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China passes law to cut homework pressure on students

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China passes law to reduce ‘twin pressures’ of homework and tutoring on children

Law makes local authorities and parents responsible for ensuring children are spared stress of overwork

China has passed a law to reduce the “twin pressures” of homework and off-site tutoring on children.

The official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday the new law, which has not been published in full, makes local governments responsible for ensuring that the twin pressures are reduced and asks parents to arrange their children’s time to account for reasonable rest and exercise, thereby reducing pressure and avoiding internet overuse.

The law will come into force on January 1 next year. China’s education system requires students to take exams from an early age and culminates in the feared university entrance exam at age 18 known as the “gaokao”, where a single score can determine a child’s life trajectory.

Many parents spend a fortune to enrol their children in the best schools or private lessons, which takes a toll on both their finances and the health of the youngsters.

Reducing the pressure on parents is also seen as a way to encourage Chinese people to have more children as the country’s population ages.

Beijing has exercised a more assertive paternal hand this year, from tacking the addiction of youngsters to online games, deemed a form of “spiritual opium”, to clamping down on “blind” worship of internet celebrities .

China’s parliament said on Monday it would consider legislation to punish parents if their young children exhibit “very bad behaviour” or commit crimes.

In recent months, the education ministry has limited gaming hours for minors, allowing them to play online for one hour on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only.

It has also cut back on homework and banned after-school tutoring for major subjects during the weekend and holidays, concerned about the heavy academic burden on overwhelmed children.

At the same time, China is urging young Chinese men to be less “feminine” and more “manly”.

In its “proposal to prevent the feminisation of male adolescents” issued in December, the education ministry urged schools to promote on-campus sports such as football.

Last year, Si Zefu , a member of a top advisory board called the Chinese people’s political consultative conference national committee, won headlines in China by telling delegates that the “feminization” trend among teenagers, if not checked, would harm the development of China.

The backdrop to Beijing’s drive for what could be called more traditional family values is the country’s growing demographic crisis. The latest census data released in May showed that China’s population growth has plunged to its lowest for almost 60 years despite the scrapping of the decades-long one-child policy several years ago.

The number of people of working and child-rearing age is going into decline. There are fewer young adults than there were 10 years ago, for example, something shown by a 31% drop in marriages from 2013 to 2019.

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BEIJING — China's Ministry of Education on Feb 15 vowed to continue implementing the "double reduction" policy to ease the burden of excessive homework and off-campus tutoring for primary and middle school students.

The ministry called for more appropriate homework assignments, a higher level of classroom teaching, and higher quality of after-school services to fully implement the policy. After-school services are for students who cannot be picked up in time by their parents when school is over to do their homework or participate in physical exercises, art, literature, and other activities after school.

Students spent less time doing homework in the past school semester, and over 92 percent of students countrywide voluntarily participated in after-school services, said Lyu Yugang, an official with the ministry, at a press conference on Feb 15.

• China reiterates implementation of 'double reduction' policy
• Nearly half of students participate in after-school services
• China reiterates crackdown on advertising off-campus tutoring

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China passes law to cut homework pressure on students

Local governments will be responsible for reducing burden on children

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -- China has passed an education law that seeks to cut the "twin pressures" of homework and off-site tutoring in core subjects, the official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

Beijing has exercised a more assertive paternal hand this year, from tacking the addiction of youngsters to online games, deemed a form of "spiritual opium", to clamping down on "blind" worship of internet celebrities.

Leave them kids alone: Parents tire of China's world-beating education system

China limits online gaming to 3 hours a week for schoolchildren, china cities push 3-child policy with cash and leave, china to set prices for after-school tutoring, china's cram schools scramble out of tutoring as crackdown looms, china education stocks plunge as analysts slash forecasts, latest on politics, japan's parliament enacts economic security bill, japan ruling parties agree on tougher political funds disclosure, south korea's yoon calls for boosting ties with japan and the u.s., sponsored content, about sponsored content this content was commissioned by nikkei's global business bureau..

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China reduces homework load in primary, junior high schools

BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese primary and junior high school students will no longer be overloaded with homework given by either teachers or after-school training institutions.

Primary schools should ensure that students in the first and second grades do not have written homework, and those in higher grades complete their homework within no more than one hour, according to a circular issued by the Ministry of Education.

Junior high school students will spend a maximum of one and a half hours on their written homework each day, read the circular, calling for an appropriate amount of homework even for weekends as well as summer and winter holidays.

After-school training institutions are prohibited from giving any homework to primary and junior high school students, according to the circular. Enditem

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China Targets Costly Tutoring Classes. Parents Want to Save Them.

Many families and experts say Beijing’s education overhaul will help the rich and make the system even more competitive for those who can barely afford it.

By Alexandra Stevenson and Cao Li

Zhang Hongchun worries that his 10-year-old daughter isn’t getting enough sleep. Between school, homework and after-school guitar, clarinet and calligraphy practice, most nights she doesn’t get to bed before 11. Some of her classmates keep going until midnight.

“Everyone wants to follow suit,” Mr. Zhang said. “No one wants to lose at the starting line.”

In China , the competitive pursuit of education — and the better life it promises — is relentless. So are the financial pressures it adds to families already dealing with climbing house prices, caring for aging parents and costly health care.

The burden of this pursuit has caught the attention of officials who want couples to have more children. China ’s ruling Communist Party has tried to slow the education treadmill. It has banned homework, curbed livestreaming hours of online tutors and created more coveted slots at top universities.

