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Health Hazards of Homework

March 18, 2014 | Julie Greicius Pediatrics .

A new study by the Stanford Graduate School of Education and colleagues found that students in high-performing schools who did excessive hours of homework “experienced greater behavioral engagement in school but also more academic stress, physical health problems, and lack of balance in their lives.”

Those health problems ranged from stress, headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems, to psycho-social effects like dropping activities, not seeing friends or family, and not pursuing hobbies they enjoy.

In the Stanford Report story about the research, Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of the  study published in the  Journal of Experimental Education , says, “Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good.”

The study was based on survey data from a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in California communities in which median household income exceeded $90,000. Of the students surveyed, homework volume averaged about 3.1 hours each night.

“It is time to re-evaluate how the school environment is preparing our high school student for today’s workplace,” says Neville Golden, MD , chief of adolescent medicine at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and a professor at the School of Medicine. “This landmark study shows that excessive homework is counterproductive, leading to sleep deprivation, school stress and other health problems. Parents can best support their children in these demanding academic environments by advocating for them through direct communication with teachers and school administrators about homework load.”

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Infographic: How Does Homework Actually Affect Students?

Homework is an important part of engaging students outside of the classroom. How does homework affect students?

It carries educational benefits for all age groups, including time management and organization. Homework also provides students with the ability to think beyond what is taught in class.

The not-so-good news is these benefits only occur when students are engaged and ready to learn. But, the more homework they get, the less they want to engage.

The Negative Effects on Students

Homework can affect students’ health, social life and grades. The hours logged in class, and the hours logged on schoolwork can lead to students feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated. Navigating the line between developing learning skills and feeling frustrated can be tricky.

Homework is an important part of being successful inside and outside of the classroom, but too much of it can actually have the opposite effect. Students who spend too much time on homework are not always able to meet other needs, like being physically and socially active. Ultimately, the amount of homework a student has can impact a lot more than his or her grades.

Find out how too much homework actually affects students.

How Does Homework Affect Students’ Health?

Homework can affect both students’ physical and mental health. According to a study by Stanford University, 56 per cent of students considered homework a primary source of stress. Too much homework can result in lack of sleep, headaches, exhaustion and weight loss. Excessive homework can also result in poor eating habits, with families choosing fast food as a faster alternative.

How Does Homework Affect Students’ Social Life?

Extracurricular activities and social time gives students a chance to refresh their minds and bodies. But students who have large amounts of homework have less time to spend with their families and friends. This can leave them feeling isolated and without a support system. For older students, balancing homework and part-time work makes it harder to balance school and other tasks. Without time to socialize and relax, students can become increasingly stressed, impacting life at school and at home.

How Does Homework Affect Students’ Grades?

After a full day of learning in class, students can become burnt out if they have too much homework. When this happens, the child may stop completing homework or rely on a parent to assist with homework. As a result, the benefits of homework are lost and grades can start to slip.

Too much homework can also result in less active learning, a type of learning that occurs in context and encourages participation. Active learning promotes the analysis and application of class content in real world settings. Homework does not always provide these opportunities, leading to boredom and a lack of problem-solving skills.

Take a look at how homework affects students and how to help with homework.

How Can Parents Help?

Being an active part of children’s homework routine is a major part of understanding feelings and of be able to provide the needed support. As parents, you can help your child have a stress-free homework experience. Sticking to a clear and organized homework routine helps children develop better homework habits as they get older. This routine also comes in handy when homework becomes more difficult and time-consuming.

Learn more about the current world of homework, and how you can help your child stay engaged.

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More than two hours of homework may be counterproductive, research suggests.

A Stanford education researcher found that too much homework can negatively affect kids, especially their lives away from school, where family, friends and activities matter.   "Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good," wrote Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education .   The researchers used survey data to examine perceptions about homework, student well-being and behavioral engagement in a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California communities. Along with the survey data, Pope and her colleagues used open-ended answers to explore the students' views on homework.   Median household income exceeded $90,000 in these communities, and 93 percent of the students went on to college, either two-year or four-year.   Students in these schools average about 3.1 hours of homework each night.   "The findings address how current homework practices in privileged, high-performing schools sustain students' advantage in competitive climates yet hinder learning, full engagement and well-being," Pope wrote.   Pope and her colleagues found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They cite prior research indicating that homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school.   Their study found that too much homework is associated with:   • Greater stress : 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.   • Reductions in health : In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems. The researchers asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems.   • Less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits : Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were "not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills," according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.   A balancing act   The results offer empirical evidence that many students struggle to find balance between homework, extracurricular activities and social time, the researchers said. Many students felt forced or obligated to choose homework over developing other talents or skills.   Also, there was no relationship between the time spent on homework and how much the student enjoyed it. The research quoted students as saying they often do homework they see as "pointless" or "mindless" in order to keep their grades up.   "This kind of busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points," said Pope, who is also a co-founder of Challenge Success , a nonprofit organization affiliated with the GSE that conducts research and works with schools and parents to improve students' educational experiences..   Pope said the research calls into question the value of assigning large amounts of homework in high-performing schools. Homework should not be simply assigned as a routine practice, she said.   "Rather, any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development," wrote Pope.   High-performing paradox   In places where students attend high-performing schools, too much homework can reduce their time to foster skills in the area of personal responsibility, the researchers concluded. "Young people are spending more time alone," they wrote, "which means less time for family and fewer opportunities to engage in their communities."   Student perspectives   The researchers say that while their open-ended or "self-reporting" methodology to gauge student concerns about homework may have limitations – some might regard it as an opportunity for "typical adolescent complaining" – it was important to learn firsthand what the students believe.   The paper was co-authored by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner from Villanova University.

Clifton B. Parker is a writer at the Stanford News Service .

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Opinion | Social-Emotional Learning

If we’re serious about student well-being, we must change the systems students learn in, here are five steps high schools can take to support students' mental health., by tim klein and belle liang     oct 14, 2022.

Shutterstock / SvetaZi

Educators and parents started this school year with bated breath. Last year’s stress led to record levels of teacher burnout and mental health challenges for students.

Even before the pandemic, a mental health crisis among high schoolers loomed. According to a survey administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2019, 37 percent of high school students said they experienced persistent sadness or hopelessness and 19 percent reported suicidality. In response, more than half of all U.S. states mandated that schools have a mental health curriculum or include mental health in their standards .

As mental health professionals and co-authors of a book about the pressure and stress facing high school students, we’ve spent our entire careers supporting students’ mental health. Traditionally, mental health interventions are individualized and they focus on helping students manage and change their behaviors to cope with challenges they’re facing. But while working with schools and colleges across the globe as we conducted research for our book , we realized that most interventions don’t address systemic issues causing mental health problems in the first place.

It’s time we acknowledge that our education systems are directly contributing to the youth mental health crisis. And if we are serious about student well-being, we must change the systems they learn in.

Here are five bold steps that high schools can take to boost mental health.

Limit Homework or Make it Optional

Imagine applying for a job, and the hiring manager informs you that in addition to a full workday in the office, you’ll be assigned three more hours of work every night. Does this sound like a healthy work-life balance? Most adults would consider this expectation ridiculous and unsustainable. Yet, this is the workload most schools place on high school students.

Research shows that excessive homework leads to increased stress, physical health problems and a lack of balance in students' lives. And studies have shown that more than two hours of daily homework can be counterproductive , yet many teachers assign more.

Homework proponents argue that homework improves academic performance. Indeed, a meta-analysis of research on this issue found a correlation between homework and achievement. But correlation isn’t causation. Does homework cause achievement or do high achievers do more homework? While it’s likely that homework completion signals student engagement, which in turn leads to academic achievement, there’s little evidence to suggest that homework itself improves engagement in learning.

Another common argument is that homework helps students develop skills related to problem-solving, time-management and self-direction. But these skills can be explicitly taught during the school day rather than after school.

Limiting homework or moving to an optional homework policy not only supports student well-being, but it can also create a more equitable learning environment. According to the American Psychological Association, students from more affluent families are more likely to have access to resources such as devices, internet, dedicated work space and the support necessary to complete their work successfully—and homework can highlight those inequities .

Whether a school limits homework or makes it optional, it’s critical to remember that more important than the amount of homework assigned, is designing the type of activities that engage students in learning. When students are intrinsically motivated to do their homework, they are more engaged in the work, which in turn is associated with academic achievement.

Cap the Number of APs Students Can Take

Advanced Placement courses give students a taste of college-level work and, in theory, allow them to earn college credits early. Getting good grades on AP exams is associated with higher GPAs in high school and success in college, but the research tends to be correlational rather than causational.

In 2008, a little over 180,000 students took three or more AP exams. By 2018, that number had ballooned to almost 350,000 students .

However, this expansion has come at the expense of student well-being.

Over the years, we’ve heard many students express that they feel pressure to take as many AP classes as possible, which overloads them with work. That’s troubling because studies show that students who take AP classes and exams are twice as likely to report adverse physical and emotional health .

AP courses and exams also raise complex issues of equity. In 2019, two out of three Harvard freshmen reported taking AP Calculus in high school, according to Jeff Selingo, author of “ Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions ,” yet only half of all high schools in the country offer the course. And opportunity gaps exist for advanced coursework such as AP courses and dual enrollment, with inequitable distribution of funding and support impacting which students are enrolling and experiencing success. According to the Center for American Progress, “National data from the Civil Rights Data Collection show that students who are Black, Indigenous, and other non-Black people of color (BIPOC) are not enrolled in AP courses at rates comparable to their white and Asian peers and experience less success when they are—and the analysis for this report finds this to be true even when they attend schools with similar levels of AP course availability.”

Limiting the number of AP courses students take can protect mental health and create a more equitable experience for students.

Eliminate Class Rankings

In a study we conducted about mental health problems among high school girls, we found that a primary driver of stress was their perception of school as a hypercompetitive, zero-sum game where pervasive peer pressure to perform reigns supreme.

Class rankings fuel these cutthroat environments. They send a toxic message to young people: success requires doing better than your peers.

Ranking systems help highly selective colleges decide which students to admit or reject for admission. The purpose of high school is to develop students to their own full potential, rather than causing them to fixate on measuring up to others. Research shows that ranking systems undercut students’ learning and damage social relationships by turning peers into opponents.

Eliminating class rankings sends a powerful message to students that they are more than a number.

Become an Admission Test Objector

COVID-19 ushered in the era of test-optional admissions. De-centering standardized tests in the college application process is unequivocally a good thing. Standardized tests don’t predict student success in college , they only widen the achievement gap between privileged and underprivileged students and damage students' mental health .

Going “test optional” is an excellent first step, but it's not enough.

Even as more colleges have made tests optional, affluent students submit test scores at a higher rate than their lower-income peers and are admitted at higher rates , suggesting that testing still gives them an edge.

High schools must adhere to standardized test mandates, but they don’t have to endorse them. They can become test objectors by publicly proclaiming that these tests hold no inherent value. They can stop teaching to the test and educate parents on why they are doing so. Counseling departments can inform colleges that their school is a test objector so admission teams won’t penalize students.

Of course, students and families will still find ways to wield these tests as a competitive advantage. Over time, the more schools and educators unite to denounce these tests, the less power they will hold over students and families.

Big change starts with small steps.

Stand For What You Value

Critics may argue that such policies might hurt student outcomes. How will colleges evaluate school rigor if we limit AP courses and homework? How will students demonstrate their merits without class rankings and standardized test scores?

The truth is, the best school systems in the world succeed without homework, standardized test scores or an obsession with rigorous courses. And many U.S. schools have found creative and empowering ways to showcase student merit beyond rankings and test scores.

If we aren’t willing to change policies and practices that have been shown to harm students’ well-being, we have to ask ourselves: Do we really value mental health?

Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be an either/or scenario: We can design school systems that help students thrive academically and psychologically.

Belle Liang and Tim Klein are mental health professionals and co-authors of “How To Navigate Life: The New Science of Finding Your Way in School, Career and Life.”

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Education scholar Denise Pope has found that too much homework has negative effects on student well-being and behavioral engagement. (Image credit: L.A. Cicero)

A Stanford researcher found that too much homework can negatively affect kids, especially their lives away from school, where family, friends and activities matter.

“Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good,” wrote Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education .

The researchers used survey data to examine perceptions about homework, student well-being and behavioral engagement in a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California communities. Along with the survey data, Pope and her colleagues used open-ended answers to explore the students’ views on homework.

Median household income exceeded $90,000 in these communities, and 93 percent of the students went on to college, either two-year or four-year.

Students in these schools average about 3.1 hours of homework each night.

“The findings address how current homework practices in privileged, high-performing schools sustain students’ advantage in competitive climates yet hinder learning, full engagement and well-being,” Pope wrote.

Pope and her colleagues found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They cite prior research indicating that homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school.

Their study found that too much homework is associated with:

* Greater stress: 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.

* Reductions in health: In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems. The researchers asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems.

* Less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits: Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were “not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills,” according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.

A balancing act

The results offer empirical evidence that many students struggle to find balance between homework, extracurricular activities and social time, the researchers said. Many students felt forced or obligated to choose homework over developing other talents or skills.

Also, there was no relationship between the time spent on homework and how much the student enjoyed it. The research quoted students as saying they often do homework they see as “pointless” or “mindless” in order to keep their grades up.

“This kind of busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points,” Pope said.

She said the research calls into question the value of assigning large amounts of homework in high-performing schools. Homework should not be simply assigned as a routine practice, she said.

“Rather, any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development,” wrote Pope.

High-performing paradox

In places where students attend high-performing schools, too much homework can reduce their time to foster skills in the area of personal responsibility, the researchers concluded. “Young people are spending more time alone,” they wrote, “which means less time for family and fewer opportunities to engage in their communities.”

Student perspectives

The researchers say that while their open-ended or “self-reporting” methodology to gauge student concerns about homework may have limitations – some might regard it as an opportunity for “typical adolescent complaining” – it was important to learn firsthand what the students believe.

The paper was co-authored by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner from Villanova University.

Media Contacts

Denise Pope, Stanford Graduate School of Education: (650) 725-7412, [email protected] Clifton B. Parker, Stanford News Service: (650) 725-0224, [email protected]

Is it time to get rid of homework? Mental health experts weigh in.

It's no secret that kids hate homework. And as students grapple with an ongoing pandemic that has had a wide range of mental health impacts, is it time schools start listening to their pleas about workloads?

Some teachers are turning to social media to take a stand against homework. 

Tiktok user @misguided.teacher says he doesn't assign it because the "whole premise of homework is flawed."

