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What’s the Right Amount of Homework?

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

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

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

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

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

Small Benefits for Elementary Students

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

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

Moderate Benefits for Middle School Students

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

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

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

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

More Benefits for High School Students, but Risks as Well

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

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

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

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

Parents Play a Key Role

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

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

How Much Homework Do American Kids Do?

Various factors, from the race of the student to the number of years a teacher has been in the classroom, affect a child's homework load.

In his Atlantic essay , Karl Taro Greenfeld laments his 13-year-old daughter's heavy homework load. As an eighth grader at a New York middle school, Greenfeld’s daughter averaged about three hours of homework per night and adopted mantras like “memorization, not rationalization” to help her get it all done. Tales of the homework-burdened American student have become common, but are these stories the exception or the rule?

A 2007 Metlife study found that 45 percent of students in grades three to 12 spend more than an hour a night doing homework, including the six percent of students who report spending more than three hours a night on their homework. In the 2002-2003 school year, a study out of the University of Michigan found that American students ages six through 17 spent three hours and 38 minutes per week doing homework.

A range of factors plays into how much homework each individual student gets:

Older students do more homework than their younger counterparts.

This one is fairly obvious: The National Education Association recommends that homework time increase by ten minutes per year in school. (e.g., A third grader would have 30 minutes of homework, while a seventh grader would have 70 minutes).

Studies have found that schools tend to roughly follow these guidelines: The University of Michigan found that students ages six to eight spend 29 minutes doing homework per night while 15- to 17-year-old students spend 50 minutes doing homework. The Metlife study also found that 50 percent of students in grades seven to 12 spent more than an hour a night on homework, while 37 percent of students in grades three to six spent an hour or more on their homework per night. The National Center for Educational Statistics found that high school students who do homework outside of school average 6.8 hours of homework per week.

Race plays a role in how much homework students do.

Asian students spend 3.5 more hours on average doing homework per week than their white peers. However, only 59 percent of Asian students’ parents check that homework is done, while 75.6 percent of Hispanic students’ parents and 83.1 percent of black students’ parents check.

Teachers with less experience assign more homework.

The Metlife study found that 14 percent of teachers with zero to five years of teaching experience assigned more than an hour of homework per night, while only six percent of teachers with 21 or more years of teaching experience assigned over an hour of homework.

Math classes have homework the most frequently.

The Metlife study found that 70 percent of students in grades three to 12 had at least one homework assignment in math. Sixty-two percent had at least one homework assignment in a language arts class (English, reading, spelling, or creative writing courses) and 42 percent had at least one in a science class.

Regardless of how much homework kids are actually doing every night, most parents and teachers are happy with the way things are: 60 percent of parents think that their children have the “right amount of homework,” and 73 percent of teachers think their school assigns the right amount of homework.

Students, however, are not necessarily on board: 38 percent of students in grades seven through 12 and 28 percent of students in grades three through six report being “very often/often” stressed out by their homework.

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Students spend three times longer on homework than average, survey reveals

Sonya Kulkarni and Pallavi Gorantla | Jan 9, 2022

Graphic by Sonya Kulkarni

The National Education Association and the National Parent Teacher Association have suggested that a healthy number of hours that students should be spending can be determined by the “10-minute rule.” This means that each grade level should have a maximum homework time incrementing by 10 minutes depending on their grade level (for instance, ninth-graders would have 90 minutes of homework, 10th-graders should have 100 minutes, and so on).

As ‘finals week’ rapidly approaches, students not only devote effort to attaining their desired exam scores but make a last attempt to keep or change the grade they have for semester one by making up homework assignments.

High schoolers reported doing an average of 2.7 hours of homework per weeknight, according to a study by the Washington Post from 2018 to 2020 of over 50,000 individuals. A survey of approximately 200 Bellaire High School students revealed that some students spend over three times this number.

The demographics of this survey included 34 freshmen, 43 sophomores, 54 juniors and 54 seniors on average.

When asked how many hours students spent on homework in a day on average, answers ranged from zero to more than nine with an average of about four hours. In contrast, polled students said that about one hour of homework would constitute a healthy number of hours.

Junior Claire Zhang said she feels academically pressured in her AP schedule, but not necessarily by the classes.

“The class environment in AP classes can feel pressuring because everyone is always working hard and it makes it difficult to keep up sometimes.” Zhang said.

A total of 93 students reported that the minimum grade they would be satisfied with receiving in a class would be an A. This was followed by 81 students, who responded that a B would be the minimum acceptable grade. 19 students responded with a C and four responded with a D.

“I am happy with the classes I take, but sometimes it can be very stressful to try to keep up,” freshman Allyson Nguyen said. “I feel academically pressured to keep an A in my classes.”

Up to 152 students said that grades are extremely important to them, while 32 said they generally are more apathetic about their academic performance.

Last year, nine valedictorians graduated from Bellaire. They each achieved a grade point average of 5.0. HISD has never seen this amount of valedictorians in one school, and as of now there are 14 valedictorians.

“I feel that it does degrade the title of valedictorian because as long as a student knows how to plan their schedule accordingly and make good grades in the classes, then anyone can be valedictorian,” Zhang said.

Bellaire offers classes like physical education and health in the summer. These summer classes allow students to skip the 4.0 class and not put it on their transcript. Some electives also have a 5.0 grade point average like debate.

Close to 200 students were polled about Bellaire having multiple valedictorians. They primarily answered that they were in favor of Bellaire having multiple valedictorians, which has recently attracted significant acclaim .

Senior Katherine Chen is one of the 14 valedictorians graduating this year and said that she views the class of 2022 as having an extraordinary amount of extremely hardworking individuals.

“I think it was expected since freshman year since most of us knew about the others and were just focused on doing our personal best,” Chen said.

Chen said that each valedictorian achieved the honor on their own and deserves it.

“I’m honestly very happy for the other valedictorians and happy that Bellaire is such a good school,” Chen said. “I don’t feel any less special with 13 other valedictorians.”

Nguyen said that having multiple valedictorians shows just how competitive the school is.

“It’s impressive, yet scary to think about competing against my classmates,” Nguyen said.

Offering 30 AP classes and boasting a significant number of merit-based scholars Bellaire can be considered a competitive school.

“I feel academically challenged but not pressured,” Chen said. “Every class I take helps push me beyond my comfort zone but is not too much to handle.”

Students have the opportunity to have off-periods if they’ve met all their credits and are able to maintain a high level of academic performance. But for freshmen like Nguyen, off periods are considered a privilege. Nguyen said she usually has an hour to five hours worth of work everyday.

“Depending on the day, there can be a lot of work, especially with extra curriculars,” Nguyen said. “Although, I am a freshman, so I feel like it’s not as bad in comparison to higher grades.”

According to the survey of Bellaire students, when asked to evaluate their agreement with the statement “students who get better grades tend to be smarter overall than students who get worse grades,” responders largely disagreed.

Zhang said that for students on the cusp of applying to college, it can sometimes be hard to ignore the mental pressure to attain good grades.

“As a junior, it’s really easy to get extremely anxious about your GPA,” Zhang said. “It’s also a very common but toxic practice to determine your self-worth through your grades but I think that we just need to remember that our mental health should also come first. Sometimes, it’s just not the right day for everyone and one test doesn’t determine our smartness.”

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Anonymous • Jul 16, 2024 at 3:27 pm

didnt realy help

Anonymous • Nov 21, 2023 at 10:32 am

It’s not really helping me understand how much.

josh • May 9, 2023 at 9:58 am

Kassie • May 6, 2022 at 12:29 pm

Im using this for an English report. This is great because on of my sources needed to be from another student. Homework drives me insane. Im glad this is very updated too!!

Kaylee Swaim • Jan 25, 2023 at 9:21 pm

I am also using this for an English report. I have to do an argumentative essay about banning homework in schools and this helps sooo much!

Izzy McAvaney • Mar 15, 2023 at 6:43 pm

I am ALSO using this for an English report on cutting down school days, homework drives me insane!!

E. Elliott • Apr 25, 2022 at 6:42 pm

I’m from Louisiana and am actually using this for an English Essay thanks for the information it was very informative.

