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Visible Learning™
Visible Learning MetaX™
Version 1.4 – Updated February 2026

Time-on-task

Overview

  • Influence: Time-on-task
  • Domain: Student Learning Strategies
  • Sub-Domain: Learning strategies
  • Potential to Accelerate Student Achievement: Potential to accelerate
  • Influence Definition: The engaged, elapsed, allocated, or total time spent on a task. It could also relate to number of days on a lesson or attendance at those lessons.

Evidence

  • Number of meta-analyses: 12
  • Number of studies: 363
  • Number of students: 47,253
  • Number of effects: 522
  • Weighted mean effect size: 0.47
  • Robustness index: 4

Meta-Analyses

Meta-Analyses
Journal Title Author Article Name Year Published Variable Number of Studies Number of Students Number of Effects Effect Size
Book Bloom Human Characteristics and School Learning 1976 Time on task 11 NA 28 0.75
Journal of Educational Research Fredrick & Walberg Learning as a function of time 1980 Time on task 35 NA 35 0.34
Dissertation Catts The integration of research findings: a review of meta-analysis methodology and an application to research on the effects of knowledge objectives 1992 Time on task 18 NA 37 0.19
Report Shulruf, Keuskamp & Timperley Course taking or subject choice? 2006 Taking more coursework 36 NA 36 0.24
Report Marzano, Gaddy, & Dean What Works in Classroom Instruction 2000 Time on task 15 NA 15 0.39
Australian Journal of Education Purdie & Hattie The Relationship between Study Skills and Learning Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis 1999 Time on task 36 NA 36 0.24
Report Kidron & Lindsay The Effects of Increased Learning Time on Student Academic and Nonacademic Outcomes: Findings from a Meta-Analytic Review 2014 Increased learning time 18 NA 18 0.05
Book Scheerens & Hendriks State of the art of time effectiveness. 2014 Time on task 30 NA 111 0.34
Book Scheerens, Hendriks, Luyten, Sleegers, & Cees Productive time in education. A Review of the Effectiveness of Teaching Time at School, Homework and Extended Time Outside School Hours 2013 Learning time in school 12 NA 16 0.09
Book Cook, Levinson & Garside Time and Learning Efficiency in Internet-Based Learning: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis 2010 Time on task 13 NA 14 1.25
Review of Educational Research Crede, Roch & Kieszczynka Class Attendance in College: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Relationship of Class Attendance with Grades and Student Characteristics 2010 Class attendance 90 28,034 99 0.95
Conference paper Huang The European Conference on Education 2015 2015 Study time 49 19,219 77 0.24
TOTAL/AVERAGE 363 47,253 522 0.42
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