For starters, he says, he can't grade work on "even playing fields" when students' home environments can be vastly different.

"Even students who go home to a peaceful house, do they really want to spend their time on busy work? Because typically that's what a lot of homework is, it's busy work," he says in the video that has garnered 1.6 million likes. "You only get one year to be 7, you only got one year to be 10, you only get one year to be 16, 18."

Mental health experts agree heavy workloads have the potential do more harm than good for students, especially when taking into account the impacts of the pandemic. But they also say the answer may not be to eliminate homework altogether.

Emmy Kang, mental health counselor at Humantold , says studies have shown heavy workloads can be "detrimental" for students and cause a "big impact on their mental, physical and emotional health."

"More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies," she says, adding that staying up late to finish assignments also leads to disrupted sleep and exhaustion.

Cynthia Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Talkspace , says heavy workloads can also cause serious mental health problems in the long run, like anxiety and depression. 

And for all the distress homework  can cause, it's not as useful as many may think, says Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery treatment center.

"The research shows that there's really limited benefit of homework for elementary age students, that really the school work should be contained in the classroom," he says.

For older students, Kang says, homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night. 

"Most students, especially at these high achieving schools, they're doing a minimum of three hours, and it's taking away time from their friends, from their families, their extracurricular activities. And these are all very important things for a person's mental and emotional health."

Catchings, who also taught third to 12th graders for 12 years, says she's seen the positive effects of a no-homework policy while working with students abroad.

"Not having homework was something that I always admired from the French students (and) the French schools, because that was helping the students to really have the time off and really disconnect from school," she says.

The answer may not be to eliminate homework completely but to be more mindful of the type of work students take home, suggests Kang, who was a high school teacher for 10 years.

"I don't think (we) should scrap homework; I think we should scrap meaningless, purposeless busy work-type homework. That's something that needs to be scrapped entirely," she says, encouraging teachers to be thoughtful and consider the amount of time it would take for students to complete assignments.

The pandemic made the conversation around homework more crucial 

Mindfulness surrounding homework is especially important in the context of the past two years. Many students will be struggling with mental health issues that were brought on or worsened by the pandemic , making heavy workloads even harder to balance.

"COVID was just a disaster in terms of the lack of structure. Everything just deteriorated," Kardaras says, pointing to an increase in cognitive issues and decrease in attention spans among students. "School acts as an anchor for a lot of children, as a stabilizing force, and that disappeared."

But even if students transition back to the structure of in-person classes, Kardaras suspects students may still struggle after two school years of shifted schedules and disrupted sleeping habits.

"We've seen adults struggling to go back to in-person work environments from remote work environments. That effect is amplified with children because children have less resources to be able to cope with those transitions than adults do," he explains.

'Get organized' ahead of back-to-school

In order to make the transition back to in-person school easier, Kang encourages students to "get good sleep, exercise regularly (and) eat a healthy diet."

To help manage workloads, she suggests students "get organized."

"There's so much mental clutter up there when you're disorganized. ... Sitting down and planning out their study schedules can really help manage their time," she says.

Breaking up assignments can also make things easier to tackle.

"I know that heavy workloads can be stressful, but if you sit down and you break down that studying into smaller chunks, they're much more manageable."

If workloads are still too much, Kang encourages students to advocate for themselves.

"They should tell their teachers when a homework assignment just took too much time or if it was too difficult for them to do on their own," she says. "It's good to speak up and ask those questions. Respectfully, of course, because these are your teachers. But still, I think sometimes teachers themselves need this feedback from their students."

More: Some teachers let their students sleep in class. Here's what mental health experts say.

More: Some parents are slipping young kids in for the COVID-19 vaccine, but doctors discourage the move as 'risky'

Homework could have an impact on kids’ health. Should schools ban it?

Professor of Education, Penn State

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Gerald K. LeTendre has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the Spencer Foundation.

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Reformers in the Progressive Era (from the 1890s to 1920s) depicted homework as a “sin” that deprived children of their playtime . Many critics voice similar concerns today.

Yet there are many parents who feel that from early on, children need to do homework if they are to succeed in an increasingly competitive academic culture. School administrators and policy makers have also weighed in, proposing various policies on homework .

So, does homework help or hinder kids?

For the last 10 years, my colleagues and I have been investigating international patterns in homework using databases like the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) . If we step back from the heated debates about homework and look at how homework is used around the world, we find the highest homework loads are associated with countries that have lower incomes and higher social inequality.

Does homework result in academic success?

Let’s first look at the global trends on homework.

Undoubtedly, homework is a global phenomenon ; students from all 59 countries that participated in the 2007 Trends in Math and Science Study (TIMSS) reported getting homework. Worldwide, only less than 7% of fourth graders said they did no homework.

TIMSS is one of the few data sets that allow us to compare many nations on how much homework is given (and done). And the data show extreme variation.

For example, in some nations, like Algeria, Kuwait and Morocco, more than one in five fourth graders reported high levels of homework. In Japan, less than 3% of students indicated they did more than four hours of homework on a normal school night.

TIMSS data can also help to dispel some common stereotypes. For instance, in East Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan – countries that had the top rankings on TIMSS average math achievement – reported rates of heavy homework that were below the international mean.

In the Netherlands, nearly one out of five fourth graders reported doing no homework on an average school night, even though Dutch fourth graders put their country in the top 10 in terms of average math scores in 2007.

Going by TIMSS data, the US is neither “ A Nation at Rest” as some have claimed, nor a nation straining under excessive homework load . Fourth and eighth grade US students fall in the middle of the 59 countries in the TIMSS data set, although only 12% of US fourth graders reported high math homework loads compared to an international average of 21%.

So, is homework related to high academic success?

At a national level, the answer is clearly no. Worldwide, homework is not associated with high national levels of academic achievement .

But, the TIMSS can’t be used to determine if homework is actually helping or hurting academic performance overall , it can help us see how much homework students are doing, and what conditions are associated with higher national levels of homework.

We have typically found that the highest homework loads are associated with countries that have lower incomes and higher levels of social inequality – not hallmarks that most countries would want to emulate.

Impact of homework on kids

TIMSS data also show us how even elementary school kids are being burdened with large amounts of homework.

Almost 10% of fourth graders worldwide (one in 10 children) reported spending multiple hours on homework each night. Globally, one in five fourth graders report 30 minutes or more of homework in math three to four times a week.

These reports of large homework loads should worry parents, teachers and policymakers alike.

Empirical studies have linked excessive homework to sleep disruption , indicating a negative relationship between the amount of homework, perceived stress and physical health.

What constitutes excessive amounts of homework varies by age, and may also be affected by cultural or family expectations. Young adolescents in middle school, or teenagers in high school, can study for longer duration than elementary school children.

But for elementary school students, even 30 minutes of homework a night, if combined with other sources of academic stress, can have a negative impact . Researchers in China have linked homework of two or more hours per night with sleep disruption .

Even though some cultures may normalize long periods of studying for elementary age children, there is no evidence to support that this level of homework has clear academic benefits . Also, when parents and children conflict over homework, and strong negative emotions are created, homework can actually have a negative association with academic achievement.

Should there be “no homework” policies?

Administrators and policymakers have not been reluctant to wade into the debates on homework and to formulate policies . France’s president, Francois Hollande, even proposed that homework be banned because it may have inegaliatarian effects.

However, “zero-tolerance” homework policies for schools, or nations, are likely to create as many problems as they solve because of the wide variation of homework effects. Contrary to what Hollande said, research suggests that homework is not a likely source of social class differences in academic achievement .

Homework, in fact, is an important component of education for students in the middle and upper grades of schooling.

Policymakers and researchers should look more closely at the connection between poverty, inequality and higher levels of homework. Rather than seeing homework as a “solution,” policymakers should question what facets of their educational system might impel students, teachers and parents to increase homework loads.

At the classroom level, in setting homework, teachers need to communicate with their peers and with parents to assure that the homework assigned overall for a grade is not burdensome, and that it is indeed having a positive effect.

Perhaps, teachers can opt for a more individualized approach to homework. If teachers are careful in selecting their assignments – weighing the student’s age, family situation and need for skill development – then homework can be tailored in ways that improve the chance of maximum positive impact for any given student.

I strongly suspect that when teachers face conditions such as pressure to meet arbitrary achievement goals, lack of planning time or little autonomy over curriculum, homework becomes an easy option to make up what could not be covered in class.

Whatever the reason, the fact is a significant percentage of elementary school children around the world are struggling with large homework loads. That alone could have long-term negative consequences for their academic success.

• Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
• Elementary school
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Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

A conversation with a Wheelock researcher, a BU student, and a fourth-grade teacher

“Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives,” says Wheelock’s Janine Bempechat. “It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.” Photo by iStock/Glenn Cook Photography

Do your homework.

If only it were that simple.

Educators have debated the merits of homework since the late 19th century. In recent years, amid concerns of some parents and teachers that children are being stressed out by too much homework, things have only gotten more fraught.

“Homework is complicated,” says developmental psychologist Janine Bempechat, a Wheelock College of Education & Human Development clinical professor. The author of the essay “ The Case for (Quality) Homework—Why It Improves Learning and How Parents Can Help ” in the winter 2019 issue of Education Next , Bempechat has studied how the debate about homework is influencing teacher preparation, parent and student beliefs about learning, and school policies.

She worries especially about socioeconomically disadvantaged students from low-performing schools who, according to research by Bempechat and others, get little or no homework.

BU Today  sat down with Bempechat and Erin Bruce (Wheelock’17,’18), a new fourth-grade teacher at a suburban Boston school, and future teacher freshman Emma Ardizzone (Wheelock) to talk about what quality homework looks like, how it can help children learn, and how schools can equip teachers to design it, evaluate it, and facilitate parents’ role in it.

BU Today: Parents and educators who are against homework in elementary school say there is no research definitively linking it to academic performance for kids in the early grades. You’ve said that they’re missing the point.

Bempechat : I think teachers assign homework in elementary school as a way to help kids develop skills they’ll need when they’re older—to begin to instill a sense of responsibility and to learn planning and organizational skills. That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success. If we greatly reduce or eliminate homework in elementary school, we deprive kids and parents of opportunities to instill these important learning habits and skills.

We do know that beginning in late middle school, and continuing through high school, there is a strong and positive correlation between homework completion and academic success.

That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success.

You talk about the importance of quality homework. What is that?

Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives. It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.

What are your concerns about homework and low-income children?

The argument that some people make—that homework “punishes the poor” because lower-income parents may not be as well-equipped as affluent parents to help their children with homework—is very troubling to me. There are no parents who don’t care about their children’s learning. Parents don’t actually have to help with homework completion in order for kids to do well. They can help in other ways—by helping children organize a study space, providing snacks, being there as a support, helping children work in groups with siblings or friends.

Isn’t the discussion about getting rid of homework happening mostly in affluent communities?

Yes, and the stories we hear of kids being stressed out from too much homework—four or five hours of homework a night—are real. That’s problematic for physical and mental health and overall well-being. But the research shows that higher-income students get a lot more homework than lower-income kids.

Teachers may not have as high expectations for lower-income children. Schools should bear responsibility for providing supports for kids to be able to get their homework done—after-school clubs, community support, peer group support. It does kids a disservice when our expectations are lower for them.

The conversation around homework is to some extent a social class and social justice issue. If we eliminate homework for all children because affluent children have too much, we’re really doing a disservice to low-income children. They need the challenge, and every student can rise to the challenge with enough supports in place.

What did you learn by studying how education schools are preparing future teachers to handle homework?

My colleague, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, at the University of California, Davis, School of Education, and I interviewed faculty members at education schools, as well as supervising teachers, to find out how students are being prepared. And it seemed that they weren’t. There didn’t seem to be any readings on the research, or conversations on what high-quality homework is and how to design it.

Erin, what kind of training did you get in handling homework?

Bruce : I had phenomenal professors at Wheelock, but homework just didn’t come up. I did lots of student teaching. I’ve been in classrooms where the teachers didn’t assign any homework, and I’ve been in rooms where they assigned hours of homework a night. But I never even considered homework as something that was my decision. I just thought it was something I’d pull out of a book and it’d be done.

I started giving homework on the first night of school this year. My first assignment was to go home and draw a picture of the room where you do your homework. I want to know if it’s at a table and if there are chairs around it and if mom’s cooking dinner while you’re doing homework.

The second night I asked them to talk to a grown-up about how are you going to be able to get your homework done during the week. The kids really enjoyed it. There’s a running joke that I’m teaching life skills.

Friday nights, I read all my kids’ responses to me on their homework from the week and it’s wonderful. They pour their hearts out. It’s like we’re having a conversation on my couch Friday night.

It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Bempechat : I can’t imagine that most new teachers would have the intuition Erin had in designing homework the way she did.

Ardizzone : Conversations with kids about homework, feeling you’re being listened to—that’s such a big part of wanting to do homework….I grew up in Westchester County. It was a pretty demanding school district. My junior year English teacher—I loved her—she would give us feedback, have meetings with all of us. She’d say, “If you have any questions, if you have anything you want to talk about, you can talk to me, here are my office hours.” It felt like she actually cared.

Bempechat : It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Ardizzone : But can’t it lead to parents being overbearing and too involved in their children’s lives as students?

Bempechat : There’s good help and there’s bad help. The bad help is what you’re describing—when parents hover inappropriately, when they micromanage, when they see their children confused and struggling and tell them what to do.

Good help is when parents recognize there’s a struggle going on and instead ask informative questions: “Where do you think you went wrong?” They give hints, or pointers, rather than saying, “You missed this,” or “You didn’t read that.”

Bruce : I hope something comes of this. I hope BU or Wheelock can think of some way to make this a more pressing issue. As a first-year teacher, it was not something I even thought about on the first day of school—until a kid raised his hand and said, “Do we have homework?” It would have been wonderful if I’d had a plan from day one.

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Sara Rimer A journalist for more than three decades, Sara Rimer worked at the Miami Herald , Washington Post and, for 26 years, the New York Times , where she was the New England bureau chief, and a national reporter covering education, aging, immigration, and other social justice issues. Her stories on the death penalty’s inequities were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and cited in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision outlawing the execution of people with intellectual disabilities. Her journalism honors include Columbia University’s Meyer Berger award for in-depth human interest reporting. She holds a BA degree in American Studies from the University of Michigan. Profile

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There are 81 comments on Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

Insightful! The values about homework in elementary schools are well aligned with my intuition as a parent.

when i finish my work i do my homework and i sometimes forget what to do because i did not get enough sleep

same omg it does not help me it is stressful and if I have it in more than one class I hate it.

