Most middle school and high school students in America get homework every weekday. Homework can be a good way to help students get extra practice on subjects being studied in school, but recent studies have shown that too much homework might not be as helpful as teachers think.
Many countries with the highest-scoring students–such as Japan, the Czech Republic, and Denmark–receive little to no homework. In these countries, students go to school six hours a day, the same amount, or less than most schools in the US. On average, high schoolers in America get 2.7 – 3.1 hours of homework each day after 6+ hours of school. According to Stanford University, professionals recommend that high school students have two hours of homework or less.
In America, many students also play sports or even have jobs. This results in late nights trying to get everything done. Some experts agree that with all of these distractions, not to mention being physically and mentally tired, students aren’t performing as best as they could on homework, and on in-class assignments. According to a study at Penn State, it show the longer students spend working on homework and studying, the lower their grades get. Even older students need time to “just relax.”
Some advocate the best idea is for students to take a break when they start to feel burnt out. Even just 15 minutes can reset the brain, and help students feel refreshed to keep going. Humans only have so long until they meet their mental capacity.
In September 2024, a survey of 53 Sutton Middle School and Sutton High School students showed that 35.8% percent of students said they get 1 hour of homework or less, which is a great amount! 47.2% said they average about 2 hours per night, 11.3% said they get 3 hours, and 5.7% of students receive 4 or more hours of homework each night. Does this sound like too much?
58.5% of students believe that it is too much homework, while 41.5% think they receive an appropriate amount. Despite feeling like they have too much homework, 60.4% of the responding students think that homework does help them get better grades, while 39.6% thinks it doesn’t make much of a difference. This suggests that homework may be helpful, in moderation. But, too much may be overwhelming students.
So, will homework eventually be banned in the US? As of 2024, the US has not passed any laws to ban homework. However, many schools across the country have decided to stop assigning it, especially for younger grades. In many countries in Europe and Asia, homework is no longer given. According to Book Widgets Interactive Learning, Finland’s students do not receive homework until their teens. Their older students receive homework, but not much, and in comparison to the USA’s high school graduation rate, which is 75%, Finland has a high school graduation rate of 93%. 2 in 3 of their students go to college. This is the highest rate in all of Europe!
In conclusion, we know that after working for so long, your brain is no longer processing information as well. This proves too much homework is counterproductive.
