This year, FCPS began implementing a brand-new homework policy that requires every class to integrate homework into their curriculums. This new policy also requires that homework make up 10 percent of a student’s grade. According to the FCPS website, “Regular homework will be assigned as a part of each secondary course. Homework shall be included within the course grade as part of the student’s formative grade and will count no more than 10% of the course grade.” The policy also states that “In general, homework across disciplines should not exceed… two hours per day at the high school level.”
However, not all homework is beneficial to students. According to a study done by Stanford University, 56 percent of students surveyed considered homework to be a major source of stress, and reported that stress from homework led to sleep deprivation and other health issues. Additionally, a study conducted by researchers in China determined that spending more than 1.5 hours on homework was actually detrimental to students’ mental health. According to a survey conducted last year by the Oakton Outlook, before the new homework policy was enacted, 48 percent of Oakton students did at least two hours of homework, and 10 percent did over four hours of homework every night. With this new policy, students will have an even heftier workload, and will likely have to spend more time on homework on top of extracurriculars.
Teachers are also adjusting to this new policy, as they now have to find ways to integrate homework into classes that may not have previously included it. When interviewed, French teacher Madame Brottet said, “I’m sure it is an adjustment for everybody. I’ve never given homework before… I understand that homework is a way of trying to give students the opportunity to organize their time, to manage themselves. It has a good purpose for that. For languages, it’s kind of difficult, because I feel that the communication, the main thing, happens in the classroom.” Madame Brottet says that she has begun assigning short reading and listening comprehension assignments to her students as homework. Additionally, when asked about her opinion on the impact of homework on mental health, Madame Brottet said, “Personally, I’m not going to give homework just for the sake of giving homework, and I do think there should be a time limit, and I try to make it interesting. As a teacher, we need to be mindful of… the quantity, compared to the outcome.”
In addition, it’s not only teachers that are struggling to adjust to the new homework policy. “It’s hard, because I used to manage my time based on the homework that I needed to do, because a lot of it wasn’t graded and it was assigned for our own help. But now that it’s mandatory, I have to spend more time and I have less free time,” said Tessa Gay (11). Students are now feeling the pressure to keep up with extracurriculars, sports, jobs, and other responsibilities on top of an increased homework load.
While the new FCPS homework policy does benefit students by giving them more opportunities for practice and by helping them develop organization skills, it will just add more work to what is already a hefty workload for many Oakton students, ultimately causing them more stress. Afterschool activities and sports already take up so much time in students’ lives that extra homework will end up being a significant burden to students. Studies have shown that this stress can lead to both mental and physical health issues. Ultimately, as previous research, Oakton surveys, and both teacher and student opinions show, this new homework policy negatively impacts the Oakton community, teachers, and students alike.
