Are teenagers overworked? Today was a busy day. I spent 7 hours in school and I still have homework to do! Let's see, I have an English research assignment due Monday, math homework, a history project due in two days, a science test tomorrow, vocabulary words to study, and I need to complete the rest of the student notes packet. Not to mention that I have some chores to do and I have to take care of my dog. After spending at least three hours on homework and household chores, I have to go to volleyball practice. I'm happy that this is my day off. I'm already having a nervous breakdown because I have no time to waste and can't take a break to calm down. Since I don't have to work tonight, I was planning on taking some time for myself tonight, but with so much work to do, I don't think I'll have any free time to relax. Tonight is going to be a long night. This is what goes through a teenager's mind after a hard day at school. Teachers are handing out homework left and right and she doesn't know what to do. He's already working hard trying to play a sport, hold down a part-time job, take care of his family and have fun with the little time he has for himself. He says homework only adds to his stress and he doesn't think he can continue that way any longer. While it may seem harmless, too much homework can affect a student's academic performance, cause depression and anxiety, gives teachers more work, and, to some extent, is unnecessary. Perhaps students are assigned too many hours of homework. every night. According to guidelines approved by the National Education Association (NEA), a student should be allotted no more than 10 minutes per grade level per night. That would be 20 minutes a night for a second grader or 80 miles...... half of a paper...... information. An excessive amount of homework assigned at one time can cause a student's academic level to decline. If a student is given math problems to complete and completes them incorrectly, he or she will likely fail a test. According to the U.S. Department of Education, most math teachers can tell after reviewing five algebraic equations whether a student has understood the necessary concepts. Practicing redundant homework problems every night incorrectly only implies a wrong method. Teachers believe that assigning more homework will improve standardized test scores. However, in countries such as the Czech Republic, Japan and Denmark, which have higher scoring students, teachers assign little homework. The United States is among the countries in the world with the most homework for seventh and eighth grades, so more homework clearly does not mean a higher test score.