch elementary school students, and found that in classes that assigned homework, the test score gap between the highest and lowest-achieving students was larger than it was in classes that did not assign homework.

In another 2011 study of American students, the sociologist Jonathan Daw analyzed how homework shapes individual achievement over time, concluding that homework widens the achievement gap in math, science and reading in secondary school.

A recent study published in American Sociological Review reveals an even more disturbing phenomenon — that disadvantaged kids, who often have the most trouble completing their homework, are also punished for their homework failings more than their wealthier classmates are. The research was conducted before the pandemic by Jessica Calarco, a sociologist at Indiana University. She spent two and a half years studying the third-, fourth- and fifth-grade classes at a public elementary school in a suburb in the Northeast. She conducted in-depth interviews with teachers, administrators, parents and students, observed classes and collected data.

In the classes, the standard punishment for forgotten or incomplete homework was for students to stay in for recess and receive a lower grade. But high-income students, she found, were far less likely to be punished for missing homework than low-income students were.

Calarco attributes this discrepancy in part to teacher incentives. It’s not hard for teachers to discern their students’ economic backgrounds; in fact, it’s part of their job to know what students are dealing with at home. And it’s especially obvious which kids have the wealthiest parents: These are the parents who are most likely to volunteer their time in the classroom and raise money for the school as members of the parent-teacher association. Teachers, Calarco found, treat these children differently. The teachers know it, too, but they don’t feel they have a choice.

“They want to enforce the rules,” she explained, “but at the same time, they worry that if they do enforce those homework rules, they will end up creating conflict with especially the highly involved, privileged parents on whom they are most dependent.”

Calarco speculates that teachers may also subconsciously believe that poorer students needed more strict rules, because they assume the children are not getting that structure from their parents.

One fifth grade student Calarco interviewed for her study was a lower-income student whose mother ran a home day care. When he got home from school each day, he was surrounded by the children his mother cared for, many of whom didn’t leave until 6:30. His mother would try to get him to do his homework anyway, but he would often nod off, get distracted or need to help his ailing grandfather, who also lived with them. By the time she could really sit him down to work on it, it would be 8:30 or 9, and often he wouldn’t get it done. His teacher concluded that “school just isn’t a priority in their house,” and rarely granted him exemptions from the homework rules.

“My sense,” Calarco told me, is that the teachers thought the poorer kids “needed stability and consistency and rules” in a way that higher-income students did not. “And they made those judgments even when — and sometimes because — they knew what those students were facing at home,” she added.

This study is small, of course, based on just one school. But with the other evidence, it makes me wonder: Given that one of our country’s key educational goals is to close the achievement gap, do we really want to be doubling down on an educational tool that seems to do the exact opposite?

There’s a better way forward. Some schools and districts are cutting down on the more rote forms of homework — worksheets and the like — in elementary school. In 2019, 16 percent of American fourth graders reported getting no math homework the night before, compared with only 4 percent in 2015. Instead, many schools are focusing homework assignments on reading, and sometimes that’s all they require.

It’s hard to know how homework amounts will shift now that kids are back in school this year. I hope that they will continue to follow a downward trajectory (and a very unscientific poll I conducted on Twitter yesterday suggests that so far this year, they are), but I worry that some schools will be so focused on catching kids up after last year that they might, instead, start to assign more. This could be an unwelcome burden for students who are already struggling with the transition back to school amid strict Covid-19 protocols.

But maybe, after such a trying year, schools will recognize that the emotional health of their students should be priority — and that homework doesn’t provide much of a benefit. My second grader has had upwards of 40 minutes of homework some nights this fall — one afternoon walking home from the school bus, she burst into tears over how much she had — but I was relieved to hear her teacher tell us during their virtual Curriculum Night earlier this week that if homework causes our kids stress or frustration, we should skip it. We will absolutely do this when it feels warranted — and given what I know from the research, I will not second-guess my decision.

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Homework Horror Stories

Subscribe to the brown center on education policy newsletter, tom loveless tom loveless former brookings expert @tomloveless99.

March 26, 2014

The 2014 Brown Center Report on American Education (2014 BCR), released last week, included a study of homework. The study revisits a question investigated in the 2003 BCR : how much homework do American students have? Recent stories in the popular press have featured children burdened with an enormous amount of homework, three hours or more per night. Are these students’ experiences typical or rare?

They are rare.  According to 2012 NAEP data, only five percent of nine-year-olds, seven percent of 13-year-olds, and 13 percent of 17-year-olds had more than two hours of homework the day before filling out the student questionnaire. [i]   MetLife’s 2007 survey of parents and children reports similar figures.  Three percent of parents with children attending elementary schools estimated three hours or more of homework on a typical school day.  For parents of secondary school children, the share was five percent.  In the student surveys, only two percent of kids in grade 3-6 said they had three hours or more of homework, and only eight percent of kids in grades 7-12 said they had that much.

A Very Different View

So only a small sliver of the overall population has as much as three hours of nightly homework.  And yet on March 21, 2014, CNN reported dramatically different findings from a survey of 4,000 students conducted by researchers at Challenge Success (Stanford Graduate School of Education).  The students in that survey had an average homework load of three hours, with some doing as much as five hours per night.  The researchers also found that excessive homework was correlated with high levels of stress and health problems.  Not only is the homework load onerous, the study concluded, it is also unhealthy for kids.

As a gauge of the national homework load, the study is profoundly flawed.  It’s impossible to say whether the findings are even generalizable to the 10 high schools that the students attended.  The schools (comprising the study’s sampling frame ) are not representative.  They consist of four public and six private schools, all in well-to-do suburban neighborhoods in California (median household income of $90,000).   The schools are extraordinarily high-achieving, with 93 percent of graduates going to college.  Fifty-four percent of the students who answered the survey are female.  Only six percent are black or Hispanic.  These statistics diverge significantly from statistics for the U.S. as a whole.

