Later, inside a classroom, a frazzled teacher takes fifth-period roll, distributes a stack of hastily corrected assignments, and maneuvers between crowded desks to settle a discipline problem. With a sizable chunk of class time already gone, he struggles to regain the students' attention so he can give a multiple-choice test. The students begin circling answers despite the noise of friends scuffling to "first lunch" in the hallway outside.
Finally, though, the class settles into the task at hand. Then the fire alarm goes off . . .
The example is extreme, but sounds familiar to anyone who spends much time in a school. Providing sufficient time for engaged learning time is a formidable challenge, as is using available time well.
The seminal "A Nation at Risk" report in 1983 purported that American schools need to lengthen the school year to keep up with other nations. It hasn't happened. And because of the expense of such a measure - along with disagreement about whether more classroom time is essential for increasing achievement - it probably won't happen soon.
Meanwhile, with student performance under increasing scrutiny due to the federal No Child Left Behind school reform law, schools are working to wring more pure instructional time out of each day. In a world where educational imperatives have ever been at the mercy of the 180-day school year, the 6.3-hour school day and the iron-clad daily bell schedule, the idea of organizing time at school around learning needs - instead of the reverse - is gaining ground.
"The biggest challenge is to extend instructional time for those who need it while allowing those who are ready to move on," State Schools Superintendent Patti Harrington said. Large class sizes deepen the problem, she added, confronting teachers with "30 different starting points."
Harrington believes policies regarding time in school are overly confining.
A starting place for schools is to maximize use of time by decreasing interruptions and improving learning environments. "We must control the variables we have control over," Harrington said.
Some nonlearning activities are unavoidable, said George Bayles, principal of Timpview High School in Provo, such as roll-taking and other classroom management chores. But Bayles has concerns about other peripheral requirements imposed on teachers.
"Testing is a huge one," he said. Schoolwide tests at Timpview are administered during English class periods, because every student takes an English class.
"We lose five days a year in our English classes just in required testing," he said. "That's one area where we could streamline things."
Bayles hesitates to bring up his biggest concern because he's reluctant to be categorized as another whiny educator, but he can't resist.
"The reality is that class size is the big issue," he said. "There is a difference in the quality of time in class if I teach 20 students compared with 35 or 40. In big classes, you don't have time to individually monitor, and adjust and give personal attention to individual students."
Lawmakers' calls for increased academic rigor that don't deal with class-size issues ring hollow for Bayles.
"Providing four years of math or science is not necessarily rigor," he said. "Rigor is when you get the group small enough that the teacher can actually get into the depth of the subject instead of just the breadth."
Though overcrowding is a constraint that chafes Bayles, he tries to see that school time at Timpview is managed to good advantage.
Except on Fridays, daily announcements are printed out and posted in classrooms, not read over the intercom. Instead of rotating students through three lunch shifts, Timpview has a single lunch period.
"It cuts down on the interruption of academic time," Bayles said, and removes the temptation of staying out of class for more than one lunch period to meet up with friends.
Bayles hasn't figured out how to do away with many interruptions, so he clusters them on one day, within a schedule that also provides extra instructional time for students who need it.
On Wednesdays, class times are shortened, providing a period between 7:30 and 9:10 a.m. devoted to academic assistance. Anything else that might interrupt academic time is scheduled on this already-abbreviated day: assemblies, pep rallies - even fire alarms happen on Wednesday.
"Otherwise, interruptions are just continuous," Bayles said.
Timpview's policies temper a problem within the existing system, but some think the whole scenario needs a fix. Yet a perceived division exists between time-on-task researchers who call for more time, and those who say more time won't help unless schools get better at using the time they have.
Harvard University professor Douglas Reeves is irked by what he terms a "false controversy" over whether schools need longer and more days - or simply need to use available time more effectively.
"What we need is both," he said."Only in the world of education would we have to have a study to tell us that if you spend more time on stuff, you get better at it."
Reeves is further annoyed by what he calls "the big lie" - that some new program or technology will be the silver bullet that solves the problems of older students who have fallen behind.
"If a child spent 12 years getting into a reading problem, he won't get out of it 45 minutes today," he said.
Reeves' solution is more study of reading and writing in early years, with emphasis on providing extra help for students who need it most.
That means doubling up on class periods devoted to literacy in elementary schools, instead of giving every subject the same amount of time, and assessing student learning in most subjects through written assessments. The tactic works to improve math and science scores as well as basic literacy, he said.
Scheduling tricks - even class-size reduction - won't improve student performance without attention to what Reeves deems an even more critical factor: teacher quality, he said.
"Does every student in every school have an equal opportunity to be taught by the most experienced and qualified teachers? Or do the kids who need the least help get the most opportunity and the kids who need the most help get the least opportunity?"
The answers to focusing academic time to best advantage without eliminating the fun school traditions that keep students interested and in school continue to challenge educators.
Meanwhile, discussion at the state policy level continues regarding ideas for providing greater flexibility in the use of school time; minimizing interruptions from schoolwide testing; making the last month of the school year more effective; and improving attendance.
Reeves warns that too-obvious solutions can backfire, as happened in Boston, when an incentive pay program was set up to lure teachers into high-poverty schools.
"We lost 50 percent of our teachers after one year," Reeves said. "Money isn't enough. Teachers want three things: safety, respect, and more time. Money's nice, but it is not enough."
cbaker@sltrib.com
Recommended uses of school time
In Utah elementary schools:
* Half the school day spent studying literacy with integrated subjects of social studies, science, arts and health.
* One-fourth of the day studying math.
* One-fourth of the day in stand-alone learning for physical education, arts, science, social studies and health.
In Utah secondary schools:
* Increase time spent on literacy and math through "double-dose" scheduling, and integrating literacy and math with other subjects.
* Expect writing to be taught in all courses; use writing software to increase writing frequency and immediate feedback.
* Cut down on transitions through alternating eight-period block schedules, single lunch schedule and fewer building transitions. Hold extracurricular activities after school.
* Conduct a curriculum audit to ensure rigor in every course.
* Use pre- and post-tests to measure growth and prescribe instruction.
Source: Utah State Office of Education
More ideas for allocation
of time in schools
* Extend the school day or year.
* Provide more summer course work and Saturday studies, increase tutoring opportunities and provide small-group learning opportunities and internships.
* Use distance learning options such as the Electronic High School.
* Increase before- and after-school learning opportunities
* Provide system support for longer learning time for some students and accelerated learning options for others, including personalized tutoring.
* Increase early childhood learning with full-day kindergarten and pre-school options.
Source: Utah State Office of Education
