Steve Cortes, president of the League of American Workers, said May 21 that students at selective private schools and affluent public schools are often assigned too much homework.
“There is way too much homework at the typical selective schools, whether the private ones or wealthy public ones,” Cortes said in a post on X. “A 7 or 8-hour school day should be PLENTY of time for that work. Kids need other activities after school, and lots of sleep, not hours more work.”
Stanford News reported that students from high-performing California high schools averaged 3.1 hours of homework each night. The research linked excessive homework to increased stress, health issues, and reduced time for socializing and extracurricular activities.
Edutopia reported that the National PTA and National Education Association recommend about 10 minutes of homework per grade level each night. The report also cited research findings that high school students may see negative effects when nightly homework exceeds two hours, while middle school students saw declining math and science scores with more than 90 to 100 minutes of daily homework.
Steve Cortes is the founder and president of the League of American Workers, an organization founded in 2022 that advocates for American workers through research, communications, and policy proposals focused on labor and economic issues.