Same I think my parent wants to help me but, she doesn’t care if I get bad grades so I just try my best and my grades are great.

I think that last question about Good help from parents is not know to all parents, we do as our parents did or how we best think it can be done, so maybe coaching parents or giving them resources on how to help with homework would be very beneficial for the parent on how to help and for the teacher to have consistency and improve homework results, and of course for the child. I do see how homework helps reaffirm the knowledge obtained in the classroom, I also have the ability to see progress and it is a time I share with my kids

The answer to the headline question is a no-brainer – a more pressing problem is why there is a difference in how students from different cultures succeed. Perfect example is the student population at BU – why is there a majority population of Asian students and only about 3% black students at BU? In fact at some universities there are law suits by Asians to stop discrimination and quotas against admitting Asian students because the real truth is that as a group they are demonstrating better qualifications for admittance, while at the same time there are quotas and reduced requirements for black students to boost their portion of the student population because as a group they do more poorly in meeting admissions standards – and it is not about the Benjamins. The real problem is that in our PC society no one has the gazuntas to explore this issue as it may reveal that all people are not created equal after all. Or is it just environmental cultural differences??????

I get you have a concern about the issue but that is not even what the point of this article is about. If you have an issue please take this to the site we have and only post your opinion about the actual topic

This is not at all what the article is talking about.

This literally has nothing to do with the article brought up. You should really take your opinions somewhere else before you speak about something that doesn’t make sense.

we have the same name

so they have the same name what of it?

lol you tell her

totally agree

What does that have to do with homework, that is not what the article talks about AT ALL.

Yes, I think homework plays an important role in the development of student life. Through homework, students have to face challenges on a daily basis and they try to solve them quickly.I am an intense online tutor at 24x7homeworkhelp and I give homework to my students at that level in which they handle it easily.

More than two-thirds of students said they used alcohol and drugs, primarily marijuana, to cope with stress.

You know what’s funny? I got this assignment to write an argument for homework about homework and this article was really helpful and understandable, and I also agree with this article’s point of view.

I also got the same task as you! I was looking for some good resources and I found this! I really found this article useful and easy to understand, just like you! ^^

i think that homework is the best thing that a child can have on the school because it help them with their thinking and memory.

I am a child myself and i think homework is a terrific pass time because i can’t play video games during the week. It also helps me set goals.

Homework is not harmful ,but it will if there is too much

I feel like, from a minors point of view that we shouldn’t get homework. Not only is the homework stressful, but it takes us away from relaxing and being social. For example, me and my friends was supposed to hang at the mall last week but we had to postpone it since we all had some sort of work to do. Our minds shouldn’t be focused on finishing an assignment that in realty, doesn’t matter. I completely understand that we should have homework. I have to write a paper on the unimportance of homework so thanks.

homework isn’t that bad

Are you a student? if not then i don’t really think you know how much and how severe todays homework really is

i am a student and i do not enjoy homework because i practice my sport 4 out of the five days we have school for 4 hours and that’s not even counting the commute time or the fact i still have to shower and eat dinner when i get home. its draining!

i totally agree with you. these people are such boomers

why just why

they do make a really good point, i think that there should be a limit though. hours and hours of homework can be really stressful, and the extra work isn’t making a difference to our learning, but i do believe homework should be optional and extra credit. that would make it for students to not have the leaning stress of a assignment and if you have a low grade you you can catch up.

Studies show that homework improves student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicates that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” On both standardized tests and grades, students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school.

So how are your measuring student achievement? That’s the real question. The argument that doing homework is simply a tool for teaching responsibility isn’t enough for me. We can teach responsibility in a number of ways. Also the poor argument that parents don’t need to help with homework, and that students can do it on their own, is wishful thinking at best. It completely ignores neurodiverse students. Students in poverty aren’t magically going to find a space to do homework, a friend’s or siblings to help them do it, and snacks to eat. I feel like the author of this piece has never set foot in a classroom of students.

THIS. This article is pathetic coming from a university. So intellectually dishonest, refusing to address the havoc of capitalism and poverty plays on academic success in life. How can they in one sentence use poor kids in an argument and never once address that poor children have access to damn near 0 of the resources affluent kids have? Draw me a picture and let’s talk about feelings lmao what a joke is that gonna put food in their belly so they can have the calories to burn in order to use their brain to study? What about quiet their 7 other siblings that they share a single bedroom with for hours? Is it gonna force the single mom to magically be at home and at work at the same time to cook food while you study and be there to throw an encouraging word?

Also the “parents don’t need to be a parent and be able to guide their kid at all academically they just need to exist in the next room” is wild. Its one thing if a parent straight up is not equipped but to say kids can just figured it out is…. wow coming from an educator What’s next the teacher doesn’t need to teach cause the kid can just follow the packet and figure it out?

Well then get a tutor right? Oh wait you are poor only affluent kids can afford a tutor for their hours of homework a day were they on average have none of the worries a poor child does. Does this address that poor children are more likely to also suffer abuse and mental illness? Like mentioned what about kids that can’t learn or comprehend the forced standardized way? Just let em fail? These children regularly are not in “special education”(some of those are a joke in their own and full of neglect and abuse) programs cause most aren’t even acknowledged as having disabilities or disorders.

But yes all and all those pesky poor kids just aren’t being worked hard enough lol pretty sure poor children’s existence just in childhood is more work, stress, and responsibility alone than an affluent child’s entire life cycle. Love they never once talked about the quality of education in the classroom being so bad between the poor and affluent it can qualify as segregation, just basically blamed poor people for being lazy, good job capitalism for failing us once again!

why the hell?

you should feel bad for saying this, this article can be helpful for people who has to write a essay about it

This is more of a political rant than it is about homework

I know a teacher who has told his students their homework is to find something they are interested in, pursue it and then come share what they learn. The student responses are quite compelling. One girl taught herself German so she could talk to her grandfather. One boy did a research project on Nelson Mandela because the teacher had mentioned him in class. Another boy, a both on the autism spectrum, fixed his family’s computer. The list goes on. This is fourth grade. I think students are highly motivated to learn, when we step aside and encourage them.

The whole point of homework is to give the students a chance to use the material that they have been presented with in class. If they never have the opportunity to use that information, and discover that it is actually useful, it will be in one ear and out the other. As a science teacher, it is critical that the students are challenged to use the material they have been presented with, which gives them the opportunity to actually think about it rather than regurgitate “facts”. Well designed homework forces the student to think conceptually, as opposed to regurgitation, which is never a pretty sight

Wonderful discussion. and yes, homework helps in learning and building skills in students.

not true it just causes kids to stress

Homework can be both beneficial and unuseful, if you will. There are students who are gifted in all subjects in school and ones with disabilities. Why should the students who are gifted get the lucky break, whereas the people who have disabilities suffer? The people who were born with this “gift” go through school with ease whereas people with disabilities struggle with the work given to them. I speak from experience because I am one of those students: the ones with disabilities. Homework doesn’t benefit “us”, it only tears us down and put us in an abyss of confusion and stress and hopelessness because we can’t learn as fast as others. Or we can’t handle the amount of work given whereas the gifted students go through it with ease. It just brings us down and makes us feel lost; because no mater what, it feels like we are destined to fail. It feels like we weren’t “cut out” for success.

homework does help

here is the thing though, if a child is shoved in the face with a whole ton of homework that isn’t really even considered homework it is assignments, it’s not helpful. the teacher should make homework more of a fun learning experience rather than something that is dreaded

This article was wonderful, I am going to ask my teachers about extra, or at all giving homework.

I agree. Especially when you have homework before an exam. Which is distasteful as you’ll need that time to study. It doesn’t make any sense, nor does us doing homework really matters as It’s just facts thrown at us.

Homework is too severe and is just too much for students, schools need to decrease the amount of homework. When teachers assign homework they forget that the students have other classes that give them the same amount of homework each day. Students need to work on social skills and life skills.

I disagree.

Beyond achievement, proponents of homework argue that it can have many other beneficial effects. They claim it can help students develop good study habits so they are ready to grow as their cognitive capacities mature. It can help students recognize that learning can occur at home as well as at school. Homework can foster independent learning and responsible character traits. And it can give parents an opportunity to see what’s going on at school and let them express positive attitudes toward achievement.

Homework is helpful because homework helps us by teaching us how to learn a specific topic.

As a student myself, I can say that I have almost never gotten the full 9 hours of recommended sleep time, because of homework. (Now I’m writing an essay on it in the middle of the night D=)

I am a 10 year old kid doing a report about “Is homework good or bad” for homework before i was going to do homework is bad but the sources from this site changed my mind!

Homeowkr is god for stusenrs

I agree with hunter because homework can be so stressful especially with this whole covid thing no one has time for homework and every one just wants to get back to there normal lives it is especially stressful when you go on a 2 week vaca 3 weeks into the new school year and and then less then a week after you come back from the vaca you are out for over a month because of covid and you have no way to get the assignment done and turned in

As great as homework is said to be in the is article, I feel like the viewpoint of the students was left out. Every where I go on the internet researching about this topic it almost always has interviews from teachers, professors, and the like. However isn’t that a little biased? Of course teachers are going to be for homework, they’re not the ones that have to stay up past midnight completing the homework from not just one class, but all of them. I just feel like this site is one-sided and you should include what the students of today think of spending four hours every night completing 6-8 classes worth of work.

Are we talking about homework or practice? Those are two very different things and can result in different outcomes.

Homework is a graded assignment. I do not know of research showing the benefits of graded assignments going home.

Practice; however, can be extremely beneficial, especially if there is some sort of feedback (not a grade but feedback). That feedback can come from the teacher, another student or even an automated grading program.

As a former band director, I assigned daily practice. I never once thought it would be appropriate for me to require the students to turn in a recording of their practice for me to grade. Instead, I had in-class assignments/assessments that were graded and directly related to the practice assigned.

I would really like to read articles on “homework” that truly distinguish between the two.

oof i feel bad good luck!

thank you guys for the artical because I have to finish an assingment. yes i did cite it but just thanks

thx for the article guys.

Homework is good

I think homework is helpful AND harmful. Sometimes u can’t get sleep bc of homework but it helps u practice for school too so idk.

I agree with this Article. And does anyone know when this was published. I would like to know.

It was published FEb 19, 2019.

Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college.

i think homework can help kids but at the same time not help kids

This article is so out of touch with majority of homes it would be laughable if it wasn’t so incredibly sad.

There is no value to homework all it does is add stress to already stressed homes. Parents or adults magically having the time or energy to shepherd kids through homework is dome sort of 1950’s fantasy.

What lala land do these teachers live in?

Homework gives noting to the kid

Homework is Bad

homework is bad.

why do kids even have homework?

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How homework can affect your child’s health

When kids get home from school the last thing they want to do is start working on homework. They want to get outside, play with friends or have a snack and relax.

It’s normal for kids to complain about having to do homework, but could your child be overloaded with afterschool work?

A new study says yes.

The study from the Stanford School of Education , published in the Journal of Experimental Education, claims that children in high-performing schools in upper to middle class families suffer from high levels of stress. And these groups are at greater risk for health problems, including a lack of balance in their lives and can even feel alienated from society.

Children in these high-achieving schools often spend an average of more than three hours each night doing homework. Denise Pope, senior lecturer at Stanford and co-author of the study, and her team of researchers studied 4,317 students in 10 of these schools in California.

Researchers did find that students spending a lot of their time on homework had a better level of engagement in school. However, these students were adversely affected by high stress and physical health problems.

“Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good,” Pope said in a statement.

Too much homework was found to be counterproductive. In a poll, 56 percent of students attributed any stress in their lives to too much homework. Less than 1 percent of students said that homework was not a stressor .

When asked how homework affects them, students reported lack of sleep, headaches, exhaustion and stomach problems. Students reported that due to the necessity of keeping their grades up, homework often came first before spending time with friends, attending after school activities or cultivating hobbies or talents outside of academic work.

Dr. Aaron Traeger , pediatrician with Advocate Medical Group in Normal, Ill., says  that with schoolwork kids have to do what they are told.

“Teachers typically do not work together to make certain days more ‘fair’  or an even workload,” he says. 

Dr. Traeger says if your kids are being overwhelmed with homework, the following are some things to consider:  

• Are outside school activities or sports taking up too much time? With too much going on outside of school it can put more stress on the things that ‘have to’ be done. 
• Is the student procrastinating too much? Usually larger projects have plenty of warning before being due.
• Talk with the teacher and see why there is so much homework. Is it because the work is not being completed during the class time?
• How are the study and working habits of the student? Working on study skills or working efficiency can make a big difference when the work load gets larger. 
• Medical reasons – Attention Deficit Disorder, depression, anxiety are all possibilities when a child starts to struggle. Especially if there is a very sudden deterioration of school performance. Speak with your school psychologist and pediatrician. 

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34 Comments

Thank you Dr. Traeger for the list of things parents need to consider when it comes to homework overload.

thi really helped

homework is too stressful for kids to have I am a student myself and it me 5-6 hours of homework and I’m only in sixth grade!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m pretty sure some of your homework is work you did not finish at school, If not, I suggest you talk to your teacher, respectfully. tell him/her that your homework load is too intense and you were wondering if he/she could lighten the load.

I hope this helps!

No, I get that much, but I have like 6 teachers, alone almost no homework together SO MUCH!!!!!!!

very good job

this was so helpful thank you so much!!! my child needs less homework.

i agree with every word

Yes I agree!

Thank you, this was a big help for an argumentative debate project I am working on.

This is very true, I have been experiencing this for over 10 Years now. Homework definitely causes stress, I reckon that all children should only be given one piece of homework twice a week.

This is great! I’ve been arguing for homework since 4th grade and this is a great source of information in my 8th grade debate speech. Thank you so much!

Thank you so much this really helped me with my research for my argumentative essay and lots of good evidence!

I love it! This helped me with my persuasive essay alot! Also, I always knew that homework was boring, but I never knew that all of that stuff could happen! Stomach issues? I never knew homework contibuted to that!

This is true! My teacher kills me in with homework and I’m only in 7th grade

Thanks for the stats! This is really helping us on a project, we too have had some nasty incidents with the amount of homework given.

i heart homework

I like cheese and tiger

This is very helpful. It helped me on a research project, and i can totally agree with what article goes over about homework. I also think that homework should only be what you didn’t finish in class.

thank you it really helped

this doesn’t really happen to me, but it is getting to that point

homework makes me cry

I am an accelerated 6th grade math teacher. I give my students about 3 hours of homework a day, but I tell them that accelerated students have to pace themselves.

