The excerpt below is taken from the Marshall Memo:
What the Research Says About Extending the School Day and Year
In this Review of Educational Research article, Erika Patall of the University of Texas/Austin and Harris Cooper and Ashley Batts Allen of Duke University study the impact of extending the school day and year. They start by distinguishing the different ways in which we can talk about school time:
- Allocated school time – the number of days in the school year and hours students are required to attend school;
- Allocated class time – the time students are required to be in class;
- Instructional time – the time devoted to instruction (versus noninstructional time in the classroom devoted to administrative matters, discipline, etc.)
- Engaged time – the time students are paying attention to a learning task and attempting to learn (often called time on task);
- Academic learning time – the time in which students are actively engaged and successfully learning.
Most studies of the impact of extra time focus only on the first – allocated school time – based on the assumption that increasing allocated time provides the opportunity to increase academic learning time.
Patall, Cooper, and Allen conducted an exhaustive search of studies on this subject and came to the following conclusions:
• The research in this area is weak and it is difficult to make strong causal inferences; there are no controlled studies that allow us to draw definitive conclusions about what works and how extended time affects student performance over time.
• There is little evidence on the impact of extended school time on non-achievement results such as student motivation, attitudes toward themselves, toward school, or toward coursework, and on student conduct, discipline, attendance, fatigue, or family dynamics.
• However, say the authors, “the research evidence would suggest that extending school time can be an effective means to support student learning, particularly for students who are most at risk of school failure and when considerations are made for how that time is used.”
• Extending school time won’t always improve achievement. “It is only common sense,” say Patall, Cooper, and Allen, “that if additional school time is not used for instructional activities or if additional instruction is poor in quality, it is unlikely to lead to achievement gains.” They cite several schools supported by the Massachusetts 2020 initiative as examples of what’s essential: a focus on teacher quality, strong leadership, rigorous and continuous professional development, a positive school culture, and strong family engagement.
• Parent and staff attitudes toward extended school time are generally positive, while student attitudes are less positive.
• Extra time is “one of many interventions needed to alter the academic success of students, particularly those who enter and continue with disadvantages,” say the authors.
• Where funding for extending school hours and days is not available, the authors say that alternative approaches can be effective, including after-school programs, summer school, and other out-of-school services.
• Furthermore, we don’t know the optimum amount of additional time that balances costs and benefits.
Patall, Cooper, and Allen conclude: “The task now falls on education researchers to conduct well-designed research that will help determine under what conditions, for whom, and when more school time will yield the greatest benefits.”