Increased Time on Task
- Option: Lengthened school day
- Essential Elements:
- Additional instruction provided at the middle and high school level, shall emphasize content areas and instruction in subjects required for graduation.
- Student support services which may include, but are not limited to: guidance, counseling, attendance, behavioral support, parent outreach or instruction in study skills needed to support improved academic performance, shall be provided.
- Essential Elements:
- Option: Lengthened school year
- Essential Elements:
- Additional school days shall be used to provide additional instruction.
- Student support services which may include, but are not limited to: guidance, counseling, attendance, behavioral support, parent outreach or instruction in study skills needed to support improved academic performance, shall be provided.
- Essential Elements:
- Option: Dedicated Instructional Time
- Essential Elements:
- Daily dedicated block(s) of time for instruction in content areas to facilitate student attainment of State learning standards shall be created.
- A research-based core instructional program must be provided during such daily dedicated block(s).
- Frequent monitoring of student progress to inform instruction; and
- Frequent student assessments to diagnose needs; and/or
- Individualized intensive intervention shall be provided.
- Essential Elements:
- Option: Individualized Tutoring
- Essential Elements:
- Shall emphasize content areas to facilitate student attainment of State learning standards
- Shall be primarily targeted at students who are at risk of not meeting State learning standards.
- Shall supplement the instruction provided in the general curriculum.
- If provided at the middle and high school levels, shall emphasize content areas and instruction in subjects required for graduation.
- May be provided by a certified teacher, a paraprofessional, a person with a major or minor in the subject matter to be tutored, or anyone otherwise deemed qualified by the superintendent based on the person’s knowledge and experience in education and/or the subject matter to be tutored.
- Shall exclude costs for supplemental educational services.
- Essential Elements:
Moreover, all programs and activities under the option of increased time on task shall:
- Facilitate student attainment of the NYS learning standards.
- Predominantly benefit students with the greatest educational needs including, but not limited to: those students with limited English proficiency and students who are English language learners, students in poverty and students with disabilities.
- Predominantly benefit those students in schools identified as requiring academic progress or in need of improvement or in corrective action or restructuring.
- Be developed in reference to practices supported by research or other comparable evidence as to their effectiveness in raising achievement.
- Be accompanied by high quality, sustained professional development focused on content pedagogy, curriculum development and/or instructional design to ensure successful implementation of each program and activity.
- Be consistent with federal mandates, state law, and regulations governing the education of such students.
- Be used to supplement, and not supplant, funds allocated by the district in the base year for such purposes.
Federal Law, Regulation, and Guidance:
At this time there is no Federal legislation that directly addresses time on task. There are Federal grant programs that support many of the concepts related to explicit direct instruction and increasing the amount of time dedicated to instruction:
- 21st Century Community Learning Centers:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc/index.html - Early Reading First:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/earlyreading/index.html - Reading First:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/readingfirst/index.html - Striving Readers:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/strivingreaders/index.html - Math Now:
http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/competitiveness/math-now.html
No Child Left Behind Title I
New Regulation under Title I Regarding accountability of LEP/ELLs:
SUMMARY: The Secretary amends the regulations governing the programs administered
under Title I, Part A, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965, as amended (ESEA). These regulations are needed to implement statutory
provisions regarding State, local educational agency (LEA), and school
accountability for the academicachievement of limited English proficient
(LEP) students and are needed to implement changes to Title I of the ESEA
made by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB Act). http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/finrule/2006-3/091306a.html
No Child Left Behind Title III
PL 107-110: Guidance on standards, assessments, and accountability
for Language Instructional programs for Limited English Proficient and
Immigrant Students: Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act as reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).http://www.ed.gov/programs/nfdp/NRG1.2.25.03.doc (217KB)
New York State Education Law and Commissioner’s Regulations (CR):
Section 3204(4)Length of school sessions
a. A full time day school or class, except as otherwise prescribed,
shall be in session for not less than one hundred ninety days each year,
inclusive of legal holidays that occur during the term of said school
and exclusive of Saturdays.
b. A part time day school or class shall be in session each year
for at least four hours of each week during which the full time day schools
are in session.
c.(in reference to the definition of evening schools)
Diagnostic Screening of Pupils
CR Part 117: NYS Regulations on Identification and Services to
LEP Students – Regulations governing initial identification and
services to limited English proficient (LEP) students in New York State.
https://www.p12.nysed.gov/biling/
Apportionment and Services for Pupils with Limited English Proficiency
CR Part 154: Amendments to Commissioner’s Regulations Related to NCLB: – Education
of Students with Limited English Proficiency as amended by the Board of
Regents on July 17, 2003 and effective May 2, 2003.
https://www.p12.nysed.gov/biling/pub/Part154Amendments.pdf (81.5KB)
Length of School Day and Use of Conference Days
CR Section 175.5 Length of school day and use of superintendents’ conference
days for State aid purposes.
