| late 90s, feature stories began appearing in the | | | | the Brown report found that more than |
| national media about children and parents who | | | | two-thirds of college freshmen did five hours or |
| were so overwhelmed by the amount of | | | | less of homework during their final year of high |
| homework that it was destroying their family life | | | | school. |
| and causing psychological damage. The evidence | | | | The report also analyzed studies and concluded |
| presented in these stories was often anecdotal, | | | | that the homework load for the average student |
| profiling just one or two families. However, the | | | | has not increased appreciably since the 1980s. |
| articles were published in enough respected | | | | This is in direct opposition to the anecdotal |
| publications that they sparked a national debate | | | | evidence cited in the article of homework |
| on whether children have too much homework. | | | | increasing to as much as three hours per night. |
| Schools scrambled to create homework policies, | | | | However, a study performed in 1997 by Michigan |
| parents held protests, and children began to | | | | State University showed that children at that time |
| receive sharply mixed messages on the value of | | | | were spending just over two hours per week on |
| homework. | | | | study, which could include activities other than |
| In all the fuss, people never realized that the | | | | homework. Interestingly, this study is often used |
| information contained the articles simply wasn't | | | | to prove that students have too much |
| true. In 2003, the Brown Center on Educational | | | | homework, since the weekly hours spent on |
| Policy at the prestigious Brookings Institution | | | | study increased over the life of the study by 23 |
| released a report that shattered the perception | | | | minutes. The Brown Center postulates that this |
| that American students are staggering under an | | | | statistical increase was actually caused by children |
| unreasonable load of homework. In fact, they | | | | who previously had no homework at all and |
| found just the opposite: American students | | | | because they had advanced in grade, now had |
| probably don't spend enough time on homework. | | | | homework. |
| Gathering data from a number of studies that had | | | | Finally, the Brown report found that, contrary to |
| been performed in the late 90s, the Brown | | | | the articles' portrayal of militant parents protesting |
| Center drew four startling conclusions. | | | | homework, most parents are satisfied with the |
| Typical students, from kindergarten to high school, | | | | amount of homework their children receive. In |
| don't spend more than an hour a day doing | | | | fact, if parents were dissatisfied with the amount |
| homework. In fact, pointing to a study done by | | | | of homework their children had, it was because |
| the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, | | | | they felt it wasn't enough. |