Researchers find that increasing school days and lengthening calendar years do not always result in higher-quality education.
Time is on David Ayala's mind. Despite nine-hour school days, Saturday classes, and three weeks of mandatory summer school, the seeming wealth of time in Washington, D.C.'s KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) schools remains a rare commodity for him.
"As often as possible, I chart how I use time in five-minute increments," says Ayala, vice principal of KEY Academy (Knowledge Empowers You), D.C.'s oldest KIPP school and the highest-scoring middle school in the city.
Ayala doesn't just track time; he shares the data with the English class he teaches. He knows that added time won't make a difference if it's not planned with student learning in mind. "We look for ways to spend less time on procedures, like sitting down and packing up, and ways to spend more time on instruction, and more importantly, student work."
More, More, More
The expectations placed on schools are greater than ever before. Consequently, more instructional time—and more time spent on learning—is coming to the fore of several school reform agendas. On the federal level, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires that states provide supplementary education services, outside of the regular school day, to low-income students in low-performing schools. At the local and state levels, a variety of models have taken shape:
- San Diego, Calif., schools have successfully incorporated block scheduling as a way to limit between-class transitions and extend instructional time in core subject areas such as reading and math.
- Virginia's Fairfax County Public Schools raised achievement in struggling schools that have high concentrations of low-income students by extending the school day.
- Two out of the three major education initiatives proposed by New Mexico's Governor Bill Richardson, in his 2007 State of the State address, focused on extending school days and years and providing state-funded, out-of-school academic support.
- Massachusetts just allocated $6.5 million of the state budget toward targeted school-day extensions, while civic leaders in Chicago, Philadelphia, and the District of Columbia have set forth plans for longer school years and less time off between school years.
- New Hampshire's "Follow the Child" initiative has redefined how and where school credits can be earned, accounting for students' interests and needs, and allowing greater flexibility in planning the school year and day.
Teachers Need Time, Too
As districts across the country, especially those with low-performing schools, are extending their days and years, the education community is calling for a more considered approach to school time. Research shows that simply allocating more time to the school day or year does not result in raised achievement. Only when the added time is used to deliver engaging instruction that produces student learning does more time equal better time. And increased time is not just for the benefit of students. Many educators proclaim the advantages of rationing additional school time to teachers for planning, collaboration, and professional development.
A recent report from Education Sector, a Washington, D.C.-based independent education policy think tank, shows that where time expansions are successful, they are part of a larger, more comprehensive school reform effort that examines school leadership, school environment, teacher quality, and useful assessments. In fact, issues related to school time are enormous. They cut into every facet of school life and pose many questions.
How will schools pay for added teachers' hours, keeping facilities open longer, and shifting transportation schedules? How will longer school years and days affect family and extracurricular activities? How will added time be managed, and how will schools know whether it's actually helping students? Although each school and district will have to consider these questions on a case-by-case basis, Education Sector's report, On the Clock: Rethinking the Way Schools Use Time, by Elena Silva, is an excellent resource for navigating the complicated relationship between school time and student achievement.
Making Up for Lost Time
The idea that time can effectively bootstrap flagging student achievement in the United States is not new. In 1983, A Nation at Risk drew major attention to discrepancies between U.S. and international school calendars and recommended longer school days and years. Before confronting the issues of adding time, however, it's important to look at where schools lose time. Data show that instructional time is lost on summer breaks, class transitions, start-up routines, interruptions, and behavioral and classroom management issues. Some argue time is also lost on trying to make lessons more fun. Assessments of time use show schools falling far short of the mandated total daily instruction time; the amount of actual learning time is even less.
In her report, Silva calculates, "Adding more hours would ostensibly provide more time for everything that occurs in schools. In the best schools, this means more academic learning time. In poorly managed schools with inexperienced teachers, it means time will continue to be lost, but in greater amounts."
Summer learning loss amounts to about one month of lost time, according to Duke University's Harris Cooper, a professor of social psychology. Time lost to students who do not have opportunities to attend summer classes can place privileged students ahead of their less-advantaged peers.
"Differences in family background will inevitably lead to unequal gains for students," says Silva, "unless other sources of learning are provided to make up for the summer deficit."
Research shows that poor and minority students without access to resources outside of school may benefit more from year-round school. However, Silva argues that year-round proposals do not necessarily target "the students most in need of increased learning time." Instead, she offers "increasing in-school time and providing out-of-school programs for the neediest students" as positive approaches to overcoming summer learning loss and closing the achievement gap. Research from the Urban Institute predicates that the best summer programs focus on core academic skills and improve attendance by engaging parents and communities.
Two programs that meet these criteria, says Silva, are the BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life) Accelerated Learning Summer Program (www.bellnational.org/program/summer.htm) and the Higher Achievement Program (www.higherachievement.org).
Silva points out that summertime schooling usually does not mean decreased family vacation time—breaks are just distributed throughout the year to reduce gaps in learning.
"Summertime schooling," asserts Silva, "does not mean the end of all fun. It simply signals a refreshing willingness to put education first."
