Homework and learning achievements: how much homework is enough?

More homework improve mathematics achievement? Differential effects of homework time on different facets of students' mathematics achievement: A longitudinal study in China

“…We considered that the assignment of homework reflected teachers' understanding of the amount of homework needed to support mathematical learning. Our results generally support the results of previous studies showing that homework is associated with increased mathematics achievement among Chinese students (Chin et al., 2022; Cooper et al., 2006; Dettmers et al., 2009; Flunger et al., 2015), and further indicating that the positive effect of mathematics homework on overall achievement in previous studies may be limit to students' increasing in the learning of mathematical content at lower cognitive levels (knowing and understanding levels). When students are assigned mathematics homework that takes .5–1 h, their achievement might be higher than those who are assigned less than half an hour of homework.…”

“…Excessive homework time might tire out young students and decrease their homework effort (De Jong et al., 2000), especially after a whole day of school. This assumption partly supports the curvilinear relationship between homework and achievement (Figure 1) proposed in previous studies (Chin et al., 2022; Cooper et al., 2012), with some differences (compared with the inverse U‐curve). Other factors could be exhaustion, motivation, anxiety or lack of breaks, and further studies are needed with comprehensive variables design.…”

“…When students are assigned mathematics homework that takes .5-1 h, their achievement might be higher than those who are assigned less than half an hour of homework. Additionally, the assignment of 1-1.5 h of homework enhances students' mathematics achievement more than homework of .5-1 h. These results support Hypothesis 1a and enrich the current knowledge of homework, especially given that most studies have used Western samples (Chin et al, 2022).…”

“…However, students doing more than 20 h of homework per week achieved similar test scores to those doing 1–6 h. Similarly, Chin et al. (2022) found that mathematics homework durations of 1–15, 16–30, 31–60 and 61–90 min all positively predicted the mathematics learning achievements of eighth‐grade students, while homework time over 90 min did not. These results indicate that excessive mathematics homework might be as bad as insufficient.…”

Relationship between homework time and academic and non‐academic performance in China: A preliminary test of the nonlinear hypothesis

“…Recent studies also support this conclusion. Chin and his colleague (2022) found that when the total time spent on homework was limited to 90 min per day, the frequency and amount of time spent on homework positively predicted achievement using data from the TIMSS 2007 and 2011. In summary, the research field has generally recognised the positive effect of homework on academic performance.…”