Last week, it tried something bigger: barring private companies that offer after-school tutoring and targeting China’s $100 billion for-profit test-prep industry. The first limits are set to take place during the coming year, to be carried out by local governments.

The move, which will require companies that offer curriculum tutoring to register as nonprofits, is aimed at making life easier for parents who are overwhelmed by the financial pressures of educating their children. Yet parents and experts are skeptical it will work. The wealthy, they point out, will simply hire expensive private tutors, making education even more competitive and ultimately widening China’s yawning wealth gap.

For Mr. Zhang, who sells chemistry lab equipment in the southern Chinese city of Kunming, banning after-school tutoring does little to address his broader concerns. “As long as there is competition, parents will still have their anxiety,” he said.

Beijing’s crackdown on private education is a new facet of its campaign to toughen regulation on corporate China, an effort driven in part by the party’s desire to show its most powerful technology giants who is boss .

Regulators have slammed the industry for being “hijacked by capital.” China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has attacked it as a “malady,” and said parents faced a dilemma in balancing the health and happiness of their children with the demands of a competitive system, which is too focused on testing and scores.

The education overhaul is also part of the country’s effort to encourage an overwhelmingly reluctant population to have bigger families and address a looming demographic crisis . In May, China changed its two-child policy to allow married couples to have three children. It promised to increase maternity leave and ease workplace pressures.

Tackling soaring education costs is seen as the latest sweetener. But Mr. Zhang said having a second child was out of the question for him and his wife because of the time, energy and financial resources that China’s test-score-obsessed culture has placed on them.

Parental focus on education in China can sometimes make American helicopter parenting seem quaint. Exam preparation courses begin in kindergarten. Young children are enrolled in “early M.B.A.” courses. No expense is spared, whether the family is rich or poor.

“Everyone is pushed into this vicious cycle. You spend what you can on education,” said Siqi Tu, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Göttingen, Germany. For Chinese students hoping to get a spot at a prestigious university, everything hinges on the gaokao, a single exam that many children are primed for before they even learn how to write.

“If this criteria for selecting students doesn’t change, it’s hard to change specific practices,” said Ms. Tu, whose research is focused on wealth and education in China. Parents often describe being pressured into finding tutors who will teach their children next year’s curriculum well before the semester begins, she said.

Much of the competition comes from a culture of parenting known colloquially in China as “chicken parenting,” which refers to the obsessive involvement of parents in their children’s lives and education. The term “jiwa” or “chicken baby” has trended on Chinese social media in recent days.

Officials have blamed private educators for preying on parents’ fears associated with the jiwa culture. While banning tutoring services is meant to eliminate some of the anxiety, parents said the new rule would simply create new pressures, especially for families that depended on the after-school programs for child care.

“After-school tutoring was expensive, but at least it was a solution. Now China has taken away an easy solution for parents without changing the problem,” said Lenora Chu, the author of “Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve.” In her book, Ms. Chu wrote about her experience putting her toddler son through China’s education system and recounted how her son’s friend was enrolled in “early M.B.A.” classes.

“If you don’t have the money or the means or the know-how, what are you left with?” she said. “Why would this compel you to have another child? No way.”

The new regulation has created some confusion for many small after-school businesses that are unsure if it will affect them. Others wondered how the rules would be enforced.

Jasmine Zhang, the school master at an English training school in southern China, said she hadn’t heard from local officials about the new rules. She said she hoped that rather than shutting institutions down, the government would provide more guidance on how to run programs like hers, which provide educators with jobs.

“We pay our teachers social insurance,” Ms. Zhang said. “If we are ordered to close suddenly, we still have to pay rent and salaries.”

While she waits to learn more about the new rules, some for-profit educators outside China see an opportunity.

“Now students will come to people like us,” said Kevin Ferrone, an academic dean at Crimson Global Academy, an online school. “The industry is going to shift to online, and payments will be made through foreign payment systems” to evade the new rules, he said.

For now, the industry is facing an existential crisis. Companies like Koolearn Technology, which provides online classes and test-preparation courses, have said the rules will have a direct and devastating impact on their business models. Analysts have questioned whether they can survive.

Global investors who once flooded publicly listed Chinese education companies ran for the exits last week, knocking tens of billions off the industry in recent days.

Scott Yang, who lives in the eastern city of Wenzhou, wondered if his 8-year-old son’s after-school program would continue next semester. He has already paid the tuition, and he and his wife depend on the program for child care. Each day, someone picks up his son from school and takes him to a facility for courses in table tennis, recreational mathematics, calligraphy and building with Legos.

Banning after-school classes will allow only families that can afford private tutors to give their children an edge, Mr. Yang said. Instead of alleviating any burden, the ban will add to it.

“It makes it harder,” he said, “for kids of poor families to succeed.”

Alexandra Stevenson is a business correspondent based in Hong Kong, covering Chinese corporate giants, the changing landscape for multinational companies and China’s growing economic and financial influence in Asia. More about Alexandra Stevenson

• China reduces homework load in schools

Chinese primary and junior high school students will no longer get overloaded by homework from teachers or after-school training institutions.

Primary schools should ensure that students in the first and second grades do not have written homework. Those in higher grades should complete their homework within one hour, a circular issued by the Ministry of Education stated.

Junior high school students will spend a maximum of one and a half hours on written homework each day, the circular said. It called for an appropriate amount of homework, even for weekends and summer and winter holidays.

