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Is Homework Necessary? Education Inequity and Its Impact on Students

The Problem with Homework: It Highlights Inequalities

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

Schools are getting rid of homework from Essex, Mass., to Los Angeles, Calif. Although the no-homework trend may sound alarming, especially to parents dreaming of their child’s acceptance to Harvard, Stanford or Yale, there is mounting evidence that eliminating homework in grade school may actually have great benefits , especially with regard to educational equity.

In fact, while the push to eliminate homework may come as a surprise to many adults, the debate is not new . Parents and educators have been talking about this subject for the last century, so that the educational pendulum continues to swing back and forth between the need for homework and the need to eliminate homework.

One of the most pressing talking points around homework is how it disproportionately affects students from less affluent families. The American Psychological Association (APA) explained:

“Kids from wealthier homes are more likely to have resources such as computers, internet connections, dedicated areas to do schoolwork and parents who tend to be more educated and more available to help them with tricky assignments. Kids from disadvantaged homes are more likely to work at afterschool jobs, or to be home without supervision in the evenings while their parents work multiple jobs.”

[RELATED] How to Advance Your Career: A Guide for Educators >> 

While students growing up in more affluent areas are likely playing sports, participating in other recreational activities after school, or receiving additional tutoring, children in disadvantaged areas are more likely headed to work after school, taking care of siblings while their parents work or dealing with an unstable home life. Adding homework into the mix is one more thing to deal with — and if the student is struggling, the task of completing homework can be too much to consider at the end of an already long school day.

While all students may groan at the mention of homework, it may be more than just a nuisance for poor and disadvantaged children, instead becoming another burden to carry and contend with.

Beyond the logistical issues, homework can negatively impact physical health and stress — and once again this may be a more significant problem among economically disadvantaged youth who typically already have a higher stress level than peers from more financially stable families .

Yet, today, it is not just the disadvantaged who suffer from the stressors that homework inflicts. A 2014 CNN article, “Is Homework Making Your Child Sick?” , covered the issue of extreme pressure placed on children of the affluent. The article looked at the results of a study surveying more than 4,300 students from 10 high-performing public and private high schools in upper-middle-class California communities.

“Their findings were troubling: Research showed that excessive homework is associated with high stress levels, physical health problems and lack of balance in children’s lives; 56% of the students in the study cited homework as a primary stressor in their lives,” according to the CNN story. “That children growing up in poverty are at-risk for a number of ailments is both intuitive and well-supported by research. More difficult to believe is the growing consensus that children on the other end of the spectrum, children raised in affluence, may also be at risk.”

When it comes to health and stress it is clear that excessive homework, for children at both ends of the spectrum, can be damaging. Which begs the question, how much homework is too much?

The National Education Association and the National Parent Teacher Association recommend that students spend 10 minutes per grade level per night on homework . That means that first graders should spend 10 minutes on homework, second graders 20 minutes and so on. But a study published by The American Journal of Family Therapy found that students are getting much more than that.

While 10 minutes per day doesn’t sound like much, that quickly adds up to an hour per night by sixth grade. The National Center for Education Statistics found that high school students get an average of 6.8 hours of homework per week, a figure that is much too high according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is also to be noted that this figure does not take into consideration the needs of underprivileged student populations.

In a study conducted by the OECD it was found that “after around four hours of homework per week, the additional time invested in homework has a negligible impact on performance .” That means that by asking our children to put in an hour or more per day of dedicated homework time, we are not only not helping them, but — according to the aforementioned studies — we are hurting them, both physically and emotionally.

What’s more is that homework is, as the name implies, to be completed at home, after a full day of learning that is typically six to seven hours long with breaks and lunch included. However, a study by the APA on how people develop expertise found that elite musicians, scientists and athletes do their most productive work for about only four hours per day. Similarly, companies like Tower Paddle Boards are experimenting with a five-hour workday, under the assumption that people are not able to be truly productive for much longer than that. CEO Stephan Aarstol told CNBC that he believes most Americans only get about two to three hours of work done in an eight-hour day.

In the scope of world history, homework is a fairly new construct in the U.S. Students of all ages have been receiving work to complete at home for centuries, but it was educational reformer Horace Mann who first brought the concept to America from Prussia. 

Since then, homework’s popularity has ebbed and flowed in the court of public opinion. In the 1930s, it was considered child labor (as, ironically, it compromised children’s ability to do chores at home). Then, in the 1950s, implementing mandatory homework was hailed as a way to ensure America’s youth were always one step ahead of Soviet children during the Cold War. Homework was formally mandated as a tool for boosting educational quality in 1986 by the U.S. Department of Education, and has remained in common practice ever since.  

School work assigned and completed outside of school hours is not without its benefits. Numerous studies have shown that regular homework has a hand in improving student performance and connecting students to their learning. When reviewing these studies, take them with a grain of salt; there are strong arguments for both sides, and only you will know which solution is best for your students or school. 