Nabila Wilson • Jan 10, 2022 at 6:56 pm

Interesting with the polls! I didn’t realize about 14 valedictorians, that’s crazy.

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How Much Time Should Be Spent on Homework?

At the elementary level homework should be brief, at your child’s ability level and involve frequent, voluntary and high interest activities. Young students require high levels of feedback and/or supervision to help them complete assignments correctly. Accurate homework completion is influenced by your child’s ability, the difficulty of the task, and the amount of feedback your child receives. When assigning homework, your child’s teachers may struggle to create a balance at this age between ability, task difficulty and feedback. Unfortunately, there are no simple guiding principles.

We can assure you, however, that your input and feedback on a nightly basis is an essential component in helping your child benefit from the homework experience.

What is the recommended time in elementary school?

In first through third grade, students should receive one to three assignments per week, taking them no more than fifteen to twenty minutes. In fourth through sixth grade, students should receive two to four assignments per week, lasting between fifteen and forty-five minutes. At this age, the primarily goal of homework is to help your child develop the independent work and learning skills that will become critical in the higher grades. In the upper grades, the more time spent on homework the greater the achievement gains.

What is the recommended time in middle and high school?

For students in middle and high school grades there are greater overall benefits from time engaged in practicing and thinking about school work. These benefits do not appear to depend as much upon immediate supervision or feedback as they do for elementary students. In seventh through ninth grade we recommend students receive three to five sets of assignments per week, lasting between forty-five and seventy-five minutes per set. In high school students will receive four to five sets of homework per week, taking them between seventy-five and 150 minutes per set to complete.

As children progress through school, homework and the amount of time engaged in homework increases in importance. Due to the significance of homework at the older age levels, it is not surprising that there is more homework assigned. Furthermore, homework is always assigned in college preparatory classes and assigned at least three quarters of the time in special education and vocational training classes. Thus at any age, homework may indicate our academic expectations of children.

Regardless of the amount of homework assigned, many students unsuccessful or struggling in school spend less rather than more time engaged in homework. It is not surprising that students spending less time completing homework may eventually not achieve as consistently as those who complete their homework.

Does this mean that time devoted to homework is the key component necessary for achievement?

We are not completely certain. Some American educators have concluded that if students in America spent as much time doing homework as students in Asian countries they might perform academically as well. It is tempting to assume such a cause and effect relationship.

However, this relationship appears to be an overly simple conclusion. We know that homework is important as one of several influential factors in school success. However, other variables, including student ability, achievement, motivation and teaching quality influence the time students spend with homework tasks. Many students and their parents have told us they experience less difficulty being motivated and completing homework in classes in which they enjoyed the subject, the instruction, the assignments and the teachers.

The benefits from homework are the greatest for students completing the most homework and doing so correctly. Thus, students who devote time to homework are probably on a path to improved achievement. This path also includes higher quality instruction, greater achievement motivation and better skill levels.

Authors: Dr. Sam Goldstein and Dr. Sydney Zentall

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How Much Homework Is Enough? Depends Who You Ask

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Editor’s note: This is an adapted excerpt from You, Your Child, and School: Navigate Your Way to the Best Education ( Viking)—the latest book by author and speaker Sir Ken Robinson (co-authored with Lou Aronica), published in March. For years, Robinson has been known for his radical work on rekindling creativity and passion in schools, including three bestselling books (also with Aronica) on the topic. His TED Talk “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” holds the record for the most-viewed TED talk of all time, with more than 50 million views. While Robinson’s latest book is geared toward parents, it also offers educators a window into the kinds of education concerns parents have for their children, including on the quality and quantity of homework.

The amount of homework young people are given varies a lot from school to school and from grade to grade. In some schools and grades, children have no homework at all. In others, they may have 18 hours or more of homework every week. In the United States, the accepted guideline, which is supported by both the National Education Association and the National Parent Teacher Association, is the 10-minute rule: Children should have no more than 10 minutes of homework each day for each grade reached. In 1st grade, children should have 10 minutes of daily homework; in 2nd grade, 20 minutes; and so on to the 12th grade, when on average they should have 120 minutes of homework each day, which is about 10 hours a week. It doesn’t always work out that way.

In 2013, the University of Phoenix College of Education commissioned a survey of how much homework teachers typically give their students. From kindergarten to 5th grade, it was just under three hours per week; from 6th to 8th grade, it was 3.2 hours; and from 9th to 12th grade, it was 3.5 hours.

There are two points to note. First, these are the amounts given by individual teachers. To estimate the total time children are expected to spend on homework, you need to multiply these hours by the number of teachers they work with. High school students who work with five teachers in different curriculum areas may find themselves with 17.5 hours or more of homework a week, which is the equivalent of a part-time job. The other factor is that these are teachers’ estimates of the time that homework should take. The time that individual children spend on it will be more or less than that, according to their abilities and interests. One child may casually dash off a piece of homework in half the time that another will spend laboring through in a cold sweat.

Do students have more homework these days than previous generations? Given all the variables, it’s difficult to say. Some studies suggest they do. In 2007, a study from the National Center for Education Statistics found that, on average, high school students spent around seven hours a week on homework. A similar study in 1994 put the average at less than five hours a week. Mind you, I [Robinson] was in high school in England in the 1960s and spent a lot more time than that—though maybe that was to do with my own ability. One way of judging this is to look at how much homework your own children are given and compare it to what you had at the same age.

Many parents find it difficult to help their children with subjects they’ve not studied themselves for a long time, if at all.

There’s also much debate about the value of homework. Supporters argue that it benefits children, teachers, and parents in several ways:

• Children learn to deepen their understanding of specific content, to cover content at their own pace, to become more independent learners, to develop problem-solving and time-management skills, and to relate what they learn in school to outside activities.
• Teachers can see how well their students understand the lessons; evaluate students’ individual progress, strengths, and weaknesses; and cover more content in class.
• Parents can engage practically in their children’s education, see firsthand what their children are being taught in school, and understand more clearly how they’re getting on—what they find easy and what they struggle with in school.

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Ashley Norris is assistant dean at the University of Phoenix College of Education. Commenting on her university’s survey, she says, “Homework helps build confidence, responsibility, and problem-solving skills that can set students up for success in high school, college, and in the workplace.”

That may be so, but many parents find it difficult to help their children with subjects they’ve not studied themselves for a long time, if at all. Families have busy lives, and it can be hard for parents to find time to help with homework alongside everything else they have to cope with. Norris is convinced it’s worth the effort, especially, she says, because in many schools, the nature of homework is changing. One influence is the growing popularity of the so-called flipped classroom.

In the stereotypical classroom, the teacher spends time in class presenting material to the students. Their homework consists of assignments based on that material. In the flipped classroom, the teacher provides the students with presentational materials—videos, slides, lecture notes—which the students review at home and then bring questions and ideas to school where they work on them collaboratively with the teacher and other students. As Norris notes, in this approach, homework extends the boundaries of the classroom and reframes how time in school can be used more productively, allowing students to “collaborate on learning, learn from each other, maybe critique [each other’s work], and share those experiences.”

Even so, many parents and educators are increasingly concerned that homework, in whatever form it takes, is a bridge too far in the pressured lives of children and their families. It takes away from essential time for their children to relax and unwind after school, to play, to be young, and to be together as a family. On top of that, the benefits of homework are often asserted, but they’re not consistent, and they’re certainly not guaranteed.

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Homework wars: how much homework is enough?

Evaluating the homework policies of schools.

In choosing a school for your child, you’ll want to look at its homework policies. You might be surprised by how much these vary between schools.

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Figure 1: The distribution for the amount of homework assigned in Grade 6 among schools featured on OurKids.net.

There’s a long-standing and contentious debate over homework . Should homework be assigned to school-age children? If so, in what grades? And how much homework should be assigned? There’s no shortage of disagreement about these questions.

On the one hand, traditionalists are pro-homework. They claim that homework helps students learn. They also claim schools should start assigning it in Grade 1, and increase the amount in each grade.

Progressives , on the other hand, are anti-homework. They claim that homework is mostly ineffective, and that schools should assign little, if any, homework—especially in the earlier grades.

