Do students have too much homework?
It’s a question that is debated by teachers, parents, researchers, and students alike. Homework instills values like discipline and time management and helps students develop their study skills.
However, students are already in school for most of their day. Should they dedicate a large portion of hometime to schooling too? If homework is important, how much homework should students have?
The Pros and Cons of Homework
Pros Of Homework
Though many students see homework as an unpleasant requirement of school, there are many benefits to homework.
Homework teaches students valuable study skills that they will use long after they finish school. It helps students discover what studying strategies work best for them, how to concentrate, and which subjects they enjoy spending time learning about.
If a student is falling behind on work and needs more time to review material, homework gives him or her an opportunity to catch up at home. He or she can look at the material with a fresh pair of eyes and dig into the work from the comfort of home.
Cons Of Homework
However, homework can also reduce the amount of free time students have. This can cut into time students have for hobbies, sports teams, bonding with family, and visiting friends. And since it’s important for young people to have a balance between school and play, spending too much time on homework can lead to students resenting school and losing interest and motivation.
Studies have also shown that too much homework can be very unhealthy, making students feel stressed and burnt out. In fact, more than 56% of students say that homework is a major reason they stress about school.
How Much Homework Should Students Have?
The National Education Association and the National Parent-Teacher Association have agreed on a standard amount of time students should spend on homework.
It’s called the “10-minute rule”.
What Is The 10 Minute Rule?
Students should spend 10 minutes a night, per grade level working on homework.
That means that if a student is in grade 1, they should spend 10 minutes on homework every night. If they are in grade 10, they should spend 100 minutes on homework.
How Much Time Are Kids Actually Spending on Homework?
A study by the University of Phoenix surveyed over 1,000 teachers asking how much homework they were assigning. Below is the average amount of homework being assigned each night:
- 36 minutes for students in kindergarten to grade 5
- 39 minutes for students in grade 6 to grade 8
- 210 minutes a night for students grade 9 to grade 12
These numbers show that the time spent on homework dramatically increases during high school. These high school students are dealing with increasingly high levels of homework—spending almost twice the amount of time on homework than is recommended.
And this can lead to challenges for students.
Reports have shown that doing more than 120 minutes of homework a night can result in stress, physical health problems, general lack of balance, and feelings of alienation.
Get The Most Out Of Homework
It’s important to remember that homework isn’t all bad. In fact, it can be very valuable—it teaches students good study habits and time management. However, too much of it can lead to stress and alienation.
That’s why it’s important to help your child plan ahead and tackle his or her homework as effectively as possible. And that starts with ensuring your child is not only studying hard, but studying smart.
Check out our study resources for homework tips and tricks:
The Benefits Of Self-study (And How Your Child Can Use It)
How To Concentrate On Homework Without Getting Distracted
The Homework Struggle: How To Encourage Kids To Do Homework
