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

Abstract Inspired by complex system theory, this study adopts a multilevel piecewise regression model to examine the relationship between homework time and the development of students in different grades using a large‐scale testing database in China. The results indicate that the relationship between homework time and students’ performance is positive when homework time is less than the cut‐off values and becomes negative when homework time is greater than the cut‐off values. For different dependent variables, the cut‐off values of homework time differ but are all within a range (1–1.2 h for grade 4 and 1.7–2 h for grade 8). The reasons for the difference in cut‐off values among students in different grades are discussed.