Understanding this debate can help you evaluate the homework policy of any prospective school. And this can help you decide if a school’s a good fit for your family.

Figure 2: The average amount of homework assigned by grade for schools featured on OurKids.net.

(1) The case for homework

(2) the case against homework, (3) recent research on homework, (4) homework in public schools, (5) homework in canadian private schools, (6) guidelines for evaluating homework policies.

It has long been held that homework—assuming it’s well-designed—is crucial to learning and development.

In Cultural Literacy (1987), the traditionalist Hirsch argues for the value of homework. Homework, he urges, gives students more time to reinforce knowledge they’ve learned in the classroom. And this gives them a stronger basis for future learning.

For example, by memorizing the multiplication tables or the location of every country in Europe, students can learn important concepts and expand their body of knowledge. Coming back to material after a period away from it is a time-tested strategy for retaining information. Homework provides exactly that, supporters argue. And this enables students to move on to new material during class.

In addition, it’s argued, regular homework also helps students practice skills. Many skills require lots of practice to become ingrained habits, says Michael Zwaagstra, a well-known homework advocate. Why, he asks (in What’s Wrong with our Schools?  (2009)), would academic skills be any different?

A pianist can improve by practicing scales and a basketball player can improve by spending hours in the gym. In the same way, students can improve skills learned in school through practice. 

Basic skills like grammar, spelling, and multiplication tables require drill, says Barr (2007). Learning how to begin projects, searching for answers, and problem-solving are skills that adults use daily, and must be learned early through homework.

Homework not only helps with academics, but it also builds study skills and character.

This view aligns with the frequently discussed “practice principle.” According to Malcolm Gladwell, among others, one needs at least 10,000 hours of practice to master challenging skills, such as playing the guitar, writing a short story, or serving a tennis ball.

Arguments for homework:

• It gives students a time and context to reinforce knowledge gained in the classroom.
• It gives students a time and context to practice skills learned in the classroom and needed for future studies, and life.
• It can instill study habits and organization skills.
• It can lead to better self-direction and self-discipline.
• It can allow students to work on things not directly covered in class (for instance, through independent studies or book reports). This can expand the breadth and depth of learning.
• It allows parents to be more involved in their children’s studies by encouraging them to help out with homework.
• It can lead to a willingness to learn during leisure time, and inspire a love of learning.

Sometimes homework can be frustrating for students and parents. Often, though, these problems stem from homework being poorly designed, it’s argued. In other words, we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater:

The best way to address the homework issue is for teachers to ensure they have a good reason for assigning the homework. Homework should be meaningful and provide students with the opportunity to practice skills and concepts they have recently learned in school. Ensuring that homework is properly designed and relevant to what students are learning is the best way to alleviate concerns about its effectiveness. (Zwaagstra, 2009)

• 84% of schools featured on OurKids.net start assigning homework in Grade 1 or earlier.
• 9% of schools featured on OurKids.net don’t start assigning homework until Grade 7 or higher.
• 5.6% of schools featured on OurKids.net don’t assign homework at any grade level.

Figure 3: The average amount of homework assigned by grade for traditional schools featured on OurKids.net.

The case for homework seems pretty straightforward, right? Well, not according to homework’s critics. In the last 40 years or so, homework has been criticized by many.

Critics claim homework can interfere with student motivation and family life. Alfie Kohn (in “ The Homework Myth ”), a well-known progressivist and homework opponent, sums up this line of thinking:

"The negative effects of homework are well known. They include children’s frustration and exhaustion, lack of time for other activities, and possible loss of interest in learning.  Many parents lament the impact of homework on their relationships with their children; t hey may also resent having to play the role of enforcer and worry that they will be criticized either for not being involved enough with the homework or for becoming too involved."

Kralovec and Buell (in “ End Homework Now ”, 2001), two other homework opponents, describe how homework can be a major source of stress for families:

Homework squeezes family life. All parents have educational agendas for their children. They want to pass on their cultural heritage, religious beliefs , and important life skills. They want to teach their children how to be good citizens and how to share in the responsibilities of running a home. More homework makes parents put their own agendas on hold even as they often struggle to help their children cope with homework assignments. Additionally, families need time to constitute themselves as families. According to a 1998 survey by Public Agenda, nearly 50 percent of parents reported having a serious argument with their children over homework, and 34 percent reported homework as a source of stress and struggle. Parents often have conflicting feelings about homework, viewing it as a way for their children to succeed but also as imposing serious limits on family time.

Zwaagstra (2009), meanwhile, tries to address this kind of claim:

Perhaps the most specious and troublesome claim is that homework takes away time for more valuable activities for students, such as exercising or talking to parents. Using the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research data—often quoted by homework opponents—one quickly finds that the average television viewing for school-aged children is more than two hours a day. If there is anything that takes time away from constructive childhood activities, it is watching mindless television programs. (One wonders whether homework opponents plan to encourage governments to pass laws that restrict the number of hours that children are permitted to watch television during weeknights.)

But parent concerns over homework are real. In Canada, a 2007 study from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) showed that—at least in Ontario —many parents question both the amount of homework and the nature of homework.

The study revealed that much assigned homework seems unnecessary to parents, isn’t taken up in class, shared or evaluated, and when it is, it’s often not quick enough. It also revealed that many parents are concerned about the affect homework has on their family life.

Responses to the parent survey included:

“ I feel that my child is being asked to complete homework that is too difficult for her to do on her own. She needs the help of one or both parents. This seems to me to be inappropriate. I do not mind helping my child with homework, but it seems that at least she should be given at least some homework that she can complete on her own. ”

It would seem that the teachers are either too rushed or can't be bothered to communicate well what is expected from the homework assignments.

That there is so much quantity, I wonder if the benefits of learning from the work is being outweighed by the negative effects such as less ‘down’ time, less family time, stress of completing assignments, emphasis on completing work instead of learning something.

I think most of the assigned homework thus far has been either busy work and a complete waste of time, or it is part of the curriculum that the teacher has not had time to cover and is sending it home to extend the school day.

Homework starts too young. Children are in structured activities all day between school and daycare . For working parents —as soon as you get home you have to start in on all of the assigned homework. This is impacting the quality time you are able to spend as a family unit. Under the age of 10 I highly question how homework actually contributes to learning outcomes. I believe that if kids had time for free play, family time, and outdoor activity —academic results would actually be higher in the end.

Indeed, the argument against homework goes beyond the question of infringing on family time and being annoying. Homework’s critics also question how effective it is at improving grades—especially in the early school years (such as preschool and elementary school).

In fact, Kohn, one of homework’s harshest critics, has argued homework has no positive effects. This is a common view in the anti-homework camp.

Numerous studies conducted since the 1980s have looked at the benefits of homework, and according to Kohn (not to mention Kralovec, Buell and others), none have proven its value. In particular, they show no positive correlation between homework and high grades.

Arguments for less homework:

• For children, spending time on homework means that they aren’t spending as much time on other valuable activities. These may include spending time with family and friends, and engaging in sports and other extracurricular activities . For teens , too much homework makes it hard to balance their academic and social lives.
• Homework is often assigned as “busy-time” work, with little pedagogical value.
• The research on homework outcomes, critics maintain, doesn’t support assigning it, especially in the younger grades.
• Homework—especially in large amounts —can lead to frustration, exhaustion, and poor mental and physical health in some students.
• For some students, homework can interfere with the love of learning that’s crucial, both in the school years and beyond.
• There’s a strong correlation between homework and dropout rates, studies show .

Assigning homework often turns into a way for teachers to offload the job of teaching students in class, critics argue. Students should be able to learn the required material and skills within class—even if that means finding more class time for practice and review.

Figure 4: The average amount of homework assigned by grade for progressive schools featured on OurKids.net.

So, who’s right? Is homework a good thing or not? And in terms of what academic outcomes? And, what does research say about the effectiveness of homework?

The Duke homework study

Well, there have been several studies on homework. One of the biggest  was the Duke study , led by Harrison Cooper. In this study, Duke University researchers reviewed more than sixty research studies on the effectiveness of homework between 1987 and 2003. It concluded that homework does have a positive effect on student achievement, such as grades.

