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Health Hazards of Homework

March 18, 2014 | Julie Greicius Pediatrics .

A new study by the Stanford Graduate School of Education and colleagues found that students in high-performing schools who did excessive hours of homework “experienced greater behavioral engagement in school but also more academic stress, physical health problems, and lack of balance in their lives.”

Those health problems ranged from stress, headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems, to psycho-social effects like dropping activities, not seeing friends or family, and not pursuing hobbies they enjoy.

In the Stanford Report story about the research, Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of the  study published in the  Journal of Experimental Education , says, “Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good.”

The study was based on survey data from a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in California communities in which median household income exceeded $90,000. Of the students surveyed, homework volume averaged about 3.1 hours each night.

“It is time to re-evaluate how the school environment is preparing our high school student for today’s workplace,” says Neville Golden, MD , chief of adolescent medicine at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and a professor at the School of Medicine. “This landmark study shows that excessive homework is counterproductive, leading to sleep deprivation, school stress and other health problems. Parents can best support their children in these demanding academic environments by advocating for them through direct communication with teachers and school administrators about homework load.”

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More than two hours of homework may be counterproductive, research suggests.

A Stanford education researcher found that too much homework can negatively affect kids, especially their lives away from school, where family, friends and activities matter.   "Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good," wrote Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education .   The researchers used survey data to examine perceptions about homework, student well-being and behavioral engagement in a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California communities. Along with the survey data, Pope and her colleagues used open-ended answers to explore the students' views on homework.   Median household income exceeded $90,000 in these communities, and 93 percent of the students went on to college, either two-year or four-year.   Students in these schools average about 3.1 hours of homework each night.   "The findings address how current homework practices in privileged, high-performing schools sustain students' advantage in competitive climates yet hinder learning, full engagement and well-being," Pope wrote.   Pope and her colleagues found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They cite prior research indicating that homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school.   Their study found that too much homework is associated with:   • Greater stress : 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.   • Reductions in health : In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems. The researchers asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems.   • Less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits : Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were "not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills," according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.   A balancing act   The results offer empirical evidence that many students struggle to find balance between homework, extracurricular activities and social time, the researchers said. Many students felt forced or obligated to choose homework over developing other talents or skills.   Also, there was no relationship between the time spent on homework and how much the student enjoyed it. The research quoted students as saying they often do homework they see as "pointless" or "mindless" in order to keep their grades up.   "This kind of busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points," said Pope, who is also a co-founder of Challenge Success , a nonprofit organization affiliated with the GSE that conducts research and works with schools and parents to improve students' educational experiences..   Pope said the research calls into question the value of assigning large amounts of homework in high-performing schools. Homework should not be simply assigned as a routine practice, she said.   "Rather, any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development," wrote Pope.   High-performing paradox   In places where students attend high-performing schools, too much homework can reduce their time to foster skills in the area of personal responsibility, the researchers concluded. "Young people are spending more time alone," they wrote, "which means less time for family and fewer opportunities to engage in their communities."   Student perspectives   The researchers say that while their open-ended or "self-reporting" methodology to gauge student concerns about homework may have limitations – some might regard it as an opportunity for "typical adolescent complaining" – it was important to learn firsthand what the students believe.   The paper was co-authored by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner from Villanova University.

Clifton B. Parker is a writer at the Stanford News Service .

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Is it time to get rid of homework? Mental health experts weigh in.

It's no secret that kids hate homework. And as students grapple with an ongoing pandemic that has had a wide range of mental health impacts, is it time schools start listening to their pleas about workloads?

Some teachers are turning to social media to take a stand against homework. 

Tiktok user @misguided.teacher says he doesn't assign it because the "whole premise of homework is flawed."

For starters, he says, he can't grade work on "even playing fields" when students' home environments can be vastly different.

"Even students who go home to a peaceful house, do they really want to spend their time on busy work? Because typically that's what a lot of homework is, it's busy work," he says in the video that has garnered 1.6 million likes. "You only get one year to be 7, you only got one year to be 10, you only get one year to be 16, 18."

Mental health experts agree heavy workloads have the potential do more harm than good for students, especially when taking into account the impacts of the pandemic. But they also say the answer may not be to eliminate homework altogether.

Emmy Kang, mental health counselor at Humantold , says studies have shown heavy workloads can be "detrimental" for students and cause a "big impact on their mental, physical and emotional health."

"More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies," she says, adding that staying up late to finish assignments also leads to disrupted sleep and exhaustion.

Cynthia Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Talkspace , says heavy workloads can also cause serious mental health problems in the long run, like anxiety and depression. 

And for all the distress homework  can cause, it's not as useful as many may think, says Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery treatment center.

"The research shows that there's really limited benefit of homework for elementary age students, that really the school work should be contained in the classroom," he says.

For older students, Kang says, homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night. 

"Most students, especially at these high achieving schools, they're doing a minimum of three hours, and it's taking away time from their friends, from their families, their extracurricular activities. And these are all very important things for a person's mental and emotional health."

Catchings, who also taught third to 12th graders for 12 years, says she's seen the positive effects of a no-homework policy while working with students abroad.

"Not having homework was something that I always admired from the French students (and) the French schools, because that was helping the students to really have the time off and really disconnect from school," she says.

The answer may not be to eliminate homework completely but to be more mindful of the type of work students take home, suggests Kang, who was a high school teacher for 10 years.

"I don't think (we) should scrap homework; I think we should scrap meaningless, purposeless busy work-type homework. That's something that needs to be scrapped entirely," she says, encouraging teachers to be thoughtful and consider the amount of time it would take for students to complete assignments.

The pandemic made the conversation around homework more crucial 

Mindfulness surrounding homework is especially important in the context of the past two years. Many students will be struggling with mental health issues that were brought on or worsened by the pandemic , making heavy workloads even harder to balance.

"COVID was just a disaster in terms of the lack of structure. Everything just deteriorated," Kardaras says, pointing to an increase in cognitive issues and decrease in attention spans among students. "School acts as an anchor for a lot of children, as a stabilizing force, and that disappeared."

But even if students transition back to the structure of in-person classes, Kardaras suspects students may still struggle after two school years of shifted schedules and disrupted sleeping habits.

"We've seen adults struggling to go back to in-person work environments from remote work environments. That effect is amplified with children because children have less resources to be able to cope with those transitions than adults do," he explains.

'Get organized' ahead of back-to-school

In order to make the transition back to in-person school easier, Kang encourages students to "get good sleep, exercise regularly (and) eat a healthy diet."

To help manage workloads, she suggests students "get organized."

"There's so much mental clutter up there when you're disorganized. ... Sitting down and planning out their study schedules can really help manage their time," she says.

Breaking up assignments can also make things easier to tackle.

"I know that heavy workloads can be stressful, but if you sit down and you break down that studying into smaller chunks, they're much more manageable."

If workloads are still too much, Kang encourages students to advocate for themselves.

"They should tell their teachers when a homework assignment just took too much time or if it was too difficult for them to do on their own," she says. "It's good to speak up and ask those questions. Respectfully, of course, because these are your teachers. But still, I think sometimes teachers themselves need this feedback from their students."

More: Some teachers let their students sleep in class. Here's what mental health experts say.

More: Some parents are slipping young kids in for the COVID-19 vaccine, but doctors discourage the move as 'risky'

share this!

August 16, 2021

Is it time to get rid of homework? Mental health experts weigh in

by Sara M Moniuszko

It's no secret that kids hate homework. And as students grapple with an ongoing pandemic that has had a wide-range of mental health impacts, is it time schools start listening to their pleas over workloads?

Some teachers are turning to social media to take a stand against homework .

Tiktok user @misguided.teacher says he doesn't assign it because the "whole premise of homework is flawed."

For starters, he says he can't grade work on "even playing fields" when students' home environments can be vastly different.

"Even students who go home to a peaceful house, do they really want to spend their time on busy work? Because typically that's what a lot of homework is, it's busy work," he says in the video that has garnered 1.6 million likes. "You only get one year to be 7, you only got one year to be 10, you only get one year to be 16, 18."

Mental health experts agree heavy work loads have the potential do more harm than good for students, especially when taking into account the impacts of the pandemic. But they also say the answer may not be to eliminate homework altogether.

Emmy Kang, mental health counselor at Humantold, says studies have shown heavy workloads can be "detrimental" for students and cause a "big impact on their mental, physical and emotional health."

"More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies," she says, adding that staying up late to finish assignments also leads to disrupted sleep and exhaustion.

Cynthia Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Talkspace, says heavy workloads can also cause serious mental health problems in the long run, like anxiety and depression.

And for all the distress homework causes, it's not as useful as many may think, says Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery treatment center.

"The research shows that there's really limited benefit of homework for elementary age students, that really the school work should be contained in the classroom," he says.

For older students, Kang says homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night.

"Most students, especially at these high-achieving schools, they're doing a minimum of three hours, and it's taking away time from their friends from their families, their extracurricular activities. And these are all very important things for a person's mental and emotional health."

Catchings, who also taught third to 12th graders for 12 years, says she's seen the positive effects of a no homework policy while working with students abroad.

