This report analyzes case studies of "more and better learning time" efforts around the country. With support from the Ford Foundation, America's Promise Alliance looked in Grand Rapids, MI; Louisville, KY; Memphis, TN; and Rochester, NY to see how time spent out of the classroom improved outcomes for students in low-income neighborhoods…

Under the Intensified Learning Plan (ILP), the school year was organized into trimesters. Students focused on fewer subjects for longer daily periods than usual. Results of tests, questionnaires, and conferences were used to measure the accomplishment of criterion objectives. The majority of parents, students, and teachers prefered the ILP, with…