Timely Interventions
New uses of school time are revolutionizing even the most steadfast school institutions. For example, expanded school time models in Massachusetts have actually changed the nature of homework, says Jennifer Davis, cofounder and president of Massachusetts 2020, a nonprofit organization working to expand learning opportunities for urban children in Massachusetts. In an Education Week online chat, Davis notes that instead of "outsourcing" worksheets and lessons to students' homes, "expanded programming allows time for students to work through their homework, while having direct individualized help available if they need it."
In general, Davis praises Massachusetts' new attention to extended school time as triggering a total rethinking of the school day and how time is used. It's "prompted changes to curricula, including the integration of more project-based learning and a wide variety of enrichment opportunities—everything from karate to music lessons to drama productions."
The new program, Davis adds, encourages teachers and administrators to "consider how different subjects and enrichment activities could be better integrated to provide students with a more seamless and comprehensive education."
Flexible Formats
Although the benefits of added school time are encouraging, interventions that add time to school come with a price tag; the main expenses are increased teachers' salaries. However, based on Massachusetts' experiments with implementing extended school schedules, Silva says the cost is not proportionate to the time added. Adding 30 percent more time, for example, would require only about a 20 percent budget increase.
Instead of adding hours or weeks to the school year, many schools are working within the school day, restructuring how time is aggregated. Scheduling longer blocks of time to focus studies in specific subject areas has proved successful, especially for low-performing students. However, research also shows it's crucial to train teachers on effective instructional strategies for longer class periods. As Silva clarifies, the success of block scheduling depends primarily on teachers' ability to adapt to longer lessons.
Another challenge to block scheduling is that it can create a curricular hierarchy in which reading and math reign at the expense of other subjects.
A significant caveat to the Education Sector report cites research from the Mid-Continental Regional Educational Laboratory that shows out-of-school time on academics is neither more nor less effective if it's delivered after school, over the summer, or on weekends. This means schools can be more flexible with how they allocate instructional time. New Hampshire schools have capitalized on this flexibility by getting rid of the Carnegie unit and time requirements and opening the school day up to instruction delivered online, through service learning, and in extracurricular activities. "It's the kids' timetable, not ours," says Fred Bramante, New Hampshire State Board of Education member and ASCD Whole Child Commission panelist. "We know the learning goals we want for students, and we've mandated the flexibility for them to get there however they can."
For schools that are interested in adding time to the calendar, McREL's research means the higher cost of extending the school year (e.g., adding weeks in June and August) can be avoided in favor of longer school days. Extending the school day may also benefit working parents who struggle to find affordable, reliable child care. Silva adds that schools are getting creative to make extended school schedules work for teachers, too. One example entails implementing alternative staffing arrangements—like shifts—whereby some teachers work early morning to early afternoon, and others work later mornings to evenings.
Policy Recommendations
Education Sector's On the Clock warns, “For schools that demonstrate poor-quality teaching, rote instructional methods, and a curriculum that is poorly aligned with state and district standards and assessments, adding time may not be the first or best priority for reform.” In places where added or restructured time is part of a comprehensive reform effort, the report makes several recommendations:
- Evaluate data. Look at how time is currently being used and keep records on use. "When I observe our best teachers," explains Ayala, "the first thing we talk about is the five-minute pacing chart. Many of our language arts teachers can be seen teaching with timers next to them to make sure they keep minilessons to an effective 10 minutes to allow students more time to practice." Data on time use can then be correlated with student assessment data. Although the report notes it may be difficult to gauge exactly how much time is dedicated to learning, teachers can keep time journals about what actually happens in their classrooms, and they can track how much time is siphoned off to announcements, assemblies, class transitions, and other instances that may not have primary instructional purposes. At a minimum, schools can look at the amount of time spent on instruction in a core subject area and compare it to assessment results in the subject over a period of time.
- Consider context. Adding time will work only in schools that have the capacity to best use additional time, the report notes. Therefore, Silva and her colleagues advocate individually developed programs that will target the neediest students and be instituted in situations where they can be successfully carried out. Silva sees potential in NCLB to allocate Title I funds to develop effective time extension programs.
- Examine existing programs. Silva insists that states need to be more aware of what extended learning time programs are already in use, what types of services they provide, how they align with other programs, and the quality of the services they provide. The U.S. government spends more than $1 billion a year on extended learning opportunities; Silva advises state policymakers to look at their budgets and consider what programs exist, how much they cost, and how effective they are.
Guided by these recommendations, Silva and her colleagues believe the power to successfully manipulate school time will ultimately be decided in individual districts and schools. "We need bold thinkers and doers who are willing to rethink how our schools are set up and how education is delivered, in school and out of school."
Bramante notices that, in New Hampshire, there is a real "buzz about how we're going to implement these reforms. We've mandated flexibility—we're telling policymakers, ‘Let us help you reshape NCLB so that the promise is realized.’"
Silva advises educators to consider new and creative ideas while learning from what does and doesn't work. "That will lead to better schools and student learning."
In a panel discussion on the Education Sector report, the Broad Foundation's Dan Katzir acknowledged, "More time for learning, if planned and implemented correctly, has the potential not only to help our neediest students and schools but also to help successful students reach even greater heights."