After-school training institutions are prohibited from giving any homework to primary and junior high school students, the circular said.

Besides the workload amount, schools are required to adjust the form and content of homework in accordance with the traits of different schooling stages and subjects, as well as the needs and abilities of students.

The circular called for assigning diversified homework, covering science, physical exercise, art, social work, and individualized and inter-disciplinary homework.

It also forbids giving homework to parents, directly or indirectly, or leaving homework corrections to parents.

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New horizons open for students as homework pressures ease

China Daily | Updated: 2022-09-05 09:18

Many more students these days are wearing broad smiles as they return to the classroom following a relaxing summer break.

A year ago, China rolled out its "double reduction" policy to ease the burden of excessive homework for core subjects and off-campus tutoring placed on middle and primary school students.

By cutting the pressure on students, the policy allows them not only more time to rest and play, but also to obtain the nutrition they need for all-around moral, intellectual and physical development.

Positive changes have taken place. Compared to a year ago, students now have more independent and diverse choices of extracurricular activities to explore, and can develop their interests and abilities, which opens up new horizons.

For Yue Xinyu, a third-grader from Wuhan, one notable change is that her primary school classes now finish earlier in the afternoon than before.

"After class, we can choose from a variety of interest-oriented classes and workshops, or stay in the classroom to do homework or read our favorite books," the eight-year-old said.

Soccer, basketball, opera classes and clay workshops, among other options, are available to those in lower grades, while senior primary students have even more choices, including programming and dancing.

A dance fan herself, Xinyu is eager to join the school's dance club once she is old enough. She now takes off-campus Latin dance lessons in her spare time and said the feeling of gliding across the dance floor makes her feel relaxed and confident.

Gao Fuying, principal of Xishan High School at Kunming No 1 High School in Kunming city, said that students are now less likely to be overwhelmed by homework, as teachers have increased classroom teaching and optimized the design and amount of homework they set.

"Students are happier than before," Gao said.

With less pressure from homework, they have more time for extracurricular activities that follow their interests and hobbies, whether that be on the soccer field or in an art class.

In the changes, Gao sees the essence of education, which is about the all-around development of a student.

Gao's school offers a variety of free, interest-oriented after-school classes, including sports, dancing, chorus singing, fine arts, animation drawing and cooking.

Following the implementation of the "double reduction" policy, many students from the school have won prizes at national, provincial or city-level contests.

"In sports competitions, our students have even outperformed students from schools specializing in sports, and many cannot believe that we are just an ordinary high school," Gao said proudly.

During this summer break, many schools across the country offered daycare services as a move to support the "double reduction "policy.

Among them were dozens of primary schools in the northeastern city of Shenyang, where guided extracurricular programs, including baking, rock-climbing, rowing and indoor skiing, attracted many, bringing fun and joy to students.

Parents also have their own role to play in the context of "double reduction", one that is demanding, according to Xinyu's mother, Ding Ning.

With less homework and more free time, children need help making better use of their time, she said.

Apart from dancing, Xinyu is interested in graphical programming and has been learning with her father for a year during her spare time. Computer programming skills allow her to design images, such as trees and the Great Wall.

"Artificial intelligence and machine learning are becoming more and more popular, and we hope our child will have more chances to choose what she likes in the future by developing her interest in programming while she is young," Ding said.

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China’s High-Pressure Academic Landscape Has a Human Toll

Familial and societal pressures in china have impacted students’ education experience and led many of them into after-school academic programs.

The State Council — China’s chief administrative body — surprised Chinese parents and for-profit tutoring centers alike last month when it announced sweeping changes to the private tutoring and curriculum-based training center industry. The goal: reduce students’ workloads and tighten rules on for-profit curriculum tutoring companies.

In the wake of the announcement, much ink has been spilled on the economic impact of the regulatory changes, job losses experienced by foreign employees at affected businesses, and the role China’s chicken parents have played in growing the industry.

Less space, however, has been dedicated to how familial and societal pressures have impacted students’ education experience and led many of them into a seemingly never-ending cycle of after-school educational programs.

In parts one and two of our three-part series on China’s reform of the for-profit curriculum-based tutoring industry, we introduced the phenomena of chicken parenting , how training centers lure parents and how some parents have come to rely on after-school programs. In our final story, we look at how China’s high-pressure education environment impacts families and educators.

Big Shoes to Fill

In May, the hashtag #PKU prof can’t help his daughter with homework# went viral on Weibo, receiving more than 470 million total views. The hashtag was created under a video of Professor Ding Yanqing from Peking University School of Education discussing his struggles parenting his daughter.

Ding himself was a child prodigy, and both he and his wife graduated from Peking University, one of China’s top two universities. Ding’s daughter, however, used to receive the lowest grades in her class, and when Ding tried to help her with schoolwork, he and his daughter would “transform from the best dad-daughter duo to a state of war.”

Professor Ding Yanqing from Peking University School of Education discussing his daughter’s academic struggles. Screengrab via Weibo

His daughter’s grades did improve, but then she began to worry about not being close enough to the top of her class.

Eventually, Ding came to terms with the fact that his daughter would not be as achieved as he is. “She’ll be an average person, and it’s okay. What I do care about is her happiness.”

Another hashtag that went viral alongside Ding’s video: #Will you be okay if your kids won’t be as accomplished as you are?# . According to two surveys by Wuxi TV and China Youth Daily , about 30% of the participants cannot accept their kids achieving less than they have.