Homework improves student achievement.

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

Homework helps reinforce classroom learning.

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

Homework helps students develop good study habits and life skills.

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

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

• Parents can see what their children are learning and working on in school every day. 
• Parents can participate in their children’s learning by guiding them through homework assignments and reinforcing positive study and research habits.
• Homework observation and participation can help parents understand their children’s academic strengths and weaknesses, and even identify possible learning difficulties.
• Source: Phys.org, “ Sociologist Upends Notions about Parental Help with Homework ,” 2018.

While some amount of homework may help students connect to their learning and enhance their in-class performance, too much homework can have damaging effects. 

Students with too much homework have elevated stress levels. 

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

Students with too much homework may be tempted to cheat. 

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

Homework highlights digital inequity. 

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

Homework does not help younger students.

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

To help students find the right balance and succeed, teachers and educators must start the homework conversation, both internally at their school and with parents. But in order to successfully advocate on behalf of students, teachers must be well educated on the subject, fully understanding the research and the outcomes that can be achieved by eliminating or reducing the homework burden. There is a plethora of research and writing on the subject for those interested in self-study.

For teachers looking for a more in-depth approach or for educators with a keen interest in educational equity, formal education may be the best route. If this latter option sounds appealing, there are now many reputable schools offering online master of education degree programs to help educators balance the demands of work and family life while furthering their education in the quest to help others.

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The Homework Debate: What It Means for Lower Schools

July 22, 2019

By Kelley King

Digging through the Research

Home learning replaces homework, what we’ve learned.

Kelley King retired in 2021 as the associate head of school and head of lower school at San Diego Jewish Academy in San Diego, California. She is the author of three books in the field of education and provides professional development to educators around the world.

Opinion | San Diego Unified’s new grading policy has…

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Opinion | San Diego Unified’s new grading policy has noble intent, but rollout raises hard questions

After nearly two years, evidence builds that district should have sweated details, provided more training and anticipated predictable headaches.

There’s a new local chapter in one of the oldest national policy debates: how to improve public schools so that they are both fair to all and provide opportunities to as many students as possible. Some history is a necessary backdrop. The Supreme Court’s 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education shut down segregated schools as separate and unequal. This helped lead Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX in 1972 to guarantee equal treatment across racial and gender lines. When progress was seen as insufficient, the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 embraced a much stronger federal role in local education. The Every Students Succeed Act in 2015 reversed course.

The first two landmark laws made a commitment to equity. The latter two landmarks showed sharp disagreement on how to achieve it. Now a national consensus on what to do looks impossible. In many states, the easy answers offered by one side (spend more money and things automatically get better) and the other (use tests and other metrics to evaluate what improves teacher quality and student performance) have battled it out with no clear winner. But in California, since Jerry Brown returned as governor in 2011, the old idea that “local control” was the best way for communities to figure out how to help their students has again become the norm.

Which brings us to the San Diego Unified School District. In fall 2020, the state’s second largest school district adopted what’s fairly seen as a radical shift to standards-based education for middle and high school students. It has as its central concept the idea that what’s most important is to learn and master required material — not to do so according to a set time frame. If assignments are turned in late and tests are taken and retaken and passed long after the subjects were discussed in class, so be it — so long as students ended up knowing their stuff, that’s what their grades should reflect.

The appeal of this idea is obvious. For decades, evidence has shown that disadvantaged students mired in poverty face huge obstacles to success. In a community where housing costs are so high that even middle-income families can feel impoverished, why not respond to this problem with a bold approach that tries to address it? At the board meeting where the policy changed unanimously, officials voiced few doubts . Advocates saw a way to address racial and other disparities and no downside.

Nearly two years later, however, a more complex and troubling picture has emerged. Some of those interviewed in a July 3 analysis in The San Diego Union-Tribune offered support for the program, including Nicole DeWitt, executive director of the district’s Learning and Leadership Office. Supporters think it has yielded a fairer, more humane approach, and DeWitt lauded its clear goals.

But there was also intense criticism. Virtually all stakeholders described a program that was applied in different ways by different teachers, a confusing and maddening result that was probably inevitable because of state laws giving teachers wide autonomy. Some parents said their kids responded to the changes by coasting and adopting habits that could haunt them in college and in their future careers. A new question that never seemed to have occurred to the school board — whether allowing repeated tests hurt classrooms by adding considerably to teacher workloads — is being raised. And most strikingly, one history teacher said he and many others never got any training in standards-based grading.

Noble motives aside, this is not encouraging.

The San Diego Unified school board should have ensured a smoother, more standardized rollout by sweating the details. The failure to train all teachers is unacceptable. That officials would attempt such a far-reaching policy shift during a pandemic that limited tens of thousands of students to remote learning is hard to fathom. For Lamont Jackson, the longtime district official who became superintendent in March, and school district trustees, the top short-term priority must be addressing the pandemic learning gap caused by keeping kids out of classrooms. But that effort must come in tandem with an effort to fine-tune and perhaps sharply overhaul the district’s 2020 reform. If changes made in the name of promoting equity aren’t applied evenly and are hurting some students’ long-term chances of having successful lives, they demand intense scrutiny. Good intentions are not good enough.