"Not having homework was something that I always admired from the French students (and) the French schools, because that was helping the students to really have the time off and really disconnect from school ," she says.

The answer may not be to eliminate homework completely, but to be more mindful of the type of work students go home with, suggests Kang, who was a high-school teacher for 10 years.

"I don't think (we) should scrap homework, I think we should scrap meaningless, purposeless busy work-type homework. That's something that needs to be scrapped entirely," she says, encouraging teachers to be thoughtful and consider the amount of time it would take for students to complete assignments.

The pandemic made the conversation around homework more crucial

Mindfulness surrounding homework is especially important in the context of the last two years. Many students will be struggling with mental health issues that were brought on or worsened by the pandemic, making heavy workloads even harder to balance.

"COVID was just a disaster in terms of the lack of structure. Everything just deteriorated," Kardaras says, pointing to an increase in cognitive issues and decrease in attention spans among students. "School acts as an anchor for a lot of children, as a stabilizing force, and that disappeared."

But even if students transition back to the structure of in-person classes, Kardaras suspects students may still struggle after two school years of shifted schedules and disrupted sleeping habits.

"We've seen adults struggling to go back to in-person work environments from remote work environments. That effect is amplified with children because children have less resources to be able to cope with those transitions than adults do," he explains.

'Get organized' ahead of back-to-school

In order to make the transition back to in-person school easier, Kang encourages students to "get good sleep, exercise regularly (and) eat a healthy diet."

To help manage workloads, she suggests students "get organized."

"There's so much mental clutter up there when you're disorganized... sitting down and planning out their study schedules can really help manage their time," she says.

Breaking assignments up can also make things easier to tackle.

"I know that heavy workloads can be stressful, but if you sit down and you break down that studying into smaller chunks, they're much more manageable."

If workloads are still too much, Kang encourages students to advocate for themselves.

"They should tell their teachers when a homework assignment just took too much time or if it was too difficult for them to do on their own," she says. "It's good to speak up and ask those questions. Respectfully, of course, because these are your teachers. But still, I think sometimes teachers themselves need this feedback from their students."

©2021 USA Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Stanford research shows pitfalls of homework

A Stanford researcher found that students in high-achieving communities who spend too much time on homework experience more stress, physical health problems, a lack of balance and even alienation from society. More than two hours of homework a night may be counterproductive, according to the study.

Education scholar Denise Pope has found that too much homework has negative effects on student well-being and behavioral engagement. (Image credit: L.A. Cicero)

A Stanford researcher found that too much homework can negatively affect kids, especially their lives away from school, where family, friends and activities matter.

“Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good,” wrote Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education .

The researchers used survey data to examine perceptions about homework, student well-being and behavioral engagement in a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California communities. Along with the survey data, Pope and her colleagues used open-ended answers to explore the students’ views on homework.

Median household income exceeded $90,000 in these communities, and 93 percent of the students went on to college, either two-year or four-year.

Students in these schools average about 3.1 hours of homework each night.

“The findings address how current homework practices in privileged, high-performing schools sustain students’ advantage in competitive climates yet hinder learning, full engagement and well-being,” Pope wrote.

Pope and her colleagues found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They cite prior research indicating that homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school.

Their study found that too much homework is associated with:

• Greater stress: 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.

• Reductions in health: In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems. The researchers asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems.

• Less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits: Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were “not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills,” according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.

A balancing act

The results offer empirical evidence that many students struggle to find balance between homework, extracurricular activities and social time, the researchers said. Many students felt forced or obligated to choose homework over developing other talents or skills.

Also, there was no relationship between the time spent on homework and how much the student enjoyed it. The research quoted students as saying they often do homework they see as “pointless” or “mindless” in order to keep their grades up.

“This kind of busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points,” Pope said.

She said the research calls into question the value of assigning large amounts of homework in high-performing schools. Homework should not be simply assigned as a routine practice, she said.

“Rather, any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development,” wrote Pope.

High-performing paradox

In places where students attend high-performing schools, too much homework can reduce their time to foster skills in the area of personal responsibility, the researchers concluded. “Young people are spending more time alone,” they wrote, “which means less time for family and fewer opportunities to engage in their communities.”

Student perspectives

The researchers say that while their open-ended or “self-reporting” methodology to gauge student concerns about homework may have limitations – some might regard it as an opportunity for “typical adolescent complaining” – it was important to learn firsthand what the students believe.

The paper was co-authored by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner from Villanova University.

Homework could have an impact on kids’ health. Should schools ban it?

Professor of Education, Penn State

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Gerald K. LeTendre has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the Spencer Foundation.

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Reformers in the Progressive Era (from the 1890s to 1920s) depicted homework as a “sin” that deprived children of their playtime . Many critics voice similar concerns today.

Yet there are many parents who feel that from early on, children need to do homework if they are to succeed in an increasingly competitive academic culture. School administrators and policy makers have also weighed in, proposing various policies on homework .

So, does homework help or hinder kids?

For the last 10 years, my colleagues and I have been investigating international patterns in homework using databases like the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) . If we step back from the heated debates about homework and look at how homework is used around the world, we find the highest homework loads are associated with countries that have lower incomes and higher social inequality.

Does homework result in academic success?

Let’s first look at the global trends on homework.

Undoubtedly, homework is a global phenomenon ; students from all 59 countries that participated in the 2007 Trends in Math and Science Study (TIMSS) reported getting homework. Worldwide, only less than 7% of fourth graders said they did no homework.

TIMSS is one of the few data sets that allow us to compare many nations on how much homework is given (and done). And the data show extreme variation.

For example, in some nations, like Algeria, Kuwait and Morocco, more than one in five fourth graders reported high levels of homework. In Japan, less than 3% of students indicated they did more than four hours of homework on a normal school night.

TIMSS data can also help to dispel some common stereotypes. For instance, in East Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan – countries that had the top rankings on TIMSS average math achievement – reported rates of heavy homework that were below the international mean.

In the Netherlands, nearly one out of five fourth graders reported doing no homework on an average school night, even though Dutch fourth graders put their country in the top 10 in terms of average math scores in 2007.

Going by TIMSS data, the US is neither “ A Nation at Rest” as some have claimed, nor a nation straining under excessive homework load . Fourth and eighth grade US students fall in the middle of the 59 countries in the TIMSS data set, although only 12% of US fourth graders reported high math homework loads compared to an international average of 21%.

So, is homework related to high academic success?

At a national level, the answer is clearly no. Worldwide, homework is not associated with high national levels of academic achievement .

But, the TIMSS can’t be used to determine if homework is actually helping or hurting academic performance overall , it can help us see how much homework students are doing, and what conditions are associated with higher national levels of homework.

We have typically found that the highest homework loads are associated with countries that have lower incomes and higher levels of social inequality – not hallmarks that most countries would want to emulate.

Impact of homework on kids

TIMSS data also show us how even elementary school kids are being burdened with large amounts of homework.

Almost 10% of fourth graders worldwide (one in 10 children) reported spending multiple hours on homework each night. Globally, one in five fourth graders report 30 minutes or more of homework in math three to four times a week.

These reports of large homework loads should worry parents, teachers and policymakers alike.

Empirical studies have linked excessive homework to sleep disruption , indicating a negative relationship between the amount of homework, perceived stress and physical health.

What constitutes excessive amounts of homework varies by age, and may also be affected by cultural or family expectations. Young adolescents in middle school, or teenagers in high school, can study for longer duration than elementary school children.

But for elementary school students, even 30 minutes of homework a night, if combined with other sources of academic stress, can have a negative impact . Researchers in China have linked homework of two or more hours per night with sleep disruption .

Even though some cultures may normalize long periods of studying for elementary age children, there is no evidence to support that this level of homework has clear academic benefits . Also, when parents and children conflict over homework, and strong negative emotions are created, homework can actually have a negative association with academic achievement.

Should there be “no homework” policies?

Administrators and policymakers have not been reluctant to wade into the debates on homework and to formulate policies . France’s president, Francois Hollande, even proposed that homework be banned because it may have inegaliatarian effects.

However, “zero-tolerance” homework policies for schools, or nations, are likely to create as many problems as they solve because of the wide variation of homework effects. Contrary to what Hollande said, research suggests that homework is not a likely source of social class differences in academic achievement .

Homework, in fact, is an important component of education for students in the middle and upper grades of schooling.

Policymakers and researchers should look more closely at the connection between poverty, inequality and higher levels of homework. Rather than seeing homework as a “solution,” policymakers should question what facets of their educational system might impel students, teachers and parents to increase homework loads.

At the classroom level, in setting homework, teachers need to communicate with their peers and with parents to assure that the homework assigned overall for a grade is not burdensome, and that it is indeed having a positive effect.

Perhaps, teachers can opt for a more individualized approach to homework. If teachers are careful in selecting their assignments – weighing the student’s age, family situation and need for skill development – then homework can be tailored in ways that improve the chance of maximum positive impact for any given student.

I strongly suspect that when teachers face conditions such as pressure to meet arbitrary achievement goals, lack of planning time or little autonomy over curriculum, homework becomes an easy option to make up what could not be covered in class.

Whatever the reason, the fact is a significant percentage of elementary school children around the world are struggling with large homework loads. That alone could have long-term negative consequences for their academic success.

