Many believe that homework is essential for student achievement. The belief is that homework helps students to better understand concepts introduced within the classroom.

Homework is said to improve student grades because it is the practice needed to be successful on exams. Homework can be very effective in increasing standardized test scores as a result. Many teachers claim that students believe that they fully understand what is being taught within the classroom. However, when they arrive home, they find it difficult to complete assignments on their own. 

Since during a test, students are expected to show mastery of the information taught without any help from the instructor, it is essential that they first attempt to practice at home through assignments. Without homework, many believe students would achieve lower test scores due to the lack of practice. When students understand and retain the information learned, this leads to higher standardized test scores.

Additionally, homework teaches students necessary time management skills and responsibility. Learning to use their time wisely to complete tasks will be an essential skill students will need to use within the workplace as well as in their personal lives.

 Since homework is given in all subjects, students are forced to prioritize and plan the time and resources needed to complete each assignment. Turning in assignments completed and on time teaches responsibility. 

Many argue that too much homework can be harmful. When students are given immense amounts of homework, it can result in a great amount of stress that is harmful to one’s mental state. More homework does not always equate to more success and academic achievement. An overload of homework forces one to rush, not fully understanding the concept. The amount of homework leaves students no choice but to stay up past the time they should, causing them to lose sleep and wake exhausted for yet another day of school. 

The average adult spends 44 hours a week working while students attend school for 35 hours per week. Essentially, school is a full time job. Most teenagers report that they spend an average of 2-3 hours per day completing homework assignments and studying for exams. This means that they spend an additional 10-15 hours outside of school working on homework. 

This leaves little to no time for extracurricular activities or relaxation. Considering this, students are essentially working non-stop. Even for adults, working non-stop leads to stress, anxiety, and depression.

 Considering their age, students are more vulnerable and the increase in stress and anxiety can be far more detrimental to their health and well being. In an effort to balance their need for relaxation, many procrastinate which results in additional stress.

Without time to relax and recuperate, when they do return to school, students are burnt out. This leads to boredom, loss of interest in learning, and a decrease in their ability to pay attention. This creates a cycle where they are not able to fully benefit from instruction and results in decreased understanding of material and lower grades. Homework is producing the opposite effect of what is needed for student success. 

Due to the environment, students are likely to become distracted at home. Noise from other family members, the lack of a proper workspace, and exhaustion causes students to struggle to stay on task. The inability to stay on task causes a domino effect where assignments are rushed, not done completely, and do not reflect the students full potential.  This leads to even more frustration and stress, not to mention lower academic achievement.