An argument I plan to explore is the connection between poor implementation of homework and stress levels of students. The sources Margolis (2005) and Pressman et al. (2015) are of benefit to this argument.
A counter argument I plan to bring up and work to refute is the concept of “healthy stress” and its benefit to motivation. Research shows that too often the level of stress homework inspires in students stretches this concept past both mental and physical health. There is also the fact that motivational strategies must be taught, and if this homework is being assigned without teaching the strategies, students are likely to be defeated in their minds before they’ve even begun.
I will also bring in the larger concern of stress on the family when “too much” homework comes into play; when the amount of homework assigned reaches a certain threshold, the detriment is not only to the student expected to complete the work, but the guardian of the student expected to aid them in its completion.
I think it’s interesting that you choose to explore the boundary of when homework becomes “too much homework.” However, I think it’s also important to consider that for a lot of classes that are problem-solving or reasoning based, practice becomes extremely important, and this is reflected in the scores obtained by those who complete optional homework in these classes versus those who don’t. I think this could be something you acknowledge and address as well as part of your argument/counter-argument.
Your comment drove me to seek out specific information on this aspect, and I’ll now be including a “practice makes perfect” component in my counter-argument. Thank you!