It is important to have just the right amount of homework. 

Has it ever taken you hours to finish homework? Have you ever stayed up all night doing an assignment? 

In my opinion, homework can be very useful, but an excessive amount of homework is not needed. Homework helps to reinforce classroom learning, while developing good study habits and life skills, yet an excessive amount of work to do at home can only stress a student out and make them forget what they are learning.  

Some ways that homework can be useful and beneficial is that homework teaches students how to take responsibility for their part in the educational process. They will eventually need that responsibility and independence when they enter college. Duke University studied homework-related topics and found that middle and high school students who complete homework regularly will score higher on tests and earn better grades than those who do not. 

Homework is also helpful in the sense that a solid homework routine helps kids develop life skills. One of the cons of homework is that some teachers assign way too much, which could interfere with extra curricular activities or take away from time a child has with his or her family. The national PTA agreed that homework that takes more than 10 minutes to complete is too excessive; they also made the point that too much homework can cause students to experience stress, anxiety, depression, physical ailments, and even cause lower test scores. Studies by Stanford (healthline.com)show that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. For example, the study says, “More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies. Staying up late to finish assignments also leads to disrupted sleep and exhaustion.” According to Sara M. Moniuszko in an article from usatoday.com, “Most students, especially at these high achieving schools, are doing a minimum of three hours, and it’s taking away time from their friends, from their families, and their extracurricular activities. And these are all very important things for a person’s mental and emotional health.” 

It’s obvious that a minimum amount of work does more for a student’s mind than a huge workload of homework. Homework can be useful but only in small increments.