We all know how tough it is to get students to complete their homework! It is a complex and ongoing challenge for many teachers and parents. Get adequate answers from top experts by availing of homework help. However, there remains a key question that research can aid instructors to answer: what’s the right of homework per grade level? The table below shows recommendations from 3 sources on the lower and upper limits for daily homework requirements.

"

GRADE

SOURCE 1

(Barkley, 2008)

Source 2

(Cooper, Robinson, &

Patall, 2006

Source 3

(Olympia & Andrews, 1994)

1

10 Minutes

10-45 Minutes

2

20 Minutes

10-45 Minutes

3

30 Minutes

10-45 Minutes

4

40 Minutes

45-90 Minutes

5

50 Minutes

45-90 Minutes

6

1 Hour

45-90 Minutes

7

1 Hour 10 Minutes

1-2 Hours

1-2 Hours

8

1 Hour 20 Minutes

1-2 Hours

1-2 Hours

9

1 Hour 30 Minutes

1.5-2.5 Hours

1-2 Hours

10

1 Hour 40 Minutes

1.5-2.5 Hours

1.5-2.5 Hours

11

12

1 Hour 50 Minutes

2 Hours

1.5-2.5 Hours

1.5-2.5 Hours

1.5-2.5 Hours

1.5-2.5 Hours

You can see there are differences in the recommendations from the sources but the table still showcases a broad agreement about how much assignment is optimal for each grade. In grades 1-3, daily homework should be limited to an hour or less, while in grades 4-6, it should not exceed 90 minutes. Moreover, the upper limit in grades 7-8 is 2 hours and the limit in high school should be 2.5 hours.

Teachers can use the timetable for a point of comparison: in particular, schools must note that assigning additional homework exceeding the upper limit, as mentioned in the table, is not likely to result in more gains- and may even be counter-productive (Cooper, Robinson, Patall, 2006).

How Homework Becomes a Powerful Tool for Professors?

The amount of homework assigned each day is not in itself a sign of high academic standards. Homework becomes a powerful tool for the promotion of learning only when students grasp the purpose of each homework assignment, understand the direction of the homework, perceive that homework tasks are relevant, and receive timely performance feedback (e.g., teacher comments; grades) on submitted homework (Jenson, Sheridan, Olympia, & Andrews, 1994).

In the past, assigning loads of homework was a way of life for many teachers. But today, many schools and teachers are opting to pull back on mounds of homework to allow for more quality time to socialize and extra-curricular activities- book perusal, enjoying a family dinner, playing outside, etc. The observed change is due to the growing concern about the value of question and the changing dynamics of families comprising two working parents and multiple children with extra-curricular activities. The homework help experts at My Assignment Services provide all the data and information needed to answer the question.

information needed to answer

In the persistent debate of what’s the right amount of homework, many schools and educational institutions rely on the 10-minute rule that is backed by the National PTA and the National Education Association. It equates to assigning 10 minutes of homework per grade level, per night. That means, 20 minutes for second graders, 30 minutes for third graders, and so on, maxing at 2 hours of work for high school seniors. However, recent studies show that students may be spending three times the above recommended time to complete their homework.

Arguments against homework are well-documented, with some researchers, teachers, and parents suggesting that mounds of assignments put unnecessary pressure on students and may not actually be helping them learn.

But the latest article for the Journal Education Next states otherwise. It argues that many American students don’t have too much homework-they have too little. Yes, you heard that right!

Janine Bempechat, a clinical professor of human development, Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development writes anxiety about overscheduled students with upwards of three or four hours of homework a night has overshadowed another problem, low-income students aren’t getting enough homework, and they may be facing the consequences of academic loss.

Cutting down on homework may not be a big problem for high-income kids, because they have their parents who will assist them in exposing them to what they may not be getting after school,” Bempechat said in an interview with Education Week. “It is the lower-income strata students who are hurt the most when people argue that homework should be minimized or totally eliminated.”

As mentioned earlier, a widely endorsed metric for the optimal amount of homework to be assigned is the 10-minute rule. It says that children should get 10 minutes of homework per grade level. It is hard to predict how closely American teachers hew to these guidelines.

homework point

What Do Reports Have to Say About Homework?

According to a 2013 study conducted by the University of Phoenix, students are assigned 3.5 hours of homework a night. On the contrary, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s 2012 program for International Student Assessment states that 15-year-olds American students have much less than about 6 hours of homework a week. Bempechant argues that the average obscures the range in homework assigned between low-income and high-income students. The “PISA results” state that the disadvantaged American students spend three hours less a week on homework than advantaged ones (five hours versus eight hours).

Bempechant and her colleagues conducted various interviews with low-income students at two low-performing high schools in northern California, and the conclusion stated that students may be receiving even less than the aforementioned numbers. It was found that most students reported getting what she called “minimal homework”. “Perhaps one or two worksheets or text pages, the occasional project, and 30 minutes of reading per night”.

She writes this is a massive problem because high-quality homework- the type that allows students to sort our queries and come with clear instructions and strategies for working through difficult scenarios- aids students develop key academic skills and abilities. Many piece of research back this claim.

In a 2004 study, researchers at Columbia University and Mississippi State University found that homework can prepare students with perseverance they would require to hold jobs in the future. A 2006 meta-analysis: the research on whether homework leads to surged academic achievement is mixed found that at-home quality assignment led to surged on some tests in some grades, but on the contrary, other researches show no relationship for elementary age students.

But setting a clear goal, self-regulation, and “resilience in the face of challenge” can all be learned through homework, said Bempechant. These skills become more significant as students’ progress into higher grades with higher expectations for learner autonomy, she further said.

Some critics of homework raise various concerns about assigning outside works as it put low-income students at a disadvantage, because their parents may not be able to offer the required amount of guidance as higher-income parents. Bempechant writes that it is essential that parents aid homework completion.

Overcoming the Homework Gaps

There are other barriers as well such as the “homework gap”: it is the inequality between the haves and haves not. The students who do not have an internet connection at home, face difficulty in completing their assignments. As of 2015, about 40% of students didn’t have an internet connection at their homes. But 70% of teachers assign homework that requires internet connectivity, it was found in a 2016 survey from the Consortium for School Networking, a national association for school technology leaders.

Bempechant said that teachers should be mindful of the resources students have at home, and not assign work that requires tools they do not possess whether that is internet access or even computers and phones.

If you are loaded with molds of assignments and can’t find time for self-study or socializing, then visit My Assignment Services and avail homework help. It is the best place to seek assistance from top professionals in the field without any worries.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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About the Author

Celina

Celina

Hello, everyone! I’m Celina, an educationist and academic consultant. I enjoy reading, learning, and implementing the same in the assignments. I also take a lot of pride in guiding students with their assignments. I have 6 years of experience in writing assignments for students and when not doing that I follow my passion for blogging. I spent my spare time often researching new trends of writing.

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