The sampling strategy was also vulnerable to skewing.  Students were invited to fill out the questionnaire.  They were not selected randomly.  Self-selection can bias a sample by making a group of highly-motivated subjects appear larger than it really is.  Students who were unhappy with homework were probably more motivated to fill out the survey.  Those who were content or indifferent were probably less motivated.  The authors of the study do not report how many students were initially invited to respond, making the response rate incalculable.  The average public high school in California has more than 1,200 students —many suburban neighborhoods have larger schools—so the non-respondents probably outnumber the respondents.  Four of the schools offered the questionnaire online, adding another opportunity for self-selection.    

A non-representative sampling frame followed by self-selection of respondents can produce misleading survey results.  A famous example of this is the Literary Digest’s 1936 public opinion poll on the presidential election.  The magazine mailed out 10 million postcards to its subscribers, automobile registrants, and telephone users.  More than 2 million responses led to a clear prediction: The Republican candidate, Alf Landon, would receive 57 percent of the vote and easily defeat incumbent President Franklin Roosevelt, the Democratic candidate.  But that didn’t happen.  Roosevelt won in a landslide, getting 61 percent of the vote. 

How could the survey be so wrong?  The ten million voters who were surveyed leaned strongly Republican.  The Digests’ subscribers tended to be from wealthier households, as did car owners and telephone users in 1936.  Combine that with the propensity of disgruntled voters to return such a survey, and the ingredients for misleading results are in place.    

What Should Be Done?

Look, it’s a fact that some students have too much homework. And it’s plausible that in ten high-powered high schools one can find hundreds of students who are stressed out to the point of missing sleep, which is one of the study’s indicators of poor health.  But that is not the norm.  Stress from academic expectations is not the experience of the average American teen.

Laurence Steinberg, a psychologist at Temple University, has devoted his career to studying adolescents, including their cognitive and emotional development and health.  His research has drawn on databases designed to be nationally representative (e.g., National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health).  The tenth edition of Steinberg’s book, Adolescence , was published in 2013.  Writing recently in Slate (February, 2014), Steinberg calls our high schools a “disaster,” primarily because they ask so little of students.  Steinberg recommends “classes that really challenge students to work hard.” 

Parents and teachers should monitor students for taking on an academic workload that is too stressful.  But to conclude from anecdotal reports and case studies that American high school students are overworked would be wrong.  There also is an element of the Stanford study that makes those students’ situation puzzling.  Recall that six of the schools in the Stanford study are private schools.  High-powered, academically-focused high schools are not for everyone.  School officials in such schools typically make the homework load clear to prospective students and their parents.  AP classes aren’t for everyone either.  It’s like going to a steak house for dinner and then getting sick from the menu because you’re a vegetarian.  You made a bad choice.  My advice is to eat somewhere else.

[i] Asking students for the amount of homework on the day before taking the NAEP test presents both benefits and risks  The benefits are a more precise timeframe for the homework estimate (as opposed to “usually”) and reliance on short term memory.  A risk is that teachers, on the day before the test, may assign less or no homework to students selected for NAEP.  The Brown Center Report compared responses to this item with responses to a separate NAEP question, posing the question as “usually,” that is now discontinued but asked until 2004.  There is evidence of under-reporting at the low end of the homework load (e.g., the no homework group), but the percentage of students with a heavy homework load appears unaffected.  See the discussion on pages 20-21.      

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For many schools, assigning homework to children is an important element of the educational process. Most teachers believe that out-of-class activities help kids deepen their knowledge, practice skills, and develop good study habits. Doubtless, doing homework has many benefits and it makes sense at first blush.

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But more often than not, teachers assign too much homework . According to homework statistics , children spend up to 17.5 hours each week on studies out-of-class. School, college, and university students continue spending much time doing their homework to get a good grade which leads to study-life imbalance.

Simply put, having many assignments is a violation of student rights in schools as children don’t have time to spend with their friends and family. What is more, researchers claim that significant student workload affects kids and leads to significant stress. In other words, it’s the first sign of mental health disorders.

Let’s find out why is homework bad for mental health and how can parents and teachers help children prevent the negative consequences of working much on assignments.

Top 5 Reasons Why Homework is Bad for Mental Health

If you want to understand why homework is bad and whether students should have it or not , take a look at the following mental disorders that can be caused in students because of working hard (and much) on completing assignments.

No matter whether you’re a school or university student, it’s more likely you aim for better grades and higher test scores. The youth is often worried about parental approval and their future career, so it’s no wonder they are focused on getting good grades as they are the measure of academic accomplishment. When it comes to homework (especially if you want to become an IT specialist ), many people study hard and they face various problems like lack of knowledge, poor time management skills, or bad subject understanding that lead to anxiety. It happens even more often when students face difficulties with biochemistry homework or simply don’t know how to complete their philosophy assignments .

The solution: To prevent anxiety in students, parents and teachers should provide kids with support and mentoring.

The concept of bullying in school isn’t new. Doubtless, bullying has life-long negative psychological effects on personality and violates children’s rights. Although children always find reasons to laugh at other peers, there’s no doubt that homework is bad for students who want to get a good grade and improve academic performance. Why? Children treat nerds so badly in college or university, and when A+ students don’t help other peers cheat, it becomes the main reason for bullying.

The solution: It’s important to give students individual home tasks to avoid cheating and therefore bullying.

Over the last few years, it has been proved that young people spend much time learning in school: They attend lectures, read books and materials, work on projects, solve geometry problems , and write essays. Doubtless, studies take much time, so learners need to prioritize their activities and they often sacrifice personal life to complete their assignments on a good level. When people are too focused on doing some tasks hard, they lose motivation with time. All in all, it leads to burnout which also prevents them from achieving success.

The solution: It’s important to assign interesting and engaging tasks that boost creativity .

Researchers claim that home assignments cause depression and 39% of college students feel depressed from time to time. When children can’t achieve their goals, whether they want to get a better grade or receive positive feedback from teachers, they fail to meet their developmental needs or cultivate other critical life skills. All these factors can negatively affect overall well-being and academic performance.