Of this 30% of Chinese parents, many become chicken parents (parents who do everything in their power to make their kids perfect ), and a lot of chicken parents share similar personal backgrounds. M, a teacher and manager at a private tutoring company in China who asked to remain anonymous, identifies the chicken parents he has met as “those who achieved what they achieved because of how hard they worked.”

China’s Embattled For-Profit Tutoring Sector is Fueled by Anxious Parents China’s new education reforms aim to free students from chronic academic stress, but some parents are likely less than thrilled with the changes Article Aug 10, 2021

A lot of these parents did not grow up in the city they now live in. For them, education was what brought them out of poor rural villages, gave them their current job and social status, and planted their roots in the fastest-growing cities of one of the world’s fastest-growing countries.

These chicken parents want for-profit training centers to exist because they are too busy to care for their children and because they can afford the most expensive cram schools to offer their kids a competitive edge. More importantly, they fear losing their socioeconomic status and view tutoring as a way to ensure their children don’t tumble down the ladder.

“You have learned through your own experience how you can change your fate and ascend through the socioeconomic ladder by working hard,” M says, reflecting on his interactions with these parents. “So, when it’s your turn to parent your kids, you will hold the same expectation for them as well.”

Whether chicken parents’ preconceived path for success still works today is up for debate. In 2020, the newly-invented phrases ’ Small-town Test-taking Specialists ’ (小镇做题家) and ‘ Top-college Garbage ’ (985废物) went viral on Chinese social media. The terms refer to now-grown chicken children who graduated from top colleges and cannot find a satisfying job.

Chinese students review textbooks in preparation for China’s national college entrance exam. Image via Depositphotos

These graduates went to the most intense high schools and participated in extracurricular activities or after-school tutoring, firmly believing that going to a top college would guarantee their future success. However, as the number of Chinese college graduates has drastically inflated, their efforts were futile.

The younger generation is deconstructing the narrative of using hard work to alter their fate, but not the older generation. When the government announced its crackdown on for-profit tutoring centers, some chicken parents in WeChat groups reacted with confusion and anger.

“Are you kidding me? I’m not sending my kid to a vocational school,” stated one parent. Another parent, who detests the idea of lowering expectations for his child, wrote:

“If a parent is a policeman, having seen so many people serving life sentences, should he be happy as long as his kid doesn’t end up in jail?”

However anxious these chicken parents are, people in the education industry do not think the cram school industry will vanish. M, for example, sees no reason for parents to worry.

“The education companies know that there is a demand for their product. They will do anything to produce something that will satisfy the parents,” says M. “The companies want to stay afloat, so they will be the ones working to allow the parents to send their kids somewhere.”

Other insiders believe that big educational brands may perish, and individual tutors will dominate the industry in the future.

Industry insiders are split on whether or not China’s for-profit tutoring companies will survive the current government crackdown. Image via Depositphotos

“The most enthusiastic chicken parents will always find a way to chicken their kids,” says K, a 15-year veteran of the education industry who requested anonymity. “The cram schools can be shut down. The parents will find a few other parents, rent a room in an office building, and find a former cram-school teacher. Now, they become the boss of their own ‘cram school’… the only downside is that they’ll be paying a bit more.”

“But for the parents committed to chickening their kids,” K adds, “do you think they’ll care?”

Relationships vs. Transactions

“The educational reform ought to … reduce homework, decrease the emphasis on tests and examinations, and support schools’ effort to teach students how to be humans.” — Xinhua

Z is a graduate of one of China’s top colleges and has been a teacher at a public high school for more than 30 years (and, like so many others we spoke with while compiling this story, wanted to remain unnamed). Upon finishing college, he became a teacher because he had always adored the bond between teachers and students.

When he first became a teacher in the ’90s, he was promptly rewarded with students he got to know very well and remained friends with after they graduated. However, he feels that it has become increasingly challenging to bond with his students in recent years.

Chinese Parents’ Complicated Relationship with After-School Tutoring Here’s how China’s training centers lure parents in and how some parents have come to rely on after-school education programs Article Aug 13, 2021

“The teacher-student relationship has become more transactional,” says Z. “There’s only one metric of evaluation: whether I have succeeded helping my students improve their test scores.”

He understands that this excessive emphasis on score results comes from the increasing competitiveness of the gaokao — China’s standardized college entrance exam. But he still feels deeply dissatisfied with how students and their parents have changed as humans.

Chinese mothers hold up sunflowers to wish good luck to their children sitting the national college entrance exam, also known as the gaokao, in front of an exam site in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan province, on June 7, 2018. Image via Depositphotos

“There was one time over the weekend that a student had some questions about an exam review worksheet and texted me the questions early in the morning,” says Z. “I saw the text, but I was busy with something else. So, I didn’t respond to her.”

Two hours later, Z finished up his business and responded to the student. A while later, the student responded with a few follow-up questions, and he answered them all. Later that day, the student suddenly asked, “Can you tell me why it took you so long to respond to my questions?”

Z was caught off-guard. “First of all,” he says, “It was a weekend. I expect my students, who were already in high school, to know that they should not bother people during their days off and that I had no obligation to respond to her. This is basic courtesy.”

But Z was not in the mood to give his student a lesson on etiquette. So instead, he scrolled through the chat history and calculated the number of times the student waited for him to respond and the number of times he waited for her to respond.

