Some school reform programs, such as the "Copernican Plan," advocate long blocks of classroom instruction time to allow greater instructional flexibility and active student participation in classroom work. This study investigated the effectiveness of this strategy by examining the perceptions of high school teachers who were entering or…

Noting the increase in school-based extended-day programs, this Issue Brief updates and expands upon previous findings by presenting data on extended-day programs drawn from the 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1993-94 Schools and Staffing Surveys, conducted by the National center for Education Statistics. Findings include the following: (1) availability of…

In an assessment of middle school practitioners' attitudes concerning the possible use of school facilities for extended-day programs, 732 participants of a seminar at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville were surveyed. A total of 472 participants returned the survey instrument. Participants were members of four- to six-person middle school…

A review of research on time on task and length of school day or year reveals that time is not the only variable significantly related to student achievement. Research indicates that increasing time in school will not automatically increase student achievement or raise standardized test scores. Other variables such as corrective and immediate…

The purpose of a comprehensive study of the design of the school calendar in Virginia was to identify the quality and quantity of allocated time and the amount of time spent and needed for student learning as factors determining the impact of instructional time on educational quality. Synthesizing available research and new surveys and interviews,…

It is estimated that Utah will need to spend $1.7 billion for new school construction during the next decade, and that this should be concentrated mainly in a few rapidly growing districts. The projection of school construction need represents a six-fold increase during the coming decade; however, assessed valuation (the measure of a school…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Extended-Service Schools (ESS) Initiative, which supported the creation of 60 after school programs in 20 low-income communities nationwide. Each community adapted one of four nationally recognized models that had been successfully developed and implemented in other cities. The models all promoted…

The goals of the study were to specify relevant implementation variables in the context of an implementation model, develop suitable measurement instruments, and test the relationship between the implementation variables and student achievement of program goals. Subjects of the study were members of thirty kindergarten classes in the Kindergarten…

This exemplary program in health and nutrition is designed to: eliminate the barriers to learning imposed by poverty and cultural isolation; increase the student's ability to learn; improve pupil health and attitudes; and, make the schools responsive to the social, economic, and cultural needs of the community. The program features an extensive,…

This paper describes and evaluates an alternate day-full day kindergarten program. Through the use of Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) scores and surveys, two kindergarten groups were compared. One group attended school for a half-day daily; the other attended all day on alternate days, but for a comparable length of time. A summary of survey…

While there appears to be widespread agreement that schools need to use time more effectively to improve learning opportunities, education research is needed on the cost and results of using time differently. Presents a cost-simulation model to determine the relative costs of a year-round program. (MLF)

The effectiveness of the seven-period schedule implemented at a rural high school in southwestern Virginia and the feasibility of extending the system to other high schools were assessed. Topics of study included whether students chose to take additional courses, which courses were selected, problems for students and faculty created by the…

Results are presented of a telephone survey of 800 citizens indicating their opinions about the public schools in Michigan. Questions were asked on: (1) level and scope of information known about the schools; (2) school visitation frequency; (3) performance of schools; (4) report card rating of schools; (5) likes, dislikes about the schools; (6)…

This study examines three aspects of educational time: (1) quantity of time in school; (2) quality of time in school; and (3) students' uses of out-of-school time. The study identified two types of strategies that altered school uses of time--multiage groupings, and flexible school schedules. It concludes that the decision to increase the quantity…

A quasi-experimental study explored the ways in which the full-day kindergarten program is beneficial and/or detrimental to students compared to the half-day and/or extended-day program. The sample consisted of six full-day schools matched with half-day schools on geographic location, school size, student norm-referenced data, and socioeconomic…