I agree with this. I feel like my physical and mental health are both getting destroyed. I am noticing nausea, fatigue, headaches, joint aches, depression, anxiety, stress, irritability, and frustration that I could be using my time to relax or do hat I want to do.

I used this website for a debate project and it was very helpful. I totally agree with this. Teachers give out too much homework. I had 2 high school classes as an 8th grader and it was VERY stressful. I want every single teacher to know that kids havge lives. They don’t spend all night doing homework. We need time with our families and take part in any activities we choose. They don’t get it.

thbis is unaxeptable! i cant beliebe that this is hapening! why do we liev in a soctiety here this is ok????????? HIS IS NOT OK!!!!!! my yuongest duaghter is seven and he is so stresed!!!!! poor girl is gona be sad! i cant wiat til i get certficashons to homescool my egiht child ren cuase i cant deal wiht homwork!!!!!!!!!

thank you for writing this it is very useful- 6th grader

thank you this was very useful

Well done smarty pants

Thank you for the facts.I need them for a debate about Homework and this is quite helpful. I think this great for many people. Thanks again.

I wrote a letter to the school board and superintendent of my school district about this issue. I am only in 8th grade, and some of my personal experiences with homework overload include 3-4+ hours per night working on homework for ELA ALONE, constant headaches, sleep deprivation, cramping and dizziness, and much more. I have also had to drop out of my SCHOOL volleyball team and my select soccer team (my only forms of exercise throughout the week) to keep up with school work. Anxiety is a very new and difficult thing I have to deal with now, and all because of stress from school, home, and decision making. I am typically a 4.0 student, involved in many challenge/AP classes, (and also a perfectionist), but all of these things come at the extent of my physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being/health. This needs to stop. Something needs to be done about this very serious issue/epidemic throughout many states and countries.

4 teachers a day give me 2 pages of homework a day. I dont think they’ll lighten the load for me either so I started a petition for my school to have less homework. Keep in mind that the npta (national parent-teacher association) says the recommended amount of homework is 10 min per grade per day, meaning I(a 7th grader) should be getting a total of 1 hour and 10 min a day. My homework usually well exceeds that and my foreign exchange student who is in 10th has up to 4 hours of homework a night when she should only be having an hour and 40 min of homework. (Granted she’s an overachiever)I feel that teachers should converse with other teachers to assure an even load of work for their students.

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The Effects of Physical Activity on Academic Performance in School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review

Associated data.

The data presented in this study are available in the article.

Schools offer a unique environment to influence children’s physical activity (PA) levels positively. This study aims to systematically review the evidence surrounding how PA affects academic performance by analysing how the frequency, intensity, time, and type of PA mediate academic performance outcomes. This review was conducted using the PRISMA framework. Keyword searches were conducted in Science Direct, PubMed, and SPORTDiscus. Children that were obese, typically developing, typical weight, disabled, with a developmental disability, from a low socio-economic background, or an ethnic minority were included. A total of 19 studies were included, with a total of 6788 participants, a mean age of 9.3 years (50.2% boys, and 49.8% girls). Overall, 63.2% were nondisabled, while 36.8% were diagnosed with a disability. Two authors met, reviewed papers with regard to the inclusion criteria, and agreed on outputs to be included. Evidence suggests that associations between PA and academic performance were primarily positive or nonsignificant. PA levels of 90 min plus per week were associated with improved academic performance, as was PA performed at moderate to vigorous intensity. The optimal duration of PA was 30–60 min per session, whilst various sports induced positive academic effects. Importantly, findings support that PA does not have a deleterious effect on academic performance but can enhance it.

1. Introduction

It is widely acknowledged that regular physical activity (PA) is inextricably linked to a plethora of health benefits [ 1 ]. Extensive research advocates PA’s role in improving a person’s physiological wellbeing [ 2 ]. Conversely, numerous studies have documented the ill effects physical inactivity can have on one’s physiological health [ 1 , 3 ]; most notably, Warburton et al. [ 1 ] recognised that physical inactivity is a modifiable risk factor for a diverse range of diseases, which include cardiovascular diseases, bone and joint diseases, and chronic diseases such as cancer (colon and breast), obesity, and hypertension. Regarding psychological health, PA has also been identified as an effective means of alleviating mild to moderate depression, improving mood, and reducing anxiety symptoms [ 1 , 4 ]. It is also well established that regular participation in PA facilitates a child’s physical, psychological, and social development [ 5 ]. Vaqnguero-Solis et al. [ 6 ] stated that childhood participation in PA positively affects body mass index (BMI), morphology, fundamental movement skill competence, self-esteem, and social behaviours. These findings are consistent with the literature [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].

Physical inactivity prevalence in children across the UK is concerning; in 2018/2019, less than half (47%) of children aged 5–18 years met the current PA guidelines of 60 min of moderate PA per day [ 12 ]. Accordingly, it can be inferred that strategies to improve PA levels in children across the UK are an irrefutable necessity, not only to improve children’s current health status, but also to decrease the likelihood of obesity and other inactivity-related conditions. Given the compulsory attendance of children at schools and the significant amount of time children spend there each day, schools offer a unique environment to positively influence PA levels among children so that recommended PA levels are achieved [ 13 ]. Nevertheless, opportunism to increase PA levels within schools is increasingly finite [ 11 ]. In fact, some schools are decreasing time spent on non-academic subjects such as physical education (PE) to allocate more time to academic subjects such as mathematics or English [ 14 ]. This decline in PA opportunities in schools is primarily influenced by ever-increasing academic pressures placed on schools and educators to achieve within an attainment-focused curriculum [ 14 ]. However, research indicates such declines in PA are detrimental to the child, their physiological and psychological health, and potentially, their academic performance.

A growing body of literature has investigated the effects of PA (school-based, class-based, and extracurricular PA) on academic performance, and the results are widely debated. Notably, several studies advocate PA to improve academic and/or cognitive performance [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. De Greeff et al. [ 20 ] supported this positive effect of PA on executive functions (inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and planning) and academic performance, and stated that largest effects are seen with interventions that implement continuous regular PA over several weeks. This was similar to findings by Barbosa et al. [ 21 ] who found a medium positive effect of PA on academic achievement as opposed to acute PA which demonstrated no benefits. Further research [ 22 ] saw deviations from this as they reported acute PA interventions significantly improved processing speed, inhibition and attention, whereas chronic PA interventions significantly improved processing speed, attention, cognitive flexibility, working memory, and language skills. However, studies conducted by Esteban-Cornejo et al. [ 23 ] found that the association between PA and academic performance was negative and very weak. Similarly, Daley and Ryan [ 24 ] reported no correlations between increased PA and academic performance; these findings are consistent with the literature [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Contrasting results across the literature suggest that future research within this area is necessary to bring clarity to the field. If it was evidenced that PA could be implemented in schools without being a detriment to academic performance; policymakers and schoolteachers may be inclined to implement a policy of regular PA within the school context. This would ensure children meet their recommended PA guidelines (60 min or more per day) for most of the week.

Several authors have recognised the uncertainty surrounding PA’s effect on academic performance. Rasberry et al. [ 28 ] explored the association between four school-based PA contexts (PE, recess, classroom PA breaks, and extracurricular PA) and academic performance across 50 peer-reviewed articles. The review concluded that positive or no associations between the interventions and academic performance were reported across the studies that assessed PE, recess, and classroom-based PA. Whereas extracurricular PA interventions differentiated from the aforementioned contexts, mainly reporting positive or no associations but some negative associations (2%). Overall, this review strengthens the idea that PA within schools is vital, with PA enhancing academic performance rather than detracting from it. Likewise, a study conducted by Singh et al. [ 29 ] investigated the relationship between PA interventions and academic and cognitive performance and reported inconclusive results. Notably, of the 11 high-quality studies included in the synthesis, 60% reported a significant beneficial effect of PA on academic performance, and 48% reported a significant beneficial effect on cognitive performance. Sember et al. [ 30 ] also reported mixed results between PA and academic performance; specifically, of the 44 articles included in the synthesis, 20 reported significant, positive effects, and 24 reported adverse or null effects on academic performance. More recently Peiris et al. [ 31 ] reported physical activity had mixed effectiveness on academic performance, e.g., a positive effect on spelling performance ( p < 0.05) and foreign language learning ( p < 0.01) but no significant effect on mathematics and reading, and no effect on cognitive outcomes. The mixed results reported across the aforementioned reviews reiterate the necessity for further research to contextualise the causes of such diversity in findings, and further extend the understanding of the mediators for associated outcomes, whether positive, negative, or insignificant. Barisic et al. [ 32 ] stated PA is a multifaceted behaviour encompassing frequency, intensity, time, and type (FITT). These domains individually affect physiological processes differently. Therefore, it is crucial to explore the domains of FITT, individually and combined, to understand the underlying mechanisms behind the associations [ 32 ]. Consequently, it is suggested that FITT should be incorporated in future reviews to elucidate the cause of associated effects and improve the applicability of results if utilised to inform future interventions.

The applicability of the reviews is also problematic. Rasberry et al. [ 28 ], Singh et al. [ 29 ], and Sember et al. [ 30 ] only included children or adolescents that were nondisabled, and Marques et al. [ 14 ] did not specify the characteristics of the included population. This has significant implications for the applicability of the results, as subsequent findings will be unrepresentative of the school community. Notably, schools are heterogeneous environments characterised by a diverse range of individuals, subcommunities, and cultures [ 33 ]. To ensure results are applicable and relevant to those wishing to utilise them (school communities and policymakers), authors should not exclude participants on the basis of specific characteristics (disabled, nondisabled, culture, background, race, religion, sex, gender reassignment, and socioeconomic status). Instead, it is suggested that future research should only exclude participants on the basis of age (too old/young), as this is genuinely representative of what occurs in the schools’ heterogeneous communities.

Although several published reviews explore PA’s effect on academic performance, the above-indicated inadequacies in study designs suggest that further research is necessary to bring clarity to the field [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 32 ]. Therefore, the primary aim of this current study is to conduct a broad examination of the literature surrounding PA’s effect on academic performance. However, unlike other systematic reviews of this nature, this study aims to extend the understanding of the causal factors related to associated effects, recognising a heterogeneous school community. This is achieved through documenting the FITT of PA intervention designs. Findings are used to disseminate an optimal frequency, intensity, type, and time of PA for improved academic performance.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. protocol.

This review was carried out according to the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework; we did attempt to register with PROPSERO, but they did not accept it as it was looking at the effect of physical activity on academic performance, and they did not support research looking at academic performance. We felt that the review has great importance and implications; hence, although not approved by the PRISMA process, we performed the review following the PRISMA guidelines to see if there is any effect of PA on academic performance.

2.2. Eligibility Criteria

The literature synthesis was carried out according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework. The criteria for selecting studies for inclusion in this review were as follows: published in the English language (although origin was preferably diverse to draw generalisable results); peer-reviewed, longitudinal, experimental studies published between March 2012 and June 2022; studies that focus on school-aged children aged 6–14 years of age; incorporated a PA intervention as the dependant variable; examined outcome variables related to academic performance using one or more outcome measure (e.g., performance on standardised tests, on-task behaviours, and performance on executive functioning tests). Diversity between study cohorts was also a prerequisite for the literature synthesis; studies were screened and chosen on the basis of their applicability to provide diverse findings that are relevant to and representative of the heterogeneous school community; groups to be included were children that were obese, typically developing, typical weight, with physical disabilities, with a developmental disability, from a low socioeconomic background, or an ethnic minority. Moreover, only studies that detailed the frequency, volume, and type of PA of their intervention were included in this review. However, studies that also included the intensity of PA were most desired. These predetermined measures were essential for two reasons. Firstly, clear and measurable dependant variable(s) ensure that documented interventions can be applied and repeated if later utilised to inform future practice. Secondly, through a clear understanding of intervention protocol and its outcomes, authors can reach an informed conclusion surrounding optimal intervention design.

Several terms relating to academic performance were included in this review under the encompassing term, academic performance ( Table 1 ). It is recognised that a number of these terms are independent entities that are not inextricable to academic performance itself. Nevertheless, they are included in this review due to their well-established association/link with academic performance. Most notably, academic performance has been found to have a strong association with intelligence [ 34 ], cognitive functioning [ 35 ], and executive functioning [ 36 ]. It is recognised that only including these outcome variables would be insufficient to determine exactly how PA affects academic performance. However, their incorporation in the study design alongside standard outcome measures related to academic performance (mathematics score, reading score, standardised test scores, and academic achievement) allows for a more comprehensive analysis of PA’s effects on academic performance, whereby the direct and indirect effects of PA on academic performance are evaluated. Publications were excluded from this review if they were unable to meet the eligibility criteria discussed above or if they focused on the effects of PA alongside other independent variables (such as nutrition interventions or workshops). If the study did not explicitly state the participating cohort, the intervention, outcome measures, or results, it was excluded. Moreover, experimental studies that did not incorporate a control group were excluded from the study (the necessity for a control group was pre-established to gain valid and objective conclusions from the data/studies provided). Studies that focused on the immediate effects of antecedent PA on academic performance were deemed ineligible. Meta-analyses, case studies, systematic literature reviews, review articles, and observational studies were excluded from this article. Studies that did not include significance values to support findings were also excluded from this review.

Databases searched and search terms employed.

2.3. Study Selection

The initial literature search using three electronic databases (Science Direct, PubMed and Sport Discus) yielded 425 results (the predetermined search terms used for this search can be found in Table 1 ). A total of 357 articles were immediately excluded on the basis of the title. Following this, duplicates were removed, and the abstracts of the remaining 60 studies were assessed for eligibility. Among the 60 articles, 18 articles were deemed ineligible. Accordingly, 42 articles remained for the full-text screening; 19 articles were considered eligible after the full-text screening and, therefore, included in the final synthesis. Conversely, 23 full-text articles were excluded for a variety of reasons; most commonly, articles were excluded because the intervention design did not adhere to the eligibility criteria (lacked longitude and mainly focused on the immediate effects of antecedent PA on academic tasks), outcome measures were either subjective (observational) or unavailable, methodology or intervention design was unclear and, thus, unsuitable for analysis, the study did not incorporate a control group/condition, or p -values were not provided to support relevant outcomes. See Figure 1 for a visual illustration of the study selection process discussed.

Visual depiction of academic performance (AP) and physical activity (PA) searches using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram.