The solution: Parents should know what helps to get motivated to do homework and teachers should master the art of teaching with SCDL .

For a variety of reasons, modern students spend much time working on out-of-class assignments. Many kids claim that they don’t know how to complete the task on a good level and they don’t have a mentor to reach out to. No matter what type of assignments you work on, whether algebra assignments , business reports, or thesis, it can cause stress if you lack knowledge. As a result, they are stressing out. In fact, 70% of students admit being often or always stressed because of workload, statistics about homework says. It’s no secret that stress negatively affects mental and physical well-being, so it’s highly important to reduce stress levels. In other words, students should get less homework .

The solution: Make sure learners understand the task completely or organize student groups on social media to provide them with support.

Since homework leads to various mental health problems in students, a logical question appears: Should homework be banned or not ? While it’s nearly impossible to prohibit out-of-class activities, parents and teachers should respect school rights and help to work on their homework assignments if needed.

After all, being mentally healthy is the number one goal in raising well-rounded and happy kids. Thus, it’s important to know why homework can be bad and find actionable ways to deal with it.

Is Homework A Good Thing or A Bad Thing?

Is homework a waste of time?

Is homework beneficial?

Does homework cause depression?

Many students and parents feel that homework is nothing but an unnecessary burden to them. But many teachers feel that homework is necessary to help students take responsibility for their work. This debate about homework has been there for decades. We wanted to dig deep and find out more about the topic to present an informative article to our readers.

Is Homework Good or Bad?

There have always been mixed opinions regarding this topic. So, here are the pros and cons of homework.

What are The Advantages of Homework?

• Self-learning – Homework helps students to learn to study on their own. Students can use various resources to complete their homework independently. Also, there are cases when students might not understand what has been taught in the class. So, they can try to learn and understand the subject at home while doing homework.
• More Practice – Subjects like Maths, Physics, and Chemistry require more practice. So, homework helps students to give more time to those subjects. Furthermore, classroom sessions are not enough for students to learn and remember lessons. So, regular homework helps students to get prepared for exams.
• Better Grades – Homework is beneficial for students to understand the question patterns of the teachers. Besides, there have been many types of research that showed a significant rise in scores of the students who spend time doing homework.
• Life Skills – Homework helps students to learn some skills that can be used throughout their lives. Homework helps them to learn time management, critical thinking ability, problem-solving, self-discipline, and accountability. Besides, students learn to use different strategies to complete homework. They can apply the same strategies to solve higher problems in life.
• Goal Setting – Students are often found confused in their lives. Also, they might not be able to prioritize things in their lives. But when it comes to homework, they are in a position to decide which one needs to be done first. This helps them to learn to prioritize things and eventually can help them set their goals in life.
• Support Network – Students often tend to connect to classmates or siblings for homework support. This support can help him improve his academic score and social skills.
• Parental Involvement – Parents tend to get involved with their children’s homework so that they can track their progress in school. Moreover, parent’s involvement helps the students to become more serious about their lessons.

What are The Disadvantages of Homework?

• Too Much Stress – Many students feel that homework makes them feel stressed. They feel the pressure of completing on time too much to bear. Also, homework can be challenging to students with low IQ or learning disorders. Besides, after spending more than 5 hours in school, students like to be stress-free.
• Lack of Interest in Studies – Do students like homework? Too much homework can cause fear and phobia in students towards studies. If kids do not get free time to play or do things that they like they may start showing a lack of interest in learning their lessons.
• Health Problems – Many students have complained about exhaustion, headaches, sleep problems, stomach disorders, and lack of appetite due to excessive homework pressure over some time. The alarming thing is that these problems can result in chronic illnesses if not treated early.
• Unfair Practice – Many students have admitted to having copied someone else’s homework. Also, they tend to take help from other peers and try to take the shortcuts instead of learning on their own. This unfair practice might turn into a habit that will be detrimental to one’s growth in academics and career.
• Imbalanced Lifestyle – Does Homework take away free time? Many parents and students feel that homework does not allow the students to have family time or playtime. Moreover, students even do not get time to take part in extracurricular activities. Also, students do not get to spend time with their friends. This damages their social life. This can make a student unable to socialize. This can create some problems in his or her personal life and career.
• Less Self-study Time – Many students complain that they get less self-study time due to excessive homework. Students tend to give more self-study time to the subjects that seem too difficult for them. But, in case they have homework related to other subjects, they can not get enough time to learn the difficult subjects or lessons.
• The Problem for Low-income Students – Many times students need to use resources like the internet, computer, stationeries to complete homework. Students with a low-income background may not have access to these resources. Moreover, they might need to work after school to take care of the family. So, they might not get time to do homework.

How to Make Homework Beneficial?

There are certainly some benefits of doing homework. But the fear and pressure have some detrimental effects on students. Let us find out how homework can be made useful to the students.

Focus on Quality, not on Quantity – Is Too Much Homework bad? Psychologists state that the quality of the homework matters more than the quantity to produce academic benefits. They suggest 10 minutes of home study in the first grade and adding 10 extra minutes for the next grades. So, a high school student can spend a maximum of about 1.5 to 2 hours in self-study.

Focus on Individual Needs – Teachers should be able to understand the individual needs of students. One student may need more time to comprehend one subject than other students. So, the homework should be given accordingly to that student.

Discussion with the Students – An open conversation between a teacher and students can lead to a healthy learning environment. It is a good practice to discuss with the students and ask them how much homework should be okay for them.

Just like no play can make Jack a dull boy, the same way no work can also make Jack’s academics and career dull. Since self-learning is the best method of learning, homework is a blessing in disguise. However, excessive pressure can ruin its main purpose. So, educationalists need to take proper measures to help the students reap the benefits of homework.

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Is homework a necessary evil?

After decades of debate, researchers are still sorting out the truth about homework’s pros and cons. One point they can agree on: Quality assignments matter.