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Get your child ready for their first day of school! This is a perfect time for your child to prepare for kindergarten! KinderCamp offers a variety of lessons and activities that focus on a child’s academic development, learning readiness, social wellness and more. For children 4-5 years old who are entering Kindergarten in the Fall of 2024 and their guardians. Parent/Guardian is required to attend with child.   ¡Prepara a tu hijo para su primer día de clases! ¡Este es el momento perfecto para que su hijo se prepare para el Kinder! KinderCamp ofrece una variedad de lecciones y actividades que se enfocan en el desarrollo académico del niño, la preparación para el aprendizaje, el bienestar social y más. Para niños de 4 a 5 años que ingresarán al jardín de infantes en el otoño de 2024 y sus padre/guardián. Se requiere que el padre/guardián asista con el niño.

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Get your child ready for their first day of school! This is a perfect time for your child to prepare for kindergarten! KinderCamp offers a variety of lessons and activities that focus on a child’s academic development, learning readiness, social wellness and more. For children 4-5 years old who are entering Kindergarten in the Fall of 2024 and their guardians. Parent/Guardian is required to attend with child.

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Explore the world of suspense, intrigue and unexpected surprises in our Marvelous Mysteries Camp. Campers will ignite their sense of wonder as they investigate mind-bending illusions, unravel engineering puzzles and crack mysterious codes. This camp will foster creative problem-solving as we uncover secrets and solve mysteries. 

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Come join us for an unforgettable art adventure as we explore famous artists and create inspired pieces of art based on their styles of work! Campers will dive into the worlds of renowned artists and experiment with different materials as they let their creativity flow. 

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Grab your passport and get ready to travel on a global exploration around the world!  Adventurers will discover diverse cultures through interactive activities.  All children under 8 years of age must be adequately supervised by a responsible parent or caregiver 16 years or older.

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Spend the week learning about animals of the world!  Campers will meet animals from various habitats from around the world.  They will learn about special adaptations and unique characteristics.  This camp includes live animals, creating projects with hands on activities, and getting a deeper understanding of the animal world around us.

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Spend the week at Wildlife Explorers Camp!  Campers will meet animals from various habitats from around the world and learn about special adaptations and unique characteristics.  This camp includes live animals, creating projects with hands on activities, and getting a deeper understanding of the animal world around us.   All children under 8 years of age must be adequately supervised by a responsible parent or caregiver 16 years or older.

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PISA in Focus

Does homework perpetuate inequities in education.

English Also available in: French

• ISSN: 22260919 (online)
• https://doi.org/10.1787/22260919
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• While most 15-year-old students spend part of their after-school time doing homework, the amount of time they spend on it shrank between 2003 and 2012.
• Socio-economically advantaged students and students who attend socio-economically advantaged schools tend to spend more time doing homework.
• While the amount of homework assigned is associated with mathematics performance among students and schools, other factors are more important in determining the performance of school systems as a whole.

English Also available in: French , Japanese

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Author(s) OECD

01 Dec 2014

Rethinking Your Homework and Grading Paradigm

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Course Description

Examine how you can rely less on homework assignments for grades.

This course will examine common practices and value systems in homework, compare those with current research, and provide multiple avenues to help teachers reduce the time they, and their students, spend on homework, and to make sure that homework is a meaningful learning activity. Through a reduction in reliance on homework, teachers will learn to use more authentic formative and summative assessments of student learning, which ensures that student grades are a reflection of learned material.

Course Details

Number of Units: 2.0 graduate level extension credit(s) in semester hours

Who Should Attend: This course provides continuing education for teachers (Grades 4-12)--veteran and beginning, who are looking for alternatives to heavy homework loads without compromising learning.

Course Materials: No textbook requirement

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EDU-X789Q – 007	Start now, you have 180 days to complete this course once enrolled	2	$317
Start now, you have 180 days to complete this course once enrolled 2 $317 Online Self-Paced Kevin Drury to access the course , which includes directions on how to access the Online Orientation and your online course.

What You Will Learn

• Develop an understanding of the effectiveness of traditional homework based on the most current research
• Understand the cultural, socioeconomic, and academic inequities of traditional homework structures
• Develop a broad array of options for reducing homework in their own classrooms and more authentic alternatives for grading
• Explore a broader understanding of the institutional and parental dynamics that commonly affect homework policies
• Create and implement an action plan integrating your learning into your classroom practice
• Reflect upon the effects of your plan

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How Can We Make Homework Worthwhile?

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Do American students have too much homework, or too little? We often hear passionate arguments for either side, but I believe that we ought to be asking a different question altogether. What should matter to parents and educators is this: How effectively do children’s after-school assignments advance learning?

The quantity of students’ homework is a lot less important than its quality. And evidence suggests that as of now, homework isn’t making the grade. Although surveys show that the amount of time our children spend on homework has risen over the last three decades, American students are mired in the middle of international academic rankings: 17th in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in math, according to the most recent results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

In a 2008 survey , one-third of parents polled rated the quality of their children’s homework assignments as fair or poor, and 4 in 10 said they believed that some or a great deal of homework was busywork. A recent study , published in the Economics of Education Review, reports that homework in science, English and history has “little to no impact” on student test scores. (The authors did note a positive effect for math homework.) Enriching children’s classroom learning requires making homework not shorter or longer, but smarter.

Fortunately, research is available to help parents, teachers and school administrators do just that. In recent years, neuroscientists, cognitive scientists and educational psychologists have made a series of remarkable discoveries about how the human brain learns. They have founded a new discipline, known as Mind, Brain and Education , that is devoted to understanding and improving the ways in which children absorb, retain and apply knowledge.

Educators have begun to implement these methods in classrooms around the country and have enjoyed measurable success. A collaboration between psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis and teachers at nearby Columbia Middle School, for example, lifted seventh- and eighth-grade students’ science and social studies test scores by 13 to 25 percent.

But the innovations have not yet been applied to homework. Mind, Brain and Education methods may seem unfamiliar and even counterintuitive, but they are simple to understand and easy to carry out. And after-school assignments are ripe for the kind of improvements the new science offers.

“Spaced repetition” is one example of the kind of evidence-based techniques that researchers have found have a positive impact on learning. Here’s how it works: instead of concentrating the study of information in single blocks, as many homework assignments currently do—reading about, say, the Civil War one evening and Reconstruction the next—learners encounter the same material in briefer sessions spread over a longer period of time. With this approach, students are re-exposed to information about the Civil War and Reconstruction throughout the semester.

[RELATED READING: Parents Wonder: Why So Much Homework? ]

It sounds unassuming, but spaced repetition produces impressive results. Eighth-grade history students who relied on a spaced approach to learning had nearly double the retention rate of students who studied the same material in a consolidated unit, reported researchers from the University of California-San Diego in 2007. The reason the method works so well goes back to the brain: when we first acquire memories, they are volatile, subject to change or likely to disappear. Exposing ourselves to information repeatedly over time fixes it more permanently in our minds, by strengthening the representation of the information that is embedded in our neural networks.

A second learning technique, known as “retrieval practice,” employs a familiar tool—the test—in a new way: not to assess what students know, but to reinforce it. We often conceive of memory as something like a storage tank and a test as a kind of dipstick that measures how much information we’ve put in there. But that’s not actually how the brain works. Every time we pull up a memory, we make it stronger and more lasting, so that testing doesn’t just measure, it changes learning. Simply reading over material to be learned, or even taking notes and making outlines, as many homework assignments require, doesn’t have this effect .

According to one experiment , language learners who employed the retrieval practice strategy to study vocabulary words remembered 80 percent of the words they studied, while learners who used conventional study methods remembered only about a third of them. Students who used retrieval practice to learn science retained about 50 percent more of the material than students who studied in traditional ways, reported researchers from Purdue University in 2011. Students—and parents—may groan at the prospect of more tests, but the self-quizzing involved in retrieval practice need not provoke any anxiety. It’s simply an effective way to focus less on the input of knowledge (passively reading over textbooks and notes) and more on its output (calling up that same information from one’s own brain).

[RELATED READING: Redefining 'Cheating' With Homework ]

Another common misconception about how we learn holds that if information feels easy to absorb, we’ve learned it well. In fact, the opposite is true. When we work hard to understand information, we recall it better; the extra effort signals the brain that this knowledge is worth keeping. This phenomenon, known as cognitive disfluency , promotes learning so effectively that psychologists have devised all manner of “ desirable difficulties ” to introduce into the learning process: for example, sprinkling a passage with punctuation mistakes, deliberately leaving out letters, shrinking font size until it’s tiny or wiggling a document while it’s being copied so that words come out blurry.

Teachers are unlikely to start sending students home with smudged or error-filled worksheets, but there is another kind of desirable difficulty — called interleaving — that can readily be applied to homework. An interleaved assignment mixes up different kinds of situations or problems to be practiced, instead of grouping them by type. When students can’t tell in advance what kind of knowledge or problem-solving strategy will be required to answer a question, their brains have to work harder to come up with the solution, and the result is that students learn the material more thoroughly.

Researchers at California Polytechnic State University conducted a study of interleaving in sports that illustrates why the tactic is so effective. When baseball players practiced hitting, interleaving different kinds of pitches improved their performance on a later test in which the batters did not know the type of pitch in advance (as would be the case, of course, in a real game).

Interleaving produces the same sort of improvement in academic learning. A study published in 2010 in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology asked fourth-graders to work on solving four types of math problems and then to take a test evaluating how well they had learned. The scores of those whose practice problems were mixed up were more than double the scores of those students who had practiced one kind of problem at a time.

The application of such research-based strategies to homework is a yet-untapped opportunity to raise student achievement. Science has shown us how to turn homework into a potent catalyst for learning. Our assignment now is to make it happen.

Biggest Stress For Teens Is Homework, Study Says

In san diego, psychologists say it's one of the top anxieties kids talk about, by danielle radin • published december 19, 2018 • updated on december 20, 2018 at 10:19 am.

A new study says that the biggest cause of stress for children is too much homework. It topped bullying, parental expectations and self-esteem. 

The study by the Better Sleep Council said that 74 percent of teens are stressed out from the demands of homework. The study also found that homework takes up about 15 hours a week for most teens. 

“That’s probably the number one thing that kids talk about is the stress and anxiety that comes with too much homework," said Dr. Valerie Rock, a licensed clinical psychologist in La Jolla. "There is a lot of competition and the competitive nature of the schools. There’s pressure with the state testing and being prepared.”

Part of the stress comes from the lack of sleep that too much homework can bring, according to the Better Sleep Council. 57 percent of teenagers said they don't get enough sleep and 67 percent said they get about five to seven hours a night, under the recommended average. 

Rock added just this week she had a teen patient that was up until 3 in the morning trying to complete homework. 

"It's usually with students that are in high school but we're seeing stress with kids as young as second grade," said Rock. "Kids need to have time for extracurricular activities and unstructured downtime when they can be creative." 

Rock said that parents can help their teens through structured time management. 

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"Do time-blocking at home," said Rock. "Know extracurriculars are until this time, when you get home, we have dinner and structure time at home." 

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The Many Problems with Mandatory Homework

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29233640@N07/8274970069

Jacob Holmes , Writer October 16, 2021

A 2013 survey conducted by the University of Phoenix revealed that the average high school teacher assigns 3.5 hours of homework per week. Assuming most students take 5 classes, this would mean that the average high school student is assigned a whopping 17.5 hours of homework per week. Furthermore, students’ free time can also be taken up by sports and clubs, and young people have been forced to get jobs due to the steadily increasing college tuition, which has been doubling every nine years. With all of this in mind, parents and students alike have once again been asking the age-old question: is homework really necessary?  While homework certainly aids students in learning comprehension , not every student requires this aid, and for many, the extreme amount of required work causes too much stress . Homework should be made optional because it causes stress, because more efficient alternatives are available, and because it unfairly impacts financially-disadvantaged students.

A study conducted by Harris Cooper, Jorgianne Civey Robinson and Erika A. Patall revealed that homework does, in fact, improve academic achievement, and the effect increases with grade level. However, it is also true that the stress brought on by homework could have the opposite effect. For example, according  to a 2017 survey , 82 percent of students said they were “often or always” stressed by schoolwork, and 76 percent said schoolwork often or always kept them from getting enough sleep. Lack of sleep can result in serious mental and physical harm , and that should be reason enough to reduce the time constraints through optional homework.

As if that isn’t bad enough, according to the 2010 American College Health Association National College Health Assessment , more than 25 percent of students say that stress lowered their grades or ability to finish a course.  In other words, there is a direct correlation between the amount of homework and students’ grades, and it may actually end up having a negative effect. While it is true that homework can increase students’ academic performance, it is also true that an excessive amount can lower said performance due to the stress it causes. As such, it should be left up to the student to decide just how much is too much.

Some may claim that homework should be mandatory due to the fact that it reinforces self-direction, time management and developing good study habits .

While this may be true, it is also the case that many of these skills can be developed through other means. First, good study habits are already encouraged through schools’ test systems where students often perform better if they study. As such, simply emphasizing this factor should be enough to convince most students to study. The students who refuse despite this probably would not have completed their homework anyways.  Secondly, I can tell you first hand that my one year of employment at Domino’s has improved my self-direction and time management more than my 13 years of schooling ever has, and it is much less time consuming.

Essentially, the benefits derived from homework can be attained more efficiently elsewhere and without the extreme amount of stress which homework causes. For those who lack the ability to get a job or develop proper study habits on their own, homework is still a viable option. It is just more efficient to handle it on a case-by-case basis.

Additionally, a recent study conducted by the American Psychological Association stated:  “Kids from wealthier homes are more likely to have resources such as computers, internet connections, dedicated areas to do schoolwork and parents who tend to be more educated and more available to help them with tricky assignments. Kids from disadvantaged homes are more likely to work at after school jobs, or to be home without supervision in the evenings while their parents work multiple jobs.”  In other words, the mandatory aspect of homework and the universality with which it is handed out means financially-disadvantaged students are negatively impacted. They are receiving the same amount of work with the same time restrictions, but do not have access to the same resources, making the entire process more difficult for them.