According to Cooper, the study shows the right amount of homework depends on the grade level. For elementary school students, no amount of homework—large or small—affects academic achievement.

For middle school students, academic achievement continues to improve with more homework, until assignments last between one and two hours a night. For high school students, the more homework, the higher the achievement, up to a limit of about two to three hours a night.

While the study seemed to show that homework’s a critical part of the learning process, Cooper noted it also showed that too much homework can be counter-productive for students at all levels.

The research appeared to be consistent with the “10-minute” rule,  now quite commonly accepted, at least in traditional , academically-oriented schools. According to the 10-minute rule, teachers should add 10 minutes of homework for each grade a student completes, starting with the first grade. In other words, a first-grader would be assigned 10 minutes of homework, a second-grader 20 minutes, a third-grader 30 minutes, and so on.

Criticisms of the Duke study

Yet many have disputed these results. Kohn, for example, has argued that the results, taken as a whole, are inconclusive. At best, the research shows that homework can have minor benefits on the achievement levels of high school students:

There is absolutely no evidence of any academic benefit from assigning homework in elementary or middle school. For younger students, in fact, there isn’t even a correlation between whether children do homework (or how much they do) and any meaningful measure of achievement. At the high school level , the correlation is weak and tends to disappear when more sophisticated statistical measures are applied. Meanwhile, no study has ever substantiated the belief that homework builds character or teaches good study habits.

The results of the Duke study have also been disputed for other reasons. First, many of the research studies were poorly designed. Second, the research focused mostly on academic achievement as the desirable outcome. Only a few studies looked at homework’s affect on attitudes toward school and subject matter. And no studies looked at other outcomes such as study habits, cheating, or participation in community activities.

Overall, research on the effectiveness of homework is less than conclusive. Some studies have led to different, and in some cases, conflicting interpretations of the data. Yet we can draw some tentative conclusions from the research. These conclusions include the following:

What the research says about homework:

• Completing homework seems to have little or no impact on the academic achievement of elementary school students.
• Completing homework seems at least weakly correlated with academic achievement in high school and possibly middle school students.
• There’s an upper limit to the amount of homework that should be assigned to students at any level.
• It becomes counter-productive to assign very large amounts of homework.
• Some homework is not well-designed, given feedback, or returned promptly by teachers .
• Some homework is not monitored very closely by teachers.
• The question of how homework influences attitudes towards school, study habits, and work ethic requires further study.

As a parent, it’s important to select a school that’s the right fit for your child. Part of this decision will involve looking at a school’s homework policy.

In both the public and private school system , homework policies vary widely. Different schools have different homework policies, and these policies can vary among classes and teachers within the same school.

Yet in public schools , unlike private schools, homework policies can be regulated by the government. If your child is in a public school, it’s important to know whether the government regulates homework policies in your school district, and if so, how.

Consider the following example:

TDSB homework policy

One homework policy was recently enacted by the Toronto District School Board  (TDSB) , in April of 2008. This policy emerged in response to complaints from parents and students about the amount of homework assigned.

The new policy allowed teachers in Toronto to assign only a minimal amount of homework to elementary students: no more than one hour per evening to Grade 7 and 8 students (in total), and no more than two hours per evening to high school students (in total). In addition, the policy forbid teachers from assigning homework over holidays and from disciplining students who fail to complete their homework on time.

This policy has  received mixed reviews, and it’s unclear whether it’s achieved its objectives. Some teachers claim that the restrictions on homework significantly slow down the pace of class. This results in more advanced students sometimes feeling unchallenged and unstimulated in class. This is because much in-class time is spent covering material that could be completed as homework.

On the other hand, some have defended these kinds of policies. They’ve claimed they tend to free up extra time. Children can spend more time with their families, participate in extracurricular activities, socialize with friends, and pursue other interests and hobbies.

In private schools, like public schools, there’s a wide range of homework policies. Unlike in public schools, though, private school policies aren’t regulated by the government. Private schools are normally free to come up with their own homework policies.

Yet, private schools vary in their educational objectives. And these objectives affect their homework policies.

Private schools can be divided into two main homework camps:

Traditional private schools

On the one hand, traditional, academic schools tend to be more pro-homework. These schools have a standard curriculum which is content-based and rooted in the core disciplines. Their teachers typically deliver a unified and tightly structured curriculum through direct instruction.

These schools also tend to have what we at Our Kids define as a rigorous academic culture . This means they highly value academic performance and use many tests and assignments to evaluate it.

Traditional schools view homework as essential to education. They assign homework to school-age students on a regular basis, increasing the amount and level of difficulty with each grade.

Progressive private schools

On the other hand, progressive schools tend to be more anti-homework. These schools include (but aren’t limited to) Montessori , Waldorf , and Reggio Emilia schools . They typically provide little direct instruction, and less objective evaluation than traditional schools.

Instead of teaching core subjects through transmitting factual knowledge, progressive schools place children’s interests and ideas at the heart of the learning experience. They also tend to have what we at Our Kids call a supportive academic culture , one focused largely on instilling a love of learning and lifelong curiosity in students.

Many progressive schools view homework as less essential to education and assign less homework to students than traditional schools, especially in the upper grades. In fact, some progressive schools do not assign homework in any grade.

Classroom flipping

Many of these anti-homework progressivist schools use a practice called classroom flipping . In these schools, students do more “sit-down” learning at home, such as reading or writing . Meanwhile, they do more applied learning activities in class, such as group exercises or in-class presentations.

Classroom flipping is similar to the way some university courses are taught. At this level, students often do “sit-down” reading and studying at home, and then have class and group discussions in school.

Because classroom flipping is a fairly new practice, there’s been little to no research done on it. We’ve begun, though, to compile some data on classroom flipping, including which schools featured on OurKids.net use this practice. Our main aim is to be able to draw some conclusions about its value, in comparison with more traditional approaches to homework.

• 20.3% of schools featured on OurKids.net use the practice of classroom flipping.

Figure 5: The average amount of homework assigned by grade for traditional versus progressive schools, as featured on OurKids.net. Note that while traditional schools on average assign more homework than progressive schools, a significant difference doesn’t emerge until the high school years, from Grade 9 to 12.

The jury is still out on homework. Despite lots of research, there’s little agreement on the merits of homework, and its merits versus its costs. But research seems to suggest, if nothing else, that homework can enhance learning in many ways.

Part of choosing the right school for your child involves looking at schools’ homework policies. To start, you should find out whether your child’s current or prospective school has a homework policy. If the school doesn’t have a homework policy, you should find out whether any of its programs, classes, or teachers have homework policies.

If your child’s school (or program or class) does have a homework policy, you should ask for a hard or softcopy of the homework policy document. With this in hand, you can take a close look at the homework policy, and decide whether it’s appropriate and well-suited for your child.

Although there’s no such thing as the perfect or “one-size-fits-all” homework policy, good ones provide an explicit set of guidelines for assigning homework.

These guidelines should be well-supported by the relevant research. Ideally, they should also be clearly communicated to teachers and educators, and in some cases, students and parents .

Below, we provide you our own set of guidelines for evaluating a school’s homework policy. This is meant to help you decide whether a school's homework policy passes muster. Keep in mind, this list is not exhaustive.

Best homework practices

• Homework should be carefully designed and monitored to achieve the right learning outcomes for students: improved learning, better study habits, higher academic achievement, and the like.  
• Homework should have a specific purpose: “busy time” homework with no pedagogical value isn’t permissible.  
• Homework should be differentiated according to students’ particular learning needs , where appropriate.  
• Teachers should typically provide written or oral feedback on homework within a reasonable time-period.  
• Too much homework shouldn’t be assigned: the maximum should be approximately one to two hours a day for high school students and one hour a day for elementary and middle school students.  
• The amount of homework assigned to students should be gradually increased with each grade, by around ten minutes.  
• Homework may be designed to involve parents/guardians in supporting their children’s learning. But parents should rarely, if ever, be asked to play a formal instructional role in their homework.  
• Homework shouldn’t require resources or technology to which students may not have access.  
• Homework should be designed and communicated so that students understand what’s expected of them before leaving school.  
• Homework should be designed to require no additional teaching outside the classroom.  
• Ideally, homework help should be offered.

