for kids and teens of all ages, should teachers limit homework to no more than three hours a night?
the time limit also includes studying for tests and quizzes…
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5 responses to “for kids and teens of all ages, should teachers limit homework to no more than three hours a night?”
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Three hours is far too long for most students most days. Students are in school for 6 or 7 hours – 3 hours of homework and study would mean a 9 or 10 hour work day – which would earn an adult overtime if they were in a hourly job!
Alfie Kohn, in The Homework Myth has examined all the research that "proves" that homework increases test scores, improves time management etc. He found some very weak research that doesn’t add up.
In the years before high school, there was no proof that homework did anything except make kids dislike learning.
High school students did benefit from some homework – but teachers should factor in the pressures that students are under to participate in sport, extracurriculars and volunteer work so that they can gain college admission.
John Hattie, here in New Zealand, did a massive research project on what factors actually influence student success. Homework was very low on the list. He suggests no more than 20 minutes a night for the years before high school.
So in short – I think 3 hours is too much – but if students are getting more – it would at least be a start!
I believe teachers should not give much homework. Home is for studyin and spending time with family
Ive never had more than 3 hours homework a night… If something is taking that long to do then you must have a problem…
Since an assignment will take each student a different amount of time to complete your suggestion is impractical. A math assignment might take one student 10 minutes will a student who struggles at math might take 40 minutes to complete the exact same assignment. In addition the amount of time a student spends studying for a test or quiz is completely up to them as there is no way for a teacher to monitor the amount of time spent studying for a test.
Best of Luck
It depends on the school. If it’s a school that has a rigorous curriculum, one can expect that homework will take longer than 3 hours a night for most students, and no busy work. The type of schools I mean are the schools that have a high percentage attend Ivies, and all the kids end up at top colleges.
Other schools, 3 hours should be the limit, it seems that much of it is busy work, which is a waste of time.