Does more time equal more learning?

Hundreds of schools nationwide are adding time to the school year, lengthening school days, requiring Saturday classes, or shortening summer vacation, reports Sarah Carr in The Hechinger Report. Nationally, schools adding hours or days have jumped 53 percent since 2009, according to a 2012 report from the National Center on Time & Learning. Schools have various reasons for adding time. Some cite global competitiveness, pointing to the long day and year at many Asian schools; others want to accommodate the schedules of working families. Charter schools, whose teachers are not usually unionized, have greater calendar and work-hour flexibility. The most common reason is summer learning loss. Yet research is inconclusive about whether more time in school equals more learning. A 2012 literature review by Child Trends found most schools that added time showed academic growth, yet it was impossible to attribute improvement directly to increased time in school. The report concluded that more time will never compensate for bad teaching. There is also a question of resources. For instance, in one charter in New Orleans -- the ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy, which began the school year on July 22 -- additional time costs about $500,000 annually, which comes out of various grants. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

Published by LEAP

Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities