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How Much Homework Is Too Much for Our Teens?

Here's what educators and parents can do to help kids find the right balance between school and home.

Does Your Teen Have Too Much Homework?

Today’s teens are under a lot of pressure.

They're under pressure to succeed, to win, to be the best and to get into the top colleges. With so much pressure, is it any wonder today’s youth report being under as much stress as their parents? In fact, during the school year, teens say they experience stress levels higher than those reported by adults, according to a previous American Psychological Association "Stress in America" survey.

Odds are if you ask a teen what's got them so worked up, the subject of school will come up. School can cause a lot of stress, which can lead to other serious problems, like sleep deprivation . According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens need between eight and 10 hours of sleep each night, but only 15 percent are even getting close to that amount. During the school week, most teens only get about six hours of zzz’s a night, and some of that sleep deficit may be attributed to homework.

When it comes to school, many adults would rather not trade places with a teen. Think about it. They get up at the crack of dawn and get on the bus when it’s pitch dark outside. They put in a full day sitting in hours of classes (sometimes four to seven different classes daily), only to get more work dumped on them to do at home. To top it off, many kids have after-school obligations, such as extracurricular activities including clubs and sports , and some have to work. After a long day, they finally get home to do even more work – schoolwork.

[Read: What Parents Should Know About Teen Depression .]

Homework is not only a source of stress for students, but it can also be a hassle for parents. If you are the parent of a kid who strives to be “perfect," then you know all too well how much time your child spends making sure every bit of homework is complete, even if it means pulling an all-nighter. On the flip side, if you’re the parent of a child who decided that school ends when the last bell rings, then you know how exhausting that homework tug-of-war can be. And heaven forbid if you’re that parent who is at their wit's end because your child excels on tests and quizzes but fails to turn in assignments. The woes of academics can go well beyond the confines of the school building and right into the home.

This is the time of year when many students and parents feel the burden of the academic load. Following spring break, many schools across the nation head into the final stretch of the year. As a result, some teachers increase the amount of homework they give. The assignments aren’t punishment, although to students and parents who are having to constantly stay on top of their kids' schoolwork, they can sure seem that way.

From a teacher’s perspective, the assignments are meant to help students better understand the course content and prepare for upcoming exams. Some schools have state-mandated end of grade or final tests. In those states these tests can account for 20 percent of a student’s final grade. So teachers want to make sure that they cover the entire curriculum before that exam. Aside from state-mandated tests, some high school students are enrolled in advanced placement or international baccalaureate college-level courses that have final tests given a month or more before the end of the term. In order to cover all of the content, teachers must maintain an accelerated pace. All of this means more out of class assignments.

Given the challenges kids face, there are a few questions parents and educators should consider:

Is homework necessary?

Many teens may give a quick "no" to this question, but the verdict is still out. Research supports both sides of the argument. Personally, I would say, yes, some homework is necessary, but it must be purposeful. If it’s busy work, then it’s a waste of time. Homework should be a supplemental teaching tool. Too often, some youth go home completely lost as they haven’t grasped concepts covered in class and they may become frustrated and overwhelmed.

For a parent who has been in this situation, you know how frustrating this can be, especially if it’s a subject that you haven’t encountered in a while. Homework can serve a purpose such as improving grades, increasing test scores and instilling a good work ethic. Purposeful homework can come in the form of individualizing assignments based on students’ needs or helping students practice newly acquired skills.

Homework should not be used to extend class time to cover more material. If your child is constantly coming home having to learn the material before doing the assignments, then it’s time to contact the teacher and set up a conference. Listen when kids express their concerns (like if they say they're expected to know concepts not taught in class) as they will provide clues about what’s happening or not happening in the classroom. Plus, getting to the root of the problem can help with keeping the peace at home too, as an irritable and grumpy teen can disrupt harmonious family dynamics .

[Read: What Makes Teens 'Most Likely to Succeed?' ]

How much is too much?

According to the National PTA and the National Education Association, students should only be doing about 10 minutes of homework per night per grade level. But teens are doing a lot more than that, according to a poll of high school students by the organization Statistic Brain . In that poll teens reported spending, on average, more than three hours on homework each school night, with 11th graders spending more time on homework than any other grade level. By contrast, some polls have shown that U.S. high school students report doing about seven hours of homework per week.

Much of a student's workload boils down to the courses they take (such as advanced or college prep classes), the teaching philosophy of educators and the student’s commitment to doing the work. Regardless, research has shown that doing more than two hours of homework per night does not benefit high school students. Having lots of homework to do every day makes it difficult for teens to have any downtime , let alone family time .

How do we respond to students' needs?

As an educator and parent, I can honestly say that oftentimes there is a mismatch in what teachers perceive as only taking 15 minutes and what really takes 45 minutes to complete. If you too find this to be the case, then reach out to your child's teacher and find out why the assignments are taking longer than anticipated for your child to complete.

Also, ask the teacher about whether faculty communicate regularly with one another about large upcoming assignments. Whether it’s setting up a shared school-wide assignment calendar or collaborating across curriculums during faculty meetings, educators need to discuss upcoming tests and projects, so students don’t end up with lots of assignments all competing for their attention and time at once. Inevitably, a student is going to get slammed occasionally, but if they have good rapport with their teachers, they will feel comfortable enough to reach out and see if alternative options are available. And as a parent, you can encourage your kid to have that dialogue with the teacher.

Often teens would rather blend into the class than stand out. That’s unfortunate because research has shown time and time again that positive teacher-student relationships are strong predictors of student engagement and achievement. By and large, most teachers appreciate students advocating for themselves and will go the extra mile to help them out.

Can there be a balance between home and school?

Students can strike a balance between school and home, but parents will have to help them find it. They need your guidance to learn how to better manage their time, get organized and prioritize tasks, which are all important life skills. Equally important is developing good study habits. Some students may need tutoring or coaching to help them learn new material or how to take notes and study. Also, don’t forget the importance of parent-teacher communication. Most educators want nothing more than for their students to succeed in their courses.

Learning should be fun, not mundane and cumbersome. Homework should only be given if its purposeful and in moderation. Equally important to homework is engaging in activities, socializing with friends and spending time with the family.

[See: 10 Concerns Parents Have About Their Kids' Health .]

Most adults don’t work a full-time job and then go home and do three more hours of work, and neither should your child. It's not easy learning to balance everything, especially if you're a teen. If your child is spending several hours on homework each night, don't hesitate to reach out to teachers and, if need be, school officials. Collectively, we can all work together to help our children de-stress and find the right balance between school and home.

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What’s the Right Amount of Homework?

Decades of research show that homework has some benefits, especially for students in middle and high school—but there are risks to assigning too much.

Many teachers and parents believe that homework helps students build study skills and review concepts learned in class. Others see homework as disruptive and unnecessary, leading to burnout and turning kids off to school. Decades of research show that the issue is more nuanced and complex than most people think: Homework is beneficial, but only to a degree. Students in high school gain the most, while younger kids benefit much less.

The National PTA and the National Education Association support the “ 10-minute homework guideline ”—a nightly 10 minutes of homework per grade level. But many teachers and parents are quick to point out that what matters is the quality of the homework assigned and how well it meets students’ needs, not the amount of time spent on it.

The guideline doesn’t account for students who may need to spend more—or less—time on assignments. In class, teachers can make adjustments to support struggling students, but at home, an assignment that takes one student 30 minutes to complete may take another twice as much time—often for reasons beyond their control. And homework can widen the achievement gap, putting students from low-income households and students with learning disabilities at a disadvantage.

However, the 10-minute guideline is useful in setting a limit: When kids spend too much time on homework, there are real consequences to consider.

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. And young students often don’t have the study skills to benefit fully from homework, so it may be a poor use of time (Cooper, 1989 ; Cooper et al., 2006 ; Marzano & Pickering, 2007 ). A more effective activity may be nightly reading, especially if parents are involved. The benefits of reading are clear: If students aren’t proficient readers by the end of third grade, they’re less likely to succeed academically and graduate from high school (Fiester, 2013 ).

For second-grade teacher Jacqueline Fiorentino, the minor benefits of homework did not outweigh the potential drawback of turning young children against school at an early age, so she experimented with dropping mandatory homework. “Something surprising happened: They started doing more work at home,” Fiorentino writes . “This inspiring group of 8-year-olds used their newfound free time to explore subjects and topics of interest to them.” She encouraged her students to read at home and offered optional homework to extend classroom lessons and help them review material.

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. Nightly assignments can help prepare them for scholarly work, and research shows that homework can have moderate benefits for middle school students (Cooper et al., 2006 ). Recent research also shows that online math homework, which can be designed to adapt to students’ levels of understanding, can significantly boost test scores (Roschelle et al., 2016 ).

There are risks to assigning too much, however: A 2015 study found that when middle school students were assigned more than 90 to 100 minutes of daily homework, their math and science test scores began to decline (Fernández-Alonso, Suárez-Álvarez, & Muñiz, 2015 ). Crossing that upper limit can drain student motivation and focus. The researchers recommend that “homework should present a certain level of challenge or difficulty, without being so challenging that it discourages effort.” Teachers should avoid low-effort, repetitive assignments, and assign homework “with the aim of instilling work habits and promoting autonomous, self-directed learning.”

In other words, it’s the quality of homework that matters, not the quantity. Brian Sztabnik, a veteran middle and high school English teacher, suggests that teachers take a step back and ask themselves these five questions :

• How long will it take to complete?
• Have all learners been considered?
• Will an assignment encourage future success?
• Will an assignment place material in a context the classroom cannot?
• Does an assignment offer support when a teacher is not there?

More Benefits for High School Students, but Risks as Well

By the time they reach high school, students should be well on their way to becoming independent learners, so homework does provide a boost to learning at this age, as long as it isn’t overwhelming (Cooper et al., 2006 ; Marzano & Pickering, 2007 ). When students spend too much time on homework—more than two hours each night—it takes up valuable time to rest and spend time with family and friends. A 2013 study found that high school students can experience serious mental and physical health problems, from higher stress levels to sleep deprivation, when assigned too much homework (Galloway, Conner, & Pope, 2013 ).

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, 2014 ). 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. It may seem reasonable to assign 30 minutes of daily homework, but across six subjects, that’s three hours—far above a reasonable amount even for a high school senior. 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.

Parents Play a Key Role

Homework can be a powerful tool to help parents become more involved in their child’s learning (Walker et al., 2004 ). It can provide insights into a child’s strengths and interests, and can also encourage conversations about a child’s life at school. If a parent has positive attitudes toward homework, their children are more likely to share those same values, promoting academic success.

But it’s also possible for parents to be overbearing, putting too much emphasis on test scores or grades, which can be disruptive for children (Madjar, Shklar, & Moshe, 2015 ). Parents should avoid being overly intrusive or controlling—students report feeling less motivated to learn when they don’t have enough space and autonomy to do their homework (Orkin, May, & Wolf, 2017 ; Patall, Cooper, & Robinson, 2008 ; Silinskas & Kikas, 2017 ). So while homework can encourage parents to be more involved with their kids, it’s important to not make it a source of conflict.

Should Kids Get Homework?

Homework gives elementary students a way to practice concepts, but too much can be harmful, experts say.

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Effective homework reinforces math, reading, writing or spelling skills, but in a way that's meaningful.

How much homework students should get has long been a source of debate among parents and educators. In recent years, some districts have even implemented no-homework policies, as students juggle sports, music and other activities after school.

Parents of elementary school students, in particular, have argued that after-school hours should be spent with family or playing outside rather than completing assignments. And there is little research to show that homework improves academic achievement for elementary students.

But some experts say there's value in homework, even for younger students. When done well, it can help students practice core concepts and develop study habits and time management skills. The key to effective homework, they say, is keeping assignments related to classroom learning, and tailoring the amount by age: Many experts suggest no homework for kindergartners, and little to none in first and second grade.

Value of Homework

Homework provides a chance to solidify what is being taught in the classroom that day, week or unit. Practice matters, says Janine Bempechat, clinical professor at Boston University 's Wheelock College of Education & Human Development.

"There really is no other domain of human ability where anybody would say you don't need to practice," she adds. "We have children practicing piano and we have children going to sports practice several days a week after school. You name the domain of ability and practice is in there."

Homework is also the place where schools and families most frequently intersect.

"The children are bringing things from the school into the home," says Paula S. Fass, professor emerita of history at the University of California—Berkeley and the author of "The End of American Childhood." "Before the pandemic, (homework) was the only real sense that parents had to what was going on in schools."

Harris Cooper, professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University and author of "The Battle Over Homework," examined more than 60 research studies on homework between 1987 and 2003 and found that — when designed properly — homework can lead to greater student success. Too much, however, is harmful. And homework has a greater positive effect on students in secondary school (grades 7-12) than those in elementary.

"Every child should be doing homework, but the amount and type that they're doing should be appropriate for their developmental level," he says. "For teachers, it's a balancing act. Doing away with homework completely is not in the best interest of children and families. But overburdening families with homework is also not in the child's or a family's best interest."

Negative Homework Assignments

Not all homework for elementary students involves completing a worksheet. Assignments can be fun, says Cooper, like having students visit educational locations, keep statistics on their favorite sports teams, read for pleasure or even help their parents grocery shop. The point is to show students that activities done outside of school can relate to subjects learned in the classroom.

But assignments that are just busy work, that force students to learn new concepts at home, or that are overly time-consuming can be counterproductive, experts say.

Homework that's just busy work.

Effective homework reinforces math, reading, writing or spelling skills, but in a way that's meaningful, experts say. Assignments that look more like busy work – projects or worksheets that don't require teacher feedback and aren't related to topics learned in the classroom – can be frustrating for students and create burdens for families.

"The mental health piece has definitely played a role here over the last couple of years during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the last thing we want to do is frustrate students with busy work or homework that makes no sense," says Dave Steckler, principal of Red Trail Elementary School in Mandan, North Dakota.

Homework on material that kids haven't learned yet.

With the pressure to cover all topics on standardized tests and limited time during the school day, some teachers assign homework that has not yet been taught in the classroom.

Not only does this create stress, but it also causes equity challenges. Some parents speak languages other than English or work several jobs, and they aren't able to help teach their children new concepts.

" It just becomes agony for both parents and the kids to get through this worksheet, and the goal becomes getting to the bottom of (the) worksheet with answers filled in without any understanding of what any of it matters for," says professor Susan R. Goldman, co-director of the Learning Sciences Research Institute at the University of Illinois—Chicago .

Homework that's overly time-consuming.

The standard homework guideline recommended by the National Parent Teacher Association and the National Education Association is the "10-minute rule" – 10 minutes of nightly homework per grade level. A fourth grader, for instance, would receive a total of 40 minutes of homework per night.

But this does not always happen, especially since not every student learns the same. A 2015 study published in the American Journal of Family Therapy found that primary school children actually received three times the recommended amount of homework — and that family stress increased along with the homework load.

Young children can only remain attentive for short periods, so large amounts of homework, especially lengthy projects, can negatively affect students' views on school. Some individual long-term projects – like having to build a replica city, for example – typically become an assignment for parents rather than students, Fass says.

"It's one thing to assign a project like that in which several kids are working on it together," she adds. "In (that) case, the kids do normally work on it. It's another to send it home to the families, where it becomes a burden and doesn't really accomplish very much."

Private vs. Public Schools

Do private schools assign more homework than public schools? There's little research on the issue, but experts say private school parents may be more accepting of homework, seeing it as a sign of academic rigor.

Of course, not all private schools are the same – some focus on college preparation and traditional academics, while others stress alternative approaches to education.

"I think in the academically oriented private schools, there's more support for homework from parents," says Gerald K. LeTendre, chair of educational administration at Pennsylvania State University—University Park . "I don't know if there's any research to show there's more homework, but it's less of a contentious issue."

How to Address Homework Overload

First, assess if the workload takes as long as it appears. Sometimes children may start working on a homework assignment, wander away and come back later, Cooper says.

"Parents don't see it, but they know that their child has started doing their homework four hours ago and still not done it," he adds. "They don't see that there are those four hours where their child was doing lots of other things. So the homework assignment itself actually is not four hours long. It's the way the child is approaching it."

But if homework is becoming stressful or workload is excessive, experts suggest parents first approach the teacher, followed by a school administrator.

"Many times, we can solve a lot of issues by having conversations," Steckler says, including by "sitting down, talking about the amount of homework, and what's appropriate and not appropriate."

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Homework: A New User's Guide

Cory Turner

If you made it past the headline, you're likely a student, concerned parent, teacher or, like me, a nerd nostalgist who enjoys basking in the distant glow of Homework Triumphs Past (second-grade report on Custer's Last Stand, nailed it!).

Whoever you are, you're surely hoping for some clarity in the loud, perennial debate over whether U.S. students are justifiably exhausted and nervous from too much homework — even though some international comparisons suggest they're sitting comfortably at the average.

Well, here goes. I've mapped out six, research-based polestars that should help guide you to some reasonable conclusions about homework.

How much homework do U.S. students get?

The best answer comes from something called the National Assessment of Educational Progress or NAEP . In 2012, students in three different age groups — 9, 13 and 17 — were asked, "How much time did you spend on homework yesterday?" The vast majority of 9-year-olds (79 percent) and 13-year-olds (65 percent) and still a majority of 17-year-olds (53 percent) all reported doing an hour or less of homework the day before.

Another study from the National Center for Education Statistics found that high school students who reported doing homework outside of school did, on average, about seven hours a week.

If you're hungry for more data on this — and some perspective — check out this exhaustive report put together last year by researcher Tom Loveless at the Brookings Institution.

An hour or less a day? But we hear so many horror stories! Why?

The fact is, some students do have a ton of homework. In high school we see a kind of student divergence — between those who choose or find themselves tracked into less-rigorous coursework and those who enroll in honors classes or multiple Advanced Placement courses. And the latter students are getting a lot of homework. In that 2012 NAEP survey, 13 percent of 17-year-olds reported doing more than two hours of homework the previous night. That's not a lot of students, but they're clearly doing a lot of work.

Source: Met Life Survey of the American Teacher, The Homework Experience, 2007. LA Johnson/NPR hide caption

That also tracks with a famous survey from 2007 — from MetLife — that asked parents what they think of their kids' homework load. Sixty percent said it was just right. Twenty-five percent said their kids are getting too little. Just 15 percent of parents said their kids have too much homework.

Research also suggests that the students doing the most work have something else in common: income. "I think that the debate over homework in some ways is a social class issue," says Janine Bempechat, professor of human development at Wheelock College. "There's no question that in affluent communities, children are really over-taxed, over-burdened with homework."

But the vast majority of students do not seem to have inordinate workloads. And the ones who do are generally volunteering for the tough stuff. That doesn't make it easier, but it does make it a choice.

Do we know how much homework students in other countries are doing?

Sort of. Caveats abound here. Education systems and perceptions of what is and isn't homework can vary remarkably overseas. So any comparison is, to a degree, apples-to-oranges (or, at least, apples-to-pears). A 2012 report from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development pegged the U.S. homework load for 15-year-olds at around six hours per week. That's just above the study's average. It found that students in Hong Kong are also doing about six hours a week. Much of Europe checks in between four and five hours a week. In Japan, it's four hours. And Korea's near the bottom, at three hours.

Source: OECD, PISA 2012 Database, Table IV.3.48. LA Johnson/NPR hide caption

How much homework is too much?

Better yet, how much is just right? Harris Cooper at Duke University has done some of the best work on homework. He and his team reviewed dozens of studies, from 1987 to 2003, looking for consensus on what works and what doesn't. A common rule of thumb, he says, is what's called the 10-minute rule. Take the child's grade and multiply by 10. So first-graders should have roughly 10 minutes of homework a night, 40 minutes for fourth-graders, on up to two hours for seniors in high school. A lot of of schools use this. Even the National PTA officially endorses it.

Homework clearly improves student performance, right?

Not necessarily. It depends on the age of the child. Looking over the research, there's little to no evidence that homework improves student achievement in elementary school. Then again, the many experts I spoke with all said the same thing: The point of homework in those primary grades isn't entirely academic. It's about teaching things like time-management and self-direction.