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ARTS & CULTURE

Do kids have too much homework.

Across the United States, parents, teachers and administrators alike are rethinking their approach to after-school assignments

LynNell Hancock

Homework horror stories are as timeworn as school bullies and cafeteria mystery meat. But as high-stakes testing pressures have mounted over the past decade—and global rankings for America’s schools have declined—homework has come under new scrutiny.

Diane Lowrie says she fled an Ocean County, New Jersey, school district three years ago when she realized her first grader’s homework load was nearly crushing him. Reading logs, repetitive math worksheets, and regular social studies reports turned their living room into an anguished battleground. “Tears were shed, every night,” says Lowrie, 47, an environmental educator, who tried to convince school district administrators that the work was not only numbing, but harmful. “Iain started to hate school, to hate learning, and he was only 6 years old,” she told me in a recent interview.

A 2003 Brookings Institution study suggests that Iain’s experience may be typical of a few children in pressure-cooker schools, but it’s not a widespread problem. Still, a 2004 University of Michigan survey of 2,900 six- to seventeen-year-old children found that time spent each week on homework had increased from 2 hours 38 minutes to 3 hours 58 minutes since 1981. And in his 2001 and 2006 reviews of academic studies of homework outcomes, Harris Cooper, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, found little correlation between the amount of homework and academic achievement in elementary school (though higher in middle school and high school). Cooper supports the influential ten-minute homework rule, which recommends adding ten daily minutes of homework per grade beginning in first grade, up to a maximum of two hours. Some districts have added no homework on weekends to the formula.

The question of how much homework is enough is widely debated and was a focus of the 2009 documentary Race to Nowhere , a galvanizing cri de coeur about the struggles of kids in high-performing schools. “I can’t remember the last time I had the chance to go in the backyard and just run around,” a teenage girl laments in the film. “I’ve gone through bouts of depression” from too much homework, another confesses. A bewildered-looking third girl says: “I would spend six hours a night on my homework.”

The results of international tests give the homework skeptics ammunition. David Baker and Gerald LeTendre, professors of education at Penn State, found that in countries with the most successful school systems, like Japan, teachers give small amounts homework, while teachers in those with the lowest scores, such as Greece and Iran, give a lot. (Of course the quality of the assignment and the teacher’s use of it also matter.) The United States falls somewhere in the middle—average amounts of homework and average test results. Finnish teachers tend to give minimal amounts of homework throughout all the grades; the New York Times reported Finnish high-school kids averaged only one-half hour a night.

Sara Bennett, a Brooklyn criminal attorney and mother of two, began a second career as an anti-homework activist when her first-grade son brought home homework only a parent could complete. The 2006 book she co-wrote, The Case Against Homework , is credited with propelling a nationwide parent movement calling for time limits on homework.

Last year, the affluent village of Ridgewood, New Jersey, was shaken by two young suicides, causing school officials to look for ways they could ease kids’ anxieties. Anthony Orsini, principal of Ridgewood’s Benjamin Franklin Middle School, eliminated homework for elective courses and set up an online system that lets families know how long many homework assignments should take. “We have a high-powered district,” says Orsini. “The pressures are palpable on these students to succeed. My community is not ready to eliminate homework altogether.”

The trend, instead, is to lessen the quantity while improving the quality of homework by using it to complement classroom work, says Cathy Vatterott, a professor of education at University of Missouri at St. Louis and author of Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs (2009). Cynthia Schneider, principal of World Journalism Preparatory school in Queens for 570 sixth through twelfth graders, plans to encourage all students to read for pleasure every night, then write a thoughtful response. There are also initiatives to “decriminalize” not finishing homework assignments.

As for Diane Lowrie, who left Ocean County because of too much homework, she says Iain, now 10 and heading for fifth grade in Roosevelt, New Jersey, is less stressed out. He recently spent 40 hours working on a book report and diorama about the Battle of Yorktown. “But,” says his mother, “it was his idea and he enjoyed it.”

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How Much Homework?

Giving students an excessive amount of homework in the early grades can turn them away from learning. It also robs young children of a chance to do other activities after doing six or more hours of academic work in the classroom. It is only when children reach sixth grade that the amount of homework that they do is directly related to how well they achieve in school. Before then, the effect of homework on achievement is almost nonexistent.

Rather than discussing with individual teachers how much homework your children should have, a better approach would be to work through the parent-teacher organization to have the school establish a homework policy. Otherwise, there may be little consistency between how much homework Ms. A and Mr. B assign in third grade. This leads to some students being overburdened by assignments while others rarely do any homework. Also, as students get older and learn different subjects taught by different teachers, it's extremely important to have a school policy that spells out which days of the week individual teachers have to make homework assignments and how much daily homework is appropriate.

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How much time should your child spend on homework each night.

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What your 7th grader should have learned

by: The GreatSchools Editorial Team | Updated: May 5, 2024

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Did your child learn the skills they need to be ready for eighth grade? Here are some of the most important academic skills that kids acquire in seventh grade. If your child hasn’t mastered some of them, don’t worry. The important thing is that your child makes progress toward mastery. Choose a few areas to focus on this summer, but keep things low-key both for you and for your child. It’s more important that at-home learning be an experience that encourages your child to enjoy tackling challenges.

By the end of 7th grade, kids should be able to:

• Evaluate a piece of nonfiction writing and determine whether there is sufficient evidence and logic to support the main idea.
• Identify themes and central ideas in a work of fiction.
• Understand and use academic vocabulary words (see word lists for 6th grade , 7th grade , and 8th grade ).
• Proficiently read and understand grade-level novels, short stories, poetry, drama, and nonfiction.
• Understand that writing involves several steps: planning, revising, giving and receiving feedback respectfully, editing, rewriting and, sometimes, trying a new approach.
• Be able to identify evidence and make inferences from the evidence presented. ( Read more about finding evidence and drawing inferences .)
• Understand the difference between phrases, dependent clauses, and independent clauses and use them correctly in writing .
• Write informative and explanatory papers on science and social studies topics that include academic vocabulary words , concrete details gleaned from research, and reference to cause-and-effect relationships.
• Express their researched, fact-based opinions in argument papers , in which they also acknowledge — and use facts to argue against — opposing viewpoints.
• Give oral presentations of their research and writing in which they present their main ideas to their classmates aloud, using formal language, clear pronunciation, and at a volume loud enough for everyone in the class to hear.
• Solve multi-step math problems that involve negative numbers, fractions, decimals, percents, and rate.
• Use the four operations (+, -, x, ÷) on decimals, fractions, and percentages in a variety of different types of problems.
• Solve algebraic equations and inequalities with at least one variable (unknown number) as a prelude to algebra.
• Fluidly convert decimals to fractions (and vice versa) and place both on a number line.
• Know the formulas for the area and circumference of a circle.
• Understand the basics of probability, including the idea of random sampling and how to use that data to produce a “representative sample.”

Read more about your seventh grader and reading , writing , and math under the Common Core Standards.

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These Are the Hours Your Kid Should Be Homeschooling Per Day Based on Their Grade

The pressure to homeschool is at a fever pitch, particularly as more and more states are announcing sweeping school closures until the fall. And with such polarizing guidance, it's easy for parents to look at a typical seven-hour school day and assume that they simply aren't doing enough.

In late March, the Illinois State Board of Education released "remote learning recommendations" in order to provide clarification to districts, schools, teachers, students, and parents as to what virtual education should look like during the "COVID-19 emergency."

And within this 60-page document, perhaps the most helpful section was a small chart outlining the "suggested minimum and maximum times of engagement by each student in remote learning activities." Broken down by grade level, it gives parents achievable benchmarks for how much time should be spent doing remote learning each day:

In addition to the time parameters, it also outlined how additional engagement opportunities – versus strict remote learning assignments – are especially vital for preschool and elementary grade levels, where it is not "developmentally appropriate to expect a student to attend to academic tasks for a long period of time." For those kids, the organization offered up a separate table of activities and noted that families are "encouraged" to support learning via these methods instead.

