HOMEWORK AROUND THE WORLD

Is Homework Overrated? Statistics Say ‘Maybe’ 

Homework. Does it help students become smarter, or is it just overrated? The results are in, and all signs point to homework only being moderately helpful, at best. Although the amount of homework assigned to students varies greatly by nation, it appears that allowing kids time to be creative and resourceful has a greater long term benefit than homework. 

South Korea leads the world in education, and students receive less than three hours’ of homework, on average, each week. Although it would be unfair to assume that’s the only reason South Korea has a high level of academic success, it’s true that the countries handing out significantly more homework – such as Russia (9.7 hours) and the United States (over 6 hours) – generally tend to find themselves lower on the academic rankings list. 

It’s also interesting to note that the United States spends a larger amount of money per student than any other country in the world. Despite this, and despite assigning a large amount of homework, the US still lags behind as only the 17th best education system in the world.

Chalk it up to overcrowding in the classrooms, a demanding amount of homework, or lack of parental involvement; however you slice it, there’s no easy answer to the education and homework debate. 

According to the following infographic, there’s a myriad of factors that impact the level of academic success in any education system.

Take a look at these interesting facts about homework around the world, compiled by Ozicare Insurance.