Ed Management Services

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

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:

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 external link

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 external link word icon (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 pdf icon (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. external link

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 external link

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 external link
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/ external link
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 external link
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/ external link
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 External Link ICON
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 external link
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/  external link
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 external link
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 Understanding  
The 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 external link

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/ external link

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 external link pdf icon (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/ external link
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 external link pdf icon (322KB)

Additional resources for information about LEP/ELLs:
Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL):
http://www.cal.org/topics/ell/ external link
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 external link

Teaching Diverse Learners (TDL):
http://www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/ external link
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.

Last Updated: April 22, 2014