How Many Minutes Should Kids Really Spend Doing Homework?
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iStock/Thinkstock(OVIEDO, Spain) — Seventy minutes of homework a day doesn’t seem like a lot but a Spanish study suggests that it might be the perfect amount of time to improve grades, particularly in math and science.
Researchers from the University of Oviedo in Spain analyzed the performance of about 7,700 boys and girls with a mean age of about 13. A couple of things were discovered right off the bat: kids did better in standardized tests when assigned homework and when they did it without any assistance.
However, the time spent doing homework was crucial when it came to math and science scores, which declined a bit when students were given between 90 and 100 minutes of homework. Furthermore, the improvement in scores when 70 to 90 minutes of homework was assigned was negligible.
Therefore, 70 minutes of homework for adolescents is preferable.
Co-lead authors Javier Suarez-Alvarez and Ruben Fernandez-Alonso concluded, “It is not necessary to assign huge quantities of homework, but it is important that assignment is systematic and regular, with the aim of instilling work habits and promoting autonomous, self-regulated learning.”
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