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Is Homework Necessary? Education Inequity and Its Impact on Students

The Problem with Homework: It Highlights Inequalities

How much homework is too much homework, when does homework actually help, negative effects of homework for students, how teachers can help.

Schools are getting rid of homework from Essex, Mass., to Los Angeles, Calif. Although the no-homework trend may sound alarming, especially to parents dreaming of their child’s acceptance to Harvard, Stanford or Yale, there is mounting evidence that eliminating homework in grade school may actually have great benefits , especially with regard to educational equity.

In fact, while the push to eliminate homework may come as a surprise to many adults, the debate is not new . Parents and educators have been talking about this subject for the last century, so that the educational pendulum continues to swing back and forth between the need for homework and the need to eliminate homework.

One of the most pressing talking points around homework is how it disproportionately affects students from less affluent families. The American Psychological Association (APA) explained:

“Kids from wealthier homes are more likely to have resources such as computers, internet connections, dedicated areas to do schoolwork and parents who tend to be more educated and more available to help them with tricky assignments. Kids from disadvantaged homes are more likely to work at afterschool jobs, or to be home without supervision in the evenings while their parents work multiple jobs.”

[RELATED] How to Advance Your Career: A Guide for Educators >> 

While students growing up in more affluent areas are likely playing sports, participating in other recreational activities after school, or receiving additional tutoring, children in disadvantaged areas are more likely headed to work after school, taking care of siblings while their parents work or dealing with an unstable home life. Adding homework into the mix is one more thing to deal with — and if the student is struggling, the task of completing homework can be too much to consider at the end of an already long school day.

While all students may groan at the mention of homework, it may be more than just a nuisance for poor and disadvantaged children, instead becoming another burden to carry and contend with.

Beyond the logistical issues, homework can negatively impact physical health and stress — and once again this may be a more significant problem among economically disadvantaged youth who typically already have a higher stress level than peers from more financially stable families .

Yet, today, it is not just the disadvantaged who suffer from the stressors that homework inflicts. A 2014 CNN article, “Is Homework Making Your Child Sick?” , covered the issue of extreme pressure placed on children of the affluent. The article looked at the results of a study surveying more than 4,300 students from 10 high-performing public and private high schools in upper-middle-class California communities.

“Their findings were troubling: Research showed that excessive homework is associated with high stress levels, physical health problems and lack of balance in children’s lives; 56% of the students in the study cited homework as a primary stressor in their lives,” according to the CNN story. “That children growing up in poverty are at-risk for a number of ailments is both intuitive and well-supported by research. More difficult to believe is the growing consensus that children on the other end of the spectrum, children raised in affluence, may also be at risk.”

When it comes to health and stress it is clear that excessive homework, for children at both ends of the spectrum, can be damaging. Which begs the question, how much homework is too much?

The National Education Association and the National Parent Teacher Association recommend that students spend 10 minutes per grade level per night on homework . That means that first graders should spend 10 minutes on homework, second graders 20 minutes and so on. But a study published by The American Journal of Family Therapy found that students are getting much more than that.

While 10 minutes per day doesn’t sound like much, that quickly adds up to an hour per night by sixth grade. The National Center for Education Statistics found that high school students get an average of 6.8 hours of homework per week, a figure that is much too high according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is also to be noted that this figure does not take into consideration the needs of underprivileged student populations.

In a study conducted by the OECD it was found that “after around four hours of homework per week, the additional time invested in homework has a negligible impact on performance .” That means that by asking our children to put in an hour or more per day of dedicated homework time, we are not only not helping them, but — according to the aforementioned studies — we are hurting them, both physically and emotionally.

What’s more is that homework is, as the name implies, to be completed at home, after a full day of learning that is typically six to seven hours long with breaks and lunch included. However, a study by the APA on how people develop expertise found that elite musicians, scientists and athletes do their most productive work for about only four hours per day. Similarly, companies like Tower Paddle Boards are experimenting with a five-hour workday, under the assumption that people are not able to be truly productive for much longer than that. CEO Stephan Aarstol told CNBC that he believes most Americans only get about two to three hours of work done in an eight-hour day.

In the scope of world history, homework is a fairly new construct in the U.S. Students of all ages have been receiving work to complete at home for centuries, but it was educational reformer Horace Mann who first brought the concept to America from Prussia. 

Since then, homework’s popularity has ebbed and flowed in the court of public opinion. In the 1930s, it was considered child labor (as, ironically, it compromised children’s ability to do chores at home). Then, in the 1950s, implementing mandatory homework was hailed as a way to ensure America’s youth were always one step ahead of Soviet children during the Cold War. Homework was formally mandated as a tool for boosting educational quality in 1986 by the U.S. Department of Education, and has remained in common practice ever since.  

School work assigned and completed outside of school hours is not without its benefits. Numerous studies have shown that regular homework has a hand in improving student performance and connecting students to their learning. When reviewing these studies, take them with a grain of salt; there are strong arguments for both sides, and only you will know which solution is best for your students or school. 

Homework improves student achievement.

• Source: The High School Journal, “ When is Homework Worth the Time?: Evaluating the Association between Homework and Achievement in High School Science and Math ,” 2012. 
• Source: IZA.org, “ Does High School Homework Increase Academic Achievement? ,” 2014. **Note: Study sample comprised only high school boys. 

Homework helps reinforce classroom learning.

• Source: “ Debunk This: People Remember 10 Percent of What They Read ,” 2015.

Homework helps students develop good study habits and life skills.

• Sources: The Repository @ St. Cloud State, “ Types of Homework and Their Effect on Student Achievement ,” 2017; Journal of Advanced Academics, “ Developing Self-Regulation Skills: The Important Role of Homework ,” 2011.
• Source: Journal of Advanced Academics, “ Developing Self-Regulation Skills: The Important Role of Homework ,” 2011.

Homework allows parents to be involved with their children’s learning.

• Parents can see what their children are learning and working on in school every day. 
• Parents can participate in their children’s learning by guiding them through homework assignments and reinforcing positive study and research habits.
• Homework observation and participation can help parents understand their children’s academic strengths and weaknesses, and even identify possible learning difficulties.
• Source: Phys.org, “ Sociologist Upends Notions about Parental Help with Homework ,” 2018.

While some amount of homework may help students connect to their learning and enhance their in-class performance, too much homework can have damaging effects. 

Students with too much homework have elevated stress levels. 

• Source: USA Today, “ Is It Time to Get Rid of Homework? Mental Health Experts Weigh In ,” 2021.
• Source: Stanford University, “ Stanford Research Shows Pitfalls of Homework ,” 2014.

Students with too much homework may be tempted to cheat. 

• Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education, “ High-Tech Cheating Abounds, and Professors Bear Some Blame ,” 2010.
• Source: The American Journal of Family Therapy, “ Homework and Family Stress: With Consideration of Parents’ Self Confidence, Educational Level, and Cultural Background ,” 2015.

Homework highlights digital inequity. 

• Sources: NEAToday.org, “ The Homework Gap: The ‘Cruelest Part of the Digital Divide’ ,” 2016; CNET.com, “ The Digital Divide Has Left Millions of School Kids Behind ,” 2021.
• Source: Investopedia, “ Digital Divide ,” 2022; International Journal of Education and Social Science, “ Getting the Homework Done: Social Class and Parents’ Relationship to Homework ,” 2015.
• Source: World Economic Forum, “ COVID-19 exposed the digital divide. Here’s how we can close it ,” 2021.

Homework does not help younger students.

• Source: Review of Educational Research, “ Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Researcher, 1987-2003 ,” 2006.

To help students find the right balance and succeed, teachers and educators must start the homework conversation, both internally at their school and with parents. But in order to successfully advocate on behalf of students, teachers must be well educated on the subject, fully understanding the research and the outcomes that can be achieved by eliminating or reducing the homework burden. There is a plethora of research and writing on the subject for those interested in self-study.

For teachers looking for a more in-depth approach or for educators with a keen interest in educational equity, formal education may be the best route. If this latter option sounds appealing, there are now many reputable schools offering online master of education degree programs to help educators balance the demands of work and family life while furthering their education in the quest to help others.

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The Best Primary Homework Help Parents Can Give Their Children

Ellie Williams

Figuring out how to help with primary homework is no mean feat. At times it can seem that your child’s school is handing out a never-ending stream of worksheets, books and tasks to tackle, and more often than not this leads to a sentence dreaded by most parents: “ Mum/Dad, I need help with my school homework! ”

Well, if just seeing that sentence written has brought back bad memories of figuring out fractions, mastering multiplication or dealing with division, you’ll be pleased to hear that we are here to help.

Research has shown that parental support can play a huge role in a child’s education, and with pressure mounting to support your child in their education it can all feel a little overwhelming for parents.

This doesn’t have to be the case though, and in this blog we will be looking at how you can help your child with their maths homework and make after school more enjoyable!

Blog Contents:

• What do parents need to know about primary school homework?
• Why is homework important for your child?

