Recent studies show that too much homework is ineffective, possibly damaging, for students.

With these discoveries, the only question that remains standing is “how much is too much homework?”

The definition of “too much” homework differs based upon a person’s age and what classes he/she takes. A third grader might not need as much practice or to do as much homework as a ninth grader.

According to an article on the Stanford News website, high school students who spend more than two hours doing homework, often encounter “stress, physical health problems, lack of balance and alienation from society.”

If homework, or too much of it, is accompanied by such negative side effects, it has lost its true value. Initially homework was designed to give students extra practice, this practice includes writing, doing math problems, and reading in grade school.

“Homework is great, but it shouldn’t make people stay up until the wee hours of the night, fearing they won’t get it all done,” Jillian Hayne, sophomore, said.

In an article on the PennState website, researchers have claimed that most teachers are making use of homework in the least effective way.

“They assign homework mostly as a drill to improve memorization of material…While drills and repetitive exercises have their place in schooling, homework may not be that place,” David P. Baker, Pennsylvania State University professor of education and sociology, said.

The issue with these “drilling” tactics is that students frequently forget information that will be extremely useful later, such as when finals or standardized testing come around.

If students are forgetting helpful information when it is most important, it seems as if all of the effort students have put into their studies was pointless.

Most teachers have nothing but the best intentions when assigning homework as they wish to witness their students succeed.

“I feel like I sometimes work like a tornado, trying to work very hard for the students,” Michelle Kinzer, mathematics instructor, said.

Although teachers have their hearts in the right place, it is nearly impossible for students to complete all homework assignments from seven different classes in such little time and live the average teenage lifestyle of balancing work, family, school and friends.

If each student receives about 45 minutes of homework for each class, he/she is expected to balance school activities, work, over five hours of homework and meet the recommended amount of sleep an adolescent should receive, which is about nine hours.

Taking all of these factors into consideration, a solution might be that each department, such as math and science, will be assigned a day of the week to give homework, this will give students the practice they need without overwhelming them. The revolving days could exclude English because it would be difficult alternate days if reading a novel.