But, by high school the evidence shifts. Harris Cooper's massive review found, in middle and high school, a positive correlation between homework and student achievement on unit tests. It seems to help. But more is not always better. Cooper points out that, depending on the subject and the age of the student, there is a law of diminishing returns. Again, he recommends the 10-minute rule.

What kinds of homework seem to be most effective?

This is where things get really interesting. Because homework should be about learning, right? To understand what kinds of homework best help kids learn, we really need to talk about memory and the brain.

Let's start with something called the spacing effect . Say a child has to do a vocabulary worksheet. The next week, it's a new worksheet with different words and so on. Well, research shows that the brain is better at remembering when we repeat with consistency, not when we study in long, isolated chunks of time. Do a little bit of vocabulary each night, repeating the same words night after night.

Similarly, a professor of psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, Henry "Roddy" Roediger III , recommends that teachers give students plenty of little quizzes, which he says strengthen the brain's ability to remember. Don't fret. They can be low-stakes or no-stakes, says Roediger: It's the steady recall and repetition that matter. He also recommends, as homework, that students try testing themselves instead of simply re-reading the text or class notes.

There's also something known as interleaving . This is big in the debate over math homework. Many of us — myself included — learned math by focusing on one concept at a time, doing a worksheet to practice that concept, then moving on.

Well, there's evidence that students learn more when homework requires them to choose among multiple strategies — new and old — when solving problems. In other words, kids learn when they have to draw not just from what they learned in class that day but that week, that month, that year.

One last note: Experts agree that homework should generally be about reinforcing what students learned in class (this is especially true in math). Sometimes it can — and should — be used to introduce new material, but here's where so many horror stories begin.

Tom Loveless, a former teacher, offers this advice: "I don't think teachers should ever send brand-new material that puts the parent in the position of a teacher. That's a disaster. My own personal philosophy was: Homework is best if it's material that requires more practice but they've already received initial instruction."

Or, in the words of the National PTA: "Homework that cannot be done without help is not good homework."

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How Much Should I Help My Child With Their Homework?

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What If My Child Never Asks for Help?

• What to Do If You Have Concerns

It's fairly normal for homework to be a task dreaded by most kids. But when you become a parent, you might find that you dread homework just as much as your children do! Simply getting kids to sit down and work can be a struggle, and fitting homework into a family’s busy schedule can also be challenging. Not only that, but it can be really hard to watch a child wrestle with the material.

As such, most parents want to intervene in some way. Yet many end up feeling confused about their role when it comes to homework. How much should you push a child who is having trouble applying themselves to the task? How much help should you offer? And what if your child doesn’t seem to need your help with homework at all?

Here, we’ll connect with experts regarding the best approach to helping your child with their homework, broken down by age.

How Much Homework Help Should My Pre-K Child or Kindergartener Need?

Above all else, the work of a pre-K or kindergarten-aged kid should be to engage in play, says Bibi Pirayesh, Ed.D., founder and educational therapist at OneOfOneKids.org . “It's also important to do activities that support motor functions, sound-letter correspondence, and informal math,” she says. “But what parents should really encourage is children’s natural sense of wonder and wanting to initiate challenge and learning, not perfection.”

Still, sometimes children this age are assigned homework, though most of the time the workload is light, and children are given leeway in terms of what they are expected to accomplish. When it comes to learning outside of school at these ages, Katelyn Rigg, M.Ed., a literacy and reading specialist, says that your job as a parent is to be a “coach” for your child, working to reinforce the concepts they're already studying at school.

“For example, if the students are learning the letter B, parents can take the opportunity to talk about the letter, go on a scavenger hunt for things around the house that start with the 'B' sound, and practice letter formation using kinesthetic experiences like playdough,” Rigg suggests.

Above all else, don’t push your young child when it comes to homework. “The most important goal of this stage should be to associate school and learning with positive emotions,” Dr. Pirayesh says. The aim is to encourage children to branch out, try things on their own, and support their efforts.

How Much Homework Help Should My School-Aged Child Need?

Homework becomes more of a “thing” as your child gets a little older, though it tends to be light in early elementary school, increasing in amount as the years pass. Typically by third grade , kids receive up to three assignments per week, and homework can take up to 20 minutes. Fourth and fifth graders may get daily homework, lasting about 30 minutes or sometimes more.

In elementary school, homework focuses on concepts children are studying in class, and its purpose is to practice and reinforce what’s already been learned, says Brianna Leonhard, certified teacher, board certified behavior analyst (BCBA), and founder of Third Row Adventures . As such, children should be able to do the vast majority of their homework on their own, without much help.

Still, many children want or need a bit of help with their homework in elementary school, and that’s perfectly normal, says Rigg. She suggests trying an “I do / We do / You do” model for doing homework together with your child.

“A parent may do the first question, then they complete the second question with their child, and finally, the child completes the final question on their own,” Rigg describes. This idea can be adapted to whatever homework or academic skills your child is working on. “It allows parents to be involved and supportive of their child's education, but also leads children to develop independence.”

How Much Homework Help Should My Tween or Teen Need?

Homework will become more of an independent task for your child as they age. However, they may need some hand-holding as they make the transition from elementary school to middle school, where they are suddenly getting homework from multiple teachers instead of just one.

During the tween and early teen years, kids are still developing their executive functioning skills—tools that help them plan and execute tasks, says Dr. Pirayesh. You can support them by implementing "scaffolding," which involves helping them break up tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks, and setting up clear daily goals.

Homework during high school should still be mostly about practicing skills already taught and is not meant to teach new material, says Leonhard. So if a parent is having to spend time teaching their tween or teen the material covered on the homework, they should reach out to the child’s teacher in the event they're having trouble grasping what's being studied in class.

That said, homework in high school can be challenging, and your child might be struggling because of the increasing difficulty in topics. If your child can mostly complete the task at hand, but needs a little additional help from you from time to time, that’s typically not a problem, she adds.

Students with learning disabilities such as ADHD may need more parental assistance with homework, says Riggs. That’s also typical and okay. “Teachers may not be able to find the time to provide this added support for students, so parents may have to provide it at home,” she explains. “Parents can also support teenagers who may need assistance with studying and organizational skills, while helping find strategies that work for their children to prepare them for adulthood.”

Some kids never seem to need help with homework, and that can be just as confusing for parents as kids who need endless help. If your child is getting by without help, there’s no need to intervene.

“As long as a parent knows that the child is completing the required homework, meeting the grade-level expectations, and understanding the content, then this is perfectly fine,” Riggs says. “Parents should make sure they are asking their independent children about what they're learning, what their homework is, and offering help if they need it.”

What to Do If You Have Concerns About Your Child’s Homework

When your child is struggling with homework or seems to need a greater than average amount of assistance, you might be wondering what you should do. First of all, you shouldn’t assume that incredibly challenging homework is something that is typical, says Dr. Pirayesh.

“I think many parents assume that homework being a nightmare is normal,” she explains. "But it can be a sign that something deeper is going on.” Your child could potentially have a learning disability, she says, or they just may need more effective daily routines around completing assignments.

Whatever the case, don’t blame your child for the difficulty—your best bet is to connect with your child’s teacher sooner than later, Dr. Pirayesh offers. Talk to the school about what is going on during homework time, and discuss what options might be available to make it more manageable for your child.

Riggs agrees that building an effective partnership with your child’s teacher is imperative. “As a teacher, I am so grateful when a parent asks about their child's learning and wants to be an active participant in helping their child be successful,” she says.

Of course, if you have concerns about your child's learning, it's also a good idea to speak with their pediatrician or healthcare provider.

A Word From Verywell

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to how involved a parent should be during homework time. The goal is for your child to become more independent as they get older. For the most part, it makes sense to go with your instincts in terms of how much to assist or when to pull back. At the same time, homework should not be a nightly struggle, and if that's the case for your family, you shouldn’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher for help.

National Education Association. The Power of Play in Kindergarten .

Learning Disabilities Association of America. How Much Time Should Be Spent on Homework?

Harvard University Center on the Developing Child. Executive Function & Self-Regulation .

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. What are some signs of learning disabilities?

By Wendy Wisner Wendy Wisner is a lactation consultant and writer covering maternal/child health, parenting, general health and wellness, and mental health. She has worked with breastfeeding parents for over a decade, and is a mom to two boys.

How Much Homework Is Enough? Depends Who You Ask

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Editor’s note: This is an adapted excerpt from You, Your Child, and School: Navigate Your Way to the Best Education ( Viking)—the latest book by author and speaker Sir Ken Robinson (co-authored with Lou Aronica), published in March. For years, Robinson has been known for his radical work on rekindling creativity and passion in schools, including three bestselling books (also with Aronica) on the topic. His TED Talk “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” holds the record for the most-viewed TED talk of all time, with more than 50 million views. While Robinson’s latest book is geared toward parents, it also offers educators a window into the kinds of education concerns parents have for their children, including on the quality and quantity of homework.

The amount of homework young people are given varies a lot from school to school and from grade to grade. In some schools and grades, children have no homework at all. In others, they may have 18 hours or more of homework every week. In the United States, the accepted guideline, which is supported by both the National Education Association and the National Parent Teacher Association, is the 10-minute rule: Children should have no more than 10 minutes of homework each day for each grade reached. In 1st grade, children should have 10 minutes of daily homework; in 2nd grade, 20 minutes; and so on to the 12th grade, when on average they should have 120 minutes of homework each day, which is about 10 hours a week. It doesn’t always work out that way.

In 2013, the University of Phoenix College of Education commissioned a survey of how much homework teachers typically give their students. From kindergarten to 5th grade, it was just under three hours per week; from 6th to 8th grade, it was 3.2 hours; and from 9th to 12th grade, it was 3.5 hours.

There are two points to note. First, these are the amounts given by individual teachers. To estimate the total time children are expected to spend on homework, you need to multiply these hours by the number of teachers they work with. High school students who work with five teachers in different curriculum areas may find themselves with 17.5 hours or more of homework a week, which is the equivalent of a part-time job. The other factor is that these are teachers’ estimates of the time that homework should take. The time that individual children spend on it will be more or less than that, according to their abilities and interests. One child may casually dash off a piece of homework in half the time that another will spend laboring through in a cold sweat.