2.4. Identification of Studies

See Figure 1 for a depiction of the search strategy employed. Published studies were independently identified and assessed using three electronic databases (Science Direct, PubMed and Sport Discus) up to 9 March 2022. These databases were searched using pre-determined search terms related to PA, academic performance, and the target population ( Table 1 ). Filters applied were concerning the year of publication (2012–2022) and study design (experimental studies, clinical trials, and randomised control trials). On completion of the initial search, the process of screening based on article titles was carried out. The titles were assessed on the basis of congruence with the eligibility criteria, and articles with ineligible titles were excluded from further screening. Duplicates were then removed, and the abstracts of the remaining articles were assessed for eligibility. When the article abstracts were screened, each article was evaluated and chosen for further assessment according to its ability to meet the eligibility criterion specified. However, if a study’s eligibility (based on reading of the abstract) was inconclusive, it was also included in the final screening. Lastly, full-text articles were screened for eligibility, and all articles that did not meet the inclusion criterion were removed. Subsequently, the remaining studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the synthesis.

2.5. Data Extraction and Synthesis

An independent reviewer extracted the following data from the studies eligible for synthesis: author(s); study design; country of origin; sample (sample size, mean age of participants, and participant characteristics); the independent variable of interest (relating to PA) and intervention characteristics (FITT); dependent variable of interest and outcome measures (related to academic performance); relevant findings pertaining to academic performance and PA. Notably, there was no pre-established outcome measure sought. Instead, all outcome measures relating to academic performance-related keywords ( Table 2 ) were documented. This holistic approach was adopted to ensure the different aspects of academia and in that academic performance was accounted for. The difference in curricula across the UK alone supports the necessity for this method, with differing pedagogies, subjects, and means of assessment from country to country [ 37 , 38 , 39 ]. It was evident that there was no encompassing measure to assess academic performance. Therefore, this article did not want to discredit or overlook any potentially significant/relevant outcome measures and their consequent findings due to stringent specificity that would not be exemplary of academia and academic performance itself. Due to the article’s narrative nature, any outcome or finding relevant to achieving this study’s objectives is documented and discussed. However, significance values are provided for each study to support statements regarding the significance of effects observed, if any. Moreover, no assumptions were made if a study did not include relevant data or findings in the text. Consequently, any study that did not provide relevant data or findings suitable for analysis was excluded from this article.

Academic performance-related keywords.

* Cognitive and executive functioning are broad terms encompassing numerous mental processes involved in multiple cognitive tasks. Therefore, if appropriate, any keywords relating to these domains were also included when documenting outcome measures and findings (e.g., working memory, on-task behaviour, decision making, and selective attention).

2.6. Analysis

A narrative analysis of the literature was adopted due to the diversity of populations, outcome measures, and multiple methods included. Moreover, at the time of the study, little literature surrounding PA’s effect on academic performance adopted a narrative approach; therefore, a narrative analysis was utilised to make a novel contribution to the field. A meta-analysis was not chosen due to the genuine differences between groups, interventions, and outcome measures that would otherwise not be considered if combined for meta-analysis. Instead, a narrative approach was most appropriate so that overall effects could be examined alongside providing opportunism to gain deeper insight into the intricacies and reasons for associated effects. Consequently, a comprehensive review could be achieved that, firstly, informs the reader of the overall effect PA has on academic performance and, secondly, objectively concludes the reasons for these effects.

3.1. General Study Characteristics

A detailed description of the included studies, their characteristics, methodological processes, and key findings are summarised in Table S1 . Of the 19 articles that met the eligibility criteria, the countries with the highest number of articles included were the Netherlands ( n = 3), followed by the USA ( n = 2) and Norway ( n = 2). Then, the remaining articles represented one country of origin each, namely, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, Chile, Australia, Taiwan, South Africa, Italy, China, Canada, and Germany. Figure 2 presents a visual representation of each study’s country of origin.

Visual representation of each article’s country of origin. Key: green shading— n = 3 articles; red shading— n = 2 articles; blue shading— n = 1 article.

The total number of participants for the included studies combined was 6788. The average number of participants was 357, ranging from 22 to 1181. Of the 19 articles, 16 reported the mean age of the participants at baseline, which ranged from 8.01 to 11.35 years old, although the average age across the studies was 9.26 years. Moreover, among the 6788 participants that took part in the study combined, many were characteristically diverse. Most notably, 50.2% of the participants were boys, and 49.8% girls. Furthermore, 63.2% of the articles included participants that were nondisabled, whilst 36.8% included participants that were diagnosed with a disability. Specifically, the disabilities presented were autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 3), foetal alcohol syndrome ( n = 1), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 3). Furthermore, a small number of the nondisabled studies presented stringent eligibility criteria related to participant characteristics; notably, Gall et al.’s [ 40 ] study only included participants from a low-socioeconomic background, whilst Reed et al. [ 41 ] only included participants from an ethnic minority.

Across the 19 interventions, PA was implemented through the following forms of PA; physically active academic lessons [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ], PA lesson breaks [ 40 , 44 , 46 , 47 ], moderate intensity PA [ 48 ], moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA [ 42 , 43 , 45 , 47 , 49 , 50 ], high-intensity PA [ 48 , 51 ], cognitively engaging PA [ 47 , 49 , 51 ], aerobic exercise [ 51 ], mixed martial arts [ 52 , 53 ], table tennis [ 54 ], team games [ 51 ], PE lessons [ 40 , 41 , 44 , 46 , 48 , 49 , 51 , 55 ], PA homework [ 44 ], multi-activity sport [ 41 , 46 , 50 , 56 , 57 ], and PA that emphasises fundamental movement skill development [ 41 ]. Notably, several studies were categorised into various types of PA due to their multifactorial intervention design. For example, Ardoy et al. [ 48 ] implemented a multifaceted intervention design to compare cognitive and academic performance across three intervention conditions (group 1 received four 55 min periods of moderate-intensity PE per week; group 2 received four 55 min periods of high-intensity PE per week; control group received two 55 min periods of regular PE lessons per week); therefore, this study fell into various categories: moderate-intensity PA, high-intensity PA, and PE lessons.

3.2. Measurements of Academic and Cognitive Performance

Measurements of academic performance differentiated profusely across each of the included studies. However, this review categorised each study’s primary dependant variables into two encompassing domains: academic performance and cognitive performance. Notably, nine studies measured domains of academic performance, while 14 studies measured indicators of cognitive performance. Of the eight studies that analysed the effects on academic performance, four used grades in academic subjects [ 40 , 48 , 49 , 50 ]; meanwhile, three studies utilised standardised test results [ 43 , 49 , 55 ], one took measurements of the student’s mastery of the basic facts test [ 47 ], and one analysed mathematics and reading performance with the speed test arithmetic and the 1 min test [ 45 ]. Conversely, the majority of studies evaluating PA’s effects on cognitive performance reported outcome measures related to the domains of executive functioning ( n = 10), namely, cognitive flexibility (shifting), working memory, inhibition, updating, and behavioural and emotional control. However, some studies assessed selective attention ( n = 2), intelligence ( n = 2), and speed of information processing ( n = 1).

3.3. Physical Activities Effect on Academic Performance

Results varied across the academic performance related studies ( n = 9); two reported positive, significant effects, two reported insignificant effects, and five reported mixed conclusions. A brief description of intervention designs associated with the aforementioned effects is reported below. Furthermore, detailed descriptions of included studies, their characteristics, methodological processes, and key findings are summarised in Table S1 . A study conducted by Gall et al. [ 40 ] increased PA through a multifaceted PA intervention design, incorporating PE lessons, active breaks, and active academic lessons. The intervention had a significant ( p = 0.032), positive effect on academic performance compared to children receiving PE lessons in isolation. Likewise, a study conducted by García-Hermoso et al. [ 50 ] reported that increased moderate to vigorous PA has a significant ( p < 0.001), positive effect on academic performance. Ardoy et al. [ 48 ] compared academic performance across three intervention conditions: a moderate-intensity group (moderate-intensity PE lesson for 55 min, four times weekly), a high-intensity group (high-intensity PE lesson for 55 min, four times weekly), and a control group (regular PE lessons for 55 min, twice weekly). Interestingly, the high-intensity group had a significant ( p < 0.001), positive effect on academic performance compared to the control condition. However, no significant ( p > 0.05) difference was observed between the moderate-intensity and control groups. Similarly, Mavilidi et al. [ 47 ] and De Bruijn et al. [ 49 ] compared the effects of different types of increased PA on academic performance and reported mixed conclusions. Mavilidi et al. [ 47 ] reported a significant ( p = 0.045), positive relationship between active breaks and academic performance, but reported an insignificant ( p > 0.05) relationship between cognitively engaging, active breaks and PA. In contrast, De Bruijn et al. [ 49 ] reported that both increased cognitively engaging, moderate to vigorous PE and increased moderate to vigorous PE had no significant ( p > 0.05) overall effect on academic performance (spelling, mathematics, and reading) compared to the control condition. However, the study reported a significant ( p ≤ 0.05) dose–response relationship between increased moderate to vigorous PA and mathematics score, and a significant ( p ≤ 0.05) dose–response relationship between moderate to vigorous, cognitively engaging PA and mathematics and spelling performance.

Mullender-Wijnsma et al. [ 45 ] and Resaland et al. [ 46 ] also reported mixed results. The study conducted by Mullender-Wijnsma et al. [ 45 ] found no significant difference between the overall academic performance of children receiving active academic lessons and those receiving regular academic lessons ( p > 0.05). However, a significant interaction between grade and reading and mathematics performance was reported. Interestingly, the third-grade (8–9 years) children receiving active academic lessons scored significantly ( p < 0.01) higher than those receiving regular academic lessons for mathematics and reading performance. In contrast, the active academic lessons had no significant ( p > 0.05) effect on second-grade (7–8 years) students’ reading scores and a significant ( p < 0.01), negative effect on mathematics scores compared with those receiving regular academic lessons. Similarly, Resaland et al. [ 46 ] reported no significant ( p > 0.358) intervention effect on overall academic performance but a significant ( p = 0.005) effect between subgroup and numeracy score. Notably, the intervention group with the lowest baseline numeracy score significantly improved its post-test numeracy score compared to the control condition. The study included a multifaceted intervention design (active breaks, active academic lessons, and active homework) incorporating 165 min per week of additional PA.

Bugge et al. [ 55 ] compared the academic performance of a group receiving PE 6 days per week (4.5 h per week) and a group receiving PE 2 days per week (1.5 h). The study found no significant ( p > 0.5) difference between academic performance of both groups following the intervention. Likewise, a study conducted by Donnelly et al. [ 43 ] compared academic performance across a group receiving a moderate to vigorous PA intervention and a group that followed the regular curriculum and found no significant ( p > 0.5) intervention effects on mathematics, reading, and spelling performance. However, improvements were reported for both groups across all three academic performance indicators.

3.4. Physical Activities Effect on Cognitive Performance

Of the 14 studies that examined the relationship between PA and domains of cognitive performance: six reported positive, significant effects, while four reported insignificant effects, and four reported mixed conclusions. Succinct descriptions of intervention designs associated with these effects are provided below. Moreover, detailed descriptions of the studies, their characteristics, methodological processes, and key findings are provided in Table S1 .

Studies conducted by Ronzi and Greco [ 52 ] and Phung and Goldberg, [ 53 ] found that increased participation in PA through combat sports (karate and mixed martial arts) significantly ( p ≤ 0.05) improved executive functioning test scores when compared to the control condition. Similarly, Pan et al. [ 54 ] investigated the effects of increased PA through the medium of a specific sport (table tennis) and reported a significant ( p < 0.01), positive intervention effect on executive functioning compared to the control condition. Kvalø et al. [ 44 ] found that children who participated in 460 min of PA per week performed significantly ( p = 0.001) better on an executive functioning test than a group participating in 135 min of PA per week. Notably, 460 min of PA per week in Kvalø et al. [ 44 ] study was achieved through a multifaceted intervention design, incorporating active academic lessons, active breaks, PE, and active homework.

Ziereis and Jansen, [ 5 ] compared executive functioning across three conditions: a general sports group (60 min of PA, 1 day per week for 12 weeks, with an emphasis on nonspecific sporting movements), a specific sports group (60 min of PA, 1 day per week for 12 weeks, with an emphasis on specific sports), and a control group (a group that did not receive a PA intervention). Both interventions had a significant ( p ≤ 0.05), positive effect on executive functioning compared to the control condition. However, no significant ( p > 0.5) difference between the general and specific sports groups was reported following the 12 weeks. Moreover, Reed et al. [ 41 ] found that children participating in 45 min of generalised sport (multiactivity sport or fundamental movement skill development) five times per week performed significantly ( p ≤ 0.05) better in eight out of 26 cognitive performance indictors than a group receiving regular PE for 30 to 50 min, once weekly.

Ardoy et al. [ 48 ] found that increased levels of moderate-intensity PE per week had no significant (all p ≥ 0.2) effect on cognitive performance compared to the control condition. However, increased levels of high-intensity PE per week had a positive, significant ( p ≤ 0.001) effect on cognitive performance compared to the control condition. Congruently, Schmidt et al. [ 51 ] also compared cognitive performance (executive functioning) across three conditions: a high-intensity, cognitively engaged group (45 min of high-intensity PA, 2 days per week for 6 weeks, with an emphasis on team games with a high degree of cognitive engagement), high-intensity group (45 min of high-intensity PA, 2 days per week for 6 weeks, with an emphasis on aerobic exercise with a low degree of cognitive engagement), and a control group (45 min of low-intensity PA, 2 days per week for 6 weeks) and reported mixed results. Interestingly, cognitive flexibility (shifting) significantly ( p ≤ 0.05) improved in the high-intensity, cognitively engaged group compared with the high-intensity and control groups. However, there was no significant ( p > 0.5) difference between the updating and inhibition performance across the three groups.

Pan et al. [ 56 ] compared cognitive performance (executive functioning) across two conditions: an intervention group (70 min of PA, twice per week for 12 weeks; see Table S1 for session design) and a control group (a group that did not receive any form of PA intervention). The study reported mixed results; an insignificant ( p > 0.5) main effect of group and time on all indices of the executive functioning test was reported. However, the intervention had a significant ( p < 0.01), positive effect on three indices of the executive functioning test compared to the control condition, namely, total correct, conceptual level response, and preservative response. Similarly, Pritchard et al. [ 57 ] reported an insignificant ( p = 0.173) intervention effect on the first component of an executive functioning test but a significant ( p = 0.014), positive effect on the second component of the test compared to the control condition. Notably, the intervention group received 90 min of PA (see session design in Table S1 ), 2 days per week for 8 weeks, whilst the control condition did not receive any form of PA intervention during the study.

