homework statistics in singapore

Singapore students spend third-highest amount of time on homework: study

Fifteen-year-old students in Singapore said they spent an average of 9.4 hours a week on homework, according to the results of a survey by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

This puts the country at number three out of the 65 countries involved in the  Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa)  study. The results were released on 1 December.

Shanghai-China came out on top with 13.8 hours a week and Russia with 9.7 hours.

Meanwhile, students in Korea and Finland spent fewer than three hours on homework, which is below the global average of five hours.

The study was conducted with around 510,000 students, who were also asked questions about their families and attitudes about the subjects they learn.

Students who spend more time on homework tend to perform better in their studies, according to the study.

“When comparing students of similar socio-economic backgrounds who attend similarly resourced schools, those who attend schools where students spend more time doing homework perform better in mathematics than those who attend schools whose students devote less time to homework," according to the study.

Time spent on homework also varies among students depending on their socio-economic background.

“In every country and economy that participated in PISA 2012, socio-economically advantaged students spend more time doing homework or other study required by their teachers than disadvantaged students.”

However, the amount of time spent on homework is not linked to the school system’s overall performance.

“This implies that other factors, such as the quality of instruction and how schools are organised, have a greater impact on a school system’s overall performance,” they said.

9.4 hours is ‘reasonable’

A Ministry of Education spokesperson reportedly said that the average of 9.4 hours Singapore students spend on homework is “fairly reasonable for upper-secondary students, who would be preparing for the national examinations”.

Associate Professor Jason Tan from the National Institute of Education (NIE) said that the number of hours is not “overwhelming” considering the number of subjects students in the country are taking.

“The 9.4 hours do not seem that overwhelming, when students are taking six to nine subjects in Secondary 3… but (the report) also doesn't give any indication of the subjects the time is spent on, or the nature of homework, so it's hard to draw any conclusions from this,” he was quoted by  The Straits Times   as saying.

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Education in Singapore - statistics & facts

The singapore education system, the pressures of achieving academic excellence, key insights.

Detailed statistics

Mean PISA score of students in Singapore 2009-2018, by subject

Government recurrent expenditure on education Singapore 2013-2022

Mean years of schooling Singapore 2013-2022

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Current statistics on this topic.

Educational Institutions & Market

Government total expenditure on education in Singapore FY 2012-2022

Education Level & Skills

Highest education qualification attained by adult residents Singapore 2022

Literacy rate Singaporeans 15 years and older 2012-2021

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• Premium Statistic Estimated share of government spending in Singapore FY 2022, by ministries
• Premium Statistic Mean PISA score of students in Singapore 2009-2018, by subject
• Premium Statistic Mean years of schooling Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Highest education qualification attained by adult residents Singapore 2022
• Basic Statistic Literacy rate Singaporeans 15 years and older 2012-2021

Estimated share of government spending in Singapore FY 2022, by ministries

Estimated share of government spending in Singapore in financial year 2022, by ministries

Mean Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) score of students in Singapore from 2009 to 2018, by subject

Mean years of schooling for adults aged 25 years and above in Singapore from 2013 to 2022

Breakdown of residents aged 25 years and older in Singapore in 2022, by highest education qualification attained (in 1,000s)

Literacy rate for people 15 years and older in Singapore from 2012 to 2021

Government spending

• Premium Statistic Government total expenditure on education in Singapore FY 2012-2022
• Premium Statistic Government recurrent expenditure on education Singapore FY 2021, by education level
• Premium Statistic Government expenditure on education per student Singapore FY 2022, by education level

Government total expenditure on education in Singapore from financial years 2012 to 2022 (in billion Singapore dollars)

Government recurrent expenditure on education Singapore FY 2021, by education level

Government recurrent expenditure on education in Singapore in the financial year 2021, by education level (in billion Singapore dollars)

Government expenditure on education per student Singapore FY 2022, by education level

Government recurrent expenditure on education per student in Singapore in the financial year 2022, by education level (in 1,000 Singapore dollars)

• Premium Statistic Enrollment in educational institutions in Singapore 2021, by type
• Premium Statistic Enrollment in primary schools in Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Enrollment in secondary schools in Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Enrollment in polytechnic institutions in Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Full-time enrollment in universities in Singapore 2013-2022

Enrollment in educational institutions in Singapore 2021, by type

Enrollment in educational institutions in Singapore in 2021, by type (in 1,000s)

Enrollment in primary schools in Singapore 2013-2022

Enrollment in primary schools in Singapore from 2013 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Enrollment in secondary schools in Singapore 2013-2022

Enrollment in secondary schools in Singapore from 2013 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Enrollment in polytechnic institutions in Singapore 2013-2022

Polytechnic enrollment in Singapore from 2013 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Full-time enrollment in universities in Singapore 2013-2022

Full-time university enrollment in Singapore from 2013 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Educational institutions

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• Premium Statistic Number of secondary schools in Singapore 1960-2022
• Premium Statistic Number of mixed level schools in Singapore 1960-2022
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Number of primary schools in Singapore 1960-2022

Number of primary schools in Singapore from 1960 to 2022

Number of secondary schools in Singapore 1960-2022

Number of secondary schools in Singapore from 1960 to 2022

Number of mixed level schools in Singapore 1960-2022

Number of mixed level schools in Singapore from 1960 to 2022

Number of pre-university schools in Singapore 1970-2022

Number of junior colleges and centralized institutes in Singapore from 1970 to 2022

Teaching staff

• Premium Statistic Number of teachers by educational institution in Singapore 2021
• Premium Statistic Student-teacher ratio in primary schools Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Average primary school class size Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Length of service of primary school teachers in Singapore 2022
• Premium Statistic Student-teacher ratio in secondary schools Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Average secondary school class size Singapore 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Length of service of secondary school teachers in Singapore 2022

Number of teachers by educational institution in Singapore 2021

Number of teachers in Singapore in 2021, by educational institution

Student-teacher ratio in primary schools Singapore 2013-2022

Ratio of students to teaching staff in primary schools in Singapore from 2013 to 2022

Average primary school class size Singapore 2013-2022

Average class size in primary schools in Singapore from 2013 to 2022

Length of service of primary school teachers in Singapore 2022

Length of service of primary school teachers in Singapore in 2022

Student-teacher ratio in secondary schools Singapore 2013-2022

Ratio of students to teaching staff in secondary schools in Singapore from 2013 to 2022

Average secondary school class size Singapore 2013-2022

Average class size in secondary schools in Singapore from 2013 to 2022

Length of service of secondary school teachers in Singapore 2022

Length of service of secondary school teachers in Singapore in 2022

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Homework In Singapore - Culture or Necessity

Homework – A Common Conversational Starter

“Did the teacher give any homework today?”

