Homework: Is it effective? Is it healthy? Is it worth it?

Article contributed by Benjamin Lang

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses over seventy-two countries worldwide in the academic performance of fifteen year olds in mathematics, science, and reading . In 2015, Finland ranked fifth with a mean score of 523. China ranked fourth, with a mean score of 524. Both countries scored similarly, however the amount of homework given in ether country varies completely. In Finland, students are assigned virtually no homework while in China, the average student spends fourteen hours a week completing homework. If such assignments are effective in improving academic performance, and Chinese students spend fourteen hours weekly on them, then Chinese test scores should have been much higher than those of the Finnish students. However, this is not the case. Therefore, a correlation between homework and test scores cannot be observed.

Homework is likely to be ineffective, time consuming, and a risk for students’ health. To begin, homework is almost certainly inefficacious and almost no correlation is shown between homework and test grades. In a study conducted at Issaquah High School among various students in different grade levels, no correlation between homework and test grades can be observed. Ten students ranging from ninth to tenth grade were interviewed and asked about their academic lives. Some questions included amount of the homework spent daily, GPAs, and amount of sleep. One student for example, Caileen, a tenth grader, reported to have ignored all homework assignments over the course of a semester. At the end of the first term, Caileen proved to be an honor roll student with a 4.0 GPA. However, at the beginning of the second semester, Caileen announced that she would complete all assigned homework. She was true to her word and proved to have completed all assignments. Surprisingly, at the end of the second term, her GPA lowered to a 3.9. Therefore, a correlation between academic performance and homework cannot be observed, because Caileen’s GPA was actually higher when she ignored the assignments.

In addition to the ineffectiveness of homework, it is also time consuming as well. On average, students in the study spent three hours on homework per day. With many extracurricular activities, there is little time for relaxation or breaks that many high school students need. For instance, Tara reported spending an average of five hours on homework daily. On top of that, Tara participates in and teaches dance for a total of three hours every day and also plays flute in band. With her many outside activities, she has little time for homework, much less free time. According to Psychology Today, students retain information almost forty percent better when a fifteen minute break is taken per hour of studying and homework. But with an abundance of outside activities and a pile of homework, there are not enough hours in the day to make room for relaxation and study session breaks. Moreover, this trend can be seen across students at all grade levels. Cole also reported spending five hours on homework every day. But practicing euphonium for band and attending daily baseball practice consumes so much time that even though he spends five hours of homework, it is not enough for him to complete assignments on time. In fact, upon interviewing, Cole asked, “Can you hurry this up? I'm trying to finish my work.” Ideally, homework is a quick practice to build upon skills learned in class, but this study fails to provide evidence to support that such principle is properly executed at Issaquah High School. Instead, the study reveals that homework in reality is a time consuming task that many students do not have the time for.

Since homework is extremely time consuming, it directly affects students and their physical health. The National Sleep Association recommends that the minimum requirement of sleep for adolescents is eight hours. However, the study at Issaquah High School found eighty percent of students fell short of the national recommendation by two hours or more. Instead, the median high schooler sleeps for six hours at night. Sleep deprivation can lead to long term health effects such as memory loss, decreased metabolism, weakened immunity, high blood pressure, and a higher risk of diabetes and heart disease.

In the study, all students reported that if there were no given homework, they would sleep for at least eight to ten hours. For instance, Tara claimed to have slept an average of four hours daily. With this constant sleep deprivation, it is without a surprise that Tara feels “dead inside”. Without homework, she says she would be able to sleep for eight hours a night. Since homework takes a big part in a student’s schedule, homework eats away at a good night's sleep. Students are under a constant health risk as long term sleep deprivation is extremely detrimental to one’s well-being.

 At first glance, homework may seem as a necessity for students. However, with further investigation and research, homework is to have found to be ineffective in improving test scores and academic performance. On top of that, homework also creates an environment of long hours of study sessions that result in exhausted, sleep deprived students. In fact, once Finland abolished homework in 2012, the average PISA test scores increased by eleven points. Many studies find that homework is a negative aspect of students’ academic careers. According to the Finnish ambassador, formerly a chief inspector of schools, stated that before education reforms, only ten percent of students continued education after eighteen. However, after 1970, when Finland began education reforms, including the abolishment of homework, over sixty percent of students enrolled in high education. Following the abolishment of homework, researchers observed the increase of test scores, and the overall health and well being of students greatly improves. Yet, still, despite all the research and evidence, homework remains to be a large portion of a student’s academic career.