Mavilidi et al. [ 47 ] and de Greeff et al. [ 42 ] investigated the effects of active breaks on cognitive performance. Mavilidi et al. [ 47 ] reported that active breaks had no significant ( p > 0.5) effect on executive functioning compared to the control condition, whilst de Greeff et al. [ 42 ] found no significant ( p > 0.5) intervention effect on shifting performance. Likewise, studies conducted by Gall et al. [ 40 ] and García-Hermoso et al. [ 50 ] found no significant ( p > 0.5) intervention effect on cognitive performance compared to a control condition (group receiving regular PE lessons). Notably, Gall et al.’s [ 40 ] intervention included 180 min of additional PA, whilst the García-Hermoso et al.’s [ 50 ] study included 150 min of additional PA per week.

4. Discussion

This article aimed to examine the literature surrounding PA’s effect on academic performance in school children. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to assess PA’s effect on academic performance to include a heterogeneous participant group that is truly representative of the school community. Moreover, the authors aimed to investigate the causal factors related to the associated effects. Following the research, it can be said with confidence that a key finding in this study is that PA does not diminish academic performance in school children and potentially enhances it. Altogether, the results across the studies varied considerably. However, studies predominantly reported that PA is either positively associated with academic performance, or that there is no significant relationship between the two variables in either direction. Interestingly, Mullender-Wijnsma et al. [ 45 ] was the only article to report a negative, significant association between PA and academic performance, whilst the other articles either reported positive, significant associations (50% reported positive, significant associations) or insignificant associations (47% reported insignificant). Nevertheless, the results reported reflect those of Marques et al. [ 14 ], Ericsson and Karlsson [ 15 ], Aadland et al. [ 25 ] and Rasberry et al. [ 28 ].

An important finding to emerge from the synthesis was that various frequencies of PA were associated with improved academic performance. For example, 4 days of PA a week improved academic performance in the De Bruijn et al. [ 49 ] study, as did 5 days a week in the Reed et al. [ 41 ] study. These results are consistent with that of Rasberry et al. [ 28 ], who also reported a positive or insignificant effect of PA on academic performance irrespective of the frequency implemented. A possible explanation for this might be that the total amount of PA is more important than the accrual pattern [ 58 ]. Thus, if participants accumulated a total amount of PA that is adequate to elicit improved academic performance, how they accumulated this may not matter. However, a downfall of the De Bruijn et al. [ 49 ] and Reed et al. [ 41 ] studies is that effect size was not reported; thus, several questions surrounding this remain. Notably, future research should note the effect size so that the dose–response relationship between frequency of PA and academic performance is better understood. Moreover, further research should be undertaken to investigate if the pattern of accrual has a mediating effect on the relationship between the total amount of PA and academic performance.

The duration of PA implemented across individual studies differentiated profusely, ranging from 15 min of PA per week to 325 min of PA per week. However, of the studies that reported positive intervention effects between PA and academic performance, most implemented PA that lasted 30–60 min. These results are significant as they collaborate with an array of literature that suggests children and adolescents should receive at least 60 min of PA per day to improve health outcomes [ 2 , 59 , 60 , 61 ], suggesting that schools can facilitate a child’s physical, mental, and cognitive health without concern that such endeavours deter academic performance. However, it is imperative to note that several of the included studies derived their conclusions on the basis of subjective rather than objective measures of PA. This has significant implications for the validity and reliability of their results, as subjective measures of PA are less accurate and reliable than objective measures [ 62 ]. Therefore, it is recommended that future research utilises an objective measure of PA, such as an accelerometer, so that conclusions surrounding PA’s effect on academic performance are informed by accurate data that is representative of the PA levels that took place.

Regarding the total amount of PA, a significant finding across several studies was that increased volume of PA (total amount of PA accumulated over 1 week, frequency × duration) either did not affect academic performance or positively affected academic performance. Notably, of the studies that reported positive associations between PA and academic performance, the majority reported positive effects when the volume of PA was ≥90 per week. These findings further support the idea that the total amount of PA is a more critical factor than the frequency of PA for improved academic performance. Since most positive associations occurred when the volume of PA was ≥90 per week, irrespective of how individual studies accrued this.

No clear patterns were observed regarding the most favourable volume of PA to improve academic or cognitive performance. Therefore, on the basis of the findings in this study, the authors recommend that children receive at least 90 min of PA per week, but most desirably, their recommended levels of 60 min of PA per day, as this does not detract from academic performance and is associated with a vast amount of positive health effects [ 63 ]. Nevertheless, future research should be carried out to establish an optimal volume of PA for the improvement of academic performance. Further research could also explore the implementation of varying PA interventions and assess the differentiating effects this can have on a participants individualised academic needs.

Moreover, it is recognised that many studies manipulate independent variables such as intensity, volume, and type of PA cohesively when implementing a PA intervention design. One of the issues that emerge from this is that the actual effects of each independent variable are difficult to establish. Thus, future research should investigate the effects of volume, intensity, and type of PA in isolation so that the actual effects of each independent variable on academic performance are better understood.

It is also interesting to note that the intensity of PA had a significant effect on academic performance outcomes. Notably, across all the studies that reported moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA, 57.1% reported a positive intervention effect between moderate to vigorous PA and at least one academic performance indicator. Among the studies that reported on high-intensity PA, 100% reported a positive intervention effect between high-intensity PA and at least one academic performance indicator. These results suggest that high-intensity PA is most effective in eliciting improved academic performance. These results are significant for the implementation of increased PA in schools as it can be assumed shorter bouts of high intensity PA will be more feasible to implement alongside classroom activities than the more traditional, longer-duration, low-intensity PA interventions. These results are consistent with those attained by Mekari et al. [ 64 ], who found that high-intensity PA had a significant, positive effect on cognitive performance compared to moderate-intensity PA. A possible explanation for this might be that PA at a higher intensity causes more substantial and more enduring neurobiological changes that consequently lead to more significant improvements in academic performance [ 65 ]. Moreover, high-intensity PA was recognised in a study by Hannan et al. [ 66 ] to be more effective than moderate-intensity PA for improving aerobic fitness and cardiovascular health. This is significant as several studies state that aerobic fitness is a predictor of academic performance [ 67 , 68 , 69 ]. Therefore, it can be inferred that the high-intensity PA implemented by Ardoy et al. [ 48 ] and Schmidt et al. [ 51 ] improved aerobic fitness and, as a result, academic performance Improved congruently. Moreover, it can, thus, be suggested that specific PA may not be the single most crucial factor for improving academic performance but rather the physiological changes PA elicits. Therefore, the lens through which we view PA must be much broader. Nevertheless, it is recognised that the validity of these conclusions is questionable as they are derivative of only two studies. Thus, more research in this area is required to increase the statistical power of these results.

Interestingly, positive associations were observed across several studies that implemented a variety of different types of PA, such as karate, table tennis, mixed martial arts, team games, and cognitively engaging PA. These results are significant as they further reiterate the idea that the specific PA may not be the single most crucial factor in improving academic performance, but rather the physiological changes the PA elicits. Therefore, if the appropriate physiological changes happen, it does not matter what type of PA induces the response, as long as the response takes place. For example, aerobic fitness has been associated with academic performance outcomes [ 70 ]. Therefore, any type of PA that improves aerobic fitness may have a positive effect. Moreover, an apparent similarity across many of the efficacious types of PA was that they require a high degree of agility. For example, Pal et al. [ 71 ] stated that karate requires maximum levels of agility. Likewise, table tennis is associated with agility [ 72 ], as are many team games [ 73 ] and mixed martial arts [ 74 ]. Accordingly, it can be assumed that levels of agility may have a significant effect on academic performance. Nevertheless, future research is recommended to explore this relationship further. Regarding the optimal type of PA to improve academic performance, the authors recommend implementing various types of PA that improve agility and aerobic fitness. This is based on evidence supporting the positive relationship between these types of PA and academic performance.

4.1. Limitations

This present study systematically searched, reviewed, and collated the literature surrounding PA’s effect on academic performance and provided a clear and comprehensive overview of the available evidence. Moreover, 10 years of research were covered, specific eligibility criteria were followed, and a broad range of studies were considered. Nevertheless, as with most studies, the design of this current review is subject to limitations that could be addressed in future research. Most notably, the effect size was ill-reported throughout the available literature. Thus, few conclusions were made surrounding the strength of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Nevertheless, to the authors’ knowledge, this current review is one of the first studies to examine the relationship between FIIT of PA and academic performance. Despite effect size being ambiguous, this review enhances our understanding of the causal factors related to the associated effects and offered many areas for future research to explore; this insight into intervention design considerations is, therefore, a strength of the study. Study designs, outcome measures, and PA varied considerably across individual studies. Thus, these inconsistencies limited the number of objective conclusions and comparisons that could be made. Nevertheless, the scope of this review was deliberately broad to ensure all relevant literature was considered. Moreover, measures of academic performance differentiate profusely from country to country [ 37 , 38 , 39 ]. Therefore, we included a broad scope of academic measures to eradicate bias towards a particular country or place. Outcome measures related to academic and cognitive performance are described throughout this current review under the encompassing term “academic performance”. A possible limitation to doing this is that the intricacies of effects are not fully explored. For example, cognitive performance is indirectly associated with academic performance, whilst reading score is directly associated with academic performance; however, describing the results of these outcome measures under the encompassing term “academic performance” does not allude to this. Nevertheless, due to the range of outcome measures implemented by the individual studies, the authors decided to utilise an encompassing term such as “academic performance” to ensure the reader can easily interpret the results.

4.2. Practical Implications

Participant heterogeneity is one of the significant advantages of this current review. Specifically, the inclusion of differentiated participant groups ensured that this review is relevant and applicable to the school community, in which many individuals are characteristically diverse. If future research is performed, then it would be advantageous to assess a subgroup analysis to look at the academic effects of PA in specific subgroups. Nevertheless, this present study lays the groundwork for future research in this area. The findings of this research will be shared with our local and regional physical activity and public health networks so that learning from this study can benefit practitioners and policymakers as part of their programme delivery and planning. Moreover, because PA has been shown to improve and not deter academic performance, it can only be thought that such findings will influence educational reform, allowing teachers and educational leaders to integrate increased amounts of PA into the school day and national curriculum subjects. Consequently, pertinent issues such as childhood physical inactivity and childhood obesity can be addressed in schools without concern that such practices deter children’s intellectual development. This research also sheds light on optimal PA protocols for improved academic performance; accordingly, it can be utilised by teachers, policymakers, and parents as a foundational set of guidelines or benchmark of best practices to strive towards when developing their PA interventions.

5. Conclusions

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to review the literature surrounding PA’s effect on academic performance and provide a contextualisation of the causal factors related to the associated effects. This study established that PA is either positively associated with academic performance, or that there is no significant relationship between the two variables in either direction. This study could not establish an optimal frequency of PA to improve academic performance; however, it was observed that total volume, duration, intensity, and type of PA may have a significant effect. Notably, PA levels of 90 min or more per week were associated with improved academic performance, as was PA performed at moderate to vigorous and high intensity. The optimal duration of PA was found to be 30–60 min per session, whilst a variety of efficacious sports made determining an optimal type of PA less clear, although evidence indicated that aerobic and agility-based sports were most favourable with several academic performance indicators. Moreover, several studies reported that increased time allocated to PA did not have a deleterious effect on academic performance. In fact, quite contrarily, many studies reported that increased time allocated to PA was positively associated with academic performance. We aim for this study’s findings to help inform evidence-based interventions and policies surrounding the implementation of PA in schools, whereby health promotion and optimal academic performance should be a priority. We will disseminate the outcomes of this study through our local, regional and national PA and public health networks. Nevertheless, given that investigation into the causal factors of the associated effects is in its infancy, further research is recommended to address the limitations of this current study and explore the gaps that were identified throughout. Most notably, the authors recommend investigations into the relationship between PA and academic performance by subgroup (e.g., disabled, gender, and race), an examination of the relationship between agility and academic performance, and further research that explores the effects of the FITT of PA on academic performance outcomes.

Supplementary Materials

The following supporting information can be downloaded at https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/children10061019/s1 ; Table S1. Academic/cognitive performance and physical activity, and article descriptive results.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

Conceptualisation, J.J. and C.M.P.R.; methodology, J.J. and C.M.P.R.; software, J.J.; validation, J.J. and C.M.P.R.; formal analysis, J.J. and C.M.P.R.; investigation, J.J. and C.M.P.R.; resources, J.J. and C.M.P.R.; data curation, J.J.; writing—original draft preparation, J.J.; writing—review and editing, J.J., A.P., S.M. and C.M.P.R.; visualisation, J.J. and C.M.P.R.; supervision, C.M.P.R.; project administration, J.J. and C.M.P.R. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Ethical review and approval were waived for this study as it was a systematic literature review and no data from participants were collected; this is in line with the institutional review board at the host university.

Informed Consent Statement

Patient consent was waived as it was a systematic literature review and no data from participants was collected.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

The effect of physical activity homework on physical activity among college students

Affiliation.

• 1 Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC 28723, USA.
• PMID: 19420398
• DOI: 10.1123/jpah.6.2.203

Background: This study examined the effect of using physical activity homework on physical activity levels of college students.

Methods: Students in randomly assigned sections of a university health course were assigned 30 minutes of physical activity homework 3 days a week or no homework for 12 weeks. Participants completed self-reports of physical activity before the homework intervention and again at the conclusion of the 12 weeks of physical activity homework.

Results: Participants in all course sections reported significant increases in the number of days per week of moderate and vigorous physical activity. Participants in homework sections additionally showed significant increases in the days they engaged in muscular strength/endurance training and activities to manage weight. Participants in sections without homework showed a significant increase in the number of days engaged in flexibility training. Comparison of gain scores showed statistically significant increases by the homework group in the days they participated in activities designed to manage weight.

Conclusion: Physical activity homework was deemed to be an effective method of increasing college students' levels of physical activity.

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How does homework affect students.

Posted by Kenny Gill

Homework is essential in the learning process of all students. It benefits them in managing time, being organized, and thinking beyond the classroom work. When students develop good habits towards homework, they enjoy good grades. The amount of homework given to students has risen by 51 percent. In most cases, this pushes them to order for custom essays online. A lot of homework can be overwhelming, affecting students in negative ways.

How homework affects the psyche of students Homework plays a crucial role in ensuring students succeeds both inside and outside the classroom. The numerous hours they spend in class, on school work, and away from family and friends lead to them experiencing exhaustion. Too much homework leads to students becoming disheartened by the school, and it chips away at their motivation for succeeding.

