According to a 2003 Brookings Institution study, homework loads for American students in kindergarten through 12th grade have not varied much in the past 50 years, with one exception:

After the Soviets launched the Sputnik satellite in 1957, homework doubled.

The study also noted that American children have one of the lowest homework loads in the world; most do less than an hour a day. Yet one of the topics most kids complain about is the amount of homework they receive.

Students at three area private schools recently shared their views on homework and its value. Chris Bosma, 13, Ellen Davis, 13, and Jennifer Wilson, 13, are from Heritage Christian; Holden Miller, 12, Michael Strader, 13, and Kaylin Hokanson, 12, attend the International School of Indiana; and Daniel Hasler, 13, Lara Naanouh, 14, Danielle Mattingly, 14, and Erin Biel, 14, are students at Park Tudor. All said they average about 1 1/2 hours of homework a day.

School policies

Kaylin: I think the school does have a policy that teachers cannot give out more than 20 minutes per teacher.

Chris: It really varies. I have done anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours of homework.

Daniel: I know some teachers who say if you've been spending more than this certain amount of time, then you need to stop, come in early, see me and we'll talk it over. But I don't think there's ever been a time limit of how long we should be working.

Erin: I don't remember any of the teachers ever saying how much homework we should have. I think they know that it's going to be different for each person, and so we just need to spend the amount of time that is needed in order to get things done.

Danielle: Our school doesn't have an actual policy, but each teacher varies in how much homework they give out. I know my Latin teacher refuses to give homework on the weekends. We do have a policy that we can't have any more than three tests, I believe, in one day, so it doesn't overload us in studying for tests the night before.

Why do homework?

Ellen: We can practice what we learn.

Chris: What we learn stays fresh in our minds. Like I know that I can easily forget something in like a couple of hours, much less just a whole day, if I'm not like constantly thinking about it. So when they give homework, it's like just a great practice thing.

Michael: I think it's to see what you learned that day or how well you thought it through and what it means.

Kaylin: I think it's to see if you understand what you're learning and it's a way for them to see if you need extra help in a certain area.

Erin: By doing your homework, it really prepares you for whatever is going to come next that you're learning. And also it creates a good work ethic as you grow, so it's important to do every piece of homework that you get.

Approach to homework

Michael: I usually come home and maybe play outside for a little bit, and then do my homework before dinner. You just have to be able to organize your time. At the beginning of the year, for me, or my class, they gave us lots of projects and essays, and you just had to organize your time and take time off, like on the weekends, just to do homework and not go and hang out with friends.

Kaylin: I do it right after school. On the weekends, some people put it off until Sunday night, but I do it Friday so I can just relax over the weekend.

Chris: Sometimes I get home and it was a really hard day, and I'm just really tired and I don't start on my homework right away because I'm so tired of school.

Usually if I am in that type of mood, it really doesn't help to do my homework right away, 'cause I just can't force myself to concentrate on it.

Erin: Depending on the day and what I have going on, I have this routine where I'll always take a break and have something to eat. Then I go and do my homework because I like to get that out of way before I do anything else.

Changes with grade levels

Chris: Kindergarten through fourth grade, you really don't get that much homework. I mean, it's like, 'Oh, match the suns that look alike.' It's nothing special.

But . . . fifth grade was just like it's your last elementary year. You don't get that much homework, at least for us. And then once you get to sixth grade, for us it was like a huge step up. Like all of a sudden we were doing a lot of work, but it was really busywork. It wasn't really application.

Now they've increased the load, plus it is not busywork but actual learning while you're at home, not just at school.

Michael: I think it gets a little harder every year, but also you get more because the teachers expect more from you.

Jennifer: The homework in sixth grade wasn't hard, but it got me used to doing work, and in seventh grade it becomes hard but I'm used to doing it.

Benefits of homework

Chris: Homework kind of trains you in a way. You can't just like go to your work and have work separate from home. Sometimes you have to take work home. So in school they're just doing that with schoolwork, and we're learning to take it home and just do it.

Kaylin: I think it'll affect like what college you get into.

Holden: I think it (teaches) organization.

Lara: I actually kind of like having homework because I don't really want to lie around watching TV all the time.

Importance of grades

Chris: (I) feel like you need to work to get good grades. There are a lot of kids in our grade that are like 'Oh, who cares? We don't care until high school.' But what they don't realize is, the more you learn now, the easier it will be to learn in high school.

Michael: Well, if I get A's, B's and C's and I know I've given my hardest, I don't care. But if I didn't, and I know that I didn't, it bums me out.

Daniel: I just try to do my best. I guess all of us are pretty driven to do our personal best in everything that we do.

Erin: I think that grades do not show how intelligent you are, but they show the motivation that goes into doing well in school. And so even though people may not regard grades as being important, in the long run, I think it is because it shows you have the motivation to succeed.

Danielle: I believe that grades are like the building blocks for your future, and if you start out well in middle school, then it'll lead to high school and your career. So it's really important.

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Ben Dorson, 15.

REPORTERS: Justin Byers, 13; Eric Chen, 12; Millie Cripe, 12; Jeff Hou, 11; Vivianne Smedley, 11; Renee Wellman, 11.

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