Expanding Time for Learning Both Inside and Outside the Classroom

Posted by on August 20, 2012

Expanded Learning: What Research Says

Expanding Time for Learning Both Inside and Outside the Classroom: A Review of the Evidence Base examines 80 evaluations of initiatives to lengthen the school day or year or offer learning opportunities outside of school hours.

The report emphasizes that most of the evaluations lack the rigor needed for firm evidence of the impact of expanded time efforts on children. But the slim evidence available suggests that extending school time can help raise academic achievement, while out-of-school opportunities can boost “precursors” to achievement, such as educational expectations. In all cases, program quality and implementation “matter a great deal.”

http://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/summer-and-extended-learning-time/extended-learning-time/Documents/Expanding-Time%20for-Learning-Both-Inside-and-Outside-the-Classroom.pdf