Understanding how much homework your child gets from their school

• Why parental engagement with homework is important
• Top tips to help with homework
• Reasons routine is important
• Why you should focus on the ‘can do’s’ rather than the cannot’s
• Why you shouldn’t worry if you don’t know the answers yourself!
• How you can create the perfect homework haven
• Mastering motivation for homework
• Homework hacks you can use to get the job done faster

What parents need to know about primary school homework

Before you think about how to help your child with their primary homework, it is important to understand a little more about why they have it in the first place.

How much homework they should be getting, how difficult it should be and the debate as to whether or not they should have any work to do at home in the first place are questions raised by parents everywhere, and they will all be answered here.

30 Times Tables Tests and Answers

Download this FREE resource of 30 times tables tests and answers for your year 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 children!

A debate is raging in the world of primary education: Why is homework important for your child? vs Why it may not be!

A battle that has been blazing for as long as homework has been handed out to primary school children, the question of whether or not additional after school work is beneficial to children is one without a clear answer.

Back in 2018, the homework debate rose up again amongst Twitter users – some famous, some infamous, and a few regular Joe’s – about the necessity of homework for primary school children.

Gary Lineker of Walker crisp and football fame was of the opinion that children “ should be allowed to play and enjoy home-life with their parents ”, a sentiment that was shared by headteachers also on the platform.

On the other end of the scale, opinions brought to the fore by Piers Morgan included:

• That by removing homework from the equation altogether, the UK’s educational standards would fall further behind the likes of China; and That when homework is made to be interesting and productive, 100% of students of any age will be receptive to it
• Piers’ viewpoint, whilst not arrived at in quite the same manner, was also shared by Katherine Birbalsingh, Founding Headteacher of the Michela School so it did have some educational heft behind it as well.

With parents, teachers and many others still split on the merits of homework for primary school children, it appears that the debate will continue long into the future…

But one thing is sure: homework is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Whilst this is a tricky topic to cover since each school has a different policy, there is one simple place to begin, and it is by answering the following question:

Is homework compulsory in primary schools?

No. Homework is not compulsory in primary schools, but it is recommended and encouraged by the government. The guidelines set out by the government state that children should be doing homework from the day they begin primary school.

This is however, not a legal requirement from the schools themselves.

The government has given schools the ability to set their own homework policy, and this means that it will vary from school to school. Some schools may choose to have no homework for their pupils, whilst other schools may choose to have daily homework.

With their being no set and fast rule for the amount of homework your child can receive, it is up to you as a parent to ensure that you understand the homework policy of your child’s school.

However, the government has set out some guidelines as to how long children should spend on their homework depending on their age:

It is worth remembering that these guidelines are simply that – and if you feel that your child is getting too much/not enough homework then there are a few things you can do:

• Visit the school’s website and find their homework policy to get a clearer understanding of how much your child should be getting
• Speak to the your child’s teacher about the amount of homework they are receiving

Parental engagement in homework is key in helping your child get the most from their education

For many parents, helping children with homework is something that they would gladly remove from their daily schedule. However, if your child does receive homework then helping them with it can be extremely beneficial to them.

Research into the effect of parental engagement in homework has found that ‘ parent’s homework involvement appears to influence student success insofar as it supports student attributes related to achievement (e.g., attitudes about homework, perceptions of personal competence, self-regulatory skills ).’

Put simply, this means that if you hear that all too familiar cry of “ I don’t know how to do question 6 on my maths homework… ” or “ I don’t understand it ” coming from the living room after school, stepping in to help is definitely the best solution, as it will benefit your child in the long run.

Just remember, a cup of tea can always be heated up…

Fortunately, there are a vast number of ways that you can help your child with maths homework, and we will delve into some of the best ones now!

How to help your child with maths homework: Top parental tips for helping with homework

Without further ado, it’s time to look at the top ways that parents can help with homework!

Ensure that routine and structure are the order of the day, everyday

We know that during the journey home from school and the subsequent rush to settle down in front of the television upon arrival, homework can be cast aside in young minds. However, one of the simplest ways you can help your child with their homework is by never giving them the chance to ‘forget’ about their homework.

By introducing a simple after-school routine, you’ll be able to eliminate the inevitable time wasting that can come during this period of the day, and homework can be completed swiftly and with relative ease.

There are of course always going to be days when your child isn’t keen to get the pen and paper out upon their return home, but by setting a (relatively) regimented and strict after how to help school routine, you will be able to make the transition from school work to homework much smoother.

Set time aside each day, or every other day depending on the amount of homework your child is given, and make sure that homework is the only thing on the agenda during this timeframe.

It is very important though, to include breaks during homework time too. Not only are concentration levels at primary school age somewhat fleeting, but research shows that taking breaks when working makes you more productive.

So although it might sound contradictory, a quick 10-minute game or snack break every half an hour or so will ensure that your child refocuses and has time to reset – meaning homework is completed faster not slower!

Routine breeds habit, and with habit comes a desire to get the work done in a quick and pain-free matter.

Fail to plan and you are planning to fail, so get your after-school routine checklist here

Having a visual representation of what you expect your child to do after school pinned to the fridge or wall is a great way to reinforce the routine you want them to get into, and it can help you both focus on the event that is supposed to be happening at one particular moment in time.

Whether it be homework, swimming or even walking the dog, if it’s on the checklist, it needs to be done.

In a nutshell: Why routine is important when helping with homework

Without a regular after-school routine in place, chances are you will be met with a whole host of objections when you mention the dreaded ‘h’ word. If however your child knows that their after school routine looks a little like this:

3.45-4.00pm: Time for homework 4.00-4.15pm: A break on their iPad or watch the tv 4.15-4.30pm: Back to their homework to finish it off 4.30pm onwards: Time to play!

You should find them to be a lot more open to completing their work as they know that there is always a break on the horizon.

It certainly isn’t a one size fits all approach, but with some tinkering you should be able to find a routine that works for your child.

• How You Can Create Amazing Before And After School Routines For your Child
• The Best Homework Hacks – 18 Tips and Tricks to Help You Get It Done Fast
• 13 Fun Homework Ideas: How to Make Homework Fun for Kids

Focus on the I can do’s rather than the I cannot’s

For many, maths was one of the more difficult subjects at school and it can still prove tricky to tackle even in adulthood.

But whilst you may still find fractions frustrating or addition arduous, it is very important for your child’s mathematical development that you avoid telling them “ I just can’t do maths. ”

This may seem a throwaway comment that busy and often overwhelmed parents make when maths homework is being completed, but it does not bode well with children.

Young minds look towards their parents for advice and guidance on everything, and this means that if they see you being negative about maths, they will often think it’s okay to react in a similar fashion.

Fortunately, the solution is simple – although it may take a bit of practice at the beginning.

Even if the thought of helping your child with an algebra worksheet fills you with dread, or assisting with long division makes you wish you’d paid more attention in your maths lessons, try to remain as positive as possible.

Chances are you know more about maths than you think you do, and you are probably using an awful lot in your everyday life without even realising.

Making sure the total amount on the supermarket receipt is right? That’s maths. Budgeting for the month after payday? That’s maths. Measuring weights when preparing the family dinner? That’s maths.

The list above could go on and on forever, but the point is that even when you find yourself staring at a homework sheet your child has been given and thinking “ I can’t do maths ”, the best thing you can do to help your child with their maths homework is to turn around and announce that you can both do maths and are going to work it out together!

But how can I do this if I’m not sure of the answer to the question?

There will of course always be occasions when you just don’t know how to answer one of the questions on a piece of homework.

As a parent your child will expect you to know everything from who was the third person to climb Everest (Ernst Schmied for anyone who is wondering) through to the answer to question 15 on their maths homework, but you’ll be pleased to hear that being stumped by a question may actually be helpful when your child is learning .

Children respond well to the opportunity to work together with their parents, (and even better to the opportunity to show up mum or dad when they know something you don’t) and when you are supporting each other to work out the answer to a particularly tricky question, you may find that they retain this piece of knowledge better than they otherwise would.

In a nutshell: Why you should avoid saying that you can’t do maths around your child

Something popular amongst educators is the theory of a growth mindset. This theory advocates the idea that both intelligence and ability are not fixed, and that through hard work and determination, brains and talent are just the starting point for educational development.

This is a fantastic approach to take with your child, so when helping them with their maths homework replace “I can’t do maths” with “I’m not sure how to answer that question, let’s work it out together” and you will soon see the results.

Take the time to create the perfect environment for studying

With toys, pets, televisions and 1001 other distractions to keep a young mind away from their homework, the average house is often not the best place to get work done.

For a child looking for an excuse not to do their homework, all of the above can be the reason they give as to why it’s 5.30pm and they have only answered a quarter of the maths questions they were supposed to.

Fortunately, it is very easy to create an environment for your child that is conducive to learning, and all it takes is a little preparation on your behalf.

How parents can create a homework haven for their child

Step 1: Find the most secluded and quiet area of your home.

Step 2: Remove televisions, pets, annoying siblings and even computers (unless they are needed for research) from the newfound homework hideaway.

Step 3: This is a fantastic chance for you to bring your child in on the design of their homework haven. Use your combined design skills to make this an area that really stands out from the rest of the house, and one that your child is going to want to do their work in.

If your son or daughter feels that fairy lights will help them think then get them up on the wall.

