How is "too much homework" measurable? And at what point is "too much homework" not productive to actually learning a concept? I was a teacher and I never gave out a lot of homework (I gave about 2 homework assignments a week). Homework for me has to serve as only an activity to reinforce what was learned in class. "Too much" homework sounds like "busy" work with no clear purpose other than teachers making a reputation for themselves as being "hard."

Time and time again, research has shown that a lot of homework does not improve student performance. What improves student performance are techniques taught to the child to solve problems, and one does not need to do hours and hours of homework to learn or apply these techniques.

I worked with a teacher who gave out homework every night, yet her students didn't have the highest test scores in our group. In fact, my students' scores were better than hers. Teachers who give a lot of homework basically don't trust students to retain the information and believed that through hours and hours of repetition the information would be ingrained. But from my experience, memorization and retention and critical thinking skills can be accomplished other than "lots of homework."

So, too much homework would necessarily hurt a child, but it is pointless. Teachers who give a lot of homework really need to examine their own teaching methods.

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