“Take out your Student Handbook and check if there is any homework.”

“Got e-learning assignment for this weekend?”

Homework is easily one of the most common topics in daily conversations between parents and their children in primary school nowadays. Ironically, more often than not, the above questions come before questions such as “ How’s your day? ” or “ What did you have for recess this morning? ”

The School Homework Policy

There is actually a set of guidelines governing the topic of homework in all schools on our lovely little red dot. It is named the School Homework Policy. It defines homework as “any learning activity” that each school requires their students to complete after school hours. The rationale for homework serves to allow educators to address learning gaps, if any, among the students in their respective subject classes. At the same time, it enables parents to gain a more accurate picture of their children’s learning progress.

What do Teachers and Parents feel about Homework?

Nonetheless, there seem to be a growing divergence in the mindsets of both educators and parents towards the concept of homework. One of the key reasons educators give homework is actually to show parents what is being covered in school. This is often communicated through instructions posted on different mediums such as the common student handbook and mobile apps like ClassDojo. In fact, ClassDojo is fast gaining popularity as the app where parents access daily to check what homework there is and to communicate with teachers any concerns they might have.

At the same time, there are increasingly more parents who feel homework takes away time from their children for leisure activities such as sports or even running about with their friends in the safety of their neighbourhood. On a more serious note, there also appear to be parents who seem to be overly involved in their children’s homework. You can probably identify them by the way they try to get their children to follow instructional techniques that differ greatly from what their teachers had used or the manner in which they give a fixed duration for their children to complete all their homework.

Is Homework Beneficial?

In Singapore, the general guideline for time spent on homework is about 30 minutes to an hour for Primary 1-2 students, 1-1.5 hour for Primary 3 and 4 students and 1.5-2 hours for Primary 5 and 6 students. Nevertheless, each school will tell you that it varies from student to student and that the above applies to the average student. So, the key question is What is an average student?

There is clearly no definitive answer to the above question. Numerous educational studies have established a positive correlation between homework and academic achievement. Hence, there appears to be proven value in the completion of homework. Nonetheless, many experienced teachers will share with you that on many an occasion, they will find, to their disbelief, that some students who steadfastly complete their homework, actually lag behind some peers who may be late or forget to complete their homework.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, educators should take into account the unique needs and circumstances of their students and families with regards to homework.

E.g. 1 - A teacher gives an extra day to a particular student for homework submission as the child is required by his parents to help out at their food stall till evening.

E.g. 2 – A student who is still mastering the foundational concepts of a topic is instructed to complete only the knowledge and comprehension-based questions rather than the application-based questions.

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About the Author

Teacher Chin has more than a decade of experience in teaching English from Primary Two to Primary Six in local primary schools. He is presently, in his free time, having immense enjoyment experimenting with the Nimzo-Indian Defence in chess and trying out the Apacs Lethal 9 in badminton doubles.

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Measures to reduce homework load of students

Published Date: 03 November 2021 07:30 PM

News Parliamentary Replies

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Christopher de Souza, Holland–Bukit Timah GRC

To ask the Minister for Education what changes can be made to the school curriculum so as to lessen the amount of homework given that may exacerbate stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 endemic.

1. MOE is closely monitoring the disruptions to schooling caused by COVID-19 and has taken steps to ensure that students' learning and well-being are not unduly compromised.

2. School leaders and teachers are mindful of the need for students to have a balanced life even during the pandemic, with adequate time for family bonding, personal interests and rest. They are therefore mindful of the need to keep homework load manageable. Every school has an established homework policy that addresses such needs, with school-based measures to manage and coordinate the amount of homework.

3. Beyond homework, there are also other sources of stress in students' lives during the pandemic. By keeping schools open as far as possible, and ensuring that learning can still continue under Home-Based Learning (HBL) conditions, we provided students with a sense of normalcy and sustained social connections, which have been helpful to easing their anxieties.

4. When students return to school from extended HBL, the emphasis in schools is on checking on their well-being and curriculum recovery, and not on rushing to complete the syllabus or prepare for assessment. That is why we have cancelled the Primary 3 and Primary 4 year-end examinations and removed the Common Last Topics from national examinations. These decisions have also been helpful to safeguard students' development and well-being.

5. Through these efforts, we seek to help our students cope with the stress and anxieties exacerbated by COVID-19 disruptions.

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3 in 4 Singapore students fear failure, higher than global average: OECD study

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SINGAPORE — Singapore students are among those who are most afraid of failure, a study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has found.

In the OECD’s latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) test, 72 per cent of Singapore students said they worry about what others would think of them if they fail and 78 per cent said they would have doubts about their future if they were failing.

Wong Pei Ting

SINGAPORE — Singapore students are among those who are most afraid of failure, a study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has found.

In the OECD’s latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) test, Singapore has the highest percentage of students (78 per cent) agreeing or strongly agreeing with the phrase, “When I am failing, this makes me doubt my plans for the future”, when compared with those from other countries.

And 72 per cent of Singapore students said that they worry about what others would think of them if they fail — the ninth highest score among the economies studied.

Students in Taipei (89 per cent), Hong Kong (82 per cent) and Macau (80 per cent) resonated the most with this sentiment.

Singapore’s numbers are well above the result seen among the 37 OECD member countries, where 54 per cent of students on average agreed with the first statement and 56 per cent agreed with the second.