If they would prefer to sit on a bean bag rather than that infamously uncomfortable desk chair that’s in the spare room, see if you can source one from somewhere. (Gumtree is a great place to start!)

The idea here is not to create a generic work environment for your child with a desk, chair and pen pot. The idea is to create something that will work for them and act as an incentive for them to go and do their work.

If you are however struggling for design ideas, take a look at Pinterest for some inspiration. Just make sure you don’t get drawn in by the overambitious and unrealistic cool creations on there.

Nobody’s asking you to create a life size mural of an elephant on the wall to help with science homework, or to write the 12 times tables out with a calligraphy pen. Fairy lights and a comfy seat are a good enough place to start….

Step 4: Make sure that all of the equipment your child will need is within arms reach. This is a quick win when helping children with homework as it means that rather than spending 10 minutes ‘looking’ for their ruler, it is already there and ready to use.

Step 5: Make sure you are never too far away from any potential calls for help. If your homework hideaway is upstairs and you’ve popped downstairs to get to work on the dinner, ensure you can still hear any homework help requests that come your way. Ignore these at your peril as an unanswered cry for help can quickly turn into an incomplete piece of homework…

By creating a special space within which homework can be completed, you will remove both the distractions and stress that can come with it.

In a nutshell: Why a space specifically for homework is important

It can be difficult to remember back to being a 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11-year-old student, but trust us when we say that at that this age, distractions can be found everywhere. That is why is is crucial to create a space for your child, free from any disturbances or interruptions, that will help them get on with their maths homework.

How to help your child with homework: Make sure you motivate your child by ensuring that maths homework is fun

If you were someone who disliked homework when you were at school, then ‘making homework fun’ may sound like something of an oxymoron. Years ago, a worksheet full of sums and numbers would have been the only thing that made it from the classroom to your home, but nowadays, things are thankfully very different.

Primary school homework may not always come in the form of a worksheet or a page from a textbook. Many teachers like to give their class more abstract tasks such as “work on your times tables” or “test yourself on the addition work we did today in class”.

It is with these types of homework tasks that you really have a chance to shine and motivate your child by making maths fun!

There are a whole host of ways you can bring maths to life at home, and they include:

• Making up your own songs and rhymes about numbers and times tables in particular
• Sitting down together to work out household budgets (perhaps including an increase in pocket money if the dishes are washed on a regular basis)
• Getting help with the weekly food shop and the amounts food will cost
• Using car journeys to test maths skills

These are of course just some of the things you can do to improve your child’s maths skills at home, whilst making things more fun than simply sitting down and writing. If you want to find out other top tips and tricks for fun homework help, take a look at our blog about 5 ways to encourage real life maths.

Or if you’re looking for specific activities, try our list of home learning resources , all free to download and use!

Maths outside can be fun as well!

Another great way parents can help with homework is by taking learning outside. If you have an active child then times tables hopscotch can be an effective method of helping them master multiplication.

In a similar vein, if you have a child who loves to explore and immerse themselves in the great outdoors, then outdoor addition and subtraction may be the way to go.

Motivating children to do work when at home can be difficult after a long day at school, but with a little perseverance and creativity on your part it is certainly achievable.

In a nutshell: Motivation and fun are key when it is time for homework

Put simply, if your child isn’t motivated to do the work in front of them then you are facing an almighty uphill battle from the offset. Try bringing a bit of fun into maths, and as well as your child enjoying their work a lot more, you’ll also see that helping kids with homework can be fun for you too!

Why not try downloading some fun topical maths activities and games from the internet for free to spice up learning at home, like this one? Plus, if you sign up to our newsletter we send fun resources every week that will help keep your child engaged in maths and mean you don’t have to go searching the internet for any!

Where you can find out more about ways to make maths fun

For the adventurous parent and child duo, take a look at our top 13 outdoor maths activities .

If you’re looking for a fun and easy way to help your child work on their number facts, then our post on 10 minute maths at home: number facts paper flip is the blog for you!

Use homework hacks to get the work done faster

Most parents know that when a good parenting hack appears they would be wise to grab it with both hands as they can prove to be as rare as a dragon riding a unicorn.

It is the same for homework hacks.

With so many of them available on the internet it can be hard to know which ones are right for you, and more importantly which ones will work for your child.

Let’s face it, the “you can stay up 15 minutes later tomorrow” trick doesn’t work on kids anymore as they are catching onto the fact that tomorrow never comes…

It can be the small but simple things that you may never think of as a busy parent that can make the difference when your child is doing their homework. Examples include:

• Getting some outside help with your child’s maths
• Boost brain power with healthy snacks – dried fruit and nuts are a winner!
• Take advantage of something that is often not common knowledge in a school…The homework club

In a nutshell: Anything that can speed up the process should be used!

We know that the words ‘homework hacks’ can bring up the same tired clichés in your head, and that they you probably feel that you have seen them all before.

Rewarding your child after they have completed their homework is something that is very obvious and probably in every list of homework hacks (ours included), but that is because it is an important thing to do after every good homework session.

However, for every ‘rewarding your child’ homework hack, there will be one that you’ll never have heard before, and who knows, it could be the one that revolutionised homework time in your household!

Where you can find out some top homework hacks

Bring the things your child loves into the world of maths homework

Laptops, computers, iPads and phones. These are all things that we recommended putting away earlier in this post. However, when the times is right they can be extremely powerful tools in the battle to help your child with their homework.

Nowadays, for every shoot’em up and sports-based game that can be found online, there are an equal number of educational apps, websites and games that you can use to motivate your child to do homework.

A session on Primary Games Arena after completing their homework, or some time spent on Times Tables Rockstars as a reward for finishing some maths revision are both fantastic ways to channel child’s desire to enter the online world after school.

With so many incredible education sites and apps out there, you are bound to find one that you can use to help your child cement whichever topic they have been working on in their homework.

In a nutshell: Don’t be scared of online games, they can be a useful tool

Don’t be afraid to say yes when your child asks if they can play a game after they have completed their homework. As long as you keep control over which site they are visiting and which games are being played, you will be able to use them to truly cement what they have just been going over in their homework.

There is nothing wrong with a game or two of Fortnite every now and again too, and this gives you another amazing chance to bring some real-life maths into the equation…

Where you can find a list of the best free maths homework help sites

With such an abundance of websites out there, it can be a little tricky to know which ones are worth your time. Fortunately, we have done all of the research for you and created a list of the 10 best free maths homework help websites and apps for you to peruse at your leisure.

You now have an arsenal full of educational weapons, ready to help you win the homework war

We know that it can feel like an uphill battle to get your child to do their homework after a long day at school. They’re often tired and on the lookout for something more interesting to do, but with the tips, tricks and advice discussed in this blog, you should have more of an idea of how to help your child with homework meaning things should begin to feel a little easier come 3.15pm.

It will take some time to find out what works best for your child when it comes to helping them with homework, so don’t be disheartened if the first thing you try doesn’t work as we promise that things will eventually fall into place.

It is always worth remembering that one of the most important things you can do as a parent to help turn the tide in the homework war is to spend time helping your child with their homework, however you choose to do it, as one-to-one interaction is one of the best ways to learn.

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August 22, 2022

Children’s Risk of Suicide Increases on School Days

Unlike in adults, suicide risk among children is lowest during the summer and higher during the school year. Understanding these patterns can help prevent and treat suicidality

By Tyler Black

Amanda Montañez

Reading about death and suicidality can be distressing. Please read this in a moment where you feel safest and ready to do so.

Pediatricians, child psychologists and psychiatrists, social workers and pediatric emergency teams know something that many people who care for children don’t: we are much busier during the school year. I’m a full-time emergency psychiatrist who works at a major children’s hospital, and often when children come in for a mental health crisis, one of the main stressors they discuss is school.

I’m sure most people assume I commonly prescribe medications as a physician, but one of my most common “prescriptions” is advocating for reducing school burden and load. In a 2013 American Psychological Association survey, 83 percent of adolescents stated that school was a cause or significant source of stress . In a 2017 survey of school leaders in the U.K., 82 percent reported increased mental health issues among primary school children during the time of national examinations. In studies in 2013 and 2015, scientists studying homework in the U.S. found that primary school children were averaging 30 minutes of such work per night, while high-performing secondary students were averaging more than three hours per night, at the cost of their physical health and schoolwork-life balance.

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Whether we are talking about referrals to mental health programs for crisis, presentations to emergency departments for mental health issues, admissions to intensive care units for urgent treatment of suicide attempts or deaths by suicide, an association with school is clear. We are able to visualize this in a number of ways.

By using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wonder database to find information on pediatric (17 years of age or younger) deaths by suicide, I have created a “heat map” of youth suicide, and a school-day association is plain to see. On weekdays and during school months, there is a significant elevation of suicide deaths in children.

Credit: Amanda Montañez; Source: CDC Wonder , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Data analysis by Tyler Black

Looking at the monthly data, we can see that this elevation is not trivial: during school months, the increase in pediatric suicides ranges between 30 and 43 percent. This is in sharp contrast with adults, where we see suicide rates typically peak in summer months. 

This situation has not improved over time: Compared with summer weekends, school-month weekdays from 2016 to 2019 show a pediatric suicide rate increase of 62 percent. The increase was 42% from 1999 to 2015.

