Photo by Reese Mallett

Alanna Moore, 11, works on homework during a TCC off-period on Jan. 9, 2024.

It’s Monday morning as Advanced Chemistry students line up at Ms. Kercher’s desk asking questions about their homework. Kercher typically helps ten out of her 170 students during tutoring time.  

Research from Duke University showed the average high school student doing homework outperformed 69% of the students in a class with no homework.

Advanced Chemistry and AP Biology teacher Donna Kercher officially assigns her students homework about once per week, but if an assignment is not finished in class, it becomes homework. However, she tells her students they have homework every night because they should be studying 10-15 minutes every night. 

“For those that do study 10-15 minutes every night, they do significantly better on exams,” Ms. Kercher said. “I had a student one time who improved his test grades quite a bit. I asked him what he was doing differently, and he said he’d tried what I had been suggesting.” 

A 2019 study done by the Pew Research Center found that teenagers ages 15 to 17, spend an average of an hour a day doing homework. Junior Jaxson Latimer spends an average of two hours a night on homework and always find himself occupied with more work. 

“It’s really a two-way street because the homework does help me understand the material with the extra practice, but it also adds a lot of stress to my plate,” Latimer said. “Thankfully, my mental health has stayed fairly positive because of the breaks I take and the support I have from my friends and family academically.” 

Volleyball Coach Amanda Shingleton started teaching 17 years ago and teaches health. She never assigns homework, however, if a student fails to complete an assignment, their job is to complete the task before the next class, unless told otherwise. 

“In my opinion, doing things to decompress your social and mental health should be what you spend your time doing,” Coach Shingleton said.

Shingleton believes homework is case-by-case because some kids need additional support and practice, while others do not.

“Homework is an individual basis, but that’s why we offer tutoring,” Shingleton said. “For my subject, the discussions in class are not necessarily a process they would need to practice, like math. Everything talked about in class can be worked on outside of class, like life skills.” 

A 2013 study by Stanford University interviewed high school and middle school students in California and found that over 70% of students were often or always stressed about homework.   

Sophomore Molly Aldridge spends around three hours a night on homework because she struggles with keeping on track due to her ADHD. 

“Homework really stresses me out,” Aldridge said. “After working eight hours in the classroom and then continuing working two to three hours at home, I feel like I have no time to myself.”

Aldridge receives the least homework in her AP World History class, but gets the most in English and Algebra 1.  

“My Algebra 1 homework helps me since there are many different ways we have to practice it, but with English homework it’s just busy work, I don’t ever learn anything,” Aldridge said.

Ms. Kercher believes homework teaches students time-management skills and how preparedness leads you to success.

“A student that does their homework in a timely manner will be much better prepared for class the next day,” Ms. Kercher said. “If a student fails to do the homework or is continually late, they will fall behind and always be playing “catch up” with their work.”