(a) Commencing with the 1999-2000 school year, no day on which
the schools of any school district or board of cooperative educational services
are in session may be included for the purpose of apportionment of State
aid unless such schools were in session for not less than the following
number of hours:
(1) The daily sessions for pupils in half-day kindergarten shall
be a minimum of two and one-half hours including time spent by students
in actual instructional or supervised study activities and including hourly
units of time spent by all teachers and other instructional staff within
a grade level or school building attending upon staff development activities
relating to implementation of new high learning standards and assessments
as authorized by section 3604(8) of the Education Law.
(2) The daily sessions for pupils in full-day kindergarten and
grades one through six shall be a minimum of five hours including time spent
by students in actual instructional or supervised study activities, exclusive
of time allowed for lunch, and including hourly units of time spent by all
teachers and other instructional staff within a grade level or school building
attending upon staff development activities relating to implementation of
new high learning standards and assessments as authorized by section 3604(8)
of the Education Law.
(3) The daily sessions for pupils in grades seven through 12 shall
be a minimum of five and one-half hours including time spent by students
in actual instructional or supervised study activities, exclusive of time
allowed for lunch, and including hourly units of time spent by all teachers
and other instructional staff within a grade level or school building attending
upon staff development activities relating to implementation of new high
learning standards and assessments as authorized by section 3604(8) of the
Education Law.
https://www.p12.nysed.gov/sss/
Definitions
CR Section 100.1 Definitions
(t) State learning standards means the knowledge, skills and understandings
that individuals can and do habitually demonstrate over time as a consequence
of instruction and experience.
https://www.p12.nysed.gov/part100/pages/1001.html
Response to Intervention Programs
Proposed Amendment to Section 100.2 Regulations of the Commissioner
of Education for RTI: https://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/idea/expressterms307.htm
A school district may establish a process to determine if a student
responds to scientific, research-based intervention in accordance with the
following minimum requirements:
(1) research-based instruction provided to all students in the
class by qualified personnel,
(2) instruction matched to student need with increasingly intensive
levels of targeted intervention and instruction for students who do not
make satisfactory progress in their levels of performance and/or in their
rate of learning,
(3) frequent screenings and repeated assessments of student achievement,
(4) the application of information about the student’s response to
instruction to make educational decisions about changes in goals,
instruction and/or services and the decision to make a referral for special
education programs and/or services, and
(5) written notification to the parents when the student requires
an intervention beyond that provided to all students in the general education
classroom that provides information about:
- (i) the amount and nature of student performance data that will be collected and the general education services that will be provided pursuant to this paragraph;
- (ii) strategies for increasing the student’s rate of learning; and
- (iii) the parents’ right to request an evaluation for special education programs and/or services; (& cont’d.).
Continuum of Services for Students with Disabilities
CR Section 200.6 includes, but is not limited to, requirements
pertaining to: grouping requirements; appropriate certification requirements;
consultant teacher services; related services; resource room programs;
special classes; twelve-month special services and/or program
https://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/lawsandregs/part200.htm#200.6
We recommend referring to materials from the National Center on Response to Intervention.
New York State Education Department Guidance Materials:
New York After School Network
https://www.p12.nysed.gov/sss/21stCCLC/
This self-assessment tool provides an opportunity for program leaders
and key staff, in collaboration with other stakeholders, to utilize a common
set of standards to assess, plan, design and execute strategies for ongoing
program improvement. The self-assessment tool itself is an evolving document.
The goal is for it to be used throughout New York State, and possibly beyond,
but also to continue to be refined based on the knowledge gleaned from its
use, to maximize the effectiveness of self-assessment as a tool for appraisal,
planning and implementation.
The Teaching of Language Arts to Limited English Proficient/English Language
Learners Trilogy
https://www.p12.nysed.gov/biling/
Research Studies, Research Reviews and Other Best Evidence:
Silva, E. (2007). On the Clock: Rethinking the Way Schools Use Time. Education Sector. http://www.educationsector.org/research/research_show.htm?doc_id=442238
Extended School Day/School Year
Karweit, N. (1985). Should we lengthen the school term? Educational Researcher, 14(6), 9-15. EJ 320 591.