Do students have more homework these days than previous generations? Given all the variables, it’s difficult to say. Some studies suggest they do. In 2007, a study from the National Center for Education Statistics found that, on average, high school students spent around seven hours a week on homework. A similar study in 1994 put the average at less than five hours a week. Mind you, I [Robinson] was in high school in England in the 1960s and spent a lot more time than that—though maybe that was to do with my own ability. One way of judging this is to look at how much homework your own children are given and compare it to what you had at the same age.

Many parents find it difficult to help their children with subjects they’ve not studied themselves for a long time, if at all.

There’s also much debate about the value of homework. Supporters argue that it benefits children, teachers, and parents in several ways:

• Children learn to deepen their understanding of specific content, to cover content at their own pace, to become more independent learners, to develop problem-solving and time-management skills, and to relate what they learn in school to outside activities.
• Teachers can see how well their students understand the lessons; evaluate students’ individual progress, strengths, and weaknesses; and cover more content in class.
• Parents can engage practically in their children’s education, see firsthand what their children are being taught in school, and understand more clearly how they’re getting on—what they find easy and what they struggle with in school.

Want to know more about Sir Ken Robinson? Check out our Q&A with him.

Q&A With Sir Ken Robinson

Ashley Norris is assistant dean at the University of Phoenix College of Education. Commenting on her university’s survey, she says, “Homework helps build confidence, responsibility, and problem-solving skills that can set students up for success in high school, college, and in the workplace.”

That may be so, but many parents find it difficult to help their children with subjects they’ve not studied themselves for a long time, if at all. Families have busy lives, and it can be hard for parents to find time to help with homework alongside everything else they have to cope with. Norris is convinced it’s worth the effort, especially, she says, because in many schools, the nature of homework is changing. One influence is the growing popularity of the so-called flipped classroom.

In the stereotypical classroom, the teacher spends time in class presenting material to the students. Their homework consists of assignments based on that material. In the flipped classroom, the teacher provides the students with presentational materials—videos, slides, lecture notes—which the students review at home and then bring questions and ideas to school where they work on them collaboratively with the teacher and other students. As Norris notes, in this approach, homework extends the boundaries of the classroom and reframes how time in school can be used more productively, allowing students to “collaborate on learning, learn from each other, maybe critique [each other’s work], and share those experiences.”

Even so, many parents and educators are increasingly concerned that homework, in whatever form it takes, is a bridge too far in the pressured lives of children and their families. It takes away from essential time for their children to relax and unwind after school, to play, to be young, and to be together as a family. On top of that, the benefits of homework are often asserted, but they’re not consistent, and they’re certainly not guaranteed.

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An Ex-Student’s Top 35 Tips for Year 7 Students

In General by Think Student Editor May 24, 2021 2 Comments

Starting a new school is scary and exciting along with many other emotions. Starting Year 7 is no exception and it can be hard to know what to expect, especially if you don’t have any older siblings or older friends to tell you all about it. Secondary school (or you may call it high school) is a massive step up from primary school. Normally, everything will be so much bigger than in a primary school, from the building itself to the students (in both amount and size) to even what you have to learn. It can be overwhelming.   

If you are going into Year 7 (or even if you are in Year 7 now and are feeling a bit lost) then you should definitely continue reading for these 35 skills for surviving secondary school. I hope you find them useful.  

1. Calm Down  

Starting secondary school can be scary, exciting and generally overwhelming but stressing out about it isn’t going to help you at all.  T he first thing you need to do when it all feels a bit too much is to calm down.  You can do this by trying some breathing exercises, meditating, mindfulness or simply by distracting yourself and doing something you enjoy.  Check out this article for some r elaxation skills for teens  t hat you may want to try .

2. Make a Good First Impression  

First impressions are everything, especially in secondary school as it is a completely new environment. Whether it is your classmates (and potential friends) or your new teachers, making a great first impression can go a long way.  Making a good first impression may also give you a chance to present you at your best and help you and meet new people and maybe even make some new friends.  

Making a good first impression can be difficult and you may find yourself feeling unsure about how to even go this. I suggest that you start with a smile and go from there.  Smiles can make you seem more approachable  and can make the people around you feel more comfortable .  

3. Be Confident (But Not Overconfident)  

As they say, confidence is key. Having a high self-esteem and being confident are great ways to start Year 7.  Confidence is when you feel sure of yourself and your abilities,   so,  if you start out feeling this way then you have a great foundation for the rest of your school life.  You may want to look at this article about   6 Ways to Instantly Feel Better About Yourself.  

The only problem with confidence is that it can lead to overconfidence and arrogance.  Overconfidence and arrogance aren’t good qualities, they often make you come off as being rude, regardless of whether or not you were trying to be . They can also make others feel uncomfortable around you and may even make it harder for you to make friends in Year 7.  

4. Be Open to Change

As I am sure you know, Year 7 can be overwhelming, especially as they tend to be a lot bigger than primary school.  There is definitely going to be a lot of differences between your secondary school and primary school, being open to change can help you prepare for this.  Being open to change can help you to not be overwhelmed by everything, especially in your first week. Also, keeping an open mind can help you to accept the differences between you and the people around you more easily.  

5. Ask For Help When You Need It

Asking for help can be really difficult for some people and really easy for others. Whichever category you fall into, it is important that you ask for help if you need it. Trying to be independent is one thing but   if there is something that you really can’t do by yourself  then you  shou ld  d efinitely  ask someone.  This someone can be a teacher, one of your classmates or even one of your friends.   

6. Be Kind  

Being kind is a great thing to do, especially in Year 7, as it can help to give others a better impression of you and help you to meet new people and make some new friends.  Being kind is wonderful as you are helping other and making them feel good, which can also help to make you feel good.  There is even  evidence to show that being kind is good for your health  click  this  link here to find out more.  

7. Be Yourself  

Changing yourself to fit in is never a good idea.   It can have a negative impact on your mental wellbeing and generally leave you feeling drained by the end of each day . Along with the other challenges of Year 7,  it’s not worth it.   Plus, “fitting in” is overrated.   

8. Choose Your Friends Wisely 

A good friend will never force you to change yourself just to be with them . A good friend will also be trustworthy, dependable and have other distinct qualities, such as the ones suggested in this article –  The 13 Essential Qualities of Good Friends.  

You should also be wary of toxic or fake friends.  I f you find that the friends you already have are have just made aren’t really there for you or they aren’t very nice to you or even that they want you to change yourself just for them, you may have a toxic friendship . This  article   will give you  5 Fake Friend Signs to Look Out For .  

9. Listen in Class  

In Year 7, you begin to learn t hings that will shape your entire secondary school education.  Listening in class is the least you can do to give yourself a good start  and save your future self fro m having to do an awful lot of catch-up work  later on during secondary school .   

10. Do The Work

It’s all well and good listening in class but if you aren’t taking down the notes you need or doing whatever else your teacher tells you to then it is virtually useless.  Doing the work is important because it is how you learn and retain the information you are t aught.    

Also, some teachers may ask to see how much work you have done or simply take in your books to mark the work that you are supposed to do in class. If you haven’t done the work and haven’t even taken down any notes, your te acher can see this and you will most likely get into trouble.   

11. Get Organised 

In secondary school, you are generally required to have and prepare everything yourself.   From your pens to your highlighters, you need to bring all of your useful stationary into school  every day .  You need to make sure you have everything packed and ready  so that you can make the most out of school.  At the very least, make sure yo u bring your books and a pen to each lesson, so that you don’t get into trouble.  

12. Do Your Homework  

Part of being organised is doing your homework. This is a staple point in secondary school life that you are just going to have to get used to.  I t  is best to do it as quickly as possible so that you don’t f orget about it.  Not doing your homework can even result in detentions and calls home to your parents/guardians.   

13. Learn Your Way Around School  

This will 100% make your life easier, I promise you.  Knowing your way around school can help you avoid embarrassing moments like getting lost and save you fro m the consequences of being late.   

14. Don’t Be Late  

Whether this is in the morning or to each individual class,  being late doesn’t look good on you and it can even result in you getting detentions or calls home to your parents or guardians .  Being late can also disrupt your learning as you may end up missing notes and end up having quite a bit to catch up on.   

15. Memorise Your Timetable 

  K nowing  your timetable can save you from making some rather awkward mistakes.  I remember once when I was in Year 7, I went to the wrong class and  had the embarrassing situation of sitting beside a bunch of Year 10s  for about 5 minutes. Please learn from my mistakes and memorise your timetable.  

16. Make Sure You Get Enough Sleep  

At your age,  it is recommended that you get between  8 and 10 hours of sleep every night .  This is especially crucial on school nights because  if you don’t get enough sleep then  y ou won’t be able to learn properly at  schoo l  and it may even make the school day feel pretty un bearable.  

17. Wear The Right Uniform  

Uniforms  are compulsory in most secondary schools in the UK. Whether or not you think it should be, you need to wear it. If you don’t have a uniform, then you have to s tick to whatever guidelines your school has given you.   

This is important mainly because it will stop your teachers from nagging you every day about it . You may feel that this is a mild problem now but   after a while, you will understand how annoying this can be.  Plus, not wearing uniform can also result in detentions and calls home to your parents or guardians.  

18. Make Sure Your Bag is The Right Size  

This tip may seem a bit random but honestly it is  needed . When choosing a bag, you need to think about your own size and how much you need to carry.  You don’t need a rucksack that is half the size of you but a handbag that you can barely fit your lunch into is going to cut it either.  Make sure that you pick a bag that can fit all of your books and everything else you need for the school day, without being over-the-top.   

19. Stay Out of Trouble  

Some of the things I have already mentioned is a part of this.  Staying out of trouble will definitely save you a lot of time and hassle as you can avoid detentions and h aving your parents being called.    

20. Talk to New People  

Starting the year is a great time to make friends but also to simply find people that you can talk to in class (or not depending on how strict  your teachers  are).   Talking to new people can also help you to build up your confidence and  get a little bit more comfortable at school.    

21. Don’t Get Involved

A t secondary school, there will undoubtedly be  some kind of drama . From fights to  bullying to general gossiping.  Getting involved in these are bound to get you in trouble and  they are  just not good things to do.  Gossiping may seem mild but how would you feel if someone  was  talking about you behind your back. Bullying  is even worse   

I’m not telling you to be a bystander. If you see bullying happening to someone, or even experience it yourself, then  you should  report it. You don’t have to  report  it public ly (it’s probably best if you don’t)  but you can get your parents to phone/ email the school or even do this yourself.   