It turned out that between the two of them, the student was worse at responding to texts.

Chinese student Zhang Yiwen poses for photos while doing sample tests after finishing the first day of the national college entrance exam, also known as the gaokao, in Shangqiu city, Central China’s Henan province, on June 7, 2016. Image via Depositphotos

“Parents do similar things, too,” Z says, recalling when a mother angrily asked him why he did not pick up a call from her at 11 PM the previous night.

“It may be a result of students taking too many private lessons,” Z suggests, “where they pay for a service and get to complain when the service is unsatisfactory. But I’m a teacher, and I’m a human, and humans should treat each other like humans. Is this too much to ask for?”

In the modern era, relations between teachers and students are taking a new form, as are interactions between pupils themselves — even primary school students.

D is a mother of two daughters and requested to remain anonymous for this story. She recalls that one evening when she asked her daughter about her day, her daughter told her that one of her peers asked everyone their final exam scores and recorded the scores in a notebook.

“Kids have begun worrying about how they can or cannot beat their peers academically already,” D laments, adding that her daughter was only in third grade at that time.

Such pressure on students can have devastating and irreversible results.

China reportedly has the highest youth suicidal rate in the world. Image via Depositphotos

Kelly Zhou, the head of a Shanghai-based private international kindergarten, attends regular meetings with local governmental administrators. “In every meeting, the first item on the agenda is always to report how many new youth suicide cases there have been since the last meeting,” says Zhou.

According to data from The Economist , China reports the highest youth suicidal rate in the world.

But there is reason to be optimistic: If the State Council’s new rules on for-profit curriculum tutoring companies can even slightly reduce the academic burden on youth, then the regulations are a positive development. And suppose China’s public schools can integrate training centers’ positive aspects, such as after-school childcare services. In that case, it’s fair to assume many parents will be able to stomach the regulatory changes.

Among those interviewed for this series by RADII, nobody believed that after-school tutoring was inherently bad or that it should be abolished entirely. In the words of one teacher we spoke with, “If some elements of the private education institutions are incorporated into the public school system, then kids, parents and educators will be able to benefit from it.”

Cover image via Depositphotos

• #Chinese Parents
• #Training Centers
• #Chicken Parents

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Homework burden eases for Chinese students

The amount of time primary and middle school students in China spent on homework fell from 3.03 hours a day in 2016 to 2.87 hours in 2017, but it is still far higher than in other countries, according to a research report.

Experts and parents have called for reasonable amounts of homework and an evaluation system for students based on more than just examinations, while teachers advise parents not to focus on competition.

The report by afanti100.com, a Chinese online education service provider, is based on a survey of 446,836 students in 31 provincial areas, with 56.7 percent from primary schools, 38.6 percent from middle schools, and 8.7 percent from high schools.

The research indicated that it took primary and middle school students less time to finish their homework in 2017 than in 2016. The average time per day decreased to 2.87 hours－2.64 hours for primary school students and 2.94 hours for high school students.

Although the average time fell, it was still more than other countries－twice the global average, in fact.

At the end of 2017, the Ministry of Education introduced a standard for managing schools under the compulsory education period. It demanded that families and schools should cooperate to guarantee 10 hours of sleep for primary students and nine hours of sleep for middle school students.

However, the online education platform's report showed that more than 80 percent of students go to bed later than 10 pm every day.

In 2013, the Ministry of Education also issued a regulation on primary school pupils' homework, saying that there should be no written homework for Grade 1 and 2 students, and less than an hour of written homework for other grades. But the ministry is yet to introduce any rules on homework for middle school students.

Liu Xuchen, 13, is studying at Hefei Shouchun Middle School, Anhui province, and will take the high school entrance examination this summer. Liu said most of her classmates spend nearly four hours on homework every day.

"I feel tired every evening and my homework is for seven subjects, all of which will be tested in the exam," Liu said.

Those seven subjects are Chinese, math, English, physics, chemistry, political education and history. But not all the subjects carry the same weight in the examination. Chinese, math and English have the highest scores of 150 points while the others range from 60 to 90.

Another problem Liu faces is the difficulty of her homework. She said a hard math question could take her nearly 30 minutes.

According to the report, 85 percent of students experience negative emotions when doing their homework, including getting upset and losing their temper. And 76 percent of parents argue with their children when helping them with their homework.

"I think teachers should create a balance between the number of hard and easy questions," Liu said.

Unlike Liu's school in Anhui, schools in other areas assign less homework.

Yuan Hairong is a teacher with almost 20 years of experience at the Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University."Most of our students who will take the high school entrance exam this year spend two and a half hours at most on homework every day," he said.

Unlike Anhui, Beijing's exam only tests five subjects－political education and history are not included.

"But many parents send their children to tutorial classes for those five subjects, which also occupies a lot of time," Yuan added. "Many parents don't want to see their children left behind, so they arrange extra classes and homework."

Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, said it's the single evaluation system for students that leads to the homework burden. "The schools only assess students' development using scores and ranks.

"The government and society must try to enrich the assessment system, which would help students find advantages in different ways rather than focusing only on passing examinations."

Zhang Haoqiang, principal of the Hangzhou Shengli Experimental School in Zhejiang province, said: "We should focus on reducing redundant homework. After all, homework is a key method to consolidate knowledge.

"We cannot ease students' homework burden by simply reducing the quantity, but by improving the homework quality so that they can achieve more through doing less homework."