By Kirsten Weir

March 2016, Vol 47, No. 3

Print version: page 36

• Schools and Classrooms

Homework battles have raged for decades. For as long as kids have been whining about doing their homework, parents and education reformers have complained that homework's benefits are dubious. Meanwhile many teachers argue that take-home lessons are key to helping students learn. Now, as schools are shifting to the new (and hotly debated) Common Core curriculum standards, educators, administrators and researchers are turning a fresh eye toward the question of homework's value.

But when it comes to deciphering the research literature on the subject, homework is anything but an open book.

The 10-minute rule

In many ways, homework seems like common sense. Spend more time practicing multiplication or studying Spanish vocabulary and you should get better at math or Spanish. But it may not be that simple.

Homework can indeed produce academic benefits, such as increased understanding and retention of the material, says Duke University social psychologist Harris Cooper, PhD, one of the nation's leading homework researchers. But not all students benefit. In a review of studies published from 1987 to 2003, Cooper and his colleagues found that homework was linked to better test scores in high school and, to a lesser degree, in middle school. Yet they found only faint evidence that homework provided academic benefit in elementary school ( Review of Educational Research , 2006).

Then again, test scores aren't everything. Homework proponents also cite the nonacademic advantages it might confer, such as the development of personal responsibility, good study habits and time-management skills. But as to hard evidence of those benefits, "the jury is still out," says Mollie Galloway, PhD, associate professor of educational leadership at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. "I think there's a focus on assigning homework because [teachers] think it has these positive outcomes for study skills and habits. But we don't know for sure that's the case."

Even when homework is helpful, there can be too much of a good thing. "There is a limit to how much kids can benefit from home study," Cooper says. He agrees with an oft-cited rule of thumb that students should do no more than 10 minutes a night per grade level — from about 10 minutes in first grade up to a maximum of about two hours in high school. Both the National Education Association and National Parent Teacher Association support that limit.

Beyond that point, kids don't absorb much useful information, Cooper says. In fact, too much homework can do more harm than good. Researchers have cited drawbacks, including boredom and burnout toward academic material, less time for family and extracurricular activities, lack of sleep and increased stress.

In a recent study of Spanish students, Rubén Fernández-Alonso, PhD, and colleagues found that students who were regularly assigned math and science homework scored higher on standardized tests. But when kids reported having more than 90 to 100 minutes of homework per day, scores declined ( Journal of Educational Psychology , 2015).

"At all grade levels, doing other things after school can have positive effects," Cooper says. "To the extent that homework denies access to other leisure and community activities, it's not serving the child's best interest."

Children of all ages need down time in order to thrive, says Denise Pope, PhD, a professor of education at Stanford University and a co-founder of Challenge Success, a program that partners with secondary schools to implement policies that improve students' academic engagement and well-being.

"Little kids and big kids need unstructured time for play each day," she says. Certainly, time for physical activity is important for kids' health and well-being. But even time spent on social media can help give busy kids' brains a break, she says.

All over the map

But are teachers sticking to the 10-minute rule? Studies attempting to quantify time spent on homework are all over the map, in part because of wide variations in methodology, Pope says.

A 2014 report by the Brookings Institution examined the question of homework, comparing data from a variety of sources. That report cited findings from a 2012 survey of first-year college students in which 38.4 percent reported spending six hours or more per week on homework during their last year of high school. That was down from 49.5 percent in 1986 ( The Brown Center Report on American Education , 2014).

The Brookings report also explored survey data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which asked 9-, 13- and 17-year-old students how much homework they'd done the previous night. They found that between 1984 and 2012, there was a slight increase in homework for 9-year-olds, but homework amounts for 13- and 17-year-olds stayed roughly the same, or even decreased slightly.

Yet other evidence suggests that some kids might be taking home much more work than they can handle. Robert Pressman, PhD, and colleagues recently investigated the 10-minute rule among more than 1,100 students, and found that elementary-school kids were receiving up to three times as much homework as recommended. As homework load increased, so did family stress, the researchers found ( American Journal of Family Therapy , 2015).

Many high school students also seem to be exceeding the recommended amounts of homework. Pope and Galloway recently surveyed more than 4,300 students from 10 high-achieving high schools. Students reported bringing home an average of just over three hours of homework nightly ( Journal of Experiential Education , 2013).

On the positive side, students who spent more time on homework in that study did report being more behaviorally engaged in school — for instance, giving more effort and paying more attention in class, Galloway says. But they were not more invested in the homework itself. They also reported greater academic stress and less time to balance family, friends and extracurricular activities. They experienced more physical health problems as well, such as headaches, stomach troubles and sleep deprivation. "Three hours per night is too much," Galloway says.

In the high-achieving schools Pope and Galloway studied, more than 90 percent of the students go on to college. There's often intense pressure to succeed academically, from both parents and peers. On top of that, kids in these communities are often overloaded with extracurricular activities, including sports and clubs. "They're very busy," Pope says. "Some kids have up to 40 hours a week — a full-time job's worth — of extracurricular activities." And homework is yet one more commitment on top of all the others.

"Homework has perennially acted as a source of stress for students, so that piece of it is not new," Galloway says. "But especially in upper-middle-class communities, where the focus is on getting ahead, I think the pressure on students has been ratcheted up."

Yet homework can be a problem at the other end of the socioeconomic spectrum as well. 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, says Lea Theodore, PhD, a professor of school psychology at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. They are less likely to have computers or a quiet place to do homework in peace.

"Homework can highlight those inequities," she says.

Quantity vs. quality

One point researchers agree on is that for all students, homework quality matters. But too many kids are feeling a lack of engagement with their take-home assignments, many experts say. In Pope and Galloway's research, only 20 percent to 30 percent of students said they felt their homework was useful or meaningful.

"Students are assigned a lot of busywork. They're naming it as a primary stressor, but they don't feel it's supporting their learning," Galloway says.