22. Plan Ahead

Learning this skill can save you an awful lot of time and it can even help you to avoid those irritating  situation s , such as when yo u  forget your bus money (if you get the bus) or get a DT for forgetting to do your homework.  Planning ahead is also a great way to keep on top of everything that you have to do. This can help you immensely, especially in Year 7, to stop you from being overwhelmed.  

23. Don’t Try Too Hard

Secondary school  is  pretty  different to anything that you’ve really experienced before, so  it can be difficult to know how to act and what to do. But just remember that you don’t need to try too hard , doing your best is good enough.   

24. Don’t Try to be Perfect

You don’t need t o be perfect and having such high standards for yourself can be harmful . Instead, yo u should try to do the best you can in every part of your school life, especially in your school work and being kind to all of your schoolmates.   

25. Learn From Your Mistakes  

Making mistakes is just a part of life , there’s no  point t rying to be perfect.  L earning  from your mistakes is an incredibly useful skill that can help you to grow and develop without even realising it .  When you learn from your mistakes ,  you  should  think about what you  c ould  have done differently but instead of dwelling on it, you should remember it for next time.   

26. You Don’t Need to Grow up Instantly  

Growing up is a long and slow process , something that takes an entire lifetime.  In Year 7, you are exposed to a lot of older kids, who are at different stages of development to you . But please remember that you are only in Year 7, you don’t need to be at the same stage as they are,  especially with things like relationships and maturity.   

27. Have Fun

Depending on your experiences, Year 7 can be a wonderful time or it can be pretty brutal.  So, try to have fun at every chance you get.  Make some new friend s  and talk to your old ones  to make everyday a little bit more enjoyable.   

28. Keep in Touch  

Did you have friends in primary school? If yes then keep reading this tip.  

As we make new friends  in  secondary school, we can forget about our old friends. Try to keep in touch with them, especially if they go to a different secondary school.  Staying in touch with your old friends can help  make it easier for you to transfer into Year 7.   Plus, why should you lose the friends you already have?  

29. Join a Club  

Many schools offer different clubs, these may be  music club s   or even  a sports club s   but there  can  be many others.  Clubs are a great way to make friends with people  that  have similar interests to you,   you may even be able to make friends in different years, that can give you some advice about starting secondary school.   

30. Learn How to Release Stress  

Stress is what you feel when you are overwhelmed.   It is commonly felt when you have a lot of things going on at once or if there’s an important decision that you have to make . Watch  this  video to learn more about stress. In Year 7, you may feel stress due to the amount of work you have to do, especially as it will all be new to you, but there may be other reasons for stress as well.   

It is normal to feel a little stressed sometimes but if you are constantly feeling stressed, please talk to someone about it . You need to know how to relieve that stress. Relieving stress can be  very different  for everyone, someone may like to go workout at gym  while  someone else may like to do some colouring.  You may need to think long and hard about the things you like to help you relieve stress,  here   are some extra tips.  

31. Talk About Your Day (or Write  it Down)

Talking  or writing about your day can help to stop you from being overwhelmed by it all. You may want to tell your parents or guardians or you can write it down in a journal.  Ta lking is especially helpful because  whoever  you are t alking to may be able to  help you to solve any problems that you have or just give you some kind words.  But writing it down also has its own benefits of helping you to process what has happened in the day and prepare you for the next.  

32. Find Something You Enjoy  

Finding something you enjoy can help to make your school life more bearable and even a little bit more colourful, too .  Having a hobby or a specific interest can also be a great way to let off some steam, especially after a hard day at school. You can even join a club with your ho bby or interest, this can be in or out of school.   

The thing that you enjoy may be anything, from literature to dancing to improv. Check out  this article of  50 Great Hobbies  For  Teens  for some ideas.   

33. Make Sure You Aren’t Falling Behind  

If you are struggling at school,  then you should tell your parents or guardians as they may be able to help.  You could also ask your teachers to help you understand the work and to give you some  guidance on what you need to do to catch up to where you need to be.  You could also get a private tutor to help you make sure that you know everything that you need to.   

Alternatively, you could do it on your own.  T ry  to  find  the specific areas that you are struggling with and look up how to do  them (if you  don’t  have access to the  internet,  you may even be able to look it up in books ). A great  online  resource is  BBC Bitesize  as it can give you some  useful guides to help you revise the topics that you need to know.   

34. Read at Home

Reading at home can build  up your reading skills.  This is really helpful as you will be expected to read often in secondary school, especially when studying English.   Reading at home is quite a vague tip, as it can be anything, including reading subtitles on a TV. But to get the most  out of it,  I suggest you try to read books and newspaper articles.  

There are studies showing that kids who read at home are smarter  and can build up better vocabulary. Click  here  to find out more. When starting secondary school, this can help you a lot as it can help you learn new vocabulary, that you may be expected to know and use in any of your subjects at school.    

35. Empower Yourself

Empowering yourself is a great way to motivate yourself every day and to live a happier and healthier life . Empowering yourself is also a great way to build up your self-esteem. Having a high self-esteem is important for you to feel secure and good about yourself and generally being able to live well. This article  here discusses the power of a high self-esteem.

This was useful^_^

yeah its is lol

How Much Homework Do American Kids Do?

Various factors, from the race of the student to the number of years a teacher has been in the classroom, affect a child's homework load.

In his Atlantic essay , Karl Taro Greenfeld laments his 13-year-old daughter's heavy homework load. As an eighth grader at a New York middle school, Greenfeld’s daughter averaged about three hours of homework per night and adopted mantras like “memorization, not rationalization” to help her get it all done. Tales of the homework-burdened American student have become common, but are these stories the exception or the rule?

A 2007 Metlife study found that 45 percent of students in grades three to 12 spend more than an hour a night doing homework, including the six percent of students who report spending more than three hours a night on their homework. In the 2002-2003 school year, a study out of the University of Michigan found that American students ages six through 17 spent three hours and 38 minutes per week doing homework.

A range of factors plays into how much homework each individual student gets:

Older students do more homework than their younger counterparts.

This one is fairly obvious: The National Education Association recommends that homework time increase by ten minutes per year in school. (e.g., A third grader would have 30 minutes of homework, while a seventh grader would have 70 minutes).

Studies have found that schools tend to roughly follow these guidelines: The University of Michigan found that students ages six to eight spend 29 minutes doing homework per night while 15- to 17-year-old students spend 50 minutes doing homework. The Metlife study also found that 50 percent of students in grades seven to 12 spent more than an hour a night on homework, while 37 percent of students in grades three to six spent an hour or more on their homework per night. The National Center for Educational Statistics found that high school students who do homework outside of school average 6.8 hours of homework per week.

Race plays a role in how much homework students do.

Asian students spend 3.5 more hours on average doing homework per week than their white peers. However, only 59 percent of Asian students’ parents check that homework is done, while 75.6 percent of Hispanic students’ parents and 83.1 percent of black students’ parents check.

Teachers with less experience assign more homework.

The Metlife study found that 14 percent of teachers with zero to five years of teaching experience assigned more than an hour of homework per night, while only six percent of teachers with 21 or more years of teaching experience assigned over an hour of homework.

Math classes have homework the most frequently.

The Metlife study found that 70 percent of students in grades three to 12 had at least one homework assignment in math. Sixty-two percent had at least one homework assignment in a language arts class (English, reading, spelling, or creative writing courses) and 42 percent had at least one in a science class.

Regardless of how much homework kids are actually doing every night, most parents and teachers are happy with the way things are: 60 percent of parents think that their children have the “right amount of homework,” and 73 percent of teachers think their school assigns the right amount of homework.

Students, however, are not necessarily on board: 38 percent of students in grades seven through 12 and 28 percent of students in grades three through six report being “very often/often” stressed out by their homework.

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The parents' guide to secondary school: homework

If you thought getting your child to do their primary school homework was tough, just wait till they get to secondary school !

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Homework is a major – and daily – part of secondary school life, and while your child will be expected to get it done independently, it’s still important for you to keep abreast of what they need to do.

What’s the point of homework?

Homework helps to build on what your child is learning at school, and improves their academic achievement. A Department of Education study that followed 3,000 children over a 15-year period showed that any homework had educational benefits, and that pupils who did two to three hours a night got better results in English , maths and science .

Homework is particularly important when children start studying for GCSEs. Not only will they have to revise for their exams, but they’ll also need to put in the hours at home to make sure they’ve covered the syllabus in enough depth.

How much should your child be doing?

Previously, the Government advised that secondary school children should do two and a half hours of homework per night, but that guidance was scrapped in 2012, and it’s now up to schools to decide how much to set. About an hour to an hour and a half is usual in Years 7 and 8, rising to two to three hours in Years 10 and 11. A study of children’s homework habits around the world found that British pupils do an average 4.9 hours per week.

You can find out how much homework your child’s school expects them to do by looking at their homework policy on their website. There may also be a homework timetable to download so you can keep track of what your child should be doing.

What sort of tasks are set?

The type of homework your child is given will vary. It could include:

Learning: committing facts, words, details or rules to memory – for example, learning spellings or a list of irregular French verbs.

Completing: finishing work that was started at school.

Questions: answering questions about what they’ve been learning in class.

Researching: looking up information about a given topic using the internet, books and other resources.

Writing up: producing a final draft of rough work that was completed in school, or writing up what they’ve been learning about – for example, an essay about the book they’re reading in English.

Revision: going over what they’ve been learning in preparation for a test or exam.

Reading ahead: reading on in a textbook or reading to book to get an idea of what they’ll be learning next.

Rough work: preparing for a lesson or a piece of work by putting notes and information down on paper – for example, writing a paragraph plan for an essay.

Using a homework planner

Children are usually given a planner to help them manage their homework. They’ll be expected to use it every lesson to write down the details of their homework. You will probably be asked to sign their planner every week to confirm that they’ve completed their homework.