This was the first time that OECD measured a fear of failure in its Pisa test, which is done once every three years and also looks at how students around the world fare academically. 

Singapore’s results are not ideal, as OECD said in its Pisa questionnaire framework that the “optimal learner is high in work mastery and low in fear of failure”.

The framework referenced research showing that a fear of failure causes students to be self-protective and avoid challenging situations and opportunities that are essential for learning and development.

In response to this finding, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said in a statement that it recognises that excessive fear can be disabling, although a rational and moderate sense of fear may motivate students to work hard and strive for better performance.

The ministry noted that across the 79 economies that took part in Pisa, students in higher-performing educational systems were more afraid of failure.

“This is congruent with research findings that a moderate amount of fear, taken in a positive spirit, can be productive and motivate students to work harder,” it said.

It also said that students here could have reflected more fear in Pisa because most of the 15-year-olds who did the survey in 2018 were in Secondary 4 and would be sitting for their GCE O- or N-Level exams at the end of that year.

“Their fears could stem from the desire to do well in national examinations,” MOE added.

Nonetheless, the ministry said that it would be building on existing efforts to help students develop a growth mindset and a resilience to bounce back from failure, and to view setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow.

Indeed, a “growth mindset” was one of the things that the OECD study measured. It found that Singapore students scored below the OECD average in this aspect as well.

About 60 per cent of Singapore students possess a growth mindset and believe that their intelligence is something that they can enhance, while the OECD average is 63 per cent.

MOE said it also plans to help students appreciate that there are multiple pathways and opportunities to pursue their passions and interests, and that academic performance alone does not define their self-worth or prospects in life.

The ministry said that it is already in the process of reducing students’ fear of failure, by encouraging students to move away from an overemphasis on academic results with the new Primary School Leaving Examination’s (PSLE's) scoring system.

In 2016, it announced that the aggregate score for the PSLE — a T-score that grades students very finely — will be replaced with wider scoring bands from 2021.

MOE said that the rollout of full subject-based banding and the removal of academic streams in secondary schools by 2024 will also help to encourage students here to adopt a growth mindset and take greater ownership of their learning.

Fear of failure was one of three achievement motives that were studied in Pisa. The other two were competitiveness, which the study defined as a desire to outperform others, and work mastery, a desire to work hard to master tasks.

In the competitiveness measure, 76 per cent of Singapore students said they felt it was true that students are competing against each other, while the OECD average is 50 per cent.

In terms of work mastery, 68.3 per cent of male Singapore students and 61 per cent of female Singapore students agreed or strongly agreed to this phrase, "If I am not good at something, I would rather keep struggling to master it than move on to something I may be good at". 

The OECD average is 67.8 per cent among male students, and 65.7 per cent among female students.

Taken together, the indicators go towards assessing the personality-based context in which students approach or avoid learning.

“They are the result of a lifetime of socialisation from parents, teachers, coaches and one’s cultural surroundings, and they capture how behaviour is energised over time,” OECD said.

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• Countries Who Spend the Most Time Doing Homework

Homework is an important aspect of the education system and is often dreaded by the majority of students all over the world. Although many teachers and educational scholars believe homework improves education performance, many critics and students disagree and believe there is no correlation between homework and improving test scores.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organization. With headquarters in Paris, the organization was formed for the purpose of stimulating global trade and economic progress among member states. In 2009, the OECD conducted a detailed study to establish the number of hours allocated for doing homework by students around the world and conducted the research in 38 member countries. The test subjects for the study were 15 year old high school students in countries that used PISA exams in their education systems. The results showed that in Shanghai, China the students had the highest number of hours of homework with 13.8 hours per week. Russia followed, where students had an average of 9.7 hours of homework per week. Finland had the least amount of homework hours with 2.8 hours per week, followed closely by South Korea with 2.9 hours. Among all the countries tested, the average homework time was 4.9 hours per week.

Interpretation of the data

Although students from Finland spent the least amount of hours on their homework per week, they performed relatively well on tests which discredits the notion of correlation between the number of hours spent on homework with exam performance. Shanghai teenagers who spent the highest number of hours doing their homework also produced excellent performances in the school tests, while students from some regions such as Macao, Japan, and Singapore increased the score by 17 points per additional hour of homework. The data showed a close relation between the economic backgrounds of students and the number of hours they invested in their homework. Students from affluent backgrounds spent fewer hours doing homework when compared to their less privileged counterparts, most likely due to access to private tutors and homeschooling. In some countries such as Singapore, students from wealthy families invested more time doing their homework than less privileged students and received better results in exams.

Decline in number of hours

Subsequent studies conducted by the OECD in 2012 showed a decrease in the average number hours per week spent by students. Slovakia displayed a drop of four hours per week while Russia declined three hours per week. A few countries including the United States showed no change. The dramatic decline of hours spent doing homework has been attributed to teenager’s increased use of the internet and social media platforms.

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COVID-19 SPECIAL

Home-based learning: what have we learnt from the great hbl experiment.

SINGAPORE - As students of all levels returned to school this past week, it was announced that home-based learning (HBL) is here to stay.

Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said recently that online learning is set to become routine, suggesting that HBL could be held once a fortnight, for starters.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic , HBL was rolled out nationwide after schools shut in April.

After the circuit breaker to stem the spread of Covid-19 ended on June 1, most students in primary and secondary schools alternated between being physically in school and HBL, on a weekly basis, for a month.

Now that the weekly rotation is over, it is timely to assess what lessons were learnt from the big HBL experiment and its chief benefits that can also be reaped in the physical classroom.

Educators interviewed by The Straits Times say virtual and classroom learning are two distinct beasts, but there are useful synergies between the two, which, when combined, could lead to students having a more enriching learning experience.

Here are the five lessons to draw on.

1. CROSSOVER LESSONS

Many of the innovative approaches teachers employed during HBL last month can already be translated into a classroom, says Dr Teo Chew Lee from the Office of Education Research at National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University Singapore.