Illinois's Board of Education said it created these recommendations because it "acknowledges that all students, families, and schools are diverse and supports remote learning that meets local needs, and to the greatest extent possible, minimizes the negative impact this unprecedented moment has on our students' educational trajectories."

And although these guidelines might vary state to state, it serves as a helpful baseline for those parents who have been trying to fill full school days when they should actually be homeschooling a lot less.

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Homework; the term elicits a myriad of responses. Students are naturally opposed to the idea of homework. No student ever says, “I wish my teacher would assign me more homework.” Most students begrudge homework and find any opportunity or possible excuse to avoid doing it.

Educators themselves are split on the issue. Many teachers assign daily homework seeing it as a way to further develop and reinforce core academic skills, while also teaching students responsibility. Other educators refrain from assigning daily homework. They view it as unnecessary overkill that often leads to frustration and causes students to resent school and learning altogether. 

Parents are also divided on whether or not they welcome homework. Those who welcome it see it as an opportunity for their children to reinforce critical learning skills. Those who loathe it see it as an infringement of their child’s time. They say it takes away from extra-curricular activities, play time, family time, and also adds unnecessary stress.

Research on the topic is also inconclusive. You can find research that strongly supports the benefits of assigning regular homework, some that denounce it as having zero benefits, with most reporting that assigning homework offers some positive benefits, but also can be detrimental in some areas.

The Effects of Homework

Since opinions vary so drastically, coming to a consensus on homework is nearly impossible. We sent a survey out to parents of a school regarding the topic, asking parents these two basic questions:

• How much time is your child spending working on homework each night?
• Is this amount of time too much, too little, or just right?

The responses varied significantly. In one 3 rd grade class with 22 students, the responses regarding how much time their child spends on homework each night had an alarming disparity. The lowest amount of time spent was 15 minutes, while the largest amount of time spent was 4 hours. Everyone else fell somewhere in between. When discussing this with the teacher, she told me that she sent home the same homework for every child and was blown away by the vastly different ranges in time spent completing it. The answers to the second question aligned with the first. Almost every class had similar, varying results making it really difficult to gauge where we should go as a school regarding homework.

While reviewing and studying my school’s homework policy and the results of the aforementioned survey, I discovered a few important revelations about homework that I think anyone looking at the topic would benefit from:

1. Homework should be clearly defined. Homework is not unfinished classwork that the student is required to take home and complete. Homework is “extra practice” given to take home to reinforce concepts that they have been learning in class. It is important to note that teachers should always give students time in class under their supervision to complete class work. Failing to give them an appropriate amount of class time increases their workload at home. More importantly, it does not allow the teacher to give immediate feedback to the student as to whether or not they are doing the assignment correctly. What good does it do if a student completes an assignment if they are doing it all incorrectly? Teachers must find a way to let parents know what assignments are homework and which ones are classwork that they did not complete.

2. The amount of time required to complete the same homework assignment varies significantly from student to student. This speaks to personalization. I have always been a big fan of customizing homework to fit each individual student. Blanket homework is more challenging for some students than it is for others. Some fly through it, while others spend excessive amounts of time completing it.  Differentiating homework will take some additional time for teachers in regards to preparation, but it will ultimately be more beneficial for students.

The National Education Association recommends that students be given 10-20 minutes of homework each night and an additional 10 minutes per advancing grade level. The following chart adapted from the National Education Associations recommendations can be used as a resource for teachers in Kindergarten through the 8 th grade.

It can be difficult for teachers to gauge how much time students need to complete an assignment. The following charts serve to streamline this process as it breaks down the average time it takes for students to complete a single problem in a variety of subject matter for common assignment types. Teachers should consider this information when assigning homework. While it may not be accurate for every student or assignment, it can serve as a starting point when calculating how much time students need to complete an assignment. It is important to note that in grades where classes are departmentalized it is important that all teachers are on the same page as the totals in the chart above is the recommended amount of total homework per night and not just for a single class.

Kindergarten – 4th Grade (Elementary Recommendations)

*If students are required to write the questions, then you will need to add 2 additional minutes per problem. (i.e. 1-English problem requires 4 minutes if students are required to write the sentence/question.)

5th – 8th Grade (Middle School Recommendations)

*If students are required to write the questions, then you will need to add 2 additional minutes per problem. (i.e. 1-English problem requires 5 minutes if students are required to write the sentence/question.)

Assigning Homework Example

It is recommended that 5 th graders have 50-60 minutes of homework per night. In a self-contained class, a teacher assigns 5 multi-step math problems, 5 English problems, 10 spelling words to be written 3x each, and 10 science definitions on a particular night.

3. There are a few critical academic skill builders that students should be expected to do every night or as needed. Teachers should also consider these things. However, they may or may not, be factored into the total time to complete homework. Teachers should use their best judgment to make that determination:

• Independent Reading – 20-30 minutes per day
• Study for Test/Quiz - varies
• Multiplication Math Fact Practice (3-4) – varies - until facts are mastered
• Sight Word Practice (K-2) – varies - until all lists are mastered

4. Coming to a general consensus regarding homework is almost impossible.  School leaders must bring everyone to the table, solicit feedback, and come up with a plan that works best for the majority. This plan should be reevaluated and adjusted continuously. What works well for one school may not necessarily be the best solution for another.

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• Ask the Professor

What is the appropriate age for children to start getting homework?

Debbie leekeenan, director of the eliot-pearson children’s school and a lecturer in the department of child development, fills us in.

“In recent times, there seems to be more homework, especially for our youngest students,” says Debbie LeeKeenan. Photo: iStock

Homework is such an established part of education, it’s hard to believe it’s not all beneficial. But recent studies have found almost no correlation between homework and long-term achievement in elementary school, and only a moderate correlation in middle school.

Yet in recent times, there seems to be more homework, especially for our youngest students. That seems to have led to a backlash. Often-cited negative effects include children’s frustration and exhaustion, lack of time for other activities and downtime and a loss of interest in learning. Many parents lament that homework is a constant source of tension at home.

What is the purpose of homework? The best homework assignments are meaningful and authentic and are connected to classroom learning. Homework can be used to teach time management and organization, to broaden experiences and to reinforce classroom skills. Parents are not expected to play the role of the teacher or introduce new skills.

Homework can certainly benefit students. It may encourage:

Practice and review —such as reading 15 minutes each night, studying spelling words or number facts

Pre-learning —a way to introduce a new topic; for example, if the class will be studying ants, having students write questions they have about ants

Processing —if learning about moon phases in class, students would observe the moon for several nights and draw what they see and identify the phases

Checking for understanding —keeping a journal about science experiments done in class, for instance

How much homework is too much? The idea that “less is more” rules here. According to the National Education Association, guidelines are no more than 10 minutes per grade level per night (that’s 10 minutes total for a first-grader, 30 minutes for a third-grader). Some students do their homework on their own, and some parents help their children. Many teachers now give homework once a week that is due the following week to allow more flexibility and accommodate a range of student and family schedules.

Successful homework experiences have strong home-school partnerships, where the purpose of homework is clearly defined by the teacher and communicated with the student and family. When in doubt, ask!

Do you have a question for Ask the Professor? Send it to Tufts Journal editor Taylor McNeil .

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How much time should you spend studying? Our ‘Goldilocks Day’ tool helps find the best balance of good grades and  well-being

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Dot Dumuid is supported by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Early Career Fellowship GNT1162166 and by the Centre of Research Excellence in Driving Global Investment in Adolescent Health funded by NHMRC GNT1171981.

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For students, as for all of us, life is a matter of balance, trade-offs and compromise. Studying for hours on end is unlikely to lead to best academic results. And it could have negative impacts on young people’s physical, mental and social well-being.

Our recent study found the best way for young people to spend their time was different for mental health than for physical health, and even more different for school-related outcomes. Students needed to spend more time sitting for best cognitive and academic performance, but physical activity trumped sitting time for best physical health. For best mental health, longer sleep time was most important.

It’s like a game of rock, paper, scissors with time use. So, what is the sweet spot, or as Goldilocks put it, the “just right” amount of study?