A man who is particularly concerned about this inequality is Dr. Joseph Lathan, an Academic Director and Master of Education at the University of San Diego.  “Adding homework into the mix is one more thing to deal with — and if the student is struggling, the task of completing homework can be too much to consider at the end of an already long school day,” Lathain said .  Although it helps some students, the universal way in which it is handed out not only ignores, but exacerbates the plights of poor students. As such, the bare minimum that should be done is the shifting of homework from mandatory to optional, giving those in need more time to work on their most difficult subjects.

Multiple studies have shown the benefits that homework can provide, and many more have shown the detrimental effects it can have on mental health and the marginalized. The easiest and most efficient way to remedy these problems is by making homework optional. This would reduce the impacts of stress and low resources, and prop up the true advantages of homework.

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Colin • Jan 18, 2024 at 9:46 am

This is a good article

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"Should I Go to Grad School Online?” If, When, and How to Get a Graduate Degree from Home

The way we work and learn has changed. Professionals across all sectors are reconsidering their careers, aspirations, and desired lifestyles. This cultural shift, though challenging, has created new and exciting opportunities to work and study online — from anywhere! If you have considered going to graduate school in today’s climate, chances are you’ve also wondered — should I pursue a graduate degree online?

With so much of the world turning remote, online education is becoming increasingly available and accepted. However, choosing to pursue graduate school online does come with a unique set of decisions to make regarding your professional, personal, and academic goals.

That’s why it’s important to have all of the practical information you need to navigate this process.

This resource will help inform your decision and guide you through the necessary steps as you determine if, how, and when you should pursue a graduate degree online.

You can keep scrolling to learn more about whether or not an online program is the right fit for you or you can click here to learn more about the online programs we offer!

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The University of San Diego offers master’s, doctoral, and certificate online programs to serve the needs of both national and international leaders, educators, and counselors.

Fill out the form to receive a comprehensive email with information & resources for each of our online programs!

Online Graduate Programs: The Shifting Value Proposition

In the past, prospective graduate students looking to enroll in an online program typically could only apply to a program from an online educational institution . However, over the past few years – and with the pandemic – the world of higher education has shifted, resulting in an increase of online graduate programs at traditionally in-person schools, like USD-SOLES ( click here to learn more about the reputable, online programs we offer! ).

In 2017, 6.6 million of the 19.7 million students enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary school were enrolled in a distance or online program . That’s a significantly large number of individuals seeking out an alternative format to education even before the pandemic. As our world continues to adapt to the digital age, online education will become more prevalent, especially as the current climate has challenged institutions to improve online learning processes . 

When comparing online educational institutions to traditional schools, the latter is more likely to be recognized by future employers, since they tend to have higher academic standards, quality accreditations, and more experience in the field of education. Fortunately, as many traditional schools expand their online offerings, students looking for reputable, accredited online programs have more options than ever before. 

Pros and Cons of Going Back to School Online

As you decide whether or not to pursue a graduate degree or certificate online, consider some of the pros and cons in various areas. Think about how these factors would impact your life on a practical level as well as how you feel about them on an emotional level.

• Increase knowledge and skill set
• Improve resumé
• Open up new career opportunities
• Expand beyond your current role
• Enter a new field
• Balancing school with work
• Possibly face challenges of switching careers/industries
• Opportunity for higher-paying positions with a graduate degree
• Have higher earning potential with a graduate degree
• Potentially save money on schooling compared to on-campus learning
• Save money on the costs of traveling to or living on campus
• Financial investment
• Balance cost of tuition with other costs of living

Family/Home Life

• Gain better work opportunities to support your family and pay for living expenses
• Increased flexibility of online school compared to on-campus learning
• Skip commute time and other increased time commitments of on-campus learning
• Easier to balance with responsibilities of home life such as caring for children
• Possibility of faster completion time than on-campus degrees
• Challenges of setting aside time to focus on schooling at home
• The difficulty of finding a quiet space to learn and study at home
• Facing distractions at home

Professional Network

• Offers access to a broader online network
• Provides connections with students and professionals in the same field across the world
• May not provide in-person and local connections
• May not provide employment assistance with local employers

Schooling During COVID

• Work on a degree without leaving home
• Continue studies without interruption regardless of local restrictions
• May have the opportunity of expanded free time and fewer distractions to put toward improving knowledge and career
• Increased challenges to balance school with family members working and/or schooling from home
• COVID-19 may have created family financial and/or health burdens that impact the ability to go back to school

If and When You Should Get a Graduate Degree Online from Home

Are you unsure about pursuing graduate school online and whether now is the right time? The following flowchart is specially designed to help you determine if you are ready to take the leap. As you answer each question, you will be guided by your responses toward one of three possibilities: graduate school doesn’t seem like a good fit for you right now, it seems right but not quite yet, or it is likely to benefit you right away.

Remember: It’s important to listen to both your heart and your head – the final decision is ultimately yours!