As a result, homework becomes an uphill battle, which they feel they will never win despite putting an effort. When they continue to find homework difficult, they consider other ways of working on it, such as cheating.

Getting enough time to relax, engage with friends and family members helps the students to have fun, thus, raising their spirit and their psyche on school work.  However, when homework exceeds, it affects their emotional well-being making them sad and unproductive students who would rather cheat their way through school.

As a result, they have to struggle with a lack of enough sleep, loss of weight, stomach problems, headaches, and fatigue. Poor eating habits where students rely on fast foods also occasions as they struggle to complete all their assignments. When combined with lack of physical activity, the students suffer from obesity and other health-related conditions. Also, they experience depression and anxiety. The pressure to attend all classes, finish the much homework, as well as have time to make social connections cripples them.

How can parents help with homework? Being an active parent in the life of your child goes a long way towards promoting the health and well-being of children. Participating in their process of doing homework helps you identify if your child is facing challenges, and provide the much-needed support.

The first step is identifying the problem your child has by establishing whether their homework is too much. In elementary school, students should not spend over twenty minutes on homework while in high school they should spend an average of two hours. If it exceeds these guidelines, then you know that the homework is too much and you need to talk with the teachers.

The other step is ensuring your child focuses on their work by eliminating distractions. Texting with friends, watching videos, and playing video games can distract your child. Next, help them create a homework routine by having a designated area for studying and organizing their time for each activity.

Why it is better to do homework with friends Extracurricular activities such as sports and volunteer work that students engage in are vital. The events allow them to refresh their minds, catch up, and share with friends, and sharpen their communication skills. Homework is better done with friends as it helps them get these benefits. Through working together, interacting, and sharing with friends, their stress reduces.

Working on assignments with friends relaxes the students. It ensures they have the help they need when tackling the work, making even too much homework bearable. Also, it develops their communication skills. Deterioration of communication skills is a prominent reason as to why homework is bad. Too much of it keeps one away from classmates and friends, making it difficult for one to communicate with other people.

Working on homework with friends, however, ensures one learns how to express themselves and solve issues, making one an excellent communicator.

How does a lot of homework affect students’ performance? Burnout is a negative effect of homework. After spending the entire day learning, having to spend more hours doing too much homework lead to burnout. When it occurs, students begin dragging their feet when it comes to working on assignments and in some cases, fail to complete them. Therefore, they end up getting poor grades, which affects their overall performance.

Excessive homework also overshadows active learning, which is essential in the learning process. It encourages active participation of students in analyzing and applying what they learn in class in the real world. As a result, this limits the involvement of parents in the process of learning and children collaboration with friends. Instead, it causes boredom, difficulties for the students to work alongside others, and lack of skills in solving problems.

Should students have homework? Well, this is the question many parents and students ask when they consider these adverse effects of homework. Homework is vital in the learning process of any student. However, in most cases, it has crossed the line from being a tool for learning and becomes a source of suffering for students. With such effects, a balance is necessary to help students learn, remain healthy, and be all rounded individuals in society.

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Great info and really valuable for teachers and tutors. This is a really very wonderful post. I really appreciate it; this post is very helpful for education.

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Is Homework Necessary? Education Inequity and Its Impact on Students

The Problem with Homework: It Highlights Inequalities

How much homework is too much homework, when does homework actually help, negative effects of homework for students, how teachers can help.

Schools are getting rid of homework from Essex, Mass., to Los Angeles, Calif. Although the no-homework trend may sound alarming, especially to parents dreaming of their child’s acceptance to Harvard, Stanford or Yale, there is mounting evidence that eliminating homework in grade school may actually have great benefits , especially with regard to educational equity.

In fact, while the push to eliminate homework may come as a surprise to many adults, the debate is not new . Parents and educators have been talking about this subject for the last century, so that the educational pendulum continues to swing back and forth between the need for homework and the need to eliminate homework.

One of the most pressing talking points around homework is how it disproportionately affects students from less affluent families. The American Psychological Association (APA) explained:

“Kids from wealthier homes are more likely to have resources such as computers, internet connections, dedicated areas to do schoolwork and parents who tend to be more educated and more available to help them with tricky assignments. Kids from disadvantaged homes are more likely to work at afterschool jobs, or to be home without supervision in the evenings while their parents work multiple jobs.”

[RELATED] How to Advance Your Career: A Guide for Educators >> 

While students growing up in more affluent areas are likely playing sports, participating in other recreational activities after school, or receiving additional tutoring, children in disadvantaged areas are more likely headed to work after school, taking care of siblings while their parents work or dealing with an unstable home life. Adding homework into the mix is one more thing to deal with — and if the student is struggling, the task of completing homework can be too much to consider at the end of an already long school day.

While all students may groan at the mention of homework, it may be more than just a nuisance for poor and disadvantaged children, instead becoming another burden to carry and contend with.

Beyond the logistical issues, homework can negatively impact physical health and stress — and once again this may be a more significant problem among economically disadvantaged youth who typically already have a higher stress level than peers from more financially stable families .

Yet, today, it is not just the disadvantaged who suffer from the stressors that homework inflicts. A 2014 CNN article, “Is Homework Making Your Child Sick?” , covered the issue of extreme pressure placed on children of the affluent. The article looked at the results of a study surveying more than 4,300 students from 10 high-performing public and private high schools in upper-middle-class California communities.

“Their findings were troubling: Research showed that excessive homework is associated with high stress levels, physical health problems and lack of balance in children’s lives; 56% of the students in the study cited homework as a primary stressor in their lives,” according to the CNN story. “That children growing up in poverty are at-risk for a number of ailments is both intuitive and well-supported by research. More difficult to believe is the growing consensus that children on the other end of the spectrum, children raised in affluence, may also be at risk.”

When it comes to health and stress it is clear that excessive homework, for children at both ends of the spectrum, can be damaging. Which begs the question, how much homework is too much?

The National Education Association and the National Parent Teacher Association recommend that students spend 10 minutes per grade level per night on homework . That means that first graders should spend 10 minutes on homework, second graders 20 minutes and so on. But a study published by The American Journal of Family Therapy found that students are getting much more than that.

While 10 minutes per day doesn’t sound like much, that quickly adds up to an hour per night by sixth grade. The National Center for Education Statistics found that high school students get an average of 6.8 hours of homework per week, a figure that is much too high according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is also to be noted that this figure does not take into consideration the needs of underprivileged student populations.

In a study conducted by the OECD it was found that “after around four hours of homework per week, the additional time invested in homework has a negligible impact on performance .” That means that by asking our children to put in an hour or more per day of dedicated homework time, we are not only not helping them, but — according to the aforementioned studies — we are hurting them, both physically and emotionally.

What’s more is that homework is, as the name implies, to be completed at home, after a full day of learning that is typically six to seven hours long with breaks and lunch included. However, a study by the APA on how people develop expertise found that elite musicians, scientists and athletes do their most productive work for about only four hours per day. Similarly, companies like Tower Paddle Boards are experimenting with a five-hour workday, under the assumption that people are not able to be truly productive for much longer than that. CEO Stephan Aarstol told CNBC that he believes most Americans only get about two to three hours of work done in an eight-hour day.

In the scope of world history, homework is a fairly new construct in the U.S. Students of all ages have been receiving work to complete at home for centuries, but it was educational reformer Horace Mann who first brought the concept to America from Prussia. 

Since then, homework’s popularity has ebbed and flowed in the court of public opinion. In the 1930s, it was considered child labor (as, ironically, it compromised children’s ability to do chores at home). Then, in the 1950s, implementing mandatory homework was hailed as a way to ensure America’s youth were always one step ahead of Soviet children during the Cold War. Homework was formally mandated as a tool for boosting educational quality in 1986 by the U.S. Department of Education, and has remained in common practice ever since.  

School work assigned and completed outside of school hours is not without its benefits. Numerous studies have shown that regular homework has a hand in improving student performance and connecting students to their learning. When reviewing these studies, take them with a grain of salt; there are strong arguments for both sides, and only you will know which solution is best for your students or school. 

Homework improves student achievement.

• Source: The High School Journal, “ When is Homework Worth the Time?: Evaluating the Association between Homework and Achievement in High School Science and Math ,” 2012. 
• Source: IZA.org, “ Does High School Homework Increase Academic Achievement? ,” 2014. **Note: Study sample comprised only high school boys. 

Homework helps reinforce classroom learning.

• Source: “ Debunk This: People Remember 10 Percent of What They Read ,” 2015.

Homework helps students develop good study habits and life skills.

• Sources: The Repository @ St. Cloud State, “ Types of Homework and Their Effect on Student Achievement ,” 2017; Journal of Advanced Academics, “ Developing Self-Regulation Skills: The Important Role of Homework ,” 2011.
• Source: Journal of Advanced Academics, “ Developing Self-Regulation Skills: The Important Role of Homework ,” 2011.

Homework allows parents to be involved with their children’s learning.

• Parents can see what their children are learning and working on in school every day. 
• Parents can participate in their children’s learning by guiding them through homework assignments and reinforcing positive study and research habits.
• Homework observation and participation can help parents understand their children’s academic strengths and weaknesses, and even identify possible learning difficulties.
• Source: Phys.org, “ Sociologist Upends Notions about Parental Help with Homework ,” 2018.

While some amount of homework may help students connect to their learning and enhance their in-class performance, too much homework can have damaging effects. 

Students with too much homework have elevated stress levels. 

• Source: USA Today, “ Is It Time to Get Rid of Homework? Mental Health Experts Weigh In ,” 2021.
• Source: Stanford University, “ Stanford Research Shows Pitfalls of Homework ,” 2014.

Students with too much homework may be tempted to cheat. 

• Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education, “ High-Tech Cheating Abounds, and Professors Bear Some Blame ,” 2010.
• Source: The American Journal of Family Therapy, “ Homework and Family Stress: With Consideration of Parents’ Self Confidence, Educational Level, and Cultural Background ,” 2015.

Homework highlights digital inequity. 

• Sources: NEAToday.org, “ The Homework Gap: The ‘Cruelest Part of the Digital Divide’ ,” 2016; CNET.com, “ The Digital Divide Has Left Millions of School Kids Behind ,” 2021.
• Source: Investopedia, “ Digital Divide ,” 2022; International Journal of Education and Social Science, “ Getting the Homework Done: Social Class and Parents’ Relationship to Homework ,” 2015.
• Source: World Economic Forum, “ COVID-19 exposed the digital divide. Here’s how we can close it ,” 2021.

Homework does not help younger students.

• Source: Review of Educational Research, “ Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Researcher, 1987-2003 ,” 2006.

To help students find the right balance and succeed, teachers and educators must start the homework conversation, both internally at their school and with parents. But in order to successfully advocate on behalf of students, teachers must be well educated on the subject, fully understanding the research and the outcomes that can be achieved by eliminating or reducing the homework burden. There is a plethora of research and writing on the subject for those interested in self-study.

For teachers looking for a more in-depth approach or for educators with a keen interest in educational equity, formal education may be the best route. If this latter option sounds appealing, there are now many reputable schools offering online master of education degree programs to help educators balance the demands of work and family life while furthering their education in the quest to help others.

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How Homework Is Destroying Teens’ Health

Jessica Amabile '24 , Staff Writer March 25, 2022

“[Students] average about 3.1 hours of homework each night,” according to an article published by Stanford .  Teens across the country come home from school, exhausted from a long day, only to do more schoolwork.  They sit at their computers, working on homework assignments for hours on end.  To say the relentless amount of work they have to do is overwhelming would be an understatement.  The sheer amount of homework given has many negative impacts on teenagers.

Students have had homework for decades, but in more recent years it has become increasingly more demanding.  Multiple studies have shown that students average about three hours of homework per night.  The Atlantic mentioned that students now have twice as much homework as students did in the 1990s.  This is extremely detrimental to teens’ mental health and levels of stress.  Students have a lot to do after school, such as spending time with family, extracurricular activities, taking care of siblings or other family members, hanging out with friends, or all of the above.  Having to juggle all of this as well as hours on end of homework is unreasonable because teenagers already have enough to think or worry about.   

According to a student- run survey conducted in Cherry Hill West, students reported that they received the most homework in math, history, and language arts classes.  They receive anywhere from 1 to 4 or more hours of homework every day, but only about 22.7% somewhat or strongly agree that it helps them learn.  Of the students who participated, 63.6% think schools should continue to give out homework sometimes, while 27.3% said they should not give out homework at all.  In an open-ended response section, students had a lot to say.  One student wrote, “I think we should get homework to practice work if we are seen struggling, or didn’t finish work in class. But if we get homework, I think it just shows that the teacher needs more time to teach and instead of speeding up, gives us more work.”  Another added,  “Homework is important to learn the material. However, too much may lead to the student not learning that much, or it may become stressful to do homework everyday.”  Others wrote, “The work I get in chemistry doesn’t help me learn at all if anything it confuses me more,” and “I think math is the only class I could use homework as that helps me learn while world language is supposed to help me learn but feels more like a time waste.”   A student admitted, “I think homework is beneficial for students but the amount of homework teachers give us each day is very overwhelming and puts a lot of stress on kids. I always have my work done but all of the homework I have really changes my emotions and it effects me.”  Another pointed out, “you are at school for most of your day waking up before the sun and still after all of that they send you home each day with work you need to do before the next day. Does that really make sense[?]”

As an article from Healthline mentioned, “Researchers asked students whether they experienced physical symptoms of stress… More than 80 percent of students reported having at least one stress-related symptom in the past month, and 44 percent said they had experienced three or more symptoms.”  If school is causing students physical symptoms of stress, it needs to re-evaluate whether or not homework is beneficial to students, especially teenagers.  Students aren’t learning anything if they have hours of “busy work” every night, so much so that it gives them symptoms of stress, such as headaches, weight loss, sleep deprivation, and so on.  The continuous hours of work are doing nothing but harming students mentally and physically.

The mental effects of homework can be harmful as well.  Mental health issues are often ignored, even when schools can be the root of the problem.  An article from USA Today contained a quote from a licensed therapist and social worker named Cynthia Catchings, which reads, “ heavy workloads can also cause serious mental health problems in the long run, like anxiety and depression.”  Mental health problems are not beneficial in any way to education.  In fact, it makes it more difficult for students to focus and learn.  

Some studies have suggested that students should receive less homework.  To an extent, homework can help students in certain areas, such as math.  However, too much has detrimental impacts on their mental and physical health.  Emmy Kang, a mental health counselor, has a suggestion.  She mentioned, “I don’t think (we) should scrap homework; I think we should scrap meaningless, purposeless busy work-type homework. That’s something that needs to be scrapped entirely,” she says, encouraging teachers to be thoughtful and consider the amount of time it would take for students to complete assignments,” according to USA Today .  Students don’t have much control over the homework they receive, but if enough people could explain to teachers the negative impacts it has on them, they might be convinced.  Teachers need to realize that their students have other classes and other assignments to do.  While this may not work for everything, it would at least be a start, which would be beneficial to students.