• Coastal cities in Shandong blanketed in deep snowfall
• Revision to Charity Law emphasizes need for transparency
• 180 officials held accountable in China's latest environmental inspections
• Chinese police shut down 34,000 online accounts for spreading rumors
• Minister vows differentiated measures to meet housing demand, stabilize market
• 'Tent school' established to support students in earthquake-relocation site in Gansu

• Grades 6-12
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Free printable Mother's Day questionnaire 💐!

72 Easy Science Experiments Using Materials You Already Have On Hand

Because science doesn’t have to be complicated.

If there is one thing that is guaranteed to get your students excited, it’s a good science experiment! While some experiments require expensive lab equipment or dangerous chemicals, there are plenty of cool projects you can do with regular household items. We’ve rounded up a big collection of easy science experiments that anybody can try, and kids are going to love them!

Easy Chemistry Science Experiments

Easy physics science experiments, easy biology and environmental science experiments, easy engineering experiments and stem challenges.

1. Taste the Rainbow

Teach your students about diffusion while creating a beautiful and tasty rainbow! Tip: Have extra Skittles on hand so your class can eat a few!

Learn more: Skittles Diffusion

2. Crystallize sweet treats

Crystal science experiments teach kids about supersaturated solutions. This one is easy to do at home, and the results are absolutely delicious!

Learn more: Candy Crystals

3. Make a volcano erupt

This classic experiment demonstrates a chemical reaction between baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (acetic acid), which produces carbon dioxide gas, water, and sodium acetate.

Learn more: Best Volcano Experiments

4. Make elephant toothpaste

This fun project uses yeast and a hydrogen peroxide solution to create overflowing “elephant toothpaste.” Tip: Add an extra fun layer by having kids create toothpaste wrappers for plastic bottles.

5. Blow the biggest bubbles you can

Add a few simple ingredients to dish soap solution to create the largest bubbles you’ve ever seen! Kids learn about surface tension as they engineer these bubble-blowing wands.

Learn more: Giant Soap Bubbles

6. Demonstrate the “magic” leakproof bag

All you need is a zip-top plastic bag, sharp pencils, and water to blow your kids’ minds. Once they’re suitably impressed, teach them how the “trick” works by explaining the chemistry of polymers.

Learn more: Leakproof Bag

7. Use apple slices to learn about oxidation

Have students make predictions about what will happen to apple slices when immersed in different liquids, then put those predictions to the test. Have them record their observations.

Learn more: Apple Oxidation

8. Float a marker man

Their eyes will pop out of their heads when you “levitate” a stick figure right off the table! This experiment works due to the insolubility of dry-erase marker ink in water, combined with the lighter density of the ink.

Learn more: Floating Marker Man

9. Discover density with hot and cold water

There are a lot of easy science experiments you can do with density. This one is extremely simple, involving only hot and cold water and food coloring, but the visuals make it appealing and fun.

Learn more: Layered Water

10. Layer more liquids

This density demo is a little more complicated, but the effects are spectacular. Slowly layer liquids like honey, dish soap, water, and rubbing alcohol in a glass. Kids will be amazed when the liquids float one on top of the other like magic (except it is really science).

Learn more: Layered Liquids

11. Grow a carbon sugar snake

Easy science experiments can still have impressive results! This eye-popping chemical reaction demonstration only requires simple supplies like sugar, baking soda, and sand.

Learn more: Carbon Sugar Snake

12. Mix up some slime

Tell kids you’re going to make slime at home, and watch their eyes light up! There are a variety of ways to make slime, so try a few different recipes to find the one you like best.

13. Make homemade bouncy balls

These homemade bouncy balls are easy to make since all you need is glue, food coloring, borax powder, cornstarch, and warm water. You’ll want to store them inside a container like a plastic egg because they will flatten out over time.

Learn more: Make Your Own Bouncy Balls

14. Create eggshell chalk

Eggshells contain calcium, the same material that makes chalk. Grind them up and mix them with flour, water, and food coloring to make your very own sidewalk chalk.

Learn more: Eggshell Chalk

15. Make naked eggs

This is so cool! Use vinegar to dissolve the calcium carbonate in an eggshell to discover the membrane underneath that holds the egg together. Then, use the “naked” egg for another easy science experiment that demonstrates osmosis .

Learn more: Naked Egg Experiment

16. Turn milk into plastic

This sounds a lot more complicated than it is, but don’t be afraid to give it a try. Use simple kitchen supplies to create plastic polymers from plain old milk. Sculpt them into cool shapes when you’re done!

17. Test pH using cabbage

Teach kids about acids and bases without needing pH test strips! Simply boil some red cabbage and use the resulting water to test various substances—acids turn red and bases turn green.

Learn more: Cabbage pH

18. Clean some old coins

Use common household items to make old oxidized coins clean and shiny again in this simple chemistry experiment. Ask kids to predict (hypothesize) which will work best, then expand the learning by doing some research to explain the results.

Learn more: Cleaning Coins

19. Pull an egg into a bottle

This classic easy science experiment never fails to delight. Use the power of air pressure to suck a hard-boiled egg into a jar, no hands required.

Learn more: Egg in a Bottle

20. Blow up a balloon (without blowing)

Chances are good you probably did easy science experiments like this when you were in school. The baking soda and vinegar balloon experiment demonstrates the reactions between acids and bases when you fill a bottle with vinegar and a balloon with baking soda.