"Homework that's busywork is not good for anyone," Cooper agrees. Still, he says, different subjects call for different kinds of assignments. "Things like vocabulary and spelling are learned through practice. Other kinds of courses require more integration of material and drawing on different skills."

But critics say those skills can be developed with many fewer hours of homework each week. Why assign 50 math problems, Pope asks, when 10 would be just as constructive? One Advanced Placement biology teacher she worked with through Challenge Success experimented with cutting his homework assignments by a third, and then by half. "Test scores didn't go down," she says. "You can have a rigorous course and not have a crazy homework load."

Still, changing the culture of homework won't be easy. Teachers-to-be get little instruction in homework during their training, Pope says. And despite some vocal parents arguing that kids bring home too much homework, many others get nervous if they think their child doesn't have enough. "Teachers feel pressured to give homework because parents expect it to come home," says Galloway. "When it doesn't, there's this idea that the school might not be doing its job."

Galloway argues teachers and school administrators need to set clear goals when it comes to homework — and parents and students should be in on the discussion, too. "It should be a broader conversation within the community, asking what's the purpose of homework? Why are we giving it? Who is it serving? Who is it not serving?"

Until schools and communities agree to take a hard look at those questions, those backpacks full of take-home assignments will probably keep stirring up more feelings than facts.

Further reading

• 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), 1–62. doi: 10.3102/00346543076001001
• Galloway, M., Connor, J., & Pope, D. (2013). Nonacademic effects of homework in privileged, high-performing high schools. The Journal of Experimental Education, 81 (4), 490–510. doi: 10.1080/00220973.2012.745469
• Pope, D., Brown, M., & Miles, S. (2015). Overloaded and underprepared: Strategies for stronger schools and healthy, successful kids . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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100 Reasons Why Homework Is Bad | Genuine Reasons To Ditch Homework!

Homework is something many people argue about. Some think homework is good because it helps students practice what they learned in class, build good study habits, and learn responsibility.

Others think too much homework causes unnecessary stress, exhaustion, and family problems while not really helping students learn better. In this long blog post, we will look at 100 reasons why homework may be an outdated and harmful practice in schools today.

We will use research studies, opinions from respected experts and authors, and personal stories from students and families. Key points will include the negative impacts on student mental health, the unfair burdens on disadvantaged families, the lack of evidence that homework improves learning, and the cost of losing family time and other enriching activities.

Whether you are a stressed student, a concerned parent, or a teacher rethinking homework policies, this in-depth look aims to provide a thorough case for getting rid of or reforming homework practices. We will use plain language to explain the issues with too much homework.

Who Invented Homework And When It Was Invented?

Giving homework has been around for a very long time, but the way we do it now is more recent. One of the earliest examples of homework comes from ancient Rome. Wealthy families hired tutors to give their kids work to do after school hours. However, kids from poor families who were peasants or farmers rarely got homework back then.

In the United States, schools started giving more homework in the late 1800s. They followed an education style from Prussia that valued students working hard and behaving well. n 1901, the "Study Schoolwork" thought became well-known. This idea said students should study at home to practice what they learned at school.

It wasn't until the 1940s and 1950s that homework became a normal thing for all grade levels in American schools. This trend happened because people were worried that students were falling behind students in the Soviet Union after the Sputnik spacecraft launched in 1957. Giving more homework was seen as a way to help students do better in school and keep up with others.

So, while homework has very old roots, the modern way of assigning it for pretty much all subjects and ages is quite new. It only became widespread in the last 70-80 years. Many experts in education now wonder if giving this much homework is actually helpful or good for students.

Top 100 Reasons Why Homework Is Bad

Let’s discuss the top 100 reasons why homework is bad and the top reasons why it should be avoided.

Academic Impact:

Not Learning Enough : Sometimes homework doesn't help students learn deeply.

Unfairness : Some students struggle more with homework if they don't have help at home.

Feeling Stressed : Too much homework can make students feel worried, which can make it hard to do well in school.

Feeling Tired : Lots of homework can make students feel tired and less interested in learning.

Not Enough Time : Homework takes up time that could be spent doing other things that help with school.

Not Getting Feedback : Students may not get feedback on their homework quickly, so they can't learn from their mistakes.

Copying Work : Some students might copy homework from others, which is not fair.

Busywork : Some homework is just a waste of time and doesn't help students learn.

Too Much Work : Having too much homework can make students feel overwhelmed and they might not understand what they're learning.

Family Problems : Homework can cause arguments between students and their families, especially if parents don't agree with how much homework students have.

Health Impact:

Not Enough Sleep : Too much homework can mean students don't get enough sleep, which makes them feel tired during class.

Not Moving Enough : Sitting for a long time to do homework can make students unhealthy and might make them gain weight.

Feeling Sad or Worried : Too much homework can make students feel more worried or sad.

Not Spending Time with Friends : Lots of homework can mean students don't have time to play with friends, which can make them feel lonely.

Eyes Getting Tired : Staring at screens for a long time to do homework can make students' eyes hurt.

Headaches : Homework stress can sometimes cause headaches.

Not Eating Well : Rushing through homework might mean students don't eat healthy meals.

Not Moving Enough : Homework can mean students don't have time to exercise, which is important for staying healthy.

Using Bad Things to Feel Better : Some students might use drugs or alcohol to deal with the stress of too much homework.

Developmental Impact:

Less Creative : Too much focus on homework can stop students from being creative or thinking in new ways.

Not Exploring : Homework takes up time that could be spent trying new things or doing hobbies.

Less Playtime : Homework can mean students don't have time to play, which helps them learn and make friends.

Not Enough Family Time : Too much homework means students and their families don't have time to be together.

Not Growing Enough : Kids need free time to grow their brains and understand their feelings.

Not Learning Life Skills : Too much homework means students don't learn things like solving problems or talking with others.

Cultural and Socioeconomic Impact:

Not Fair : Some students have more trouble with homework because they don't have the same help or resources as others.

