It doesn’t matter how old you are or what grade you are in, few students actually enjoy homework. Still, it is an important element of every student’s education and must be done accordingly. So, how much homework do students get on average depending on whether they are in elementary, middle, high school, or college?
Well, as you can imagine, there is quite the discrepancy and it isn’t just in the amount of work either! To appreciate the differences in homework across the board, take a look at what students have to do at every stage of their academic career:
Elementary School
When it comes to primary or elementary school, teachers are meant to follow the rule of thumb for homework. This says that students should be given 10 minutes of homework each day for each grade that they have reached.
With this in mind, you will find that kindergarten students have about ten minutes of homework every day. Students in the first to third grade will receive between one to three assignments each work. As such, they will spend around 20 minutes to half an hour on homework.
For students in the fourth and fifth grade, the number of assignments range from two to four assignments per week. Therefore, they will be spending around 40 to 50 minutes on homework.
Middle School
As children move into middle school, their classes become more complex and they are expected to spend more time on their homework. At this point, though, the time spent on homework is calculated based on how much time should be given to each subject.
In the sixth grade, students should be given about 15 minutes of homework for every class that they have. For the seventh and the eighth grades, this goes up to around 20 minutes for each class, per day.
Students in these grades may be assigned around three to five sets of assignments every week. Based on this, they will spend around 45 to 75 minutes of homework every night.
High School
Most high school students experience their greatest workload between the grades of 9 and 12. Not only is there more work to do than ever before, but students are also expected to complete more complex work.
Ninth and tenth graders should do about 25 minutes of homework per class. Eleventh and twelfth graders should do about half an hour. They may receive between four to five sets of work each week. As a result, they can expect to spend anywhere between 75 and 150 minutes on homework.
College
Then, there are college students. Contrary to popular belief, college students have to do homework as well. However, professors don’t really refer to it as homework. This is because these are often quite different from the assignments that you get in lower grades.
There is a rule of thumb for how much homework you should get in college as well. Every college credit that you take should result in between two to three hours of homework every week. Most full-time students take enough courses for around 15 credits per semester. Due to this, you may have to spend between 30 and 45 hours of homework each week.
If this sounds impossible, you should remember that college isn’t structured in the same way that school is. From elementary to high school you spend around eight hours of your day in classes. In college, though, you spend only a few hours a day in class.
This is because much of college involves independent study. And, homework fits into this concept of self-study. Due to this, you are expected to spend four to six hours a day on your homework.
At the same time, this doesn’t mean that it is easy to get all of your homework done each day. In many instances, you are expected to do homework on the weekends as well. Even on the weekends you may have to do up to 6 hours of assignments. Of course, this does depend on how much of your work you have managed to get done during the week.
Another thing that you should be aware of is that homework in college is a lot more different to what you get in high school. Most college professors require you to do a lot of reading for their classes. Therefore, much of your homework time will be spent doing this.
You will also have to do problem sets, creative problems, multimedia presentations, etc. Therefore, you may have to expend a different amount of time and energy into these assignments.
How Much Homework Do Students Actually Get?
Now, the above figures are all averages or how many hours a student should ideally spend on homework. So, does this reflect reality? Do students actually get the amount of work that they are supposed to?
Well, the reports do vary quite a bit here. This is often because each school has their own guidelines for issuing homework. Not to mention, the numbers can be over or under reported making it tricky for educators to come to a conclusion.
There is some evidence, though, that shows that students do get more homework than they are supposed to. It was estimated that primary school students were getting just under 3 hours of work a week, per teacher. As these students tend to have around four main subjects, this accumulates to just under 12 hours of homework a week.
Some educators estimate that middle school students get about 3.2 hours per week. As a result, they end up doing close to 13 hours of homework each week. High school students completed about 3.5 hours of homework per week, per teacher. As a result, they were doing about 17.5 hours a week.
What this means that primary students are spending up to four times more than they should on homework. Middle school students are doing more than double, and high school students are doing upwards of 7 hours more than they should.
How Actual Time Varies Between Students
When calculating how long it takes to do homework, you should also appreciate that there is a great deal of discrepancy from one student to another. Therefore, just because a teacher assumes that a particular assignment will only take a certain amount of time, there is no guarantee that this is the case.
Less capable students or those that struggle with particular subjects will naturally take longer. This means that an already heavy workload can become even worse for them. Naturally, this can have an impact on their overall academic standing.
How to Do Homework Faster
If there isn’t anything that you can do about your homework load then you should find ways to do the work in a more efficient manner. Here are some of the tips and the tricks that you can try:
Find the Right Timing for You
Each person has their own time of their day where they are most mentally alert. For some, it is in the mornings, for others it is right after school, and for others still it is later on in the evening. This is why the first thing that you should do is to figure out what is the best time for you to do your homework.
When you find the ideal time for you, there is a greater chance that you can focus for longer. In turn, you will be able to complete the work more quickly rather than phasing out or feeling overwhelmed.
Make a List
Before you begin your homework, sit down and make a list of everything that should be completed. Add every single task, even if it is just re-reading your notes. This way, you have a clear idea of what you need to accomplish.
Then, estimate how long it is going to take for you to complete each of these tasks. Write this down next to the assignment. You can set yourself an alarm if you feel like this will help you to stay focused on the task.
Gather Your Supplies
It is surprising all the ways that you can distract yourself when you are supposed to be doing homework. To ensure that you don’t move around more than you have to, gather all the supplies that you will need for your assignments. This includes books, devices, stationary, etc. Even have food and drink if you think that you will need these.
Unplug
It can be tricky to get any work done when so many devices are calling to you. Do yourself a favor and leave your phone outside your room or study area. If you don’t need the internet, turn off the connection on your computer. If you do need to use the internet, try to temporarily block or mute any sites or apps that can distract you during this time.
This is a guide to how long it takes to do your homework in a wide variety of grades. And, you can also take a look at the reality of the situation as well. Want to complete your work faster, you now know the top tips and tricks to help you!
