According to US News, in a 24 hour day, high school students spend approximately seven and a half hours completing homework. That leaves 13.5 hours for students to participate in extracurricular activities and balance a social life.
Studies at Stanford show that for homework to be beneficial, teachers should assign no more than two hours of homework a night. In high school, each student has a different schedule, which makes it impossible for teachers to coordinate homework amounts.
As the homework load increases, so does stress. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), stress causes a person to become more susceptible to illness and depression.
The amount of homework a teacher gives, also reflects the quality of homework they receive back. Students are more likely to put less effort into longer assignments to try and finish them faster. At that point, the benefit of the assignment is lost.
According to a homework study at Stanford, students who had a lot of homework were more likely to ignore hobbies they enjoy and abandon their social life.
Young people who attend school are also spending much more time alone in the modern day. According to Stanford, after completing many hours of homework, students have no desire for social interactions. This could lead to a lack of social skills.
Yorkville High School is proof that it is possible to have school with no homework. They believe that a student’s grade should be determined by their understanding of a given subject. Therefore, their grades are based only on assessments. Homework is assigned, but not graded. Students are encouraged to complete the homework only when they are struggling with a subject.
If our school isn’t willing to eliminate homework, there are other options. Teachers could simply say students have to complete a certain number of assignments out of the total number given. Then, it would be much easier for students to work into their schedules, and they could choose the ones that would benefit them the most.
While school is important to students, they shouldn’t be forced to make it their only priority.