Homework overload: how much is too much?

2–3 minutes

One final period. A flourish of the student’s pen and they have finished all their homework for the day, all before 10 PM. They push their books aside, stretching with a satisfied sigh, and sink into the comforting quiet of their room. The evening is calm, their mind free of looming deadlines, until they finally close their eyes and drift blissfully to sleep…

The student snaps awake, ink imprinted on half of their face after falling asleep on the notes they were taking while in the process of another all-nighter.

The truth is that students spend far more time on homework than the district guidelines estimate. According to Board Policy 6154, students should average 70–120 minutes per evening, or 280–480 minutes per week, depending on the rigor of their course load. When students first hear this, many find it laughable. Daniel Huang (12) scoffed at the recommendation. “2 hours? I’d be lucky to finish one thing in 2 hours.”

Ultimately, the amount of homework varies depending on the courses a student takes. Huang is enrolled in 5 AP classes this year, well above the school’s recommendation of 2AP courses per semester. The school notes, “AP courses typically require more homework compared to non-AP college-prep courses. For each AP class, approximately 40 minutes per night or three hours per week.” Still, not all classes are created equal at AHS.

Daniel Huang (12) tackles a pile of homework under the glow of a laptop, putting in extra hours to stay on top of AP assignments and classwork (Photo Credit: Anthony Liu (12)).

Nichelle Rodriguez (12) took AP English Language and Composition last year. “It was hell, just hell,” she stated, shuddering. “AP Lang is probably one of the hardest classes here,” Rodriguez said. “I knew it was going to be hard when I signed up for it, but I wasn’t expecting 6 hours worth of annotations hard.” For many students, the actual homework load far surpasses what they anticipated, turning evenings that were supposed to be a manageable grind into seemingly endless stretches of work. One has to wonder: is the cost of a good grade truly worth their sanity?

The real challenge can’t be solved with time management—it’s simply the amount of homework assigned. Christina Ton (11) said the workload affects more than just her evenings. “I really wasn’t able to do what I wanted to. I couldn’t go to the gym most of the time or just have free time in general.” When filling out the AP contract, Huang, Ton, and Rodriguez admitted that they were aware of how inaccurate their time sheet was and were more focused on making sure the numbers added up to 24 hours.

For now, the stacks of papers and late-night sessions remain a daily reality for AHS students, a far cry from the “manageable” few hours they anticipated when signing up for their classes.