She recounts a physics experiment where the teacher asked Secondary 1 students to build a catapult using ice-cream sticks, bottle caps and rubber bands at home. Photos and videos were taken and uploaded.

This led to wide-ranging discussions on energy conversion, renewable energy and real-world problems like power shortages faced by some African schools.

Dr Teo says the same lesson can be replicated in the classroom, but perhaps made more open-ended and more seamless, by incorporating messaging features similar to group WhatsApp chats, which can include discussions before or after the lesson. This is so that even after the lesson ends, the learning continues.

2. RECORDED LESSONS ON TAP

Having recorded lessons during online learning means this resource can be used by students for review and revision at any time, says Mr Rum Tan, director of SmileTutor, a home tuition agency.

He says: "I believe one of the weaknesses of traditional classroom learning is that students are all by themselves once they get home. They have no one to assist them in their learning, so they turn to tutors.

"The key idea here is to provide students with instant access to the learning materials and guidance in the form of pre-recorded lessons."

So if a student wants to learn about statistics, for example, he can access the relevant tutorial online and take as long as he needs to ingest it.

3. HOMEWORK BY VIDEO

The uploading of video and audio recordings, which were commonly used during HBL, could be a different way of submitting homework, says Dr Nicholas Duggan, principal of Invictus Family, the virtual extension of Invictus International School.

Inspired by the lockdown worldwide, the virtual campus, which will be launched next month, will offer full-time home-based learning.

Dr Duggan says: "Not every child can communicate his or her work well or speak well, such as some students with dyslexia."

Using videos or audio footage to talk about their work may help some children become more confident speakers, he says.

4. PARENTS HELPING TEACHERS

During the circuit breaker, parents monitored their children doing HBL.

Such close observation meant that "parents were forced to look at how their kids learn and they can better communicate that to their children's teachers", says Mrs Pamela Lim, founder of All Gifted High School, a private school.

For example, parents may have noticed that their child is a kinaesthetic learner, who learns more quickly with hands-on experiments and manipulatives, compared with others who prefer the more auditory form of learning that dominates in classroom settings, she says.

Teachers are generally keen to work closely with parents and such feedback can help the teacher offer the child more targeted assistance.

5. GAMIFICATION WORKS

Video-conferencing tools, commonly used during the stay-in period because of Covid-19, can be a boon for shy kids.

Mrs JoBeth Williams, head of English at Cherrr, an online learning platform that offers live-streamed tuition lessons, says: "With HBL, I get kids who are more excited to raise their hands. They want to speak and like to see their faces blown up onscreen.

"It's a lot more freeing for them as it doesn't feel like 40 other people are watching them."

The former teacher says her mini quizzes online, where she gives out "virtual trophies", are a hit.

A similar interactive points reward system can be used in primary-school classrooms, she suggests.

Mr David Squires, who teaches English at British Council Singapore, has found that gamification - which has elements of game-playing, like scoring points and competing with others - is very motivating for his students.

Quiz-based game platforms like Kahoot! also have the benefit of giving him "instant feedback" on which questions his students found particularly difficult.

Such games can be played on interactive whiteboards, which he uses in his classroom.

Looking back on the HBL experiment, he found it rewarding how quickly many teachers and students mastered the technology required for virtual lessons.

Another thing that struck him was "how much the connection between the teacher and students means".

"I always looked forward to seeing my own students online and my daughters, who are in Primary 4 and 6, had teachers who made a video for the children."

"The compassion and empathy is the same, whether it is online or face to face."

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Follow our news, recent searches, research studies commissioned on factors affecting sleep duration, quality for singapore students: moe, advertisement.

File photo of Ministry of Education. (Photo: Alvin Chong)

Ang Hwee Min

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Education (MOE) commissioned two research studies on the impact of factors affecting sleep duration and sleep quality of students in Singapore, said Minister of State for Education Sun Xueling on Tuesday (Aug 3). 

“This will help us better understand how later school start times could contribute to students’ longer sleep duration,” she said in Parliament, responding to questions from MP Jamus Lim (WP-Sengkang) and MP Cheng Li Hui (PAP-Tampines). 

International research has established that the amount and quality of sleep are influenced by multiple factors including circadian rhythm, exercise and sleep habits, Ms Sun added. 

Schools currently start no earlier than 7.30am, she said.

“​​Schools have the autonomy to adopt a later school start time, taking into consideration factors such as parents’ feedback, school end time, impact on after-school and inter-school programmes, transport provisions and traffic situation around their schools,” she added. 

The Education Ministry will consider the results of local and overseas research, said Ms Sun. 

“Apart from whether school start time should be delayed, we will need to work with parents to improve sleep hygiene, manage the overall load on students as well as their use of digital devices,” she added. 

READ: A big difference in students, after Nanyang Girls starts school later at 8.15am

STAGGERED SCHOOL START TIMES

In a supplementary question, Associate Professor Jamus Lim asked if MOE could consider staggered start times for students in Primary 3 and above, or secondary school students, noting that children have different circadian rhythms before and after puberty, he added. 

MP Leon Perera (WP-Aljunied) also noted that in previous discussions on school start times, the possibility of traffic congestion was a concern if school buses were taking students to school at the same time as office workers heading to work. 

“Will the Government also consider that with the trend towards working from home, flexible work and so on, which may persist beyond the COVID pandemic, that is an issue that actually may be much less of a concern,” he added. 

The Education Ministry will take these factors into consideration, said Ms Sun. The commissioned research studies will also help MOE understand issues related to adolescent sleep patterns and time use can be “addressed comprehensively”. 

MP Lim Biow Chuan (PAP-Mountbatten) asked if schools could encourage parents to “get their children to sleep early”. 

“I recall that when my kids were young, I used to tell them to sleep early, so that they would be able to have more sleep and to wake up early to be able to go to school without having problems,” he said. 

“Instead of getting school to start later, would we not consider asking children to sleep earlier to get their full quota of available sleep?” 

In response, Ms Sun acknowledged that delaying school start times “may not translate directly” into longer sleep times for students. 