The sole purpose of schools is to educate children and young adults to help them later on in life.  However, school curriculums have gone too far if hours of homework for each class are seen as necessary and beneficial to learning.  Many studies have shown that homework has harmful effects on students, so how does it make sense to keep assigning it?  At this rate, the amount of time spent on homework will increase in years to come, along with the effects of poor mental and physical health.  Currently, students do an average of 3 hours of homework, according to the Washington Post, and the estimated amount of teenagers suffering from at least one mental illness is 1 in 5, as Polaris Teen Center stated.  This is already bad enough–it’s worrisome to think it could get much worse.  Homework is not more important than physical or mental health, by any standards.

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Does Homework Cause Stress? Exploring the Impact on Students’ Mental Health

How much homework is too much?

Jump to: The Link Between Homework and Stress | Homework’s Impact on Mental Health | Benefits of Homework | How Much Homework Should Teacher’s Assign? | Advice for Students | How Healium Helps

Homework has become a matter of concern for educators, parents, and researchers due to its potential effects on students’ stress levels. It’s no secret students often find themselves grappling with high levels of stress and anxiety throughout their academic careers, so understanding the extent to which homework affects those stress levels is important. 

By delving into the latest research and understanding the underlying factors at play, we hope to curate insights for educators, parents, and students who are wondering  is homework causing stress in their lives?

The Link Between Homework and Stress: What the Research Says

Over the years, numerous studies investigated the relationship between homework and stress levels in students. 

One study published in the Journal of Experimental Education found that students who reported spending more than two hours per night on homework experienced higher stress levels and physical health issues . Those same students reported over three hours of homework a night on average.

This study, conducted by Stanford lecturer Denise Pope, has been heavily cited throughout the years, with WebMD eproducing the below video on the topic– part of their special report series on teens and stress : 

Additional studies published by Sleep Health Journal found that long hours on homework on may be a risk factor for depression while also suggesting that reducing workload outside of class may benefit sleep and mental fitness .

Lastly, a study presented by Frontiers in Psychology highlighted significant health implications for high school students facing chronic stress, including emotional exhaustion and alcohol and drug use.

Homework’s Potential Impact on Mental Health and Well-being

Homework-induced stress on students can involve both psychological and physiological side effects. 

1. Potential Psychological Effects of Homework-Induced Stress:

• Anxiety: The pressure to perform academically and meet homework expectations can lead to heightened levels of anxiety in students. Constant worry about completing assignments on time and achieving high grades can be overwhelming.

• Sleep Disturbances : Homework-related stress can disrupt students’ sleep patterns, leading to sleep anxiety or sleep deprivation, both of which can negatively impact cognitive function and emotional regulation.

• Reduced Motivation: Excessive homework demands could drain students’ motivation, causing them to feel fatigued and disengaged from their studies. Reduced motivation may lead to a lack of interest in learning, hindering overall academic performance.

2. Potential Physical Effects of Homework-Induced Stress:

• Impaired Immune Function: Prolonged stress could weaken the immune system, making students more susceptible to illnesses and infections.

• Disrupted Hormonal Balance : The body’s stress response triggers the release of hormones like cortisol, which, when chronically elevated due to stress, can disrupt the delicate hormonal balance and lead to various health issues.

• Gastrointestinal Disturbances: Stress has been known to affect the gastrointestinal system, leading to symptoms such as stomachaches, nausea, and other digestive problems.

• Cardiovascular Impact: The increased heart rate and elevated blood pressure associated with stress can strain the cardiovascular system, potentially increasing the risk of heart-related issues in the long run.

• Brain impact: Prolonged exposure to stress hormones may impact the brain’s functioning , affecting memory, concentration, and cognitive abilities.

The Benefits of Homework

It’s important to note that homework also offers many benefits that contribute to students’ academic growth and development, such as: 

• Development of Time Management Skills: Completing homework within specified deadlines encourages students to manage their time efficiently. This valuable skill extends beyond academics and becomes essential in various aspects of life.

• Preparation for Future Challenges : Homework helps prepare students for future academic challenges and responsibilities. It fosters a sense of discipline and responsibility, qualities that are crucial for success in higher education and professional life.

• Enhanced Problem-Solving Abilities: Homework often presents students with challenging problems to solve. Tackling these problems independently nurtures critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

While homework can foster discipline, time management, and self-directed learning, the middle ground may be to  strike a balance that promotes both academic growth and mental well-being .

How Much Homework Should Teachers Assign?

As a general guideline, educators suggest assigning a workload that allows students to grasp concepts effectively without overwhelming them . Quality over quantity is key, ensuring that homework assignments are purposeful, relevant, and targeted towards specific objectives. 

Advice for Students: How to balance Homework and Well-being

Finding a balance between academic responsibilities and well-being is crucial for students. Here are some practical tips and techniques to help manage homework-related stress and foster a healthier approach to learning:

• Effective Time Management : Encourage students to create a structured study schedule that allocates sufficient time for homework, breaks, and other activities. Prioritizing tasks and setting realistic goals can prevent last-minute rushes and reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed.

• Break Tasks into Smaller Chunks : Large assignments can be daunting and may contribute to stress. Students should break such tasks into smaller, manageable parts. This approach not only makes the workload seem less intimidating but also provides a sense of accomplishment as each section is completed.

• Find a Distraction-Free Zone : Establish a designated study area that is free from distractions like smartphones, television, or social media. This setting will improve focus and productivity, reducing time needed to complete homework.

• Be Active : Regular exercise is known to reduce stress and enhance mood. Encourage students to incorporate physical activity into their daily routine, whether it’s going for a walk, playing a sport, or doing yoga.

• Practice Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques : Encourage students to engage in mindfulness practices, such as deep breathing exercises or meditation, to alleviate stress and improve concentration. Taking short breaks to relax and clear the mind can enhance overall well-being and cognitive performance.

• Seek Support : Teachers, parents, and school counselors play an essential role in supporting students. Create an open and supportive environment where students feel comfortable expressing their concerns and seeking help when needed.

How Healium is Helping in Schools

Stress is caused by so many factors and not just the amount of work students are taking home.  Our company created a virtual reality stress management solution… a mental fitness tool called “Healium” that’s teaching students how to learn to self-regulate their stress and downshift in a drugless way. Schools implementing Healium have seen improvements from supporting dysregulated students and ADHD challenges to empowering students with body awareness and learning to self-regulate stress . Here’s one of their stories. 

By providing students with the tools they need to self-manage stress and anxiety, we represent a forward-looking approach to education that prioritizes the holistic development of every student. 

To learn more about how Healium works, watch the video below.

About the Author

Sarah Hill , a former interactive TV news journalist at NBC, ABC, and CBS affiliates in Missouri, gained recognition for pioneering interactive news broadcasting using Google Hangouts. She is now the CEO of Healium, the world’s first biometrically powered immersive media channel, helping those with stress, anxiety, insomnia, and other struggles through biofeedback storytelling. With patents, clinical validation, and over seven million views, she has reshaped the landscape of immersive media.

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• About Adverse Childhood Experiences
• Risk and Protective Factors
• Program: Essentials for Childhood: Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences through Data to Action
• Adverse childhood experiences can have long-term impacts on health, opportunity and well-being.
• Adverse childhood experiences are common and some groups experience them more than others.

What are adverse childhood experiences?

Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years). Examples include: 1

• Experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect.
• Witnessing violence in the home or community.
• Having a family member attempt or die by suicide.

Also included are aspects of the child’s environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability, and bonding. Examples can include growing up in a household with: 1

• Substance use problems.
• Mental health problems.
• Instability due to parental separation.
• Instability due to household members being in jail or prison.

The examples above are not a complete list of adverse experiences. Many other traumatic experiences could impact health and well-being. This can include not having enough food to eat, experiencing homelessness or unstable housing, or experiencing discrimination. 2 3 4 5 6

Quick facts and stats

ACEs are common. About 64% of adults in the United States reported they had experienced at least one type of ACE before age 18. Nearly one in six (17.3%) adults reported they had experienced four or more types of ACEs. 7

Preventing ACEs could potentially reduce many health conditions. Estimates show up to 1.9 million heart disease cases and 21 million depression cases potentially could have been avoided by preventing ACEs. 1

Some people are at greater risk of experiencing one or more ACEs than others. While all children are at risk of ACEs, numerous studies show inequities in such experiences. These inequalities are linked to the historical, social, and economic environments in which some families live. 5 6 ACEs were highest among females, non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native adults, and adults who are unemployed or unable to work. 7

ACEs are costly. ACEs-related health consequences cost an estimated economic burden of $748 billion annually in Bermuda, Canada, and the United States. 8

ACEs can have lasting effects on health and well-being in childhood and life opportunities well into adulthood. 9 Life opportunities include things like education and job potential. These experiences can increase the risks of injury, sexually transmitted infections, and involvement in sex trafficking. They can also increase risks for maternal and child health problems including teen pregnancy, pregnancy complications, and fetal death. Also included are a range of chronic diseases and leading causes of death, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and suicide. 1 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

ACEs and associated social determinants of health, such as living in under-resourced or racially segregated neighborhoods, can cause toxic stress. Toxic stress, or extended or prolonged stress, from ACEs can negatively affect children’s brain development, immune systems, and stress-response systems. These changes can affect children’s attention, decision-making, and learning. 18

Children growing up with toxic stress may have difficulty forming healthy and stable relationships. They may also have unstable work histories as adults and struggle with finances, jobs, and depression throughout life. 18 These effects can also be passed on to their own children. 19 20 21 Some children may face further exposure to toxic stress from historical and ongoing traumas. These historical and ongoing traumas refer to experiences of racial discrimination or the impacts of poverty resulting from limited educational and economic opportunities. 1 6

Adverse childhood experiences can be prevented. Certain factors may increase or decrease the risk of experiencing adverse childhood experiences.

Preventing adverse childhood experiences requires understanding and addressing the factors that put people at risk for or protect them from violence.

Creating safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children can prevent ACEs and help all children reach their full potential. We all have a role to play.

• Merrick MT, Ford DC, Ports KA, et al. Vital Signs: Estimated Proportion of Adult Health Problems Attributable to Adverse Childhood Experiences and Implications for Prevention — 25 States, 2015–2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2019;68:999-1005. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6844e1 .
• Cain KS, Meyer SC, Cummer E, Patel KK, Casacchia NJ, Montez K, Palakshappa D, Brown CL. Association of Food Insecurity with Mental Health Outcomes in Parents and Children. Science Direct. 2022; 22:7; 1105-1114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2022.04.010 .
• Smith-Grant J, Kilmer G, Brener N, Robin L, Underwood M. Risk Behaviors and Experiences Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness—Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 23 U.S. States and 11 Local School Districts. Journal of Community Health. 2022; 47: 324-333.
• Experiencing discrimination: Early Childhood Adversity, Toxic Stress, and the Impacts of Racism on the Foundations of Health | Annual Review of Public Health https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090419-101940 .
• Sedlak A, Mettenburg J, Basena M, et al. Fourth national incidence study of child abuse and neglect (NIS-4): Report to Congress. Executive Summary. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health an Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.; 2010.
• Font S, Maguire-Jack K. Pathways from childhood abuse and other adversities to adult health risks: The role of adult socioeconomic conditions. Child Abuse Negl. 2016;51:390-399.
• Swedo EA, Aslam MV, Dahlberg LL, et al. Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences Among U.S. Adults — Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2011–2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:707–715. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7226a2 .
• Bellis, MA, et al. Life Course Health Consequences and Associated Annual Costs of Adverse Childhood Experiences Across Europe and North America: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Lancet Public Health 2019.
• Adverse Childhood Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Associations with Poor Mental Health and Suicidal Behaviors Among High School Students — Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, January–June 2021 | MMWR
• Hillis SD, Anda RF, Dube SR, Felitti VJ, Marchbanks PA, Marks JS. The association between adverse childhood experiences and adolescent pregnancy, long-term psychosocial consequences, and fetal death. Pediatrics. 2004 Feb;113(2):320-7.
• Miller ES, Fleming O, Ekpe EE, Grobman WA, Heard-Garris N. Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes. Obstetrics & Gynecology . 2021;138(5):770-776. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000004570 .
• Sulaiman S, Premji SS, Tavangar F, et al. Total Adverse Childhood Experiences and Preterm Birth: A Systematic Review. Matern Child Health J . 2021;25(10):1581-1594. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-021-03176-6 .
• Ciciolla L, Shreffler KM, Tiemeyer S. Maternal Childhood Adversity as a Risk for Perinatal Complications and NICU Hospitalization. Journal of Pediatric Psychology . 2021;46(7):801-813. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsab027 .
• Mersky JP, Lee CP. Adverse childhood experiences and poor birth outcomes in a diverse, low-income sample. BMC pregnancy and childbirth. 2019;19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-019-2560-8 .
• Reid JA, Baglivio MT, Piquero AR, Greenwald MA, Epps N. No youth left behind to human trafficking: Exploring profiles of risk. American journal of orthopsychiatry. 2019;89(6):704.
• Diamond-Welch B, Kosloski AE. Adverse childhood experiences and propensity to participate in the commercialized sex market. Child Abuse & Neglect. 2020 Jun 1;104:104468.
• Shonkoff, J. P., Garner, A. S., Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption, and Dependent Care, & Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (2012). The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics, 129(1), e232–e246. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-2663
• Narayan AJ, Kalstabakken AW, Labella MH, Nerenberg LS, Monn AR, Masten AS. Intergenerational continuity of adverse childhood experiences in homeless families: unpacking exposure to maltreatment versus family dysfunction. Am J Orthopsych. 2017;87(1):3. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000133 .
• Schofield TJ, Donnellan MB, Merrick MT, Ports KA, Klevens J, Leeb R. Intergenerational continuity in adverse childhood experiences and rural community environments. Am J Public Health. 2018;108(9):1148-1152. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304598 .
• Schofield TJ, Lee RD, Merrick MT. Safe, stable, nurturing relationships as a moderator of intergenerational continuity of child maltreatment: a meta-analysis. J Adolesc Health. 2013;53(4 Suppl):S32-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.05.004 .

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

ACEs can have a tremendous impact on lifelong health and opportunity. CDC works to understand ACEs and prevent them.