Background: Publicly funded four-year-old preschool (or 4K) programs have expanded over the past several decades (Friedman-Krauss et al. 2021). Many high-quality preschool programs lead to gains in academic and social skills for students (Cascio and Schanzenbach 2013; Gormley and Gayer 2005; Weiland and Yoshikawa 2013; Wong et al. 2008),…

Educational reform thinking is plagued with contradictions. Scheduling, the structure of the school day, the length of school year and pedagogic practices in general, although moderately successful, are frequently defined by mantras and rationales out of step with current research or anchored on educational myth. This duality of educational…

In this paper, we examine the fundamental and complex role that time plays in the learning process. We begin by developing a conceptual framework to elucidate the multiple obstacles schools face in converting allocated time into learning time. We then synthesize the causal research and document a clear positive effect of time on student…

The goal of this qualitative flexible design research study was to discover if North Dakota should revise North Dakota PK-12 school calendar requirements for the academic and social-emotional development of students. Innovative reforms that might be beneficial in revising the North Dakota school calendar were researched. A literature review was…

Determining the number of hours and days students should spend in school per year to improve student achievement has been a central policy issue, influencing, for example, authorities' attitudes toward disciplining pupil non-attendance and fining parents for the withdrawal of students for vacations. This paper is a review of research studies on…

This paper investigates the effect of primary school students' utilization of extended education offerings and of the quality of extended education on reading achievement in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. All-day schools are being set up. Among other reasons, as a means to level the increasing scholastic demands in the primary schools.…

School districts use a variety of policies to close budget gaps and stave off teacher layoffs and furloughs. More schools are implementing four-day school weeks to reduce overhead and transportation costs. The four-day week requires substantial schedule changes as schools must increase the length of their school day to meet minimum instructional…

The 2017-18 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) is a state and nationally representative sample survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. NTPS collects data on core topics including teacher and principal preparation, classes taught, school characteristics, and…

Instructional time is a fundamental educational input, yet we have little causal evidence about the effect of longer school days on student achievement. This paper uses a sharp regression discontinuity design to estimate the effects of lengthening the school day for low-performing schools in Florida by exploiting an administrative cutoff for…

In this article, Eric Schwarz describes how "Citizen Schools" are coming to the aid of teachers by adding a second shift of educators that make teachers more effective and happier, while also improving the outcomes of its students. Teaching fellows and volunteer citizen teachers could support the master and core teachers while also…

For this study, we examined the constructs of time, student groupings, and professional staffing in schools and determined their significance in whether or not schools made Adequate Yearly Progress or were required mandatory improvement. We conducted a logistical regression analysis using a national data set, the School and Staffing Survey…

The aim of this article is to discuss and demonstrate how ethnographic-oriented research might contribute to broadening the research interest in extended education. Extended education might be seen as a societal investment in education. This perspective calls for different kinds of school effectiveness research that generates useful and relevant…

This paper examines student learning time as a key educational resource. It presents an overview of how different OECD countries allocate instruction time. It also develops a model to understand the effective use of allocated instruction time and examines how different OECD countries compare on this. The paper confirms the value of sufficient…

With the number of students who are English language learners (ELLs) likely to double in coming years, it is more important than ever for schools across the U.S. to design and implement educational practices and strategies that best meet ELLs' learning needs, says the report, "Giving English Language Learners the Time They Need to…

For many years, the Kauffman Foundation has focused efforts on improving educa­tion for children in Kansas City. Prior to opening the Kauffman School, the Kauffman Foundation operated several programs that addressed the challenges faced in urban education, such as Project Early (an early childhood program), Project Choice (a high school dropout…