Are we doing enough hours?
A coverage check for elementary homeschoolers, against the federal numbers for US public schools. Enter your week; nothing else happens.
Runs entirely in your browser · collects nothing · sends nothingYour week
| Subject | Hours/week |
|---|---|
| English / language arts reading, writing, spelling, grammar, handwriting |
|
| Mathematics | |
| Social studies / history | |
| Science | |
| Other taught subjects second language, Bible, music, art — anything timetabled |
|
| Structured activity outside lessons clubs, sport, scouting, tutoring, co-op |
Against the benchmark
What the benchmark is
US public school teachers of grades 1–4, from the federal Schools and Staffing Survey, reported these weekly instructional hours:
| Subject | Hours/week |
|---|---|
| English / language arts | 11.6 |
| Mathematics | 5.4 |
| Social studies | 2.5 |
| Science | 2.3 |
| Core instruction | 21.8 |
| Length of the student school week | 32.1 |
| Not core instruction | 10.3 |
That last row is the one most people have never seen. About a third of a public elementary week is not core instruction — transitions, attendance, lining up, assemblies, and the overhead of moving twenty-five children through a building. It is why a homeschool day that looks short can cover the same ground.
What this does not tell you
This measures coverage, not learning. Hours are an input. A child working at their own level covers more in less time, and a child who needs longer on something is not behind for taking it. More hours is not better; it is just more hours.
It also cannot tell you whether homeschooling produces better outcomes than school. The research does not establish that in either direction — including, explicitly, the leading pro-homeschooling research body, which states that the designs used to date do not show homeschooling causes the results it reports.
Use this to answer one narrow question honestly: is my week in the same territory as a school week, or is there a subject quietly getting nothing? That question is worth answering, and it is the only one a number of hours can answer.