After each national crisis, American teachers have typically increased homework, hoping to prepare American students to compete in the global marketplace. After the Soviets launched Sputnik, A Nation At Risk warned of our insidious educational mediocrity, and Asia began its ascent to power in the global economy, the amount of homework assigned in American schools increased. When researchers from the University of Michigan compared the amount of homework assigned in 1981 to the amount assigned in 1997, they were astonished. Assigned homework increased from about 44 minutes a week to more than two hours a week. Homework for kids aged nine to 11 increased from about two hours and 50 minutes to more than three and a half hours per week.
Many students complain that teachers give too much homework.
They may have a point. Busy families with demanding schedules may find fitting lots of homework into an average day difficult. Even young students are not getting the help at home that they used to. The same seems to hold true for older children. Kathleen Modenbach told Education World.