Examining the Connections Between Time, Length, and Specificity Factors in Homework and Undergraduate Grade Outcomes

This study was conducted with students previously enrolled in a 200-level educational psychology course from the Fall 2018 and Fall 2019 semesters (N = 331, students per section ranged from 23 – 31). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between time, length, and specificity factors found in homework taken from Canvas on students’ homework, exam, and final course grades. The time and length factors taken from a graded homework assignments were used to examine homework scores while the mean values and standard deviation values for these factors taken from all of the homework assignments in a unit were used to examine exam scores. The standard deviation values were used as a measure of consistency among all submitted homework assignments. The specificity factor was created from all of the graded homework assignments and used to examine the final scores in the course.

Several linear mixed models were used to individually examine the relationships between the time and length factors on students’ graded homework scores and unit exam scores. A linear regression was used to examine the relationship between the specificity factor and students’ final scores in the course. Homework scores were significantly related to exam scores. The results among the time factors yielded some significant relationships, but the significant relationships were not meaningful. The results for the length factors, however, were significant and meaningful. The results for the specificity factor were not significant. Among these factors examined, length factors appear to be the strongest contributor to students’ grades.