Language Problems : Homework can be hard for students who speak different languages or who don't read well.

Not Enough Technology : Some students don't have computers or the internet at home, so they can't do online homework.

Parents Can't Help : Parents might not be able to help with homework because they're busy with work or other things.

Feeling Different : Students who struggle with homework might feel bad about themselves.

Different Families : Homework might not fit with how different families live or what they believe.

Pedagogical Concerns:

All Students Are Different : Homework doesn't always work well for all students.

Memorizing Too Much : Some homework just makes students memorize things without really understanding them.

Teachers Feel Tired : Too much homework means teachers have to grade a lot, which can make them feel tired.

Too Much to Learn : Homework adds more work on top of what students already have to learn.

Doesn't Match Goals : Homework might not help with what teachers want students to learn.

Feeling Scared for Tests : Homework to prepare for tests can make students feel worried and scared.

Ethical and Moral Concerns:

Cheating : Lots of homework can make students cheat or copy from others.

Doing the Wrong Thing : Students might feel bad if they have to cheat to finish their homework.

Learning Only for Grades : Homework might make students care more about grades than actually learning.

Not Enough Free Time : Homework mixes up school and personal life, so it's hard to have free time.

Not Fair : Some students have more help with homework, so they have an advantage over others.

Environmental Impact:

Wasting Paper : Traditional homework uses a lot of paper, which hurts forests and the environment.

Using Too Much Energy : Online homework uses electricity, which makes pollution and climate change worse.

Not Fair : Some students can't do online homework because they don't have computers or the internet.

Systemic Issues:

Not Good Policies : Rules about homework might not think about how it affects students' lives.

Teachers Need Help : Teachers might not know how to give good homework or help students with it.

Parents Pressure : Parents might want more homework, even if it's too much for students.

Schools Are Too Strict : Schools might not change homework rules even when they should.

Not Wanting Change : People might not want to change homework even if it's not working well.

Legal and Ethical Considerations:

Too Much Work : Some places have laws saying kids can't work too much, but homework can be too much like work.

Not Private : Online homework might take information from students without asking, which isn't fair.

Not Equal : Homework might be harder for some students because of who they are.

Not Fair to Students : Homework might make students do work that isn't theirs.

Parental and Community Perspectives:

Parents Don't Have Time : Parents might be too busy to help with homework.

Parents Feel Bad : Homework might make parents feel worse because they can't help their kids.

Communities Not Helping : Communities might not help students with homework if they have too much.

Not Sure It's Worth It : Parents and others might not think homework helps students much.

Global Perspectives:

Different Everywhere : Homework is different in different places, and some places don't have as much homework but still do well in school.

Looking at the World : Countries with less homework might do just as well or better than those with more.

Technological Considerations:

Too Many Distractions : Online homework can be hard because students get distracted by other things on the internet.

Too Much Tech : Doing homework online all the time can make students want to use technology too much.

Feeling Tired from Screens : Looking at screens for a long time can make students feel tired and not want to do homework.

Testing Anxiety : Homework assignments aimed at test preparation can increase anxiety and stress levels among students.

Psychological Perspectives:

Not Feeling Good Enough : Homework struggles can make students feel bad about themselves.

Not Wanting to Learn : Too much homework can make students not want to learn because they only care about getting it done.

Feeling Like Giving Up : If students always struggle with homework, they might feel like they can't do anything about it.

Trying to Be Perfect : Homework can make students feel like they have to be perfect, which can make them feel scared of making mistakes.

Historical Context:

Looking at the Past : Homework has changed over time, and what's normal now might not be the best way.

Changing Times : Things have changed in how people think about school and homework.

Philosophical Considerations:

Thinking About School : Homework should match what people believe about why kids go to school and what they should learn.

Talking About Ideas : People have different ideas about homework, and they argue about whether it's good or bad.

Educational Reform

New Ideas : Some people have new ways of teaching that don't need homework to work.

Changing Rules : People are trying to change homework rules to make them better for students.

Cognitive Science Insights:

hinking Too Much : Too much homework can make students think too hard, which makes it harder to remember things.

pacing Out Learning : Homework should give students time to practice what they learn over time, not just all at once.

emembering Things Better : Doing homework at the last minute can make it harder to remember what students learn.

Parenting Perspectives:

Parents Feel Worried : Homework problems can make parents feel worried about their kids.

Parents Feel Confused : Parents might not know how to help with homework, so they feel confused.

Pediatric Psychology:

Thinking About Growing Up : Kids need free time to grow up and understand how they feel.

Thinking About Actions : Homework can be affected by how students act and what makes them want to do it.

Economic Considerations:

Thinking About Time : Homework takes up time that could be spent doing other things.

Not Equal for Everyone : Homework might be harder for some students because they don't have as much money.

Educational Equity:

Not Fair for Everyone : Homework can be harder for some students because of where they come from.

Not Enough Help : Some students don't get help with homework because they don't have the same resources.

Educational Technology:

Using Technology : Some homework uses technology to help, but not everyone can use it.

Not Fair : Not everyone has the same access to technology, so not everyone can do homework the same way.

Educational Policy:

Thinking About Rules : Homework rules should be based on what's good for students, not just what people think.

Changing the Rules : People want to change homework rules to make them better for students.

Educational Leadership:

School Leaders Are Important : Principals and others who lead schools should make rules about homework that help students.

Teachers Are Important : Teachers can tell people what homework is good for students and what isn't.

Educational Psychology:

Thinking About Learning : Homework should help students learn how to manage their time and set goals.

Thinking About Motivation : Homework should make students want to learn more and keep trying.

Educational Assessment:

Seeing What Students Know : Homework can show teachers what students understand and what they need help with.

Making Homework Real : Homework should be like real-life tasks that show what students can do.

Educational Research:

Looking at What Works : Researchers study homework to see if it helps students or not.

Studying All the Time : Big studies can tell us more about how homework helps students.

