How long does homework take in high school

Homework in high school should always relate to the lesson and be doable without any assistance, and feedback should be clear and explicit.

Teachers should also keep in mind that not all students have equal opportunities to finish their homework at home, so incomplete homework may not be a true reflection of their learning—it may be more a result of issues they face outside of school. They may be hindered by issues such as lack of a quiet space at home, resources such as a computer or broadband connectivity, or parental support OECD, In such cases, giving low homework scores may be unfair. Since the quantities of time discussed here are totals, teachers in middle and high school should be aware of how much homework other teachers are assigning.

Psychologist Maurice Elias sees this as a common mistake: Individual teachers create homework policies that in aggregate can overwhelm students. He suggests that teachers work together to develop a school-wide homework policy and make it a key topic of back-to-school night and the first parent-teacher conferences of the school year.

If a parent has positive attitudes toward homework, their children are more likely to share those same values, promoting academic success. Small Benefits for Elementary Students As young children begin school, the focus should be on cultivating a love of learning, and assigning too much homework can undermine that goal.

Moderate Benefits for Middle School Students As students mature and develop the study skills necessary to delve deeply into a topic—and to retain what they learn—they also benefit more from homework. In a country where minority students make up nearly half of all public school students, yet minority teachers comprise just 18 percent of the teacher workforce, these differences in expectations matter.

Students of color are also less likely to attend high schools that offer advanced courses including Advanced Placement courses that would likely assign more homework, and thus access to rigorous courses may partially explain the gaps as well.

Research shows a similar, if less well-documented, gap by income, with teachers reporting lower expectations and dimmer futures for their low-income students. Low-income students and students of color may be assigned less homework based on lower expectations for their success, thus preventing them from learning as much and creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. In conclusion, these analyses of time use revealed a substantial gap in homework by race and by income group that could not be entirely explained by work, taking care of others, or parental education.

Additionally, differences in educational achievement, especially as measured on standardized tests, have been well-documented by race and by income. These gaps deserve our attention, but we should be wary of blaming disadvantaged groups.

Time use is an outcome reflecting multiple factors, not simply motivation, and a greater understanding of that should help raise expectations—and therefore, educational achievement—all around. Brown Center Chalkboard. The Brown Center Chalkboard launched in January as a weekly series of new analyses of policy, research, and practice relevant to U.

In July , the Chalkboard was re-launched as a Brookings blog in order to offer more frequent, timely, and diverse content. Contributors to both the original paper series and current blog are committed to bringing evidence to bear on the debates around education policy in America. Read papers in the original Brown Center Chalkboard series ». Related U. Brown Center Chalkboard The Brown Center Chalkboard launched in January as a weekly series of new analyses of policy, research, and practice relevant to U.

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