“Good sleeping habits, indeed they matter, they are an important factor,” she said, pointing to a 2016 local study that found that a 45-minute delay in school start time resulted in a 10-minute increase in sleep time in one school in Singapore. 

“We need to work closely with parents so that the students have good sleeping habits, good sleep hygiene,” said Ms Sun.

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• April 27 The road from Rhode Island
• April 27 Students celebrate with sustainability at Earth Day party
• April 16 Bossa nova, bebop and burgers
• April 14 Someone to count on
• April 12 Students, faculty view solar eclipse in cloudy weather

Three Penny Press

Students spend three times longer on homework than average, survey reveals

Sonya Kulkarni and Pallavi Gorantla | Jan 9, 2022

Graphic by Sonya Kulkarni

The National Education Association and the National Parent Teacher Association have suggested that a healthy number of hours that students should be spending can be determined by the “10-minute rule.” This means that each grade level should have a maximum homework time incrementing by 10 minutes depending on their grade level (for instance, ninth-graders would have 90 minutes of homework, 10th-graders should have 100 minutes, and so on).

As ‘finals week’ rapidly approaches, students not only devote effort to attaining their desired exam scores but make a last attempt to keep or change the grade they have for semester one by making up homework assignments.

High schoolers reported doing an average of 2.7 hours of homework per weeknight, according to a study by the Washington Post from 2018 to 2020 of over 50,000 individuals. A survey of approximately 200 Bellaire High School students revealed that some students spend over three times this number.

The demographics of this survey included 34 freshmen, 43 sophomores, 54 juniors and 54 seniors on average.

When asked how many hours students spent on homework in a day on average, answers ranged from zero to more than nine with an average of about four hours. In contrast, polled students said that about one hour of homework would constitute a healthy number of hours.

Junior Claire Zhang said she feels academically pressured in her AP schedule, but not necessarily by the classes.

“The class environment in AP classes can feel pressuring because everyone is always working hard and it makes it difficult to keep up sometimes.” Zhang said.

A total of 93 students reported that the minimum grade they would be satisfied with receiving in a class would be an A. This was followed by 81 students, who responded that a B would be the minimum acceptable grade. 19 students responded with a C and four responded with a D.

“I am happy with the classes I take, but sometimes it can be very stressful to try to keep up,” freshman Allyson Nguyen said. “I feel academically pressured to keep an A in my classes.”

Up to 152 students said that grades are extremely important to them, while 32 said they generally are more apathetic about their academic performance.

Last year, nine valedictorians graduated from Bellaire. They each achieved a grade point average of 5.0. HISD has never seen this amount of valedictorians in one school, and as of now there are 14 valedictorians.

“I feel that it does degrade the title of valedictorian because as long as a student knows how to plan their schedule accordingly and make good grades in the classes, then anyone can be valedictorian,” Zhang said.

Bellaire offers classes like physical education and health in the summer. These summer classes allow students to skip the 4.0 class and not put it on their transcript. Some electives also have a 5.0 grade point average like debate.

Close to 200 students were polled about Bellaire having multiple valedictorians. They primarily answered that they were in favor of Bellaire having multiple valedictorians, which has recently attracted significant acclaim .

Senior Katherine Chen is one of the 14 valedictorians graduating this year and said that she views the class of 2022 as having an extraordinary amount of extremely hardworking individuals.

“I think it was expected since freshman year since most of us knew about the others and were just focused on doing our personal best,” Chen said.

Chen said that each valedictorian achieved the honor on their own and deserves it.

“I’m honestly very happy for the other valedictorians and happy that Bellaire is such a good school,” Chen said. “I don’t feel any less special with 13 other valedictorians.”

Nguyen said that having multiple valedictorians shows just how competitive the school is.

“It’s impressive, yet scary to think about competing against my classmates,” Nguyen said.

Offering 30 AP classes and boasting a significant number of merit-based scholars Bellaire can be considered a competitive school.

“I feel academically challenged but not pressured,” Chen said. “Every class I take helps push me beyond my comfort zone but is not too much to handle.”

Students have the opportunity to have off-periods if they’ve met all their credits and are able to maintain a high level of academic performance. But for freshmen like Nguyen, off periods are considered a privilege. Nguyen said she usually has an hour to five hours worth of work everyday.

“Depending on the day, there can be a lot of work, especially with extra curriculars,” Nguyen said. “Although, I am a freshman, so I feel like it’s not as bad in comparison to higher grades.”

According to the survey of Bellaire students, when asked to evaluate their agreement with the statement “students who get better grades tend to be smarter overall than students who get worse grades,” responders largely disagreed.

Zhang said that for students on the cusp of applying to college, it can sometimes be hard to ignore the mental pressure to attain good grades.

“As a junior, it’s really easy to get extremely anxious about your GPA,” Zhang said. “It’s also a very common but toxic practice to determine your self-worth through your grades but I think that we just need to remember that our mental health should also come first. Sometimes, it’s just not the right day for everyone and one test doesn’t determine our smartness.”

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Anonymous • Nov 21, 2023 at 10:32 am

It’s not really helping me understand how much.

josh • May 9, 2023 at 9:58 am

Kassie • May 6, 2022 at 12:29 pm

Im using this for an English report. This is great because on of my sources needed to be from another student. Homework drives me insane. Im glad this is very updated too!!

Kaylee Swaim • Jan 25, 2023 at 9:21 pm

I am also using this for an English report. I have to do an argumentative essay about banning homework in schools and this helps sooo much!

Izzy McAvaney • Mar 15, 2023 at 6:43 pm

I am ALSO using this for an English report on cutting down school days, homework drives me insane!!

E. Elliott • Apr 25, 2022 at 6:42 pm

I’m from Louisiana and am actually using this for an English Essay thanks for the information it was very informative.

Nabila Wilson • Jan 10, 2022 at 6:56 pm

Interesting with the polls! I didn’t realize about 14 valedictorians, that’s crazy.