Are you happy in your work or with the opportunities in your field?

Do you have growth potential given your current skill set and credentials, do you want to make more money, do you want to grow your network, are you looking for new career challenges , has the pandemic given you more time to do something like returning to school, do the members of your household currently support the decision for you to go to grad school, are you ready to commit yourself to earning a degree or certificate.

How to Get a Graduate Degree Online while Working from Home

There's a lot to think about when considering an online graduate degree and it can be hard to know where to begin. The following section should answer your questions on how to find a degree program and how to balance online schooling with your work and home life.

Find a Degree Program

Begin by finding the right online graduate program to fit your needs. Here are steps to take to research, find, compare, and choose between online California graduate programs:

1. Spend time narrowing your field of interest.

What do you want to get a degree in? You can use various methods to determine your field of interest . Use self-reflection to think about possible career fields. Think about whether you want to expand your current knowledge or go in another direction. Use research to learn more about each field and talk to people in your field(s) of interest to gain a deeper understanding.

2. Search for programs that fit your specific field of interest.

Once you have determined an area of interest, look for online graduate programs and create a list of programs that fit the bill. For some fields, a certificate may be all you need to accelerate your career opportunities. 

You can learn more about the online programs we offer below!

3. Narrow your program choices.

Once you have your list of degree programs, it’s time to collect information on each and narrow the list down to the ones that would best fit. Look at the information provided by the program itself and information from comparison sites . Also, ask an academic adviser if you can speak with current students and alumni to get firsthand accounts of the program experience.

4. Compare tuition costs.

Graduate school is a financial investment in your future, and you want to make sure that investment takes you where you want to go. Just because one program might be cheaper, doesn’t necessarily mean you are getting the best value. When comparing costs, be sure to also consider the quality of the program, the unique opportunities, and the resources available to students at each institution.

5. Apply to programs of your choice.

After you’ve narrowed the decision to the best schools for your needs, apply to the programs of your choice. Make sure to provide all of the necessary requested information as part of the application process.

6. Choose your program.

If you applied to one program and got in then you know which program you’ll be starting. But if you were accepted into multiple programs, it’s time to make the final decision of which one fits you best. You may have already picked a top school when you were narrowing your choices. If not, go back to the information you collected then and compare the schools . Now’s a good time to use a combination of your head and your heart to determine which school is the best fit for you overall. Think of which one you’re most interested in and drawn to, as well as which one best fits practical factors such as budget, time commitment, and job prospects. Which one best fits your career goals?

7. Begin your program!

Congratulations on making your final decision! You’re ready to start your graduate program. Now you’ll move forward with your studies according to the timelines and degree completion expectation of the program you have selected. You’ve taken a giant step toward a better future!

How to Balance Online School with Work and Family Life

We're going to be honest with you – going through school online comes with its challenges. It can be difficult enough to balance a commitment to school with commitments to your work and family, but the challenges can multiply when much of this is happening in the same physical space (your home). And because of COVID, you may have more people at home than normal, such as a spouse working remotely or children doing online schooling.

Fortunately, many people can balance all of these commitments successfully through planning, boundary-setting, time-management, and other useful techniques. Here are some helpful tips we’ve crafted that we hope will prepare you to successfully navigate life as an online graduate student: 

1. Segment your time and attention.

To ensure that you can give your best to your work, school, and family responsibilities, you’ll need to create a schedule that will give you devoted time to each of your commitments. A solid schedule will help you effectively accomplish more and avoid burnout.

You’ll also need to get your household on board with your goals and plans. Find ways to work together and have them help you with your aspirations. For example, maybe you can find chunks of time where you and your child study together. You may need help with babysitting, elderly caregiving, or household chores — perhaps you can hire help, or encourage people in your household to chip in. Here is an article with more ideas on how to balance your work and school at home , including:

• Create separate workspaces for different focuses
• Have a schedule and stick to it
• Communicate with your employer when you need flexibility

2. Explore time management techniques.

It’s important to accept that by adding schooling to your life, you’ll have a lot on your plate. Use time management techniques to help you balance everything. There are different ways to manage time, so you’ll want to find something that works for you. Part of the process will include identifying things on which you spend too much time, like watching TV and browsing social media. Then, consider trying various time management techniques such as prioritizing tasks, using to-do lists, setting aside blocks of scheduled time, and timing yourself – though don’t forget to schedule in breaks and periods of time for self-care.

You can explore this article to learn about some of the well-known time management techniques you may want to try. A few options include:

• The Pomodoro Technique
• The Pareto Principle
• The GTD Technique

3. Remember the big picture.

When you started thinking about working on a degree program, you probably envisioned a goal that fueled your decision-making process. Maybe you want to move forward in your career, maybe you want to make more money, maybe you want to switch fields…or perhaps it’s a combination of several factors. Aside from the practical considerations, there also may be an emotion-backed reason behind your thought process, such as wanting to be a better provider for your family or wanting to have a career you’re truly passionate about. Think about your reason(s) for wanting a degree. What are you hoping it will change in your life? Why? Keep this big picture in mind to help you focus on your goals and to stay motivated to balance school with the other parts of your life.