The homework planner is also a way for schools and parents to communicate about homework. For example, if your child has found a task too difficult, or if it seems to have taken them an unreasonable amount of time, you can write a note of explanation to the teacher. Or the teacher might write a message to you if your child has failed to hand their homework in.

Most schools also have some form of online portal to help pupils and parents keep track of homework. It might list the tasks your child has been set, provide links to resources or worksheets, and show when their homework is due in, has been handed in, and has been marked.

What if homework isn’t done?

Schools will have different policies concerning what happens if homework isn’t handed in, but it’s usual for children to have to complete the work in detention, which could be at break or lunchtime or after school. If they persistently fail to hand in their homework, you’re likely to be called in to discuss the problem.

Supporting your child with homework

It’s normal for your child to need some help getting used to the greater burden of homework when they start secondary school, and you’ll need to make sure you know what they’re supposed to be doing, chivvy them along when needed, and help them manage their time so it all gets done. Talk to your child about how they’d like to organise their homework: for example, would they prefer to get it out of the way as soon as they get home, or have some time to relax first? Do they want to do it all in one go, or break it down into shorter chunks?

As your child gets used to their new homework schedule, it’s expected that they’ll become more independent and you shouldn’t need to monitor them so closely. However, you can support them by making sure they have a quiet and comfortable place to work without distractions, and all the resources they need. Be available to help if they have questions or need pointing in the right direction, and check their work over every now and then: teachers will expect good presentation as well as accurate work. In some cases, you might need to be more involved, for example, by testing them ahead of an exam.

Many schools have after-school homework clubs where children can get their homework done. A homework club can be useful if pupils have assignments that involve using school resources, such as the library. It’s also helpful if you’re working and so have less time to help with homework, or if your child gets too distracted at home. Teachers or support staff are on hand to help, which can be a particular benefit for children who struggle with homework.

Don’t forget that you can use your child’s homework planner to let their teacher know of any problems with their homework, or ask questions if a task is unclear.  

BBC Bitesize has a range of starting secondary school resources  offering support and information about all aspects of secondary school life for parents and children.

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Secondary education

How much homework in year 7.

CrabbyTheCrabster · 04/09/2014 23:01

I'm just wondering how much homework your Y7s get/got? Do they get homework every lesson/subject? How long are they expected to spend on each piece?

It will be 3 subjects 30 mins each every night. Not all for next day.

Dd was supposed to have 3 subjects at 25 mins per subject each night so 1 hour and 15 mins total. Some bits would take longer (eg essays) and some bits would be shorter but on average over a week it would even out to about this.

It's approx 5 hours a week

DS's school an hour and a half a school night plus a project each month on a given subject. They are expected to spend around five hours on each project, but realistically it is more like ten to twelve hours per project as they have to do research to be able to complete it.

We got given a homework timetable this week, the most my DD is scheduled is 1hr 45mins. Most other evenings, it's about 1hr 30mins. We'll see in the next few weeks whether it all pans out as the timetable says...

about 1 1/2 hour per day here too.

Our school says approx. 5hrs/week KS3, 10hrs/week KS4. But appears randomly. And it takes DD longer than that as she doesn't find schoolwork easy. Best to do it as soon as you can if you put it off you can suddenly get a lot and not have time to do it all.

DS should get either 2 or 3 half hour homeworks every weekday, so 1 or 1.5 hours every day. He started Wednesday, but there were no normal classes that day, he has 4 homeworks to do, 2 given Thursday and 2 today. He can't do homework Thursday as he has athletics club , so will have to do Thursdays at the weekend as well as today's. He has German, History, Science and Maths.

Mine hasn't be given any timings. He has 2 subjects each night except one night with 3 and one night with one. I don't think any asre for the next day- well maybe maths. He has had some every day- its been v easy but he's still moaning!

DS2 was in Y7 last year. He had about half an hour per night, plus a longer task (2-3 hours) every couple of weeks. This is about a third of the amount quoted in the school's Y7 handbook.

I never saw dd1 do any homework in yr 7 I know she did it as she never got any negative comments and all her reports were glowing but she did it in secret!

Well, yes - the answer here would change if you were asking what was timetabled / stated when asked, or if you want to know what they actually do .

It depends on school and the teacher.... my son never spent more than half an hour a couple times a week in year 7. Even then sometimes it was only to finish a piece he had started in class...... and grades are very good. Every school is different I do not understand some comments dictating that every school is the same.

DD1 had a total of a couple of hours a week in Yr 7 and 8 and she's done very well. I don't necessarily equate lots of homework with a school being good.

We found the homework set started as quite a bit at the start of term and tailed off toward the end of each term quite considerably.

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Officially 3 x 30 min a night but never for next day. Reality last year was less than this. However proper revision before exam week in May was expected for a month or so.

My daughter is in Year 9 and since Year 7 she has generally spent 1.5 hours night and often a morning or afternoon at weekends. Personally I think she spends too much time on research but in return she does get excellent marks and I think this then reflects on her overall work. I think at the start they feel the pressure to prove themselves and also to keep up with their peers, so the first term felt like the worst. I think if it's weekly homework then 30-45 mins for each subject. Some school do independent learning tasks which gives them a whole term to complete the work and I think my daughter's school said to allow approx 6 hours.

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Students spend three times longer on homework than average, survey reveals

Sonya Kulkarni and Pallavi Gorantla | Jan 9, 2022

Graphic by Sonya Kulkarni

The National Education Association and the National Parent Teacher Association have suggested that a healthy number of hours that students should be spending can be determined by the “10-minute rule.” This means that each grade level should have a maximum homework time incrementing by 10 minutes depending on their grade level (for instance, ninth-graders would have 90 minutes of homework, 10th-graders should have 100 minutes, and so on).

As ‘finals week’ rapidly approaches, students not only devote effort to attaining their desired exam scores but make a last attempt to keep or change the grade they have for semester one by making up homework assignments.

High schoolers reported doing an average of 2.7 hours of homework per weeknight, according to a study by the Washington Post from 2018 to 2020 of over 50,000 individuals. A survey of approximately 200 Bellaire High School students revealed that some students spend over three times this number.

The demographics of this survey included 34 freshmen, 43 sophomores, 54 juniors and 54 seniors on average.

When asked how many hours students spent on homework in a day on average, answers ranged from zero to more than nine with an average of about four hours. In contrast, polled students said that about one hour of homework would constitute a healthy number of hours.

Junior Claire Zhang said she feels academically pressured in her AP schedule, but not necessarily by the classes.

“The class environment in AP classes can feel pressuring because everyone is always working hard and it makes it difficult to keep up sometimes.” Zhang said.

A total of 93 students reported that the minimum grade they would be satisfied with receiving in a class would be an A. This was followed by 81 students, who responded that a B would be the minimum acceptable grade. 19 students responded with a C and four responded with a D.

“I am happy with the classes I take, but sometimes it can be very stressful to try to keep up,” freshman Allyson Nguyen said. “I feel academically pressured to keep an A in my classes.”

Up to 152 students said that grades are extremely important to them, while 32 said they generally are more apathetic about their academic performance.

Last year, nine valedictorians graduated from Bellaire. They each achieved a grade point average of 5.0. HISD has never seen this amount of valedictorians in one school, and as of now there are 14 valedictorians.

“I feel that it does degrade the title of valedictorian because as long as a student knows how to plan their schedule accordingly and make good grades in the classes, then anyone can be valedictorian,” Zhang said.

Bellaire offers classes like physical education and health in the summer. These summer classes allow students to skip the 4.0 class and not put it on their transcript. Some electives also have a 5.0 grade point average like debate.

Close to 200 students were polled about Bellaire having multiple valedictorians. They primarily answered that they were in favor of Bellaire having multiple valedictorians, which has recently attracted significant acclaim .

Senior Katherine Chen is one of the 14 valedictorians graduating this year and said that she views the class of 2022 as having an extraordinary amount of extremely hardworking individuals.

“I think it was expected since freshman year since most of us knew about the others and were just focused on doing our personal best,” Chen said.

Chen said that each valedictorian achieved the honor on their own and deserves it.

“I’m honestly very happy for the other valedictorians and happy that Bellaire is such a good school,” Chen said. “I don’t feel any less special with 13 other valedictorians.”

Nguyen said that having multiple valedictorians shows just how competitive the school is.

“It’s impressive, yet scary to think about competing against my classmates,” Nguyen said.

Offering 30 AP classes and boasting a significant number of merit-based scholars Bellaire can be considered a competitive school.

“I feel academically challenged but not pressured,” Chen said. “Every class I take helps push me beyond my comfort zone but is not too much to handle.”

Students have the opportunity to have off-periods if they’ve met all their credits and are able to maintain a high level of academic performance. But for freshmen like Nguyen, off periods are considered a privilege. Nguyen said she usually has an hour to five hours worth of work everyday.

“Depending on the day, there can be a lot of work, especially with extra curriculars,” Nguyen said. “Although, I am a freshman, so I feel like it’s not as bad in comparison to higher grades.”

According to the survey of Bellaire students, when asked to evaluate their agreement with the statement “students who get better grades tend to be smarter overall than students who get worse grades,” responders largely disagreed.

Zhang said that for students on the cusp of applying to college, it can sometimes be hard to ignore the mental pressure to attain good grades.

“As a junior, it’s really easy to get extremely anxious about your GPA,” Zhang said. “It’s also a very common but toxic practice to determine your self-worth through your grades but I think that we just need to remember that our mental health should also come first. Sometimes, it’s just not the right day for everyone and one test doesn’t determine our smartness.”

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Anonymous • Nov 21, 2023 at 10:32 am

It’s not really helping me understand how much.

josh • May 9, 2023 at 9:58 am

Kassie • May 6, 2022 at 12:29 pm

Im using this for an English report. This is great because on of my sources needed to be from another student. Homework drives me insane. Im glad this is very updated too!!

Kaylee Swaim • Jan 25, 2023 at 9:21 pm

I am also using this for an English report. I have to do an argumentative essay about banning homework in schools and this helps sooo much!

Izzy McAvaney • Mar 15, 2023 at 6:43 pm

I am ALSO using this for an English report on cutting down school days, homework drives me insane!!

E. Elliott • Apr 25, 2022 at 6:42 pm

I’m from Louisiana and am actually using this for an English Essay thanks for the information it was very informative.