Read more: Back to school: how to help your teen get enough sleep

Using our study data for Australian children aged 11 and 12, we are developing a time-optimisation tool that allows the user to define their own mental, physical and cognitive health priorities. Once the priorities are set, the tool provides real-time updates on what the user’s estimated “Goldilocks day” looks like.

More study improves grades, but not as much as you think

Over 30 years of research shows that students doing more homework get better grades. However, extra study doesn’t make as much difference as people think. An American study found the average grades of high school boys increased by only about 1.5 percentage points for every extra hour of homework per school night.

What these sorts of studies don’t consider is that the relationship between time spent doing homework and academic achievement is unlikely to be linear. A high school boy doing an extra ten hours of homework per school night is unlikely to improve his grades by 15 percentage points.

There is a simple explanation for this: doing an extra ten hours of homework after school would mean students couldn’t go to bed until the early hours of the morning. Even if they could manage this for one day, it would be unsustainable over a week, let alone a month. In any case, adequate sleep is probably critical for memory consolidation .

Read more: What's the point of homework?

As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day. Students can’t devote more time to study without taking this time from other parts of their day. Excessive studying may become detrimental to learning ability when too much sleep time is lost.

Another US study found that, regardless of how long a student normally spent studying, sacrificing sleep to fit in more study led to learning problems on the following day. Among year 12s, cramming in an extra three hours of study almost doubled their academic problems. For example, students reported they “did not understand something taught in class” or “did poorly on a test, quiz or homework”.

Excessive study could also become unhelpful if it means students don’t have time to exercise. We know exercise is important for young people’s cognition , particularly their creative thinking, working memory and concentration.

On the one hand, then, more time spent studying is beneficial for grades. On the other hand, too much time spent studying is detrimental to grades.

We have to make trade-offs

Of course, how young people spend their time is not only important to their academic performance, but also to their health. Because what is the point of optimising school grades if it means compromising physical, mental and social well-being? And throwing everything at academic performance means other aspects of health will suffer.

US sleep researchers found the ideal amount of sleep for for 15-year-old boys’ mental health was 8 hours 45 minutes a night, but for the best school results it was one hour less.

Clearly, to find the “Goldilocks Zone” – the optimal balance of study, exercise and sleep – we need to think about more than just school grades and academic achievement.

Read more: 'It was the best five years of my life!' How sports programs are keeping disadvantaged teens at school

Looking for the Goldilocks Day

Based on our study findings , we realised the “Goldilocks Day” that was the best on average for all three domains of health (mental, physical and cognitive) would require compromises. Our optimisation algorithm estimated the Goldilocks Day with the best overall compromise for 11-to-12-year-olds. The breakdown was roughly:

10.5 hours of sleep

9.5 hours of sedentary behaviour (such as sitting to study, chill out, eat and watch TV)

2.5 hours of light physical activity (chores, shopping)

1.5 hours of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (sport, running).

We also recognised that people – or the same people at different times — have different priorities. Around exam time, academic performance may become someone’s highest priority. They may then wish to manage their time in a way that leads to better study results, but without completely neglecting their mental or physical health.

To better explore these trade-offs, we developed our time-use optimisation tool based on Australian data . Although only an early prototype, the tool shows there is no “one size fits all” solution to how young people should be spending their time. However, we can be confident the best solutions will involve a healthy balance across multiple daily activities.

Just like we talk about the benefits of a balanced diet, we should start talking about the benefits of balanced time use. The better equipped young people and those supporting them are to find their optimal daily balance of sleep, sedentary behaviours and physical activities, the better their learning outcomes will be, without compromising their health and well-being.

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How to Homeschool Seventh Grade

The seventh grade homeschool year is an exciting exploration of student independence. Because middle schoolers are ready to take more responsibility for their studies, parents will begin to take on more of a facilitator role than a teacher one. Your 7th grade homeschooler should be able to tackle more in-depth assignments and manage a busier academic schedule. 7th graders are commonly expected to be able to read complex texts, write papers, and use technology effectively across all subject areas.

Because your child’s academic success is so important, Time4Learning offers this guide to help you navigate the 7th grade homeschool path. Below, you will find information about:

• What Schedule is Best for Homeschooling 7th Grade?
• What Subjects are Taught in Seventh Grade?

Seventh Grade Learning Objectives

Reading book list for seventh grade, seventh grade homeschooling tips & ideas, how time4learning can help you homeschool your seventh grader.

• Additional Seventh Grade Homeschooling Resources

If the 7th grade homeschool year is your first year of home education, then you’ll need to take these steps before beginning:

• Research your specific state homeschool laws .
• Follow your state’s guidelines for school withdrawal and notification of homeschooling.
• Create a schedule or routine that allows some wiggle room.
• Set some learning objectives for your lessons.
• Plan out your homeschool year
• Make sure to keep track of your child’s work
• Assess your student’s progress

What Schedule is Best for a Seventh Grader?

In 7th grade, parents will homeschool roughly 4 hours a day. But remember, you’re homeschooling now, so you’re not tied down to a certain schedule or number of hours each day, and you’ll love the amount of flexibility. Find what works for you and your family.

When deciding on a 7th grade homeschool schedule, there are a number of factors you want to take into account:

• Your overall academic goals for 7th grade
• The number of extracurricular activities your student will be involved in
• The time of day that your homeschooler is most alert and attentive
• The type of curriculum you’ve chosen to use for this homeschool year
• Your family’s general work/life balance

Because this is a year when your homeschooler is becoming more independent, this is also an area where he or she should have plenty of input. Talk to your 7th grader about how they envision spending their day.

The best schedule for a seventh grader will be based on your overall goals and curriculum, but should also align with your student’s ideal rhythms and specific needs. Time4Learning’s free printable homeschool planner and  goals, strengths, and needs planner can help!

Homeschooling Planner

Start planning out your homeschooling days with this free easy to use daily planner.

Get Started With This Daily Planner

What Subjects Are Taught in Seventh Grade?

A typical course of study for seventh grade homeschoolers includes:

• Language Arts (including literature)

In addition, many students homeschooling in 7th grade will incorporate some kind of physical fitness program. Of course, a well-rounded curriculum also includes homeschool electives that let your middle schooler explore a variety of interests such as foreign languages .

The determination for what is taught in 7th grade is based on the outlined goals that are common to this grade level. In general, middle school is a time to strengthen study habits, identify interests, and build a foundation for educational success through high school and beyond.

Specifically, though, when answering the question, “What should my 7th grade be learning?” you may want to reach for objectives such as:

• Acquiring and correctly using new vocabulary
• Applying a range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, and evaluate fiction and non-fiction writing
• Using the writing process to research, draft and edit organized, multi-paragraph essays
• Utilizing primary and secondary sources to support an idea or position when writing
• Using graphic organizers, maps, charts, timelines, and other graphic representations to collect and analyze information
• Applying mathematical reasoning through structured problem-solving techniques
• Solving real-world and mathematical problems using numerical and algebraic expressions, equations, and inequalities
• Building scientific literacy by using using claims, evidence, and reasoning to evaluate scientific information
• Comparing and contrasting different interpretations of current and historical events

Your seventh grader is developing in so many ways–physically, emotionally, and intellectually. The literature they read during this time helps shape their understanding of themselves and the world around them. For that reason, it’s important to include quality fiction and nonfiction books as part of their seventh grade language arts curriculum .

Some of the books we recommend for 7th grade include:

• The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
• The Wreckers (High Seas Adventure) by Iain Lawrence
• The Wright Brothers: Powered Flight (the Scientists who Have Changed the World) by Anna Sproule
• Hero on a Bicycle by Alice Hoffman
• Dragon Castle by Joseph Bruchac

Homeschooling has so much to do with things other than teaching but here are our ten tips for getting started with homeschooling your seventh grader.