If we look at far more common events, such as emergency room visits for mental health conditions, we see a strikingly similar pattern. These data come from participating hospitals in a collection done by the CDC.

Credit: Amanda Montañez; National Syndromic Surveillance Program via Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

School comes with many things, good and bad. School can be wonderful, with learning experiences, social successes and a sense of connection to others. But it can also be incredibly stressful because of academic burden, bullying, health- and disability-related barriers, discrimination, lack of sleep and sometimes abuse. I often liken going to school to a child’s full-time job. The child has co-workers (classmates arranged by hierarchy), supervisors (teachers), bosses (administrators and principals) and overtime (homework). And they have very early work hours (most schools have hours that are very incompatible with children’s sleep patterns). Of course, work can be rewarding, but it’s also stressful.

Any time I present these data to teachers, parents, principals or school administrators, they are shocked. This should be common knowledge. Pediatric suicides and mental health crisis rates increase sharply when school is in and ease when school is out. This pattern is also found in other jurisdictions, such as Japan , Germany and Finland .

There are a number of ways to potentially mitigate this distress that I wish those responsible for our children’s education would explore. Some suggestions I’d put forth:

Reduce homework (preferably get rid of it). Some of the best educational science available shows that excessive homework is of limited benefit and in fact harms children’s health and well-being.

Add a mental health curriculum. We have developed incredible educational goals for math, reading, science and the arts. There should be a dedicated pathway for a much more universal and necessary learning: how to take care of yourself; how to look out for and help others; and how to improve both the detection and prevention of mental health crises.

Take bullying seriously and don’t just focus on the bullies. The bullied and bullies often come from similar backgrounds (histories of abuse, trauma, chaos, deprivation, parental detachment, though this certainly isn’t universally the case). But whereas the bullied tend to be internalizers, the bullies are more often externalizers. Bullies who were once victims of bullying have the highest risk of having psychiatric problems in the future.

Restore funding for playtime, music and art in school and de-emphasize academic overload. Children need relaxation, comfort, beauty, fun and play. Children who have opportunities to play and rest will learn more in their academics, and they will be able to sustain their development as they grow.

End “perfect attendance” awards and goals. While problematic truancy should be addressed, there is no less realistic notion for the rest of one’s life than the idea of “perfect attendance.” We should all, from time to time, recognize when we are at our limit and need a break. Children should be encouraged to report when they can do so and be supported.

Start school later. How many more decades of research do we need to show that children need more sleep and that adolescents do better in school when the day starts later? It’s time to make serious structural changes to the early-morning wake-up times.

Be nonjudgmental and respect children’s identity and identity formation. This is not a “woke” concept. This is a caring, compassionate concept that works for all children all the time.

Recognize and address child abuse within schools. There exist (and many readers may likely recall) teachers who are abusive, punitive and cruel. In one 2015 study, 44 percent of undergraduates recalled a time in K–12 school that they labeled as emotional abuse by a teacher . And in another study published in 2019, 3.4 percent of seventh- and eighth-grade students reported teachers bullied them .

Every year my colleagues in the emergency department brace for the coming mid-September wave, as every year our mental health crisis presentation volumes double and our days become much busier. Likely not coincidentally, in my jurisdiction, school starts in the second week of September.

In the new school year, if you are someone who works with school-age children, ask yourself what you could be doing to reduce pressure or improve quality of life for the children in your care. This would truly be suicide prevention.

IF YOU NEED HELP If you or someone you know is struggling or having thoughts of suicide, help is available. Call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or use the online Lifeline Chat . LGBTQ+ Americans can reach out to the Trevor Project by texting START to 678-678 or calling 1-866-488-7386.

This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American .

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5 facts about Hispanic Americans and health care

Hispanic Americans have long faced health care challenges in the United States, including lower health insurance coverage rates and less access to preventative care.

Language and cultural barriers, as well as higher levels of poverty, are among the social and economic factors contributing to disparate health outcomes for Hispanic Americans. These disparities were apparent during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic , when Hispanics were far more likely than White Americans to have died from the virus .

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to highlight Hispanic Americans’ attitudes about and experiences with health care. We surveyed U.S. adults from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, 2021, including 3,716 Hispanic adults (inclusive of those who identify as any race). A total of 14,497 U.S. adults completed the survey.

The survey was conducted on the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP) and included an oversample of Black and Hispanic adults from the Ipsos KnowledgePanel. Respondents on both panels are recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the  ATP’s methodology .

Here are the survey  questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and its methodology .

This study was informed by a group of advisers with expertise related to Black and Hispanic Americans’ attitudes and experiences in science, health, STEM education and other areas. Pew Research Center remains solely responsible for all aspects of the research, including any errors associated with its products and findings.

This analysis includes additional information from sources including KFF and the U.S. Census Bureau. Further information about these sources can be found through the links in the text.

Here are five key facts about Hispanic Americans and health care, based on a 2021 Pew Research Center survey of Hispanic adults and other sources:

Hispanic adults are less likely than other Americans to have seen a health care provider recently and to have a primary care provider. Seven-in-ten say they’ve seen a doctor or other health care provider in the past year, compared with 82% among Americans overall. Hispanics are also slightly less likely than Americans overall to say they have a primary care provider (68% vs. 76%).

Health care access among Hispanic immigrants differs markedly based on how long they have lived in the U.S. More recent arrivals are less likely than those who have been in the country longer to have seen a doctor recently and to have a primary care provider. For example, 48% of Hispanic immigrants who have been in the U.S. for a decade or less report having a primary care provider, compared with 79% among those who have been in the U.S. for more than two decades.

Recent arrivals make up a declining share of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. And more broadly, immigrants account for a declining share of the overall U.S. Hispanic population . In 2021, they made up 32% of all Hispanic Americans, down from 37% in 2010.

Hispanic Americans are less likely than people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds to have health insurance. As of 2021, the uninsured rate among Hispanics under age 65 was 19%, according to KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation . That was higher than the share among Black (11%), White (7%) and Asian Americans (6%). (These figures include rates among children as well as adults.)

While comparatively high, the uninsured rate among Hispanic Americans under age 65 in 2021 was down from 33% in 2010, before the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, according to KFF.

Lower rates of health insurance coverage play a major role in Hispanic Americans’ less frequent interactions with health care providers.

The relative youth of the U.S. Hispanic population may be another factor at play. The median age of Hispanic Americans was 30 as of 2020, compared with 41 for non-Hispanic Americans, according to the U.S. Census Bureau . Among both Hispanic and non-Hispanic Americans, younger people are less likely than their elders to have seen a health care provider recently and to have a primary care provider.

Many Hispanic Americans say worse health outcomes for Hispanics are tied to occupational and structural factors. Some 53% of Hispanic adults say a major reason why Hispanic people generally have worse health outcomes is that they’re more likely to work in jobs that put them at risk for health problems. About half (48%) say a major reason is that Hispanic people have less access to quality medical care where they live.

At least four-in-ten Hispanic adults also point to communication problems arising from language or cultural differences (44%) and preexisting health conditions (40%) as major reasons. (Majorities view all of these factors as at least minor reasons for disparate health outcomes among Hispanic adults.)

The coronavirus outbreak took an especially heavy toll on Hispanic Americans when compared with White Americans. Hispanics also face higher rates of certain diseases like diabetes than some other Americans.

When it comes to progress in health outcomes for Hispanic people, 51% of Hispanic adults say health outcomes have gotten a lot or a little better over the past two decades, compared with 13% who say they’ve gotten a lot or a little worse; 34% say they’ve stayed about the same.

About a third of Hispanic Americans – including 58% of Hispanic immigrants – say they prefer to see a Spanish-speaking health care provider. Overall, 35% of Hispanic adults strongly or somewhat prefer seeing a Spanish-speaking doctor or other health care provider for routine care. A larger share (51%) say it makes no difference whether the doctor they see speaks Spanish or not. And 13% say they would rather not see a Spanish-speaking doctor.

Attitudes are broadly similar when it comes to seeing a Hispanic doctor or health care provider. A third of Hispanic adults say they would prefer to see a Hispanic doctor for routine care, while 59% say it makes no difference and 7% would rather not.

Among Hispanic adults, immigrants are much more likely than those born in the U.S. to prefer seeing a Spanish-speaking doctor (58% vs. 12%) and to prefer seeing a Hispanic doctor (47% vs. 20%). About half of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. mostly speak and read in Spanish.

Hispanic Americans account for 19% of the U.S. population . But only 9% of the nation’s health care practitioners and technicians are Hispanic, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center analysis of federal government data . And just 7% of all U.S. physicians and surgeons and 7% of registered nurses are Hispanic.

Black Hispanic adults are more likely to report negative health care experiences than other Hispanic adults. Overall, about half of Hispanic adults (52%) say they’ve had at least one of six negative health care experiences asked about in the Center’s 2021 survey, including feeling rushed or having to speak up to get the proper care. This is similar to the share of all U.S. adults who report having at least one of these types of negative experiences.

