Lost Opportunities: District Trends Reveal Unproductive Use of Student Time and Individual Attention

WATERTOWN, Mass., April 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In "Time and Attention in Urban High Schools: Lessons for School Systems," released today by Education Resource Strategies (ERS) and the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL), Stephen Frank found that districts do not organize or use time and individual attention in strategic ways to improve instruction.

The paper documents how in six typical urban districts additional time was triggered primarily by course failure, and increased individual attention often resulted from placement in special education. Schools structured time in rigid blocks that don't vary based on the subject. "These types of rote practices result in lost opportunities for helping struggling students to succeed.  Districts would make better use of resources by addressing student academic needs before remediation is necessary," says Frank. "In exemplary schools, teachers use data on student progress to provide students extra time and attention when they need it to master concepts and skills."

"This important ERS report shines a light on best practices for districts that want to significantly improve student outcomes," says NCTL's Jennifer Davis. "Time in school is a precious resource and how time is used impacts school success or failure."

The study presents findings that compare to results from ERS's 2009 study on Leading Edge Schools. Best practices include:

1. Clearly defining an instructional model that reflects the schools' vision, learning goals, and student population and making tough trade-offs that prioritize use of people, time and money to support that vision.
2. Increasing the overall amount of time students spend in school by an average of 20 percent more than local district schools.
3. Devoting an average of 233 equivalent days more to core academics than traditional district schools, primarily by expanding core academic expectations and individual and small group academic support.
4. Building a school schedule that strategically advances the school's instructional model and addresses student needs.
5. Adapting their strategies in response to lessons learned and changing student needs and conditions.

This new paper identifies five findings on the urban school practices:

1. Student time in school varies by up to 30 percent across districts.
2. Time allocation is strikingly similar across districts because it is driven by traditional graduation requirements and rigid structure of school schedules.
3. General Education class sizes and teacher loads are not lower for core academic subjects, high needs students or foundation grade levels.
4. Schools aren't using data to adjust time and attention.
5. Struggling students get extra attention primarily through special education placement, which can drain resources from general education and instructional support.

"We're hoping that districts will first look at their use of existing time and individual attention to make sure they're meeting the needs of each student," Frank says. "The first priority must be to invest in teaching effectiveness. But some districts also need to add time to the school calendar.  In tough times, it's difficult to talk about adding time, but this needs to be on the negotiating table with other priorities, especially where the day is shorter than seven hours."

Download: Time and Attention in Urban High Schools: Lessons for School Systems

Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools

SOURCE Education Resource Strategies