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• Singapore Students Stress Statistics – 2020-2021

Singaporean Students Stress & Mental Health Statistics - 2019-20 to 2020-21

Singapore is a global hub for business, culture, and tourism and it has also been listed among the world-class education centre. It is quite unbelievable to think that such a fantastic city where everything is so perfect could provide an ‘autoclave’ pressure of cultural belief that leads to the maximum level of stress on the students.

Coming to Singapore and pursuing higher studies is a dream for several international students but they need to know very well about the education system of Singapore and then prepare themselves accordingly.

Do Singapore Students Get a lot of Stress?

The Singapore students are not pressurised at all for anything to do, but eventually, all the situations fall into a place that creates tension and stress for the students. There are various reasons for the students to get tensed. Most of the students are living under a high level of pressure, and the biggest reason is the education system. This is a common belief among Singaporeans that to get a successful life, you need to achieve academic success. All the parents and students are running towards achieving academic success.

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For these students, the school has become a place that guarantees them the best future and is no more remain a place where you can socialize and grow. From the age of 5, Singaporean students start to indulge in such activities which ensure their learning instead of outdoor activities which ensure physical growth; they do not at all play like the other students of this age.

This voracious competition remains till the age of their graduation and that brings lots of stress to Singaporean students. Although the education system is not the only thing to pressure students there exists another too. These are the reason why during the past year, a number 27 students between the age of 10-19 have killed themselves. This is the biggest number of suicides that have been in 15 years.

If these incidents do not prove that students suffer a lot of stress and trauma, then we don’t know what can.

Singaporean Students & Youth Mental Health Statistics – 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021

The students who are learning the research program on “Singapore Students Stress Statistics – 2017, 2018 & 2019, 2020, 2021” can easily understand how much pressure is donned on the Singapore students. Due to the challenging nature of Singapore University, students can potentially undergo high levels of PSLE stress that can affect their health and academic performance.

Indeed, an increasing number of university students appear to be experiencing significant mental health issues. In addition, the proportion of students enrolling in university is increasing. These trends indicate that stress and mental health concerns are likely to become an even more remarkable phenomenon among Singapore university students.

Singapore’s education system regularly ranks at or near the top of the global evaluation list for success, however, it is also criticized for placing too much stress on students.

The education system in Singapore has traditionally been extremely demanding, a meritocracy framework that pushes stakeholders to accomplish academic excellence, so that students can be molded into productive units of labor in the future.

According to the research, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), which conducts the triennial tests called the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) has confirmed by giving various facts and examples that compare to the other countries, students of Singapore are highly anxious about their grades, percentage and the result of pass or fail.

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Factors of stress for students studying in singapore.

There can be various reasons for everything that happens; there is a valid reason for what a person does or what someone is freaking out for or anything else. But there is a genuine cause behind everything. It’s just the problem that we are not capable enough to find out the root cause of miscellaneous suppositions. The stress will become a real headache if the reasons are not found and solved as soon as possible.

There are various reasons behind disturbed youth mental health & student’s mental health in Singapore.

No.1 – Many young people find it difficult to talk about their educational struggles and to express the pain they are feeling inside. They tend to hide their pain behind a facade, not knowing where, how or whom they can approach for help. No.2 – Family relationship issues are the most common reasons. No.3 – Peer competition as well as greater academic load and sometimes realistic expectations from parents. No.4 – Conflicts with landlords, classmates, friends etc. No.5 – Getting bullied in school/ college No.6 – Homesickness No.7 –  Singapore students doing part time job  while studying No.8 – Lot of Expenses No.9 – Meritocracy on the education system No.10- Performance anxiety No.11- Fear of losing social status No.12 – Lack of teacher’s focus on the students No.12 – Lack of time due to different activities after classes like attending tuitions, sports or cultural activity classes, and incapability of completing the homework assignments No.13 – The students don’t get ‘me’ time. They are full-day busy with the school and other activities they even don’t get a good time to sleep, etc. and many more reasons.

Root Cause of stress- Education System

Among all the causes, the education system has come out to be the common one that is highly responsible for stressing out the students which leads them to do unethical things like suicides.

The education system plays a vital role in making the students’ life tough and stressful that they cannot help with it in any way. They get a lot of work as well as direct and indirect pressure for scoring well in the assignments, quizzes, group tasks, and eventually great marks in final course results.

Some of the reasons for “why are students so stressed due to the educational system of Singapore?” are as follows: –

• Heap of  University Assignments  which are almost impossible to do for any student on time.
• Tutor Marked Assignments  (TMA) and  Timed Online Assignments  (TOA) which are to be completed within a time limit.
• Final year project submissions
• A lot of report writing , dissertation writing assignments to be written with managing tedious guidelines.
• Emphasis on grades and rank and no priority for other activities
• Fear of losing marks in case of non-submission of TMA on time
• Automatic withdrawal on non-submission of TOA before the pre-set timeline

All these and several more issues are faced by Singapore students while learning even in the top Singapore universities .

Is there an overemphasis on grades in Singapore Education System?

Singapore ranks among the top international places for education. But a higher proportion of students and parents emphasize the grades compared to the skills.

Exams are coming shortly; the drop date is near to approach and the stress of midterms is encroaching all around. This is a general scenario among Singaporean students.

In the present scenario, the grades have become a main focal point more than ever. Exams, quizzes, homework, syllabus, papers, maths problem and keywords, all have taken place in a student’s life to grab higher grades.

Do really getting good grades are such important in life? Why does this emphasis exist?

Once you get your first job, your college grades will be irrelevant, only our skills and capabilities will help us to achieve on the top.

Here raises a question raise a question; what is the purpose of grades, do the grades really present our aptitude, learning, and intelligence?

While studying in high school in Singapore; every student might think in the same way but after graduation, they will understand that grades are just a significant paper of the degrees, grades do not tell us much of anything.

Grades are just our abilities to perform in the exams and the rote memorization of the course material. Many studies have shown a negative correlation between the use of grades and performance.

Our problem-solving abilities, critical analysis, curiosity, creative thinking ability, and skill development restraint by the grades as the focus is just on memorizing the material not learning the material.

