The Education Council Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-62) established the National Education Commission on Time and Learning as an independent advisory body charged to do a comprehensive review of the relationship between time and learning in U.S. schools. Based on its 24-month investigation, the Commission found that American students spend an average of five and a half hours in six class periods each school day, but half of that time is devoted to classes such as physical education and electives; however, Japanese, French, and German high school students spend on average five and a half hours studying core academic subjects. During the final 4 years of secondary education, the estimated number of hours required for core academic time for U.S. students was 1,460 hours compared to 3,170 in Japan, 3,280 in France, and 3,528 in Germany. The Commission made eight recommendations: (1) reinvent schools around learning, not time; (2) change the fixed clock and calendar to better use students' time in school; (3) organize the school day so that students spend at least five and a half hours learning core academic subjects; (4) keep schools open for expanded services and activities; (5) give teachers more time to prepare for their classes; (6) seize the promise of new technologies to increase productivity, enhance student achievement, and expand learning time; (7) develop local action plans to transform schools; (8) build coalitions of policymakers, community leaders, educators, and parents to make learning a "national obsession." (CRW)