A survey conducted by the Stanford Graduate School reveals that 56% of students at high performing high schools in America considered homework a primary source of stress.

The debate on whether homework is beneficial or not is a discussion every household has endured. From studies by Duke University Researchers, it is clear that homework does have a significantly positive effect on a pupils grades. However, if students are basing their lives outside of school and sacrificing extra-curricular activities they enjoy just so they can finish a piece of homework in a subject they don’t enjoy, is it truly beneficial?

Stanford Graduate School conducted a survey to research teen stress. This survey showed that adolescents generally have more stress than adults. Why?

Well when the same teens were asked why they felt so anxious, 56% cited homework as a major source for their anxiety, including grades, revision and unorganization. Similarly, while the studies by Duke University shows that homework has a large impact on a student’s grades, it also shows that too much homework can be counterproductive for students at all levels. Dr Harris Cooper, a leading expert in this field has commented that “the bottom line is that all students should be doing homework, but the amount and type should vary according to their developmental level and home circumstances.”

Research conducted by The National Center for Education Statistics found that participation in extracurricular activities has a positive correlation with students’ attendance, test scores and expected educational goals. The study says that 68.2% of students that were taking part in some description of extra-curricular activities were expected to earn a bachelor's degree or higher. Whereas only 48.2% of students who had not participated in some form of extra-curricular activity were expected to earn a bachelor's degree or higher.

‘Kids quit playing the sport they love due to the fact they have too much school work to tackle during their evening’ says a 6th grade student who did a study on the negative impacts of homework. This information correlates with previous information discussed, as we can clearly recognise that giving this amount of school work to complete on an evening can actually negatively affect their grades and their mental health, leading potentially to anxiety, depression and even physical problems.

Lauren