Elena Silva
Education Sector
January 2007
This latest report from Education Sector is an invitation to begin a dialogue about school time (incidentally, the organization is hosting just such a discussion). The author does a swell job summing up the existing research about the pros and cons of extending the school day and school year, and she offers some sensible recommendations. But they are general and predictable. For example, the report notes that "the collection and analysis of time-use data in schools must be improved" and that "the value and success of time reform...depends greatly on context." True statements; also prosaic ones. Not to say that the report isn't worth a look. One who knew nothing about instructional-time issues could pick up this volume, read it over a leisurely lunch, and feel confident that he or she would not be at all ruffled if, over afternoon martinis, someone happened to say, "Now then, what's all this business about long school days?" Policymakers, too, can use it for a quick overview of the issue, the research, and the pros and cons. You can find it by clicking here.