Raise Achievement

Students in high-poverty schools with at least 25% more time outperform their peers in schools with less time.

Expanded learning time can raise achievement by ensuring students have more individualized learning time. Not only does more time allow for longer class periods in which students can examine topics in greater depth and in varied ways (e.g., not only dissecting a text, but also acting it out), but expanded-time schools are also able to set aside whole periods each day to focus on small-group interventions to address and overcome student learning deficits. More time also helps to ensure the inclusion of the critical classes that too often have been scaled back, such as science, social studies, and foreign languages.