4. Double dip, where possible.

You may be able to save time and energy by intersecting your study and work. Always be on the lookout for opportunities to combine your work and school efforts. For example, could you write about a work project for a school assignment? Could you incorporate concepts you’re learning in school into your work? You don’t need to wait to finish your online program to start using the concepts you’re learning in your job.

5. Rely on school resources.

Make sure you’re taking advantage of helpful resources that are available to you as a student. You may have access to online and/or campus-based resources. For example, your school may offer tutoring, counseling, scholarships or grants, career support and networking opportunities, and other resources. These resources can make your transition to school easier and can provide you with the support you need to be a successful student. 

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Learn More about USD’s Online Programs

The University of San Diego appreciates applicants who use both their head and their heart when pursuing graduate school. We keep both factors in mind when delivering our online programs, especially since online programs require a delicate balance of coursework mixed with everyday life challenges at home. Also, we know that many people will consider both their feelings and practical concerns when deciding whether to go to graduate school online and which program to choose. After all, this is a decision that will impact the course of a person’s life.

USD-SOLES is well-acquainted with the online education space and currently offers three online graduate programs to choose from:

• EdD in Organizational Leadership

PhD in Education for Social Justice

• MEd in TESOL, Literacy, and Culture 

Certificate in International School Counseling

To learn more about these programs, you can scroll down below for brief descriptions of each or you can request more information to get in touch with one of our academic advisors! 

Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership

The Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership is  crafted for ambitious working professionals striving for high-level executive positions while promoting inclusion, sustainability, and social responsibility within organizations. 

This online graduate program promotes reflection, growth, and a deeper understanding of organizational dynamics. Spanning three years, it features two in-person residencies and offers one synchronous course session per month.

This course offers a comprehensive curriculum covering a diverse array of coursework, research, and practical engagements designed to develop the essential leadership skills needed for effective management within complex organizational systems.

The program culminates in an intensive Organizational Practice Dissertation, where candidates demonstrate their ability to apply leadership principles to real-world challenges through an in-depth organizational case study and presentation to academic and professional audiences.

You can request more information about this program below!

Master’s in Education TESOL, Literacy, and Culture

The MEd in TESOL, Literacy, and Culture prepares candidates to work in adult education, specifically in universities, community colleges, language academies, and other similar settings. This online graduate program educates students on teaching English to adult students, as well as culture and linguistics. This two-year online program includes more than 150 hours of varied education and includes a TESOL certificate.

Course hours combine research, observation, and experience as methods of learning. Sample courses include Human Development; Language, Literacy, and Culture; and Second Language Acquisition and Development. This program also includes international experience in places such as the United Kingdom, Japan, or South Africa. Students learn the skills needed for administrative and leadership roles.

The PhD in Education for Social Justice is designed to create scholars in the field of K-14 education. This degree can prepare students for roles such as teacher leaders, educational researchers, and leaders for change in the education field. This is a four-year online program that includes a global studies requirement, a dissertation, and required doctoral seminars.

This course uses theory, critical conversations, analysis, critique, and other methods of learning to explore education, social justice, culture, and other important areas. Sample courses include Critical Social Theory and Education; History of Education for Social Justice; and Education and Globalization. The degree program includes numerous doctoral seminars and a global course.

The Certificate in International School Counseling provides education in school counseling, with a particular focus on counseling in international schools. This program prepares students to work as school counselors or educators looking to increase counseling knowledge. This online program tends to take one year to complete and results in a professional USD certificate.

This is a self-paced program with online courses that include Cross-Cultural Counseling Skills for International School Counselors, Crisis and Trauma Prevention and Intervention in International School Counseling, and International College and Career Readiness. Students are offered an Applied Theories and Techniques in International School Counseling course onsite depending on location.

Connect with USD SOLES

Overall, attending a graduate program online is easier than ever before. An online program provides a convenient way to go to school while balancing the demands of work and home life. Society’s adaptation to COVID-19 has facilitated this transition, as virtual educational delivery is much more widespread than it was even just a year ago.

Now, you have plenty of options to choose from—beyond an online institution, you can choose an online degree program that's backed by an accredited, reputable, experienced university.

This is the case with the University of San Diego’s School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES). We have several years of experience providing online schooling and pride ourselves in delivering a stellar educational experience to our students, helping them achieve a degree or certificate from a quality institution. SOLES is excited and prepared to support online graduate students.

Whether you’re ready to apply to an online graduate program or you’re still considering the decision, we invite you to get in touch with our team about your online education journey!

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If you’re ready to learn more about the programs, admissions process, and financial aid opportunities at the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, get in touch with our team. We’re ready to help answer all your questions!

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