However, there are notable differences among Hispanics by race. Hispanic Americans who identify as Black are much more likely than White Hispanic adults to have faced negative health care experiences. For instance, 52% of Black Hispanic adults say they’ve had to speak up to get proper care, compared with 31% of White Hispanic adults. And Black Hispanic adults are 15 percentage points more likely than White Hispanic adults to say they’ve received lower-quality care (37% vs. 22%).

While negative health care experiences are fairly common, most Hispanic adults have generally positive opinions about their latest health care interaction. A 56% majority say the quality of care they most recently received from doctors or other health care providers was excellent or very good, while another 28% say it was good. Fewer (14%) say the care they received was only fair or poor. Black and White Hispanic adults are about equally likely to give positive ratings of their most recent health care experience.

Note: Here are the survey  questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and its methodology .

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Homework in Russian Education Facilities: Key Facts and Types

1 Comment · Posted by Alex Smirnov in Education

What is homework in the first place? In a nutshell, it is one of the forms of educational activities performed by students outside the classroom or in extracurricular time. This form of activity can pursue a number of goals:

• To help students assimilate and retain the material presented in the class better;
• To let students self-study certain topics or concepts that don’t require clarification from the teacher;
• To assess how well students have grasped the material. Also, to understand how well they can apply the obtained knowledge and skills for finding solutions to certain problems;
• To identify gaps in knowledge.

For decades, homework of all shapes and kinds has been an integral part of the educational process. This type of activity is used by pretty much all education facilities, regardless of the level, and all across the world. However, the essence and types of homework can vary from country to country.

Namely, due to a significant difference in the overall education system in Russia, the types of homework assigned to students in this country can be somewhat different. For example, it will be different from homework types assigned, say, in the US. As we know, here, the largest academic challenge facing students is writing, which can be delegated to make my essay service professionals. But, the situation in Russian education facilities is different.

In this article, we are going to take a closer look at the homework in Russia and discover what types of this extracurricular activity are there.

Basic Requirements for the Content and Volume of Homework

In Russia, both the volume and content of homework are regulated by law. The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation sets very specific sanitary and epidemiological norms for the conditions and organization of training in educational institutions and closely monitors their compliance.

According to these regulations, the organization of home schoolwork has to be an integral part of the general problem of improving the educational process at school. The content, nature, and functions of homework cannot be considered in isolation from the content, nature, and methods of teaching applied in the classroom. It is during the lessons that teachers must create the right conditions for the successful completion of homework.

Many components and stages of the lesson are directly related to the subsequent completion of homework: checking homework, assigning homework lessons, students’ independent work in the lesson, etc. The combination of these components should be such that in the lesson, the student would get fully prepared for the homework and so that the lesson and subsequent independent work are a uniform process.

Currently, there are the following basic requirements for homework in Russia:

• The overall volume of the homework should not exceed 30% of the total amount of work performed in the classroom.
• The total time spent by students on homework should not exceed: 1.5 hours for 2 through 3 grade; 2 hours for 4 through 5 grade; 2.5 hours for 6 through 8 grade; and 3.5 for 9 through 11 grade.

According to stats, Russia is among the countries where students spend the most time on homework – on average, they are dealing with 9.7 hours of homework per week.

Types and Forms of Homework in Russia

Schools and higher education facilities in Russia use different types of homework assignments to ensure the integrity and efficiency of the learning process. Namely, we can distinguish the following types of assignments:

• Individual;
• Differentiated;
• One for the whole class;
• Compiling homework for a deskmate.

Now, let’s look at each type in detail.

As you can easily guess, individual homework is usually assigned to individual students and is tailored to their specific needs, the current level of knowledge, existing gaps, and other individual factors. This form of homework makes it easy for the teacher to check the level of knowledge of a particular student. Such work can be done on cards or using printed workbooks.

Group homework is also a pretty common activity. It implies that the class is being divided into smaller groups of students, and each of the groups is assigned to work on a specific task that is part of the overall classroom assignment.

Differentiated homework is shaped based on the concept of differentiated instruction, which implies distinguishing students’ differences and using them to boost the effectiveness of learning. For example, this type of homework can be characterized by the following features:

• The assignment is the same for everyone, but the method of its completion varies depending on each student’s differences.
• There can be several options in the assignment, giving students the right to choose any of them independently.

Compiling homework for a deskmate is the most innovative approach to assigning homework. It implies that students will formulate the homework tasks for their peers themselves, based on the tasks that have been performed in the classroom.

Creative assignments include academic writing, personal projects, research, etc. They are typically assigned less frequently, and teachers give students more time to complete them. For example, a typical homework can have a deadline in just a day, whereas students should be given at least a week to complete a creative assignment.

Finally, the last and the most common type of homework in Russia is one assignment for the whole class. This can include different types of activities, including reading, writing, problem-solving, testing, etc. Typically, this is the form of the task students in Russia are dealing with daily.

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Biden-Harris Administration Finalizes Critical Rule to Clean up PFAS Contamination to Protect Public Health

EPA action designates two widely used PFAS as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, improving transparency and accountability to clean up PFAS contamination in communities

April 19, 2024

WASHINGTON – Today, April 19, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking another step in its efforts to protect people from the health risks posed by exposure to “forever chemicals” in communities across the country. Exposure to per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been linked to cancers, impacts to the liver and heart, and immune and developmental damage to infants and children. This final rule will designate two widely used PFAS chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund, and will help ensure that polluters pay to clean up their contamination.

This final action will address PFOA and PFOS contamination by enabling investigation and cleanup of these harmful chemicals and ensuring that leaks, spills, and other releases are reported. This action builds on the recently finalized standards to protect people and communities from PFAS contamination in drinking water and represents the latest  step the Biden-Harris Administration is taking to protect public health and welfare and the environment under  EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and to prevent cancer before it starts through the Biden Cancer Moonshot.

In addition to the final rule, EPA is issuing a separate CERCLA enforcement discretion policy that makes clear that EPA will focus enforcement on parties who significantly contributed to the release of PFAS chemicals into the environment, including parties that have manufactured PFAS or used PFAS in the manufacturing process, federal facilities, and other industrial parties.

“President Biden understands the threat that “forever chemicals” pose to the health of families across the country. That’s why EPA launched its PFAS Strategic Roadmap , a whole-of-agency approach to protecting public health and addressing the harm to communities overburdened by PFAS pollution,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Designating these chemicals under our Superfund authority will allow EPA to address more contaminated sites, take earlier action, and expedite cleanups, all while ensuring polluters pay for the costs to clean up pollution threatening the health of communities.” EPA is taking this step to designate PFOA and PFOS under CERCLA because both chemicals meet the statutory criteria for designation as hazardous substances. Under the rule, entities are required to immediately report releases of PFOA and PFOS that meet or exceed the reportable quantity of one pound within a 24-hour period to the National Response Center, State, Tribal, and local emergency responders. The designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA enables the agency to use one of its strongest enforcement tools to compel polluters to pay for or conduct investigations and cleanup, rather than taxpayers. Designation is especially important as delay in addressing contamination allows PFOA and PFOS more time to migrate in water and soil, worsening existing contamination.

The final rule also means that federal entities that transfer or sell their property must provide notice about the storage, release, or disposal of PFOA or PFOS on the property and guarantee that contamination has been cleaned up or, if needed, that additional cleanup will occur in the future. It will also lead the Department of Transportation to list and regulate these substances as hazardous materials under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act.

“It’s long past time for the polluters who poisoned all of us to be held responsible. This comes too late for all the people who were poisoned without their knowledge or consent and have paid the price for one of the greatest environmental crimes in history,” said Ken Cook, President and co-founder of Environmental Working Group. “But today’s designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances is the first step to bring justice to those who have been harmed. By putting the needs of the people ahead of the profits of the polluters, the Biden EPA is once again delivering for the American people.”

This final action is based on significant scientific evidence that these substances, when released into the environment, may present a substantial danger to public health or welfare or the environment. PFOA and PFOS can accumulate and persist in the human body for long periods of time, and evidence from scientific studies demonstrate that exposure to PFOA and PFOS is linked to adverse health effects. 

“This is another important step by EPA to protect people and communities from harmful PFAS chemicals, including legacy PFAS contamination across the U . S. The science is clear that PFAS chemicals are linked to a wide range of health harms including cancer, damage to cardiovascular and immune systems, poor pregnancy outcomes, and effects on the developing child,” said Dr. Tracey Woodruff, Professor & Director, Program on Reproductive Health & the Environment (PRHE)/Environmental Research and Translation for Health at the University of California, San Francisco. “By listing PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Superfund Law, it means that these chemicals will have to be cleaned up from hazardous waste sites and polluters must pay the bill. This is great news for the many communities grappling with PFAS contamination – many of which are also low income and communities of color. This is another step toward protecting people from the health harms of this well-known toxic chemical.”

EPA’s Superfund program has worked effectively for more than 40 years to target and prioritize cleanups of the nation’s most contaminated sites that present unacceptable risks to human health and the environment. The Superfund program addresses more than 800 hazardous substances, including widespread, highly mobile, and persistent chemicals, like PFOA and PFOS. The program also promotes safer industrial practices that enhance community protections by reducing the likelihood of future releases. Additionally, cleanups allow communities to put land back into productive use, providing opportunities for jobs and economic growth.