Nabila Wilson • Jan 10, 2022 at 6:56 pm

Interesting with the polls! I didn’t realize about 14 valedictorians, that’s crazy.

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Year 7 High School Survival Guide

Guide Chapters

• Year 7 Survival Guide
• Year 8 Survival Guide
• Year 9 Survival Guide
• Year 10 Survival Guide
• Year 11 Survival Guide
• Year 12 Survival Guide

Many parents are unsure of what to expect for their child after primary school. It is a significant change that faces students and can be challenging for parents as much as their children. In this Year 7 High School Survival Guide, we outline the changes and expectations that Year 7 students face as they begin High School.

In this article we discuss:

• An Overview of Year 7
• Year 6 vs Year 7 – The differences

What is Stage 4?

• NAPLAN in Year 7
• Subjects studied in Year 7 at school
• What to expect for Year 7 English
• What to expect for Year 7 Maths

How to achieve a smooth transition into Year 7

An overview of year 7.

Year 7 is the first year of high school and is a big step in a child’s journey to adulthood.  Students who have been the oldest in their school will once more be the youngest as they transition into high school. Year 7 students have new challenges ahead, and also exciting opportunities.

  Year 6 vs Year 7

Many parents are unsure of differences between Year 6 and Year 7. Here’s a table to help you understand the differences:

In Year 7, students will:

• Have several different specialist teachers
• Will take different subjects in different classrooms
• Will need to follow a subject timetable to know what subject they had and which classroom it will be in
• Study compulsory subjects such as English
• Study elective subjects like languages or drama
• Need to carry their various tools with them as they move from classroom to classroom around the High-School campus

As you can see, students need to deal with significant changes.

In Year 7, students will need to grasp new skills and engage in new study practices such as self-directed learning and research.

These new responsibilities will require a new level of organisation, preparation, and dedication from your child.

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) divides the learning outcomes for students into 6 Stages for Kindergarten to Year 12. You need to be aware that:

• Each Stage is comprised of two grades, i.e Stage 4 is comprised of both Years 7 and 8.
• Each Stage has a specific list of Outcomes. These are the specific skills, and levels of attainment for those skills, that students should achieve for that Stage.
• The syllabus is structured so that students consistently accrue and develop skills between Kindergarten and Year 12.
• We will look at some specific Stage 4 outcomes as we discuss the English and Mathematics syllabuses.

More information about Stage 4 can be found on the NESA website .

NAPLAN in High School and Year 7

Parents of students from Australian Primary Schools may already be familiar with NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy). NAPLAN is a series of assessments throughout the school grades designed to track children’s literacy and numeracy skills.

Here’s what you need to know about NAPLAN:

• NAPLAN is tested in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9
• Students sit standardised exams for English and Maths to assess their literacy and numeracy
• NAPLAN assesses students to ensure that they meet the minimum standards for each Stage through school
• NAPLAN is sorted into 10 Bands. Students in Year 9 will need to score a Band 8 or above in all areas to prequalify for the HSC
• During Year 7, students will have a NAPLAN assessment in May
• The NESA website has comprehensive information on NAPLAN
• The Website for the National Assessment Program has detailed information on NAPLAN . They also have practice papers for parents and students
• Previous NAPLAN results can be found here on the NAPLAN site

For English , students must answer:

• Spelling questions
• Grammatical questions
• Comprehension
• Write a persuasive text
• Compose a creative text

For Mathematics , students must answer questions on:

• Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing

Matrix courses cover the skills that are assessed in NAPLAN, and will give your child confidence going into these compulsory exams.

Subjects studied in Year 7

Year 7 students learn the following compulsory subjects:

• Mathematics

Your child’s school and teachers will also select elective subjects for them to study. These elective subjects will be drawn from these broad subject areas:

• Creative Arts
• Human Society and Its Environment
• Personal Development, Health, and Physical Education (PDHPE)
• Technological and Applied Studies

Students will need to follow a timetable to know which subject they have at what time on any given day. Sometimes they may even have the same subject in different classrooms on different days. For example:

Year 7 English

In Year 7 English, students will be presented with more complex texts than they have previously encountered. They will need to understand techniques like metaphors and innuendo and spot them in texts. Students will need to start forming their own opinions about the characters, settings, and events in these texts.

NESA has provided a set of specific outcomes for Stage 4 English. Matrix Theory Books are designed to help students achieve the complete list of Stage 4 Outcomes:

• Responds to and composes texts for understanding, interpretation, critical analysis, imaginative expression and pleasure
• Effectively uses a widening range of processes, skills, strategies and knowledge for responding to and composing texts in different media and technologies
• Uses and describes language forms, features and structures of texts appropriate to a range of purposes, audiences and contexts
• Makes effective language choices to creatively shape meaning with accuracy, clarity and coherence
• Thinks imaginatively, creatively, interpretively and critically about information, ideas and arguments to respond to and compose texts
• Identifies and explains connections between and among texts
• Demonstrates understanding of how texts can express aspects of their broadening world and their relationships within it
• Identifies, considers and appreciates cultural expression in texts
• Uses, reflects on and assesses their individual and collaborative skills for learning

These outcomes translate into the skills that students need to develop during school. Let’s have a look at how the subjects, and skills required, differ between Year 6 and Year 7:

Students will need to produce in depth written responses that use paragraph structures to convey complex ideas.

It is important for students to read continually throughout Year 7. This means reading texts that are not studied at school this will continue to hone students skills for reading, comprehension, and analysis. At Matrix, students study a variety of text types to specifically address the the Stage 4 outcomes.

The table below outlines the Year 7 and 8 English programs at Matrix:

In Year 7, students will need to read and watch texts and then comment on them at length. They must do things such as discuss whether they enjoyed the text, and also provide an explanation of why they did or did not. They will need to discuss the themes of the text and begin to explore how composers present techniques

Most importantly students will need to support their arguments with evidence. They will also need to write in a wide variety of forms – essays, letters, reviews, and creative forms.

This is an important step up for students as they learn to communicate their ideas to their teachers, peers, and family.

For example, for NAPLAN students will need to answer grammatical questions like this,

Get ahead of your peers with the Beginner’s Guide to English

Learn how to ace Junior English with our comprehensive Guide. Read it now .

Year 7 Mathematics

Year 7 students engage with Mathematics in far more complex ways than they have in primary school. The Mathematics topics that students learn in Stage 4 (year 7 & 8) are outlined below:

• Computation with Integers
• Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
• Financial Mathematics
• Ratios and Rates
• Algebraic Techniques
• Linear Relationships
• Right-Angled Triangles
• Properties of Geometrical Figures
• Angle Relationships
• Data Collection and Representation
• Single Variable Data Analysis
• Probability

More detailed information about Stage 4 Mathematics can be found on the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) website.  At Matrix, students address all of the topics set by NESA in their Year 7 Mathematics Theory Books. Each lesson is designed to ensure students meet the Stage 4 outcomes.

In Year 7, students have to acquire new skills learn to solve new sorts of problems. Year 7 students learn things that are foundations for later skills, such as linear relationships.

The table below outlines the Year 7 & 8 Mathematics program at Matrix.

A Year 7 student needs to be confident answering questions like this,

Your child’s psychological health during this period is important. The challenges presented by new peers and teachers, as well as coursework that has an increased level of difficulty, can place an onerous burden on students. It is important for students to find a balance between studying and actually being a child and teenager.

Helping your child develop good study habits during years 7 and 8 is essential to giving them the best opportunities for their future.

Helping your child with their study, and communicating with them about what they need to do for school is crucial. Helping your child understand what assignments are asking of them and discussing study planning with them will help them stay on top of the increased workload of high school.

You don’t want to pressure your child unduly, you need to support them.

How you can help your child:

1. Develop a daily and weekly routine

You will help your child immensely if you can establish a regular routine. This will help them plan their days and remember what they need to do each day. This can be done by:

• Waking up or leaving the house at the same time
• Aiming to have dinner around the same time
• Having a consistent bedtime will enable your child to plan their evenings

2. Help them get organised!

• When they need to get up
• How much they need to study
• When they should study what subjects
• Parents should help their children plan a weekly timetable. This should be organised to align with their school timetable.
• A weekly timetable should include their extra-curricular activities and plan out study time over the weekends.
• Keep a calendar handy and visible so your child knows what’s coming up! They need to know about the Thursday in March when they have dinner with Nan as much as the Maths test they have in April. This will help them plan!
• It is important for students to establish study routines early in High School so they have productive study habits as they advance through the grades.

3. Help them set goals

Goal setting is an important skill for children to learn. Goal setting will enable them to aim for a specific achievement and plan towards attaining it. It might be making a specific sports team, or it could be raising their marks in a subject by a specific amount. It is important that children should have a wide range of goals that are not limited to academic achievements.

You can help your child set goals by:

• Asking them what they wish to achieve in Year 7. Get them to consider a wide range of things – school, sports, extra-curricular activities, personal goals
• Help them plan out a practical timeline. For example, trying to raise their marks from 5/10 in a maths test to 8/10 could be a goal for a term.
• Make sure they have benchmarks to meet between the start and finish dates. This way you can both keep track of their progress. it is important that you encourage them in this!
• Celebrate with them when they achieve their goals! You don’t need to reward everything, but you should acknowledge their achievements and show them you are proud of what they have accomplished.

4. Show an interest in their homework

It is important that you know what your child is studying, and be aware of when they need help or are struggling. It is easy to forget how difficult learning can be. You want to help your child with problems before they fall behind their peers. Showing an interest in their homework forces children to try and explain their knowledge to you. While students in High School need to be self-directed and independent, they still need assistance solving complex problems. Some ways to do this are:

• Asking them what they are doing for various subjects.
• If they are stuck on a problem get them to explain it to you. Sometimes discussing the issue will give them the solution.
• Instead of solving the problems for them, work through them with your child. It is important for Year 7 students to complete tasks to deadlines unassisted.
• Do research with your child. If your child has a research task, show an interest in it. Sit down with them while they research and discuss ideas with them. This will help them develop confidence.

5. Be there to listen

Children need to be able to have frank discussions with their parents. it is important that your child can come to you and ask for help if they are struggling with things. Often children are scared that their parents will be upset that they struggle with a subject. Rather than asking parents for help, they try and hide their issue. This can quickly snowball into a big problem!