In our society, the students are forced to grade high in their examinations and the teacher and parents both are equally blamed for this. Teachers want to prove their teaching techniques and the parents want to prove their child among the other Children.

There are several students who struggle at high-end to please their parents and spend hours and hours sitting and studying just to score high in their examination, these students don’t know about the outside world.

Though these students score high when it comes to present their skills, they have nothing more to show. There should be a balance between studying and fun. Children need to go out and connect with others and nature, only study with no fun makes a child a dull child. This might even affect their health.

It a time to change, we need to get over to our obsession with getting A+ grades and we should focus on more important endeavors. Many scientific studies have shown that overemphasis on grades leaves people with unnecessary stress, fear of challenges, and a negative reflection on the motivation of a child.

Our grades should be dependent on their talent, skills, and creativity but the emphasis on getting high grades is diminishing student’s talent, interest, and creativity. The students are forced to select those subjects where they can score high, it is reducing the quality of thinking of a student and even a high-achieving student has a fear of failure.

When a general survey is conducted and asked the current working people that how many of them got their position based on their high school or graduation grades? Only a ratio of 25% says that grades did work for them but that too at their initial level of the job. The overwhelming majority say that their abilities, intelligence, skills, and talent help them to achieve such a position.

Then why do we still give emphasis on the grades? We should provide a healthy environment at the schools so the students find their own motivation for learning and achieving. Rather than running behind the grades, students should get a chance to enhance their interests, skills, and abilities.

We should focus on the process more than the results. Many researchers have proved that a focus on effort can help to resolve helplessness and achieve success. Ask your child what their expectations are with the college and why they want and turn them to achieve the best out of it, so they can gain confidence and can succeed with their own victories.

Hence, the Singapore education system is needed to be improved and emphasize other skills development and extra-curricular activities as well as equal to the studies and grades. The over-emphasis on the grades and assignments will make no sense until the students are groomed equitably in all areas.

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How does homework play a major role in singapore student’s stress.

One of the most important academic tasks – “Homework” is given to the students from their school, college, and university to increase their knowledge in various subjects when they are not in the classroom. The task of giving homework teaches the students the best uses of managing time, living an organized life, and also learning various skills and capabilities to do accurate reasoning.

These are the skills which the students learn at home while doing self-study. It helps them learn new things every day and this is the way students were able to increase their knowledge. Though homework is very beneficial for students, the excess task of homework can also cause stress among the students. More homework means more stress the student takes.

Excess Homework tasks can provide a negative impact on students. If the given homework is of bulk quantity then it can increase the stress of the students since they cannot have a normal and healthy lifestyle. This will also affect their grades since stressful minds cannot give a good performance in academics.

Moreover, when students get so much homework, they avoid eating with their family members and usually eat fast food late at night while doing homework. Besides, when students are so much stressed in life, most of them also rely upon drugs to decrease their stress. Moreover, when they are not to write their homework on time, they get reprimanded by their teachers and also get low grades. In this way, homework makes students’ life stressful.

Regardless of all the positives of homework, it is also counted as the major factor for Singapore student’s stress.

What to do with the Stress of Homework Assignments

After knowing about all the general as well as root causes of stress in secondary school students, or the students pursuing graduation or any other  degree courses in Singapore , there comes the challenge to find ways to reduce stress for students in Singapore.

All those tensions including tuition stress in Singapore, assignments, shortage of time to complete homework need some solution to get the Singapore students out from the bog of the stress of homework. As, it is clear from all the above discussion that the education system pressurizes the students to write assignments and submit them in time in order to get good marks, so now we need to research the question “how to reduce the stress of homework and improve grades?”.

No student can do with the Singapore stress ranking so all he can do is to find a flexible way to complete his assessments and score well.

How to make homework less stressful and improve grades?

At certain times in our lives, we all have to deal with stress, and sometimes it can be worse than others. For a lot of people studying can be very stressful, and this stress can even be worse if studying in Singapore. However, don’t distress, because there are always some ways of coping with stress before it all becomes too overwhelming.

• Be organized and reduce stress level: –  The best thing students can do to keep stress at a manageable level is to get organized and plan everything. If you already know what you have coming up in the week ahead then you are less likely to get behind, or suddenly remember something you have forgotten at the last minute and have a big panic about it.
• It’s time for the rest: –  You also need to make sure that you have some downtime. Join a few societies and sports clubs so that you meet a range of people. Not only this will give you some time off from thinking about your studies, but also give you the chance to make some new friends.
• No to nostalgia: –  You should not obsess over your life back home. Constant messages and calls from a loved one could just make you feel very homesick and depressed, and you eventually want to enjoy your time studying abroad and experience a new culture. Try and get the best of both worlds, because coping with stress while studying abroad is all about getting the balance right in every possible way.

There are also various other ways which can make homework less stressful for you. One of the reliables helps you can get is from your parents since they are the students’ first teachers in their life. Parents are the only ones who can ensure that their child leads a stress-free life and better homework experiences.

Moreover, parents can also help their wards with their homework and also make them follow a proper study schedule. Moreover, the biggest help parents can do to decrease the stress of their child is not to scold them for getting low grades. Instead, they encourage them to study well further and also not to coax them to get high grades which might be impossible for them.

On the other hand, online homework help can also help the students to decrease their stress levels. The only thing students can do is to search online for the best and reputed academic assignment and homework writing companies and agencies which provide all types of homework services in Singapore. SingaporeAssignmentHelp.Com is the best online destination to get homework help which is the best way to beat your stress.

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Associations of time spent on homework or studying with nocturnal sleep behavior and depression symptoms in adolescents from Singapore

• Sing Chen Yeo, MSc Sing Chen Yeo Affiliations Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore Search for articles by this author
• Jacinda Tan, BSc Jacinda Tan Affiliations Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore Search for articles by this author
• Joshua J. Gooley, PhD Joshua J. Gooley Correspondence Corresponding author: Joshua J. Gooley, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Program, Duke-NUS Medical School Singapore, 8 College Road, Singapore 117549, Singapore Contact Affiliations Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore Search for articles by this author

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11 Surprising Homework Statistics, Facts & Data

The age-old question of whether homework is good or bad for students is unanswerable because there are so many “ it depends ” factors.