• Your state’s department of education website can be an invaluable resource for what a typical course of study for your child’s grade level includes. This should only serve as a comparative tool, however, since ultimately, a homeschool student’s coursework is determined by the student and parent.
• Homeschooling middle school doesn’t have to break the bank. Many of the books and resources needed to homeschool a 7th grader are available for free or at minimal cost online, at your local library, via used bookstores, or by trading off with other homeschool families.
• 7th grade homeschoolers may benefit from being part of a homeschool “cooperative.” These local and regional learning groups are made of families who want to give their homeschoolers access to multi-child learning and a wider variety of expertise in specific subjects.
• Any student who spends time on the internet on either a computer or mobile device should be taught the basic principles of internet safety — understanding how their activity on the web affects their personal safety and privacy and can open the information on their computer to security risks.
• Prevent burnout by scheduling regular outings with other families. Find out if your area has a local homeschool support group or meetups at the library and get involved with field trips , clubs, and community service activities they offer.
• If your student has a learning difference or disability, you may qualify for special education benefits through your local school system — even as a homeschooler. Check your state homeschooling laws and your local school system guidelines to find out.
• Your seventh grader is likely smack dab in the middle of puberty, so be careful not to attribute all emotional upheaval as related to homeschooling. This is an age where students are going through tremendous mental and physical changes, and it’s common for them to be moody — no matter their schooling situation.
• Depending on your child’s dominant learning style , they may be attracted to a specific type of curriculum. For example, auditory learners may retain material more easily when presented in podcast form. And hands-on learners can make sense of math instruction that includes manipulatives.
• Don’t get so focused on the academic goals of your homeschool year that you forget to enjoy just learning together.
• Individuals tend to have a “best” time of day for learning and skill-building. Your seventh grader will likely perform at their peak if the majority of their homeschool studies are carried out during this period of the day — even if that means late at night!

For seventh graders, Time4Learning provides language arts, math, social studies, and science, plus optional foreign language courses. Within the program, subjects are organized into multimedia chapters with interactive lessons, and graded activities. Using an automated software system, seventh graders are guided through the online activities at their own pace based on their learning levels.

Some of the reasons that Time4Learning is such a popular 7th grade resource for homeschooling families include:

• Students get individual logins and work at their own pace which can lead to more effective learning
• Parents can set the grade levels independently for each subject so students learn at their own speed
• Standards-based learning designed to prepare students for the rigors of high school courses
• Member-only access to detailed printable lesson plans and homeschool teaching tools to review lesson contents
• Time-stamping feature on the activities for attendance and record keeping
• Automated grading makes record-keeping simple and homeschool portfolios a breeze
• Multiple avenues of support for parents including a responsive customer service team and an active Facebook group .
• Affordable no-contract membership backed by a 14-day money-back guarantee. You can start, stop, or pause your membership at any time without penalty.

Additional Seventh Grade Homeschool Resources

Return to the 7th-Grade Curriculum Overview . Or explore the our other seventh-grade resources:

• How to Homeschool Seventh-Grade
• Seventh-Grade Math Curriculum
• Seventh-Grade ELA Language Arts Curriculum
• Seventh-Grade Science Curriculum
• Seventh-Grade Social Studies & History Curriculum

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What Do You Learn in 7th Grade Math?

Inequalities, statistics and probability, proportional relationships, transformations and congruence, real-world applications, number theory, coordinate geometry, measurement, algebraic reasoning.

In 7th-grade math , students learn fundamental concepts such as ratios , expressions , geometry , and data analysis , laying the foundation for more advanced math topics in the future. They also apply math to real-world scenarios , honing practical problem-solving skills.

Seventh grade marks a crucial phase in a student’s mathematical journey. It’s a year where the foundations set in earlier grades are fortified and expanded upon, paving the way for more complex mathematical concepts in high school and beyond.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into the multifaceted world of 7th-grade math , covering topics ranging from ratios and expressions to geometry and data analysis . Each topic equips students with essential skills , fostering both mathematical fluency and the ability to apply math in real – world scenarios, setting them on a path to mathematical success.

Ratios and Proportions

In 7th grade , students delve into ratios and proportions. They learn how to express relationships between quantities using ratios and solve problems involving proportions. Understanding these fundamental concepts lays the groundwork for more complex mathematical ideas in the future.

If there are 4 boys and 6 girls in a classroom, the ratio of boys to girls is 4:6 , which can be simplified to 2:3 . This ratio represents the proportion of boys to girls in the class.

Integers and Rational Numbers

Mastery of operations with integers , including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, is a core skill. Students also delve into rational numbers, ordering and comparing them, and working with fractions and decimals.

Calculate 3 + (−5) 3 + ( − 5 ) .

3 + (−5) = −2 3 + ( − 5 ) = − 2 .

This demonstrates addition with integers.

Expressions and Equations

Algebraic thinking takes center stage. Students learn to evaluate and simplify algebraic expressions and solve one-step and two-step equations. They become familiar with the distributive property and its applications.

Solve the following equation for x :

2 x + 5 = 13 .

2 x + 5 = 13 can be simplified to:

2 x = 13 − 5

Dividing both sides by 2 gives:

The concept of inequalities is introduced, and students learn to solve and graph inequalities on the number line. This knowledge helps them understand the relationship between equations and inequalities.

Solve the following inequality for x:

  2 x < 10

2 x < 10 can be simplified to:

This represents all values of x that are less than 5.

Geometry lessons cover classifying and measuring angles, understanding the properties of triangles and quadrilaterals, and calculating the area and perimeter of geometric shapes. Students are introduced to circles and their properties.

Calculate the area of a rectangle with a length of 8 units and a width of 5 units.

The area A of a rectangle is given by:

A = length × width

In this case,

A = 8 × 5 = 40

So, the area is 40 square units .

Students learn to collect, organize, and interpret data using various types of graphs. They calculate measures of central tendency, such as mean, median, and mode, and gain an introduction to probability concepts.

Given a set of test scores {85, 90, 92, 78, 88} , calculate the mean ( average ) score.

The mean is calculated by adding up all the scores and dividing by the number of scores. In this case:

= (85 + 90 + 92 + 78 + 88)/5

= 87.6 ( 85 + 90 + 92 + 78 + 88 ) /5

Recognizing and solving problems involving proportional relationships is a key skill. Students use tables, graphs, and equations to represent and understand proportional relationships.

If 3 gallons of paint can cover a wall that is 15 feet wide, how many gallons are needed to cover a 45 – foot – wide wall ?

Since the relationship is proportional , you can set up a proportion :

3/15 = x/45

Solving for x gives:

so 9 gallons are needed.

In the realm of geometry , students explore basic geometric transformations like translations , reflections , and rotations . They also learn to recognize and describe congruent and similar figures. For example, p erform a reflection transformation on the shape “ABC” across the x-axis to create a new shape “A’B’C’.”

Math comes alive in real – world scenarios . Students apply their skills to solve problems involving percentages , discounts , and proportions . They also learn to analyze and interpret data in various contexts, preparing them for practical applications of mathematics .

If an item originally costs $80 , and there is a 20% discount, what is the final price of the item after the discount?

To find the discounted price, you can calculate:

= 80 – (0.20 x 80)

= 0.80 x 80

Exploring the world of numbers , students delve into prime and composite numbers. They learn about factors, multiples, and divisibility rules, building a foundation for more advanced number theory concepts.

Identify the prime numbers between 20 and 30.

The prime numbers in this range are 23 and 29.

Students begin plotting points on the coordinate plane and understanding the concepts of x and y coordinates, paving the way for more advanced graphing and analytical geometry in the future. For example, plot the point (3, -4) on the coordinate plane.

Measurement skills are honed as students convert units within the metric and customary systems. They learn to calculate the volume and surface area of three-dimensional shapes, applying mathematical concepts to practical scenarios.

Calculate the volume of a rectangular prism with dimensions 5 cm , 3 cm , and 4 cm .

The volume V is given by:

V = length × width × height

= 5 × 3 × 4 = 60 cubic centimeters

The ability to apply algebraic concepts to solve word problems and real-life situations is emphasized, encouraging students to use their mathematical knowledge in everyday contexts.

A car rental company charges \$40 per day plus \$0.25 per mile driven. Write an equation to represent the total cost ( C ) for renting a car for d days and driving m miles.

C = 40 d + 0.25 m

• Pre Calculus
• Probability
• Sets & Set Theory
• Trigonometry