National Education Association. (1987). What research says about series:
Extending the school day/year: Proposals and results. Washington, DC: Author:
ED 321 374.
http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/digests/ed-cite/ed321374.html
Found that students were engaged in learning activities only 28
to 56 percent of the total time spent in school in a given year. Examines
the longer school day/year from the perspective of time-on-task literature,
and recommends more efficient use of existing instructional time.
Time for a Change: The Promise of Extended-Time Schools for Promoting Student
Achievement
(Massachusetts 2020, 2005)
http://www.mass2020.org/
This report details the work of a handful of “extended-time schools,” and
describes and analyzes their effective practices. This research was conducted
to understand how these particular schools, which have already demonstrated
themselves to be effective, capitalize on the additional time, and what
benefits the schools’ educators perceive the additional time delivers.
The eight extended-time schools that Massachusetts 2020 examined for this
project demonstrate that extending the time students spend in school is
possible in a variety of settings, including district public schools, pilot
schools, and charter schools, and through a range of funding and staffing
innovations.
Increasing Dedicated Instruction Time During the School Day
Cotton, K. & Wikelund, K. (1990). Educational Time Factors. Northwest
Regional Educational Laboratory.
http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/4/cu8.html
Presents findings on an analysis of 57 research studies concerned
with the relationship between educational time factors and student outcomes
of achievement and attitudes. Twenty-nine are primary sources (studies or
evaluations) and 28 are secondary source (reviews, syntheses, and meta-analyses).
In particular it highlights the strong relationship between academic learning
time and achievement.
Elmore, R.F. (November/December 2006). Three Thousand Missing Hours: Where
does the instructional time go? Harvard Education Letter, 2(6), 8, 7), no
e-link available.
Finds that teaching new academic content occupies merely zero to
40 percent of scheduled instructional time.
Hossler, C., Stage, F., & Gallagher, K. (1988, March). The relationship
of increased instructional time to student achievement. Policy
Bulletin: Consortium on Educational Policy Studies. http://eric.ed.gov/
A review of the research literature on how time is divided up during
the school day, which shows that a large portion of potential learning time
is typically eaten up by non-instructional activities which have little
relationship to student learning.
Karweit, N. (1985). Should we lengthen the school term? Educational Researcher,
14(6), 9-15. EJ 320 591. http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/digests/ej-cite/ej320591.html
Calculated that only 38 percent of a typical school day was devoted
to “engaged time” in the schools it studied. Reviews studies
of school time and learning and asserts that there is considerable variation
in how existing time is used and that inconsistent effects for time are
often found.
Karweit, N. (1984). Time-on-task reconsidered: Synthesis of research on time and learning. Educational Leadership, 41(8), 32-35. EJ 299 538.
National Education Commission on Time and Learning (NECTL). (1993). Research findings. Washington, DC: Author. ED 372 491.
Zimmerman, J. (1998). Improving Student Achievement by Extending School:
is it Just a Matter of Time? WestEd. http://www.wested.org/online_pubs/timeandlearning/1_intro.html
Argues that time does matter. Reviews the research literature on
the relationship of time to learning spans the course of at least three
decades and finds that time does matter. How much or little it matters,
however, depends greatly on the degree to which it is devoted to appropriate
instruction. Any addition to allocated education time will only improve
achievement to the extent it is used for instructional time, which must
then be used for engaged time, which, in turn, must be used effectively
enough to create academic learning time.
Tutoring and Other Intensive Interventions
Making the Case: A Fact Sheet on Out-of-School Time 6/3/2005
http://www.nsba.org/
This fact sheet from the National Institute on Out-of-School Time
presents data and statistics supporting the need for after-school programs
to meet the needs of children and youth during out-of-school time.
The Effectiveness of Out-of-School-Time Strategies in Assisting Low-Achieving
Students in Reading and Mathematics: A Research Synthesis. (Patricia A.
Lauer, Motoko Akiba, Stephanie B. Wilkerson, Helen S. Apthorp, David Snow
and Mya Martin-Glenn, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning,
January 2004)
http://www.mcrel.org/topics/productDetail.asp?topicsID=12
This report is a synthesis of research findings on effective out-of-school-time
(OST) strategies to assist low-achieving students in reading and mathematics.
Key findings of this study are: (1) OST strategies can have positive effects
on the achievement of low-achieving or at-risk students in reading and mathematics;
(2) whether an OST program is delivered after or summer school) does not
influence its effectiveness; (3) younger students to benefit from OST strategies
for improving reading, while older students may benefit more from OST strategies
to improve math; (4) strategies do not need to focus only academic activities
to have positive effects on student achievement; and (5) OST strategies
that provide one-on-one tutoring for low-achieving or at-risk students have
strong positive effects on student achievement in reading.
