Homework is schoolwork that teachers set for students to do outside class: practice problems, reading, essays and projects. Almost every school system uses it, but how much students should get, at what age, and whether it really helps are among the oldest arguments in education.
The fight is not new. In 1901 California passed a law abolishing homework for children 14 and younger, but after the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite in 1957, worried Americans pushed for more of it.14
Across OECD countries, 15-year-olds spent almost five hours a week on homework in 2012, about an hour less than in 2003. Students in Shanghai averaged 14 hours a week, while those in Finland and Korea did under three.2 In the United States, teens aged 15 to 17 spent about an hour a day on homework in the mid-2010s, up from 44 minutes a decade earlier.21 Yet only 13% of 17-year-olds reported more than two hours a night in 2012,13 and by 2020, 36% of 13-year-olds said they had no homework at all.25
The research is mixed. A 2006 Duke University review of more than 60 studies, led by Harris Cooper, found that homework is linked to higher achievement, much more strongly in grades 7 to 12 than in elementary school. Even so, Cooper warned that “overloading them with homework is not associated with higher grades.”1 In England, the Education Endowment Foundation estimates that homework adds about five months of progress in secondary school, but it rates the evidence as low.11
Critics point to stress. A 2014 Stanford study of 4,317 students at 10 high-performing California high schools found they averaged about 3.1 hours of homework a night, and 56% called homework a primary source of stress. Many described headaches, exhaustion and sleep deprivation.3 Fairness is another worry: in 2018, 17% of US teens said they could not always finish homework because they lacked a reliable computer or internet connection.4
Some places have acted. In 2017 Marion County, Florida, ended daily homework for about 20,000 students in 31 elementary schools and asked families to read together for 20 minutes a night instead.5 In 2021 China banned written homework for first and second graders and capped junior high homework at 90 minutes a day.8 By early 2022 its education ministry said more than 90% of students could finish written homework in the set time.9 In Spain, a parents' alliance covering some 12,000 state schools called a strike against weekend homework in November 2016.10
The main fault lines are age, amount and fairness. In 2012 French President François Hollande said, “Work should be done at school, rather than at home,” arguing that richer families can help their children more.20 Others replied that poorer families see homework as their children's route to a better life.19 Few people argue for unlimited homework, and few for none at all. The real debate is whether homework, as schools actually use it, does more good than harm.
Key terms
Homework
Work that teachers set for students to complete outside class time, usually at home.
10-minute rule
A common guideline of about 10 minutes of homework a night per grade level: 10 minutes in first grade, up to about two hours in 12th grade.
Diminishing returns
When each extra hour of homework adds less benefit than the one before, until more homework adds almost nothing.
Practice testing
Learning by trying to recall answers, for example with quizzes or flashcards, rather than rereading notes.
Spaced practice
Spreading study out over several days instead of cramming it into one session.
Homework gap
The difference between students who have a computer, internet and a quiet place to work at home and those who do not.
Busywork
Assignments that keep students occupied but do little to help them learn something new.
Pros and cons at a glance
Pro: yes, homework
Con: no homework
Pro arguments
Con arguments
Key clashes
Most homework debates are won or lost on these four questions.
1Does homework actually raise achievement?
Both sides use the same research and read it differently.
Pro saysReviews of dozens of studies link homework to higher achievement, especially for teenagers.111
Con saysThe link is weak for young children, and beyond a couple of hours a night extra homework adds little or nothing.12
2Is the problem homework itself, or too much of it?
A question of amount as much as principle.
Pro saysNational data show most students are not overloaded. The fix for bad homework is better homework, not none.12
Con saysIn many schools students get far more than guidelines suggest, and the stress and lost sleep are real.315
3Fairness: does homework help or hurt poorer students?
Both sides say they are protecting disadvantaged children.
Pro saysDisadvantaged pupils can gain the most from homework, especially with homework clubs and support.11
Con saysStudents without internet, a quiet room or educated parents fall further behind every night.24
4Who owns a student's time after school?
A question of values. No statistic settles it.
Pro saysLearning to manage your own work outside class is part of growing up and preparing for university and jobs.
Con saysEvenings belong to rest, play, family and other interests, which matter for a child's development too.
Around the world
China: in July 2021 the Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council issued the “double reduction” plan, which limits homework to 60 minutes a day for grades 3 to 6 and 90 minutes for junior high, and bans written homework in grades 1 and 2.78
Europe: Spanish 15-year-olds did 6.5 hours of homework a week in 2012, fifth highest of 38 countries, which helped spark a parents' strike in 2016.10 In France, a 2012 proposal to end homework in elementary and junior high schools divided parents.19
The global picture: homework time fell in 31 of 38 countries with comparable data between 2003 and 2012. Finland and Korea average under three hours a week.2
Debate tip: comparing countries is useful evidence on both sides. Con can point out that Finland and Korea set under three hours a week; Pro can point to Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong, where schools that set more homework score higher in math.2
Discussion questions
For class or club discussion. There are no right answers; ask for reasons and evidence.