For example, it depends on the age of the child, the type of homework being assigned, and even the child’s needs.

There are also many conflicting reports on whether homework is good or bad. This is a topic that largely relies on data interpretation for the researcher to come to their conclusions.

To cut through some of the fog, below I’ve outlined some great homework statistics that can help us understand the effects of homework on children.

Homework Statistics List

1. 45% of parents think homework is too easy for their children.

A study by the Center for American Progress found that parents are almost twice as likely to believe their children’s homework is too easy than to disagree with that statement.

Here are the figures for math homework:

• 46% of parents think their child’s math homework is too easy.
• 25% of parents think their child’s math homework is not too easy.
• 29% of parents offered no opinion.

Here are the figures for language arts homework:

• 44% of parents think their child’s language arts homework is too easy.
• 28% of parents think their child’s language arts homework is not too easy.
• 28% of parents offered no opinion.

These findings are based on online surveys of 372 parents of school-aged children conducted in 2018.

2. 93% of Fourth Grade Children Worldwide are Assigned Homework

The prestigious worldwide math assessment Trends in International Maths and Science Study (TIMSS) took a survey of worldwide homework trends in 2007. Their study concluded that 93% of fourth-grade children are regularly assigned homework, while just 7% never or rarely have homework assigned.

3. 17% of Teens Regularly Miss Homework due to Lack of High-Speed Internet Access

A 2018 Pew Research poll of 743 US teens found that 17%, or almost 2 in every 5 students, regularly struggled to complete homework because they didn’t have reliable access to the internet.

This figure rose to 25% of Black American teens and 24% of teens whose families have an income of less than $30,000 per year.

4. Parents Spend 6.7 Hours Per Week on their Children’s Homework

A 2018 study of 27,500 parents around the world found that the average amount of time parents spend on homework with their child is 6.7 hours per week. Furthermore, 25% of parents spend more than 7 hours per week on their child’s homework.

American parents spend slightly below average at 6.2 hours per week, while Indian parents spend 12 hours per week and Japanese parents spend 2.6 hours per week.

5. Students in High-Performing High Schools Spend on Average 3.1 Hours per night Doing Homework

A study by Galloway, Conner & Pope (2013) conducted a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California. 

Across these high-performing schools, students self-reported that they did 3.1 hours per night of homework.

Graduates from those schools also ended up going on to college 93% of the time.

6. One to Two Hours is the Optimal Duration for Homework

A 2012 peer-reviewed study in the High School Journal found that students who conducted between one and two hours achieved higher results in tests than any other group.

However, the authors were quick to highlight that this “t is an oversimplification of a much more complex problem.” I’m inclined to agree. The greater variable is likely the quality of the homework than time spent on it.

Nevertheless, one result was unequivocal: that some homework is better than none at all : “students who complete any amount of homework earn higher test scores than their peers who do not complete homework.”

7. 74% of Teens cite Homework as a Source of Stress

A study by the Better Sleep Council found that homework is a source of stress for 74% of students. Only school grades, at 75%, rated higher in the study.

That figure rises for girls, with 80% of girls citing homework as a source of stress.

Similarly, the study by Galloway, Conner & Pope (2013) found that 56% of students cite homework as a “primary stressor” in their lives.

8. US Teens Spend more than 15 Hours per Week on Homework

The same study by the Better Sleep Council also found that US teens spend over 2 hours per school night on homework, and overall this added up to over 15 hours per week.

Surprisingly, 4% of US teens say they do more than 6 hours of homework per night. That’s almost as much homework as there are hours in the school day.

The only activity that teens self-reported as doing more than homework was engaging in electronics, which included using phones, playing video games, and watching TV.

9. The 10-Minute Rule

The National Education Association (USA) endorses the concept of doing 10 minutes of homework per night per grade.

For example, if you are in 3rd grade, you should do 30 minutes of homework per night. If you are in 4th grade, you should do 40 minutes of homework per night.

However, this ‘rule’ appears not to be based in sound research. Nevertheless, it is true that homework benefits (no matter the quality of the homework) will likely wane after 2 hours (120 minutes) per night, which would be the NEA guidelines’ peak in grade 12.

10. 21.9% of Parents are Too Busy for their Children’s Homework

An online poll of nearly 300 parents found that 21.9% are too busy to review their children’s homework. On top of this, 31.6% of parents do not look at their children’s homework because their children do not want their help. For these parents, their children’s unwillingness to accept their support is a key source of frustration.

11. 46.5% of Parents find Homework too Hard

The same online poll of parents of children from grades 1 to 12 also found that many parents struggle to help their children with homework because parents find it confusing themselves. Unfortunately, the study did not ask the age of the students so more data is required here to get a full picture of the issue.

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Interpreting the Data

Unfortunately, homework is one of those topics that can be interpreted by different people pursuing differing agendas. All studies of homework have a wide range of variables, such as:

• What age were the children in the study?
• What was the homework they were assigned?
• What tools were available to them?
• What were the cultural attitudes to homework and how did they impact the study?
• Is the study replicable?

The more questions we ask about the data, the more we realize that it’s hard to come to firm conclusions about the pros and cons of homework .

Furthermore, questions about the opportunity cost of homework remain. Even if homework is good for children’s test scores, is it worthwhile if the children consequently do less exercise or experience more stress?

Thus, this ends up becoming a largely qualitative exercise. If parents and teachers zoom in on an individual child’s needs, they’ll be able to more effectively understand how much homework a child needs as well as the type of homework they should be assigned.

Related: Funny Homework Excuses

The debate over whether homework should be banned will not be resolved with these homework statistics. But, these facts and figures can help you to pursue a position in a school debate on the topic – and with that, I hope your debate goes well and you develop some great debating skills!

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University
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