Tutoring is maximized when there is: consistent onsite support & supervision of tutors from a seasoned tutor, specialist, or teacher; and formal and informal observation, feedback, and positive reinforcement of tutor performance. (Burns, Griffin, & Snow, 1999; Invernizzi et al., 1997; Morris, 1999; Shanahan, 1998) From CIERA Report 3-019 & (Effective and promising practices of 61 America Reads Partnerships, 2001)
When tutoring is coordinated with classroom practices, students perform better than when tutoring is unrelated to classroom instruction. (America Reads Challenge Online Resource Kit: Evidence That Tutoring Works, 1997)
Tutoring can be effective at increasing student achievement. Some of the best studies included, Cohen, Kulik, & Kulik, 1982; Wasik & Slavin, 1993; Shanahan, 1998; Elbaum, Vaughn, Hughes, & Moody, 2000.
Tutoring sessions where the instruction is scripted and structured produce higher achievement gains than unstructured programs. (Cohen, Kulik, & Kulik, 1982; Wasik & Slavin, 1993; McArthur, Stasz, & Zmuidzinas, 1990; Ellson, 1969; Rosenshine & Furst, 1969).
Learning is greater in groups of 3 or 4 students than in groups of 10 (Lowenthal, 1978).
Small group (3-4 students) learning can sometimes be more effective than one-on-one learning (Morrow & Smith, 1990).
Teach for UnderstandingThe Teaching for Understanding framework is a guide that can help keep the focus of educational practice on developing student understanding. Faculty members at the Harvard Graduate School of Education collaborated with many experienced teachers and researchers to develop, test, and refine this approach for effective teaching. http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/teaching/TC3-1.html
Alternative School Administration Study
The purpose of this study was to
determine how principals spend their time and to test a new structure using
business management trained staff (‘school
administrative managers’) to increase principal time spent on academic
achievement and gap closure. http://eric.ed.gov/
Implementation Resources:
Using NCLB Funds to Support Extended Learning Time
Ayeola Fortune and Heather Clapp Padgette, The Finance Project
and The Council of Chief State School Officers (August 2005).
http://www.financeproject.org/publications/usingnclbfunds.pdf (244KB)
This strategy brief describes several funding streams included
in No Child Left Behind (NCLB) that can support extended-learning opportunities,
including Title I, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities, Comprehensive
School Reform and Innovative Programs. The brief: (1) discuses NCLB to help
after-school program leaders understand the context and tenets of the law
and its funding streams, (2) describes each funding stream and discusses
how each could be used to support extended learning in after-school programs,
and (3) includes considerations and examples to help program leaders interested
in pursuing education dollars to support extended-learning programs.
Moving Towards Success: Framework for After-School Programs 11/22/2005
http://www.nsba.org/
This document contain examples of how a program can move from identifying
goals to implementing program elements to measuring short- and long-term
outcomes. The four sections include Academic and Other Learning Goals, Social
and Emotional Goals, Health and Safety Goals, and Community Engagement Goals.
Responsiveness to Intervention (RTI): How to Do It
This document is written as a tool to assist schools develop an
RtI model. It is based on current research from the National Center on
Learning Disabilities (NRCLD) and is intended for school staff interested
in adopting new strategies to address the needs of students who are struggling
or may be at risk of failure in reading/literacy and mathematics. It looks
at the essential elements of intervention, including the following key
components: School-wide screening, Progress monitoring, Tiered service
delivery,
and Fidelity of implementation. The research to support an RTI
approach is strong on primary grade students.
http://www.nrcld.org/rti_manual/pages/RTIManualIntroduction.pdf (322KB)
Additional resources for information about LEP/ELLs:
Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL):
http://www.cal.org/topics/ell/
CAL conducts projects and offers a variety of research-based resources
related to the education of English language learners in a variety of settings:
Prekindergarten-Grade 12 programs
Universities and community colleges
Adult education programs
Workplace programs
Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence (CREDE):
http://crede.berkeley.edu/research/research.html
Teaching Diverse Learners (TDL):
http://www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/
TDL is a resource dedicated to enhancing the capacity of teachers
to work effectively and equitably with English language learners (ELLs).
This Web site provides access to information – publications, educational
materials, and the work of experts in the field – that promotes high
achievement for ELLs.