In addition, EPA’s enforcement policy, consistent with EPA’s past practice over decades of implementing the law, will provide additional clarity on the agency’s intent not to pursue certain parties such as farmers, municipal landfills, water utilities, municipal airports, and local fire departments, where equitable factors do not support seeking CERCLA cleanup or costs. EPA has a proven track record of developing and applying enforcement discretion policies that are effective and well-received by stakeholders, ensuring entities that have contributed significant contamination are held accountable. Biden- ⁠ Harris Administration Takes Critical Action to Protect Communities from PFAS

In addition to efforts across the government, EPA has taken action under the agency’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap to control PFAS at its sources, hold polluters accountable, ensure science-based decision making, advance environmental justice, and address the impacts on disadvantaged communities. Since launching the Roadmap in 2021, EPA has taken a suite of actions to protect communities from exposure to “forever chemicals” including:

• Established first-ever national legally enforceable drinking water standard for PFAS : In April 2024, EPA finalized National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six PFAS which will protect 100 million people from PFAS exposure, prevent tens of thousands of serious illnesses, and save lives. This action complements the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to combatting PFAS pollution and delivering clean water.
• Dedicated $9 billion in funding to address PFAS and other emerging contaminants in drinking water: President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law secured the largest-ever investment in tackling PFAS pollution in drinking water. An additional $12 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law supports general drinking water investments, including PFAS treatment. The investments are part of the   Justice40 Initiative , which aims to ensure that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities. 
• Guidance on Destroying and Disposing of PFAS : EPA released updated Interim Guidance which outlines the best-available science on techniques and treatments that may be used to destroy or dispose of PFAS and PFAS-containing materials from non-consumer products, including aqueous film-forming foam for firefighting, and highlights innovation and emerging technologies that warrant further evaluation.
• Addressing on-going uses of PFAS : In January 2024 EPA finalized a rule that prevents companies from starting or resuming the manufacture or processing of 329 PFAS; released three methods to better measure PFAS in the environment; and announced the addition of seven PFAS to the list of chemicals covered by the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), consistent with the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

EPA will publish the Final Rule in the  Federal Register   shortly . The rule will be effective 60 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register.

Read more about the CERCLA final rule here.

Read EPA’s CERCLA Enforcement Discretion Policy here.

Read more about EPA’s strategy to address PFAS here.  

Read more about EPA’s Superfund program here.

Read more about the Superfund Enforcement Program here.

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Biden-Harris Administration Takes Historic Action to Increase Access to Quality Care, and Support to Families and Care Workers

Nursing home minimum staffing standards promote resident care and safety

Medicaid and CHIP to have historic access standards, advance fair compensation for direct care workers

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), today issued three final rules to fulfill President Biden’s commitment to support family caregivers, boost compensation and job quality for care workers, expand and improve care options, and improve the safety and quality of care in federally-funded nursing homes. The actions, announced during Care Workers Recognition Month and the Month of Action on Care , represent a transformational investment to support America’s families and workers.

The three rules announced today build on the President’s historic Action Plan for Nursing Home Reform and support of President Biden’s April 2023 Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers ( Care EO ). They also follow through on President Biden’s State of the Union commitments to improve the quality of nursing home care; support older adults, people with disabilities, and care workers; and strengthen the economy.

• “Minimum Staffing Standards for Nursing Homes” establishes, for the first time, national minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes to improve the care that residents receive and support workers by ensuring that they have sufficient staff.
• “Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services” (“Access Rule”) creates historic national standards that will allow people enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to better access care when they need it and also strengthens home and community-based services (HCBS), which millions of older adults and people with disabilities rely upon to live in the community.  This landmark final rule will set minimum threshold standards for payments to the direct care workforce, create meaningful engagement with Medicaid consumers, and advance provider rate transparency.
• “Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Managed Care Access, Finance, and Quality” (“Managed Care Rule”) will improve access to care, accountability and transparency for the more than 70 percent of Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries who are enrolled in a managed care plan. It will require a limit on how long enrollees have to wait for an appointment and allow people to compare plan performance based on quality and access to providers.

“Everyone should have equal access to the critical care they need. Our caregivers – those who are taking care of the ones we love – deserve our respect and full support. That’s why HHS has been at the center of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to improve care and caregiving for Americans at all stages of their lives,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “We are taking important steps to strengthen care provided through Medicaid and CHIP and establishing national staffing standards for nursing homes to enhance care for residents while improving conditions for workers. This will help ensure that millions of people have access to high-quality health care and that the dedicated workers who provide care to our loved ones are fully valued for their work.”

“We’ve implemented significant changes across CMS programs to ensure eligible people can benefit from the critical lifeline afforded by health care coverage. Now, CMS has set its sights on an equally ambitious goal: making sure that coverage connects people to consistently high-quality care, regardless of where they live or receive care,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “That goal is ambitious, attainable, and rooted in the Biden-Harris Administration’s priority to ensure millions of people have access to affordable, quality health coverage and can stay healthy and thrive.”

Nursing Home Staffing Standards

Establishing minimum staffing standards for nursing homes is a critical step in the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive approach to building a long-term care system where all older Americans can age with dignity.   Nursing home workers provide vital – although often undervalued – care for nursing home residents, assisting them with important daily tasks, such as bathing, dressing, mobility, and eating. These direct care workers, who are often women of color, typically earn low wages, rarely receive health and retirement benefits, and experience high injury rates. The Biden-Harris Administration believes that by improving working conditions and wages, improvements in the recruitment and retention of direct care workers will follow, enabling nursing staff to provide safer, higher quality care to all residents within nursing homes.

Over 1.2 million residents receive care in Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes each day. Adequate staffing is essential to providing an environment where residents receive safe, high-quality care while being treated with dignity. CMS received and considered more than 46,000 public comments on this rule from various stakeholders, including residents and their family members, workers, advocates, and the industry. Many of these comments highlighted how – without sufficient staff – residents do not receive necessary care including baths or trips to the bathroom, and experience preventable safety events, such as pressure ulcers and falls. Because of the final rule, nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid will be required to follow designated nurse staffing standards:

• Provide residents with a minimum total of 3.48 hours of nursing care per day, which includes at least 0.55 hours of care from a registered nurse per resident per day, and 2.45 hours of care from a nurse aide per resident per day.
• Have a registered nurse on site 24 hours per day, seven days per week to help mitigate against preventable safety events and deliver critical care to residents at any time.
• Conduct a stronger annual facility assessment than is currently required to improve the planning and identification of the resources and supports that are needed to care for residents based on their acuity during both day-to-day operations and emergencies. This process will need to include participation from direct care workers and others.
• Develop a staffing plan to maximize recruitment and retention.

As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to the long-term care workforce, CMS will also require states to collect and report on the percent of Medicaid payments that are spent on compensation for direct care workers and support staff delivering care in nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. To increase transparency and accountability, CMS will publicly report the data reported by states, and states will also be required to report this data for each facility on a state-operated website.

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to bolstering the health care workforce and ensuring the contributions of workers across the long-term care sector are appropriately valued. CMS is developing a $75 million national nursing home staffing campaign to increase the number of nurses in nursing homes, thereby enhancing residents’ health and safety. Through this campaign, CMS will be providing financial incentives for nurses to work in  nursing homes.

Medicaid Access and Managed Care

The Access and Managed Care rules create the strongest requirements yet for improving accountability, transparency, and access to health coverage in the nation’s largest health care program. Building on Medicaid and CHIP’s already strong foundation, these two rules together create historic national standards that will allow people with Medicaid and CHIP to better access care when they need it, finalize payment standards for direct care workers providing HCBS, and will make provider rates more transparent. Adding to recent progress to streamline and strengthen Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and eligibility, today’s rules establish tangible, consistent standards for millions of children, families, adults, and people with disabilities regardless of the state in which they live.

For example, for the first time ever, states will be required to have national appointment wait time standards.  States will enforce these wait time standards by conducting “secret shopper” surveys, which can help verify compliance with appointment wait time rules and correct provider directory inaccuracies. States will also now be required for the first time to disclose provider payment rates publicly. Additionally, the rules will create a new beneficiary advisory committee in every state, which will allow for direct feedback to state Medicaid and CHIP programs on benefits and service delivery from the people who access it daily.

The Access Rule strengthens HCBS by requiring that at least 80 percent of Medicaid HCBS payments directly compensate direct care workers rather than cover “administrative overhead.” The rule also requires states to report how they establish and maintain HCBS wait lists, assess wait times, and report on quality measures. This policy would allow states to take into account small providers and providers in rural areas, promote training and quality, and ensure smooth implementation with additional data collection prior to full phase-in.

It protects the health and safety of people who receive HCBS by improving states’ incident management systems and requires states to have a grievance process for all HCBS participants.

The Managed Care rule defines the scope of “in lieu of services and settings” (ILOS) services in managed care to better address enrollees’ health-related social needs (e.g., support for housing- and nutrition-related services). Additionally, it establishes a quality rating system for Medicaid and CHIP managed care plans – a “one-stop-shop” where beneficiaries can learn about eligibility for plans and compare them based on quality and other factors.

For additional information on the rules issued today, please consult the CMS fact sheets on nursing home staffing standards , Access , and Managed Care .

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