21 Assemble a DIY lava lamp

This 1970s trend is back—as an easy science experiment! This activity combines acid-base reactions with density for a totally groovy result.

22. Explore how sugary drinks affect teeth

The calcium content of eggshells makes them a great stand-in for teeth. Use eggs to explore how soda and juice can stain teeth and wear down the enamel. Expand your learning by trying different toothpaste-and-toothbrush combinations to see how effective they are.

Learn more: Sugar and Teeth Experiment

23. Mummify a hot dog

If your kids are fascinated by the Egyptians, they’ll love learning to mummify a hot dog! No need for canopic jars , just grab some baking soda and get started.

24. Extinguish flames with carbon dioxide

This is a fiery twist on acid-base experiments. Light a candle and talk about what fire needs in order to survive. Then, create an acid-base reaction and “pour” the carbon dioxide to extinguish the flame. The CO2 gas acts like a liquid, suffocating the fire.

25. Send secret messages with invisible ink

Turn your kids into secret agents! Write messages with a paintbrush dipped in lemon juice, then hold the paper over a heat source and watch the invisible become visible as oxidation goes to work.

Learn more: Invisible Ink

26. Create dancing popcorn

This is a fun version of the classic baking soda and vinegar experiment, perfect for the younger crowd. The bubbly mixture causes popcorn to dance around in the water.

27. Shoot a soda geyser sky-high

You’ve always wondered if this really works, so it’s time to find out for yourself! Kids will marvel at the chemical reaction that sends diet soda shooting high in the air when Mentos are added.

Learn more: Soda Explosion

28. Send a teabag flying

Hot air rises, and this experiment can prove it! You’ll want to supervise kids with fire, of course. For more safety, try this one outside.

Learn more: Flying Tea Bags

29. Create magic milk

This fun and easy science experiment demonstrates principles related to surface tension, molecular interactions, and fluid dynamics.

Learn more: Magic Milk Experiment

30. Watch the water rise

Learn about Charles’s Law with this simple experiment. As the candle burns, using up oxygen and heating the air in the glass, the water rises as if by magic.

Learn more: Rising Water

31. Learn about capillary action

Kids will be amazed as they watch the colored water move from glass to glass, and you’ll love the easy and inexpensive setup. Gather some water, paper towels, and food coloring to teach the scientific magic of capillary action.

Learn more: Capillary Action

32. Give a balloon a beard

Equally educational and fun, this experiment will teach kids about static electricity using everyday materials. Kids will undoubtedly get a kick out of creating beards on their balloon person!

Learn more: Static Electricity

33. Find your way with a DIY compass

Here’s an old classic that never fails to impress. Magnetize a needle, float it on the water’s surface, and it will always point north.

Learn more: DIY Compass

34. Crush a can using air pressure

Sure, it’s easy to crush a soda can with your bare hands, but what if you could do it without touching it at all? That’s the power of air pressure!

35. Tell time using the sun

While people use clocks or even phones to tell time today, there was a time when a sundial was the best means to do that. Kids will certainly get a kick out of creating their own sundials using everyday materials like cardboard and pencils.

Learn more: Make Your Own Sundial

36. Launch a balloon rocket

Grab balloons, string, straws, and tape, and launch rockets to learn about the laws of motion.

37. Make sparks with steel wool

All you need is steel wool and a 9-volt battery to perform this science demo that’s bound to make their eyes light up! Kids learn about chain reactions, chemical changes, and more.

Learn more: Steel Wool Electricity

38. Levitate a Ping-Pong ball

Kids will get a kick out of this experiment, which is really all about Bernoulli’s principle. You only need plastic bottles, bendy straws, and Ping-Pong balls to make the science magic happen.

39. Whip up a tornado in a bottle

There are plenty of versions of this classic experiment out there, but we love this one because it sparkles! Kids learn about a vortex and what it takes to create one.

Learn more: Tornado in a Bottle

40. Monitor air pressure with a DIY barometer

This simple but effective DIY science project teaches kids about air pressure and meteorology. They’ll have fun tracking and predicting the weather with their very own barometer.

Learn more: DIY Barometer

41. Peer through an ice magnifying glass

Students will certainly get a thrill out of seeing how an everyday object like a piece of ice can be used as a magnifying glass. Be sure to use purified or distilled water since tap water will have impurities in it that will cause distortion.

Learn more: Ice Magnifying Glass

42. String up some sticky ice

Can you lift an ice cube using just a piece of string? This quick experiment teaches you how. Use a little salt to melt the ice and then refreeze the ice with the string attached.

Learn more: Sticky Ice

43. “Flip” a drawing with water

Light refraction causes some really cool effects, and there are multiple easy science experiments you can do with it. This one uses refraction to “flip” a drawing; you can also try the famous “disappearing penny” trick .

Learn more: Light Refraction With Water

44. Color some flowers

We love how simple this project is to re-create since all you’ll need are some white carnations, food coloring, glasses, and water. The end result is just so beautiful!

45. Use glitter to fight germs

Everyone knows that glitter is just like germs—it gets everywhere and is so hard to get rid of! Use that to your advantage and show kids how soap fights glitter and germs.

Learn more: Glitter Germs

46. Re-create the water cycle in a bag

You can do so many easy science experiments with a simple zip-top bag. Fill one partway with water and set it on a sunny windowsill to see how the water evaporates up and eventually “rains” down.

