ERIC Number: EJ857675
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Mar
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-127X
EISSN: N/A
Consensus on Increasing Learning Time Builds
Gewertz, Catherine
Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, v74 n7 p48-54 Mar 2009
Twenty-five years ago, the still-resonant report "A Nation at Risk" urged schools to add more time--an hour to the usual six hour day and 20-40 days to the typical 180-day ear--to ward off a "rising tide of mediocrity" in American education. Today, city, school, state, and national leaders are engaged in a renewed effort to do just that. Under enormous pressure to prepare students for a successful future--and fearful that standard school hours don't offer enough time to do so--educators, policy makers, and community activists are adding more learning time to children's lives. This idea has generated activity nationwide. A study for the Center for American Progress found that more than 300 initiatives to extend learning time were launched between 1991 and 2007 in high-poverty and high-minority schools in 30 states. A compilation of extended-day activity at the state level by the Education Commission of the States found more than 50 efforts since 2000. It takes many forms to add learning time. Most often, retooling time means extending the school day or school year to accommodate the burgeoning list of skills and areas of knowledge students need to thrive as adults.
Descriptors: Educational Change, Time Factors (Learning), Poverty, Minority Groups, Disadvantaged Environment, Public Schools, Elementary Secondary Education, Extended School Year, Extended School Day, Comparative Analysis
Prakken Publications. 832 Phoenix Drive, P.O. Box 8623, Ann Arbor, MI 48108. Tel: 734-975-2800; Fax: 734-975-2787; Web site: http://www.eddigest.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida; Massachusetts; New York; Ohio
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: No Child Left Behind Act 2001
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A