Should students have homework? Explain your answer using at least one argument from each side.
Should the rules be different for a 7-year-old and a 17-year-old? Where would you draw the line, and why?
If homework helps achievement but increases stress, how should a school weigh those two things?
Is it fair to grade homework when some students have a quiet room, a computer and help at home, and others do not?
Should governments set limits on homework, as China has, or should each school and teacher decide?
Sources
Duke University, “Duke Study: Homework Helps Students Succeed in School, As Long as There Isn't Too Much,” Duke Today, March 7, 2006, on Harris Cooper and colleagues' review in Review of Educational Research. LinkUniversity research news
OECD, “Does homework perpetuate inequities in education?” PISA in Focus No. 46, December 2014. LinkInternational body
Clifton B. Parker, “Stanford research shows pitfalls of homework,” Stanford Graduate School of Education, March 10, 2014, on a study in the Journal of Experimental Education. LinkPeer-reviewed research, via university
Monica Anderson and Andrew Perrin, “Nearly one-in-five teens can't always finish their homework because of the digital divide,” Pew Research Center, October 26, 2018. LinkResearch nonprofit
“Homework Banned In One Florida County,” CBS News Miami, July 13, 2017. LinkNews report
“Intersection: No More Homework For Elementary Students In Marion County,” Central Florida Public Media (WMFE), September 26, 2017. LinkPublic radio report
Australian Government Department of Education, “Double reduction plan reduces homework and campus tutoring for Chinese school students,” 2021. LinkGovernment report
General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, opinions on reducing the burden of homework and off-campus tutoring, July 24, 2021, as reported by 21st Century (China Daily). LinkGovernment policy, via news
Zou Shuo, “New rules ease burden on school students,” China Daily, February 10, 2022. LinkState media report
AFP, “No more homework! Spanish parents go on strike,” The Local Spain, November 2, 2016. LinkNews report
Education Endowment Foundation, “Homework,” Teaching and Learning Toolkit. LinkResearch charity
Tom Loveless, “Homework in America,” Part II of the 2014 Brown Center Report on American Education, Brookings Institution, March 18, 2014. LinkThink tank research
Samantha Stainburn, “U.S. Students Are Not Overburdened by Homework, Study Says,” Education Week, March 18, 2014. LinkEducation news
Dave Roos, “How the Cold War Space Race Led to US Students Doing Tons of Homework,” History.com, August 13, 2019. LinkHistory magazine
Ami Albernaz, “Is more homework putting stress on families?” Boston Globe, August 31, 2015, on a study in The American Journal of Family Therapy. LinkNews report
Jennifer Earl, “Second-grade teacher's unique homework policy goes viral,” CBS News, August 24, 2016. LinkNews report
Rubén Fernández-Alonso, Javier Suárez-Álvarez and José Muñiz, “Adolescents' Homework Performance in Mathematics and Science: Personal Factors and Teaching Practices,” Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 107, 2015. LinkPeer-reviewed study
Anne G. Wheaton and others, “Short Sleep Duration Among Middle School and High School Students, United States, 2015,” MMWR, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, January 26, 2018. LinkGovernment report
“Pencils Down: French Plan Would End Homework,” NPR, December 2, 2012. LinkNews report
“French President Proposes Banning Homework,” ABC News, October 17, 2012. LinkNews report
Gretchen Livingston, “The way U.S. teens spend their time is changing, but differences between boys and girls persist,” Pew Research Center, February 20, 2019. LinkResearch nonprofit
Alfie Kohn, “The Truth About Homework,” Education Week, September 6, 2006. LinkOpinion, homework critic
Association for Psychological Science, “Which Study Strategies Make the Grade?” January 10, 2013, on Dunlosky and others in Psychological Science in the Public Interest. LinkPeer-reviewed research, via scientific society
Duke University, “News Tip: ‘Homework Is Good Medicine’ and Other Research-Based Back-to-School Advice,” Duke Today, August 20, 2018. LinkUniversity research news
Tom Loveless, “Homework Was Declining Pre-pandemic. What Happens Now?” August 14, 2022, analysing NAEP data. LinkResearcher analysis
Arguments marked “Evidence needed” are waiting for a source before this guide goes live.