Educational Philosophy:

Thinking About School Ideas : Homework should match what people believe about why kids go to school and what they should learn.

Thinking About School Values : Homework rules should be based on what people think is important for students.

Thinking About the Future : Homework should help students do well in school and be ready for the future.

These reasons show why people argue about homework and why some people think it's not good for students.

In summary, this blog post gave many reasons why too much homework is a bad thing. Homework can harm students' mental health and be unfair to families without many resources. There is also no clear proof that piling on homework really helps students learn better.

While some homework is okay, the culture of assigning so much homework every night across all subjects needs to be carefully looked at. As teachers, parents, and society, we should prioritize students' overall well-being, the balance between school and life, and enjoyment of learning over outdated practices that may cause more harm than good.

It's time to openly discuss changing homework policies to fit with current research, family needs, and what's best for students. The solution may involve limiting homework, trying new approaches, or even getting rid of it completely in favor of better teaching methods. Keeping things the way they are now is no longer acceptable when there are so many reasons calling for change.

Is homework pointless? We think so! Discover 100 Reasons Why Homework Is Bad in our blog post. Learn how it stresses kids & stifles creativity. Find alternatives!

Frequenty Asked Questions

Not necessarily! There are alternative ways to reinforce learning. In-class activities, projects, and spaced repetition can be more effective than repetitive homework tasks. These methods allow teachers to tailor practice to individual student needs and provide immediate feedback.

While these skills are important, homework can sometimes be counterproductive. The stress and pressure associated with it can hinder a student's ability to manage their time effectively. There are better ways to teach these skills, such as involving students in creating a daily schedule or setting realistic goals.

Advanced students can be challenged with more complex in-class projects or independent study opportunities that align with their interests. Teachers can also use differentiated instruction to cater to individual needs within the classroom setting.

High-stakes testing is a separate issue. However, effective test preparation can involve targeted review activities in class or providing students with quality study guides. Memorizing facts through repetitive homework tasks isn't always the best way to prepare for tests that require deeper understanding and application of knowledge.

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Analyzing the Effects of Banning Homework on Student Performance and Well-being

The ongoing debate: banning homework in modern education.

Homework has been a topic of debate for students, educators, and parents alike for years. Does it truly play an indispensable role in facilitating understanding and retention of lessons among students? Or does it, contrary to its intent, end up pressuring students to the point of affecting their well-being and life quality? The digital age has brought forth a plethora of platforms and free essay examples websites discussing such educational concerns. A notable example is a titled should homework be banned essay found on GradesFixer, which comprehensively examines why some educators and parents believe homework should be eliminated. Thus, as global educational paradigms shift and adapt, the debate on the necessity and efficacy of homework remains at the forefront, urging us to question and reassess the foundational tenets of our educational system.

The Advocacy Against Homework

A segment of educators and parents argue that homework intrudes on family time, exacerbates disparities among students, and contributes to mental health challenges. It’s crucial to note that these views arise from valid concerns about student well-being and the effectiveness of after-school assignments.

Research Insights on Homework’s Impact

Several studies indicate that excessive homework can lead to increased stress and reduced leisure time, which in turn may affect overall mental well-being. For instance, a study from Stanford University revealed that students who spent too much time on homework experienced more stress, physical health issues, and a lack of balance in their lives.

Table: Student Feedback on Homework’s Impact

However, not all research paints homework in a negative light. Some studies suggest that when moderated, homework can reinforce classroom learning, foster essential life skills, and enhance student outcomes.

Homework and Academic Achievement

Contrary to popular belief, homework isn’t inherently harmful. A Duke University review of numerous studies found a positive correlation between homework and student achievement and exams, particularly in high school. The correlation was weaker for younger students, suggesting that the amount and complexity of homework should be age-appropriate.

The Curriculum and Homework Balance

The curriculum, at its core, is a structured set of learning outcomes that students are expected to achieve. It’s designed to provide students with a clear path of what they need to learn, spanning topics and skills considered essential for their grade level and beyond. When formulated effectively, it’s a roadmap that guides educators and students, ensuring that every learner is equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to progress.

On the other hand, homework is intended to complement the curriculum. It serves multiple purposes: reinforcing lessons learned during class hours, providing additional practice opportunities, and promoting independent research and learning.

However, students might struggle with irrelevant or overly challenging tasks, leading to frustration and disenchantment with the learning process. 

Furthermore, the volume of homework, its complexity, and the time students are given to complete it all play into whether homework serves as a helpful supplement to the curriculum or becomes an overwhelming burden.

In reimagining the role of homework in education, stakeholders must ensure that any assigned task complements the curriculum in content, depth, and volume. This harmonious balance can maximize the benefits of homework while minimizing its potential pitfalls.

Rethinking Homework’s Place in College

The collegiate phase is a pivotal juncture in a scholar’s educational odyssey. Distinct from the regimented confines of foundational and intermediate scholastic stages, tertiary institutions proffer augmented self-determination, an expansive syllabus, and intricate delves into elected disciplines.

Assignments at the tertiary level often evoke distinct sentiments compared to antecedent academic epochs. During preparatory years, assignments might encapsulate rudimentary chores. However, in the collegiate realm, they frequently metamorphose into exhaustive investigative endeavors, profound treatises, and synergistic tasks. Such metamorphosis stems from the heightened focus on cultivating discerning cognition, self-directed scholastic inquiries, and an enriched grasp of the subject.

Yet, herein lies an asterisk. Amid the intensified scholastic rigors of tertiary education – encompassing lecture attendance, immersing in co-curricular engagements, and gearing up for assessments – the infusion of prodigious assignments occasionally becomes a Herculean feat for scholars. The phenomenon of tertiary learners engaging in nocturnal marathons to culminate tasks isn’t an anomaly, ushering in torrents of tension and, sporadically, an obfuscated comprehension of the discipline.

