Many youngsters today — along with their parents — complain that teachers are assigning too much homework, producing sleep deprivation, increased stress and a generation of kids on the verge of being burned out before they reach college. Some educators blame heavier homework loads on the education reform movement, which punishes schools whose students don't improve their scores on new, mandatory statewide achievement tests. But homework proponents say American students spend less time on homework than their European and Asian counterparts, while spending more time watching television, talking on the phone or working at after-school jobs. Research on the effectiveness of homework is inconclusive, as are the studies on whether it is actually increasing or on the decline.

Patrick Marshall is a freelance writer in Seattle, Wash., and contributing writer for CQ Researcher who writes about public policy and technology issues. He is a computer columnist for The Seattle Times and holds a BA in anthropology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a master's in international studies from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University.