The purpose of the current study was to examine barriers, if any, reported by special education directors to providing extended school year (ESY) services. Results indicate four barriers to providing ESY services listed in order of importance by special education directors: difficulty in finding qualified personnel to work over the summer,…

For more than 30 years, Education Commission of the States has tracked instructional time and frequently receives requests for information about policies and trends. In this Education Trends report, Education Commission of the States addresses some of the more frequent questions, including the impact of instructional time on achievement, variation…

By 2030, most jobs will require some training beyond high school (a four-year degree, a two-year associate degree, or some type of industry credential). Too few Texas students are currently obtaining the necessary postsecondary credentials. In response to this challenge, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board established the 60x30TX Plan in…

This study looks deeply inside 17 schools that stand at the vanguard of the current revolution in teaching. This new National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) report reveals the substantive ways in which these schools are providing their teachers with more time to reflect on, develop, and hone their craft, by very explicitly leveraging an…

The impact of class time lengths on student achievement is a complex issue with multiple extraneous factors and without definitive answers. A major theme across many of the studies reviewed is that the amount of instructional time is not so important as how that time is spent. Key points include: (1) The commonly held conception that students in…

The purpose of this study was to analyze student academic performance data from year-round calendar high schools across the United States in comparison to those of traditional calendar high schools within the same states. This study sought to determine if the mean passing scores of students for the last three academic years in four important…

The National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL), an organization dedicated to redesigning and expanding school time to improve opportunities and outcomes for high poverty students, and the Education Commission of the States (ECS), with a mission to foster both the exchange of ideas on education issues among the states and long range strategic…

Describes four school districts that operate year-round schools: Socorro Independent School District, Texas; Valley View School District, Romeoville, Illinois; Murrieta Valley Unified School near San Diego, California; and Rock Island-Milan School District in northwestern Illinois. Briefly describes three tracks of year-round education:…

This package is intended to provide Texas educators with practical information on the projected quarter system operation in Texas schools. Included is a copy of the law (H.B.1078) that mandates institution of the quarter plan along with explanations of what changes are and are not necessary in order to comply with the law. Also included is…

The author details the steps involved in the adoption of a trimester program at a Texas junior high school. The trimester schedule divides the regular school year into three equal 60 day periods. The option of a summer quarter can be added as the need arises. Under the plan, school periods are 70 minutes long in the junior high school and 80…

This exemplary program in health and nutrition is designed to: eliminate the barriers to learning imposed by poverty and cultural isolation; increase the student's ability to learn; improve pupil health and attitudes; and, make the schools responsive to the social, economic, and cultural needs of the community. The program features an extensive,…

The Texas Study of Students at Risk (TxSSAR) is a comprehensive evaluation examining the effectiveness of three state-level programs with the common goal of helping students at risk of failure to achieve academically. The study comprises investigations of the Optional Extended Year Program (OEYP), the Texas After School Initiative (TASI), and the…

The Task Force on Early Childhood and Elementary Education, created by the Texas State Board of Education in January 1993, found that the current system of early childhood and elementary education is struggling to meet the challenges of childhood in today's Texas. This report summarizes the task force's call for schools to reconfigure themselves…

Researchers conducted case studies of Ninth Grade Success Initiative (NGSI) grants to gain a greater understanding of issues facing large numbers of at-risk students, many of whom, despite potentially receiving services as early as kindergarten, still reach ninth grade unprepared to succeed academically in high school. Case studies focused on NGSI…