Final Remarks – A Balanced Approach

While the debate about homework’s validity in the educational system continues, the consensus leans towards a balanced approach. Abolishing homework entirely may not be the solution, but reimagining its purpose and volume could offer a middle ground. The crux? Craft assignments as a beacon for augmenting cognitive growth whilst venerating the temporal boundaries and holistic vitality of learners.

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SiOWfa13: Science in Our World

Certainty and controversy, homework: good or bad.

Let’s face it: homework stinks.

One thought on “ Homework: Good or Bad? ”

A big supporting reason to do homework is linked to the way our brain memorizes things. The more reptitive something is for a person, the better they are going to understand. This is the same way homework helps us learn our class materials and why athletes practice instead of just playing games. The only way for people to get better at anything, is to do it as much as possible. Here’s an article on how repitition helps our brain learn things better. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_ocr_pre_2011/brain_mind/humanslearnrev1.shtml

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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]

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Top 10 Little-Known Facts Against Homework

It is well known that many students detest having to do work outside of lesson times; however, many teachers and parents are also against the idea, and would rather that students were not set any additional work to do. In fact, there are many reasons as to why people might be against the need for students to do extra work, with some reasons outlined below.

• Many students feel overloaded already and the extra work is too much

Many students will already have to study for exams, and to a wide range of other things as part of the academic studies, and will feel that any extra work is simply too much of a burden.

• The internet enables students to plagiarize work easily

Students can find a wide range of different articles, as well as information on online encyclopedias, which enables them to plagiarize individual sections after their work quickly and easily, thus making the concept of doing work at home redundant.

• There are free essay samples available online for students to download

In fact, as well as plagiarizing individual sections of the work, it is possible for students to find free samples to download, which can be used in the event that the need to write an essay.

• Youngsters can pay fellow students to do the work

Some students will pay classmates to do the work for them, which again makes the whole concept of doing work at home redundant.

• Students can look at and copy the work of their friends

As well as paying classmates to do work, others will simply copy what friends have done

• Parents often do the work to help their children get better grades

Some students essay will be so concerned that their child does well that they will do the work for them, thus making a pointless exercise.

• Students can pay for pre-written or bespoke essays and answers

As well as finding free samples on the Internet, students can pay for prewritten work, or even bespoke samples created by professionals, which again makes the whole process redundant.

• It can create inequality for students without computers and other technology

With some students having the latest computers and other technology, whilst others may not have anything, doing work at home can create inequalities.

• Students feel they have nobody to ask for help when they get stuck

Do the work can be tickly stressful for any student when they get stuck, as they may have no one to turn to in order to ask for help.

• It uses a lot of free time for teachers who need to mark the work

Finally, teaches spend many hours marking the work, both during the daytime and evening. In fact, the long hours means that some teachers will even leave the profession.

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Student Opinion

Should We Get Rid of Homework?

Some educators are pushing to get rid of homework. Would that be a good thing?

By Jeremy Engle and Michael Gonchar

Do you like doing homework? Do you think it has benefited you educationally?

Has homework ever helped you practice a difficult skill — in math, for example — until you mastered it? Has it helped you learn new concepts in history or science? Has it helped to teach you life skills, such as independence and responsibility? Or, have you had a more negative experience with homework? Does it stress you out, numb your brain from busywork or actually make you fall behind in your classes?

Should we get rid of homework?

In “ The Movement to End Homework Is Wrong, ” published in July, the Times Opinion writer Jay Caspian Kang argues that homework may be imperfect, but it still serves an important purpose in school. The essay begins:

Do students really need to do their homework? As a parent and a former teacher, I have been pondering this question for quite a long time. The teacher side of me can acknowledge that there were assignments I gave out to my students that probably had little to no academic value. But I also imagine that some of my students never would have done their basic reading if they hadn’t been trained to complete expected assignments, which would have made the task of teaching an English class nearly impossible. As a parent, I would rather my daughter not get stuck doing the sort of pointless homework I would occasionally assign, but I also think there’s a lot of value in saying, “Hey, a lot of work you’re going to end up doing in your life is pointless, so why not just get used to it?” I certainly am not the only person wondering about the value of homework. Recently, the sociologist Jessica McCrory Calarco and the mathematics education scholars Ilana Horn and Grace Chen published a paper, “ You Need to Be More Responsible: The Myth of Meritocracy and Teachers’ Accounts of Homework Inequalities .” They argued that while there’s some evidence that homework might help students learn, it also exacerbates inequalities and reinforces what they call the “meritocratic” narrative that says kids who do well in school do so because of “individual competence, effort and responsibility.” The authors believe this meritocratic narrative is a myth and that homework — math homework in particular — further entrenches the myth in the minds of teachers and their students. Calarco, Horn and Chen write, “Research has highlighted inequalities in students’ homework production and linked those inequalities to differences in students’ home lives and in the support students’ families can provide.”

Mr. Kang argues:

But there’s a defense of homework that doesn’t really have much to do with class mobility, equality or any sense of reinforcing the notion of meritocracy. It’s one that became quite clear to me when I was a teacher: Kids need to learn how to practice things. Homework, in many cases, is the only ritualized thing they have to do every day. Even if we could perfectly equalize opportunity in school and empower all students not to be encumbered by the weight of their socioeconomic status or ethnicity, I’m not sure what good it would do if the kids didn’t know how to do something relentlessly, over and over again, until they perfected it. Most teachers know that type of progress is very difficult to achieve inside the classroom, regardless of a student’s background, which is why, I imagine, Calarco, Horn and Chen found that most teachers weren’t thinking in a structural inequalities frame. Holistic ideas of education, in which learning is emphasized and students can explore concepts and ideas, are largely for the types of kids who don’t need to worry about class mobility. A defense of rote practice through homework might seem revanchist at this moment, but if we truly believe that schools should teach children lessons that fall outside the meritocracy, I can’t think of one that matters more than the simple satisfaction of mastering something that you were once bad at. That takes homework and the acknowledgment that sometimes a student can get a question wrong and, with proper instruction, eventually get it right.

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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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