6. Build a relationship with the school

Schools are there to help your child. Getting to know your children’s teachers and year coordinator will help you keep track of their progress. Schools often have programs to help struggling students and high-achieving students. Being involved in the school community can be time-consuming, but it also gives your child and you a support network

7. Get to know their friends

A child’s friends are an important peer group that will help them deal with stress and also learning. But high school is a big change. Children are often upset when they lose some friends from primary school. They will make new friends in High School, but you can help them establish relationships with new people by getting to know them, too. Don’t be pushy, but do show an interest.

Need help with Year 7 Maths?

We’ve helped thousands of students transition into High School Maths. Let’s show you how they did it. Read our Year 7 Maths Guide for our secret sauce !

Year 8 High School Survival Guide

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How Much Time Do College Students Spend on Homework

by Jack Tai | Oct 9, 2019 | Articles

Does college life involve more studying or socializing?

Find out how much time college students need to devote to their homework in order to succeed in class.

We all know that it takes hard work to succeed in college and earn top grades.

To find out more about the time demands of studying and learning, let’s review the average homework amounts of college students.

HowtoLearn.com expert, Jack Tai, CEO of OneClass.com shows how homework improves grades in college and an average of how much time is required.

How Many Hours Do College Students Spend on Homework?

Classes in college are much different from those in high school.

For students in high school, a large part of learning occurs in the classroom with homework used to support class activities.

One of the first thing that college students need to learn is how to read and remember more quickly. It gives them a competitive benefit in their grades and when they learn new information to escalate their career.

Taking a speed reading course that shows you how to learn at the same time is one of the best ways for students to complete their reading assignments and their homework.

However, in college, students spend a shorter period in class and spend more time learning outside of the classroom.

This shift to an independent learning structure means that college students should expect to spend more time on homework than they did during high school.

In college, a good rule of thumb for homework estimates that for each college credit you take, you’ll spend one hour in the classroom and two to three hours on homework each week.

These homework tasks can include readings, working on assignments, or studying for exams.

Based upon these estimates, a three-credit college class would require each week to include approximately three hours attending lectures and six to nine hours of homework.

Extrapolating this out to the 15-credit course load of a full-time student, that would be 15 hours in the classroom and 30 to 45 hours studying and doing homework.

These time estimates demonstrate that college students have significantly more homework than the 10 hours per week average among high school students. In fact, doing homework in college can take as much time as a full-time job.

Students should keep in mind that these homework amounts are averages.

Students will find that some professors assign more or less homework. Students may also find that some classes assign very little homework in the beginning of the semester, but increase later on in preparation for exams or when a major project is due. 

There can even be variation based upon the major with some areas of study requiring more lab work or reading.

Do College Students Do Homework on Weekends?

Based on the quantity of homework in college, it’s nearly certain that students will be spending some of their weekends doing homework.

For example, if each weekday, a student spends three hours in class and spends five hours on homework, there’s still at least five hours of homework to do on the weekend.

When considering how homework schedules can affect learning, it’s important to remember that even though college students face a significant amount of homework, one of the best learning strategies is to space out study sessions into short time blocks.

This includes not just doing homework every day of the week, but also establishing short study blocks in the morning, afternoon, and evening. With this approach, students can avoid cramming on Sunday night to be ready for class.

What’s the Best Way to Get Help with Your Homework?

In college, there are academic resources built into campus life to support learning.

For example, you may have access to an on-campus learning center or tutoring facilities. You may also have the support of teaching assistants or regular office hours.

That’s why OneClass recommends a course like How to Read a Book in a Day and Remember It which gives a c hoice to support your learning. 

Another choice is on demand tutoring.

They send detailed, step-by-step solutions within just 24 hours, and frequently, answers are sent in less than 12 hours.

When students have on-demand access to homework help, it’s possible to avoid the poor grades that can result from unfinished homework.

Plus, 24/7 Homework Help makes it easy to ask a question. Simply snap a photo and upload it to the platform.

That’s all tutors need to get started preparing your solution.

Rather than retyping questions or struggling with math formulas, asking questions and getting answers is as easy as click and go.

Homework Help supports coursework for both high school and college students across a wide range of subjects. Moreover, students can access OneClass’ knowledge base of previously answered homework questions.

Simply browse by subject or search the directory to find out if another student struggled to learn the same class material.

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• Grade Calculators

Final Grade Calculator

Enter Final Info

My final exam is worth:

I want (at least) this in the class:

Enter Class Grades

Calculator Instructions

• In the top part of the form, enter how much your final exam is worth and the grade that you would like to get in the class. For example, your final test might be worth 20% of your overall grade and you want to get at least a 93% in the class. You would enter these numbers into the form.
• In the bottom half of the form, enter a description (optional) of the classwork, the grade received for that classwork, and the weight of the classwork. Most class grades are made up of several components such as homework assignments, tests, exams, quizzes, class participation, attendance, etc. For example, a class exam might be worth 10% of your grade and you received a 95% on the test. You would enter those values into the form.
• If you need more than four rows, press the "Add Row" button to add an additional line. You can add as many rows as you need.
• Once you have finished entering your grades, press the "Calculate" button and the grade you need on the final exam will be displayed.

Final Grade Formula

final grade = ((g wanted x w total ) - gw) / w final

w total = w 1 + w 2 + w 3 + ... + w final

w 1 = weight of assignment #1

w final = weight of final exam

gw = g 1 x w 1 + g 2 x w 2 + g 3 x w 3 + ...

g 1 = grade for assignment #1

g wanted = grade wanted in the class

Example Calculation

Let's say your class has the following grading plan.

Now let's assume you received the following grades on your classwork.

Finally, let's assume that you want to get a 90% in the class. To determine what you need to get on your final exam in order to get a 90% in the class, let's do some math using the formula above.

First add the weight of all the class assignments together including your final:

w total = 10% + 10% + 20% + 20% + 20% = 100%

Next, multiple the grade you received on each assignment by the weight of the assignment.

gw = (91% x 10%) + (85% x 10%) + (75% x 20%) + (95% x 20%) + (97% x 20%) = 7100%

Now, calculate what you need on the final exam:

final exam grade = ((90% x 100%) - 7100%) / 20% = 95%

This is how you manually calculate your final grade. Of course, you can make your life a little easier using the calculator above!

What if my class grade is based on points rather than percentages?

Let's assume you have the following class syllabus that is based on points.

Let's assume you received the following grades.

To enter these grades in the calculator above, you first need to calculate your grade percentage for each assignment using the following formula:

grade percentage = points earned / possible points x 100

So taking your mid-term test grade as an example, we get the following:

mid-term test = 190 points earned / 200 possible points x 100 = 95%

In the weight column of the calculator, you would enter the possible points for each assignment.

Assuming you wanted to get at least a 90% in the class and your final exam is worth 250 points (i.e.the weight), you would enter the following information into the calculator.

In this example, you would need to get a 93.6% on your final in order to get a 90% in the class.

You Might Like These Too

Weighted Grade Calculator

High School GPA Calculator

Finals Calculator

College GPA Calculator

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HECS indexation to be overhauled in budget with $3 billion in student debt 'wiped out'

Millions of Australians with student loans will have hundreds of dollars wiped from their HECS debts as the federal government rolls out its plans for cost-of-living relief in the upcoming budget.

Every June HECS debts are indexed and bumped up a few percentage points to make sure the amount owed keeps up with inflation.

For almost 35 years indexation has been calculated based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is now at historic highs.

Last year's 7.1 per cent increase was the largest hike since 1990 leaving some in a debt spiral with loans increasing faster than they could be repaid .

Annual HECS indexation will now be calculated on whichever figure is lower out of CPI and the Wage Price Index (WPI).

The policy will be backdated to June 1 2023, which means last year's 7.1 per cent indexation will be lowered to the WPI of 3.2 per cent.

"This will wipe out around $3 billion in student debt from more than three million Australians," Education Minister Jason Clare said.

HECS debt indexation to 'wipe out what happened last year'

The government released a wide-ranging review of higher education called the Australian Universities Accord earlier this year.

It warned student debt levels, which had reached $74 billion, were turning people off universities and recommended making HECS "simpler and fairer".

Among its recommendations was indexing HELP loans to whichever was lower out of CPI and WPI.

Mr Clare said adopting the reform and backdating it to last year would help ensure HECS debts did not rise faster than wages in future.

"This will wipe out what happened last year and make sure it never happens again," he said.

Students and graduates had been bracing for another large indexation hit this year of about 4.7 per cent .

The increases had led to a growing backlash with some students so despondent they were considering leaving the country .

How much will you save on your HECS debt?

Instead of another dreaded rise, students will now receive an indexation credit.

Last year's indexation rise of 7.1 per cent will be lowered to 3.2 per cent under the new policy.

For a student with the average debt of $26,494 that means an indexation credit of about $1,200 for the last two years if legislation reforming HECS is passed after the budget.

The debt relief will also apply to apprentices who owe money through the VET Student Loan program or Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan.

These loans work in a similar way to HECS but for young people undertaking a course at TAFE or an independent higher education provider.

According to the latest available figures from 2022 around 30,000 students owed about $220 million.

"This continues our work to ease cost-of-living pressures for more apprentices, trainees and students, and reduce and remove financial barriers to education and training," Skills and Training Minister Brendan O'Connor said.

"By backdating this reform to last year, we're making sure that apprentices, trainees and students affected by last year's jump in indexation get this important cost-of-living relief."

Wider university reforms may be ahead in the budget

There will likely be more money to fund wider-ranging changes to universities recommended in the government's Accord review.

Its other recommendations included:

• reviewing bank lending practices so that HECS debts didn't prevent people from borrowing money to buy a house
• changing the timing of indexation so it occurred after annual compulsory payments
• repealing the previous governments Job-ready Graduates program which increased the cost of some degrees and lowered others

The Greens have been pushing the government to go further and may demand further changes to support the legislation in the Senate.

As cost-of-living pressures have grown, so too has momentum for change.

A recent petition from MP Monique Ryan calling for indexation changes attracted more than 285,000 signatures.

Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson has also called for the government to act .

The government's budget will be delivered on May 14.

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