Question: How much is too much homework in high school?
Answer:
Depending on your teen’s course load, having homework can take up to 3 hours a night, a couple of nights a week - not every night! This is the upper limit of the time your teen should be spending on homework. Any more than that and your teen will not be able to do other things that teach them responsibility and give confidence, like a part-time job or extracurricular activities.
If a teen is striving to do more academically by taking honors or AP classes, they will have more homework than this and may have to forgo other activities. You will have to gage the coursework as the class goes on. If you see that the workload is too much for your teen, you’ll need to talk about making changes to their schedule. (See our quiz: Is Your Teen Over scheduled?)
If you find your teen is struggling with their homework and it is taking up a lot of time, you may need to get them some extra help by finding a tutor or having your teen stay after school to get extra help from their teacher. There are homework help sites on the internet that also may be able to help your teen.
There are times when homework can take more time than normal. For instance, when there is a test or major project/paper due in more than one class on the same day. If you see this coming in advance, letting the teachers know will usually fix the problem. If not, help your teen organize their work to get through it the best they can.
You can help your teen keep from having to bring home too much homework by going over his schedule when he is scheduling classes and making sure they are taking advantage of study hall time. If your teen is scheduling in elective courses to fill in their schedule instead of having a study hall, they will have too much homework at times and perhaps the entire semester.
Calling the school is always an option when trying to handle 'too much homework'. Talk to your teen's teacher, guidance office and principal if needed.
FAQ for Parents: High School Homework