Learn more: Water Cycle

47. Learn about plant transpiration

Your backyard is a terrific place for easy science experiments. Grab a plastic bag and rubber band to learn how plants get rid of excess water they don’t need, a process known as transpiration.

Learn more: Plant Transpiration

48. Clean up an oil spill

Before conducting this experiment, teach your students about engineers who solve environmental problems like oil spills. Then, have your students use provided materials to clean the oil spill from their oceans.

Learn more: Oil Spill

49. Construct a pair of model lungs

Kids get a better understanding of the respiratory system when they build model lungs using a plastic water bottle and some balloons. You can modify the experiment to demonstrate the effects of smoking too.

Learn more: Model Lungs

50. Experiment with limestone rocks

Kids  love to collect rocks, and there are plenty of easy science experiments you can do with them. In this one, pour vinegar over a rock to see if it bubbles. If it does, you’ve found limestone!

Learn more: Limestone Experiments

51. Turn a bottle into a rain gauge

All you need is a plastic bottle, a ruler, and a permanent marker to make your own rain gauge. Monitor your measurements and see how they stack up against meteorology reports in your area.

Learn more: DIY Rain Gauge

52. Build up towel mountains

This clever demonstration helps kids understand how some landforms are created. Use layers of towels to represent rock layers and boxes for continents. Then pu-u-u-sh and see what happens!

Learn more: Towel Mountains

53. Take a play dough core sample

Learn about the layers of the earth by building them out of Play-Doh, then take a core sample with a straw. ( Love Play-Doh? Get more learning ideas here. )

Learn more: Play Dough Core Sampling

54. Project the stars on your ceiling

Use the video lesson in the link below to learn why stars are only visible at night. Then create a DIY star projector to explore the concept hands-on.

Learn more: DIY Star Projector

55. Make it rain

Use shaving cream and food coloring to simulate clouds and rain. This is an easy science experiment little ones will beg to do over and over.

Learn more: Shaving Cream Rain

56. Blow up your fingerprint

This is such a cool (and easy!) way to look at fingerprint patterns. Inflate a balloon a bit, use some ink to put a fingerprint on it, then blow it up big to see your fingerprint in detail.

57. Snack on a DNA model

Twizzlers, gumdrops, and a few toothpicks are all you need to make this super-fun (and yummy!) DNA model.

Learn more: Edible DNA Model

58. Dissect a flower

Take a nature walk and find a flower or two. Then bring them home and take them apart to discover all the different parts of flowers.

59. Craft smartphone speakers

No Bluetooth speaker? No problem! Put together your own from paper cups and toilet paper tubes.

Learn more: Smartphone Speakers

60. Race a balloon-powered car

Kids will be amazed when they learn they can put together this awesome racer using cardboard and bottle-cap wheels. The balloon-powered “engine” is so much fun too.

Learn more: Balloon-Powered Car

61. Build a Ferris wheel

You’ve probably ridden on a Ferris wheel, but can you build one? Stock up on wood craft sticks and find out! Play around with different designs to see which one works best.

Learn more: Craft Stick Ferris Wheel

62. Design a phone stand

There are lots of ways to craft a DIY phone stand, which makes this a perfect creative-thinking STEM challenge.

63. Conduct an egg drop

Put all their engineering skills to the test with an egg drop! Challenge kids to build a container from stuff they find around the house that will protect an egg from a long fall (this is especially fun to do from upper-story windows).

Learn more: Egg Drop Challenge Ideas

64. Engineer a drinking-straw roller coaster

STEM challenges are always a hit with kids. We love this one, which only requires basic supplies like drinking straws.

Learn more: Straw Roller Coaster

65. Build a solar oven

Explore the power of the sun when you build your own solar ovens and use them to cook some yummy treats. This experiment takes a little more time and effort, but the results are always impressive. The link below has complete instructions.

Learn more: Solar Oven

66. Build a Da Vinci bridge

There are plenty of bridge-building experiments out there, but this one is unique. It’s inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s 500-year-old self-supporting wooden bridge. Learn how to build it at the link, and expand your learning by exploring more about Da Vinci himself.

Learn more: Da Vinci Bridge

67. Step through an index card

This is one easy science experiment that never fails to astonish. With carefully placed scissor cuts on an index card, you can make a loop large enough to fit a (small) human body through! Kids will be wowed as they learn about surface area.

68. Stand on a pile of paper cups

Combine physics and engineering and challenge kids to create a paper cup structure that can support their weight. This is a cool project for aspiring architects.

Learn more: Paper Cup Stack

69. Test out parachutes

Gather a variety of materials (try tissues, handkerchiefs, plastic bags, etc.) and see which ones make the best parachutes. You can also find out how they’re affected by windy days or find out which ones work in the rain.

Learn more: Parachute Drop

70. Recycle newspapers into an engineering challenge

It’s amazing how a stack of newspapers can spark such creative engineering. Challenge kids to build a tower, support a book, or even build a chair using only newspaper and tape!

Learn more: Newspaper STEM Challenge

71. Use rubber bands to sound out acoustics

Explore the ways that sound waves are affected by what’s around them using a simple rubber band “guitar.” (Kids absolutely love playing with these!)

Learn more: Rubber Band Guitar

72. Assemble a better umbrella

Challenge students to engineer the best possible umbrella from various household supplies. Encourage them to plan, draw blueprints, and test their creations using the scientific method.

Learn more: Umbrella STEM Challenge

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