What? Nobody else sees this connection? It's operant conditioning. Revolting, to be sure, when the subjects are children. But it's the only way that they'll eventually be able to endure (well some of them can) 6+ nightly hours of high school homework. How else will we know who the valedictorians are?!
(No. I am not kidding. Well, I am-- obviously-- but not about the 6+ hours or the sort mechanism.)
In a survey, Harvard students said the following about how much they studied in high school and anticipated studying in college. Their high school workloads looked reasonable.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/9/5/freshman-survey-academics-extracurriculars/Freshman Survey Part III: Classes, Clubs, and Concussions
The Class of 2017's Academic and Extracurricular Lives
By MADELINE R. CONWAY and CORDELIA F MENDEZ, CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
September 5, 2013
The majority of surveyed freshmen said they expect to spend more time studying in college than they did in high school. A plurality of respondents—36 percent—indicated that they anticipate studying between 20 and 29 hours a week in college, and 26 percent said they anticipate spending between 30 and 39. Four percent said they anticipate studying 50 or more hours a week, and only 2 percent said they anticipate studying for 10 or fewer.
In comparison, 58 percent said that they studied for 19 or fewer hours in high school. However, pre-college study habits varied widely between respondents who went to public and private secondary schools. Only 17 percent of students who attended a non-denominational private school said they studied for 10 or fewer hours a week, compared to 39 percent of public, non-charter school students.
The survey has attracted some media attention because 10% of incoming Harvard students surveyed admitted to cheating on tests in high school (42% on homework). I wonder how that compares to college students in general.
