Extended-day programs: time to learn: extending learning time for students in need of support can bridge the academic gap by providing students with the time they require to master subject content.Increasing student achievement Increasing Student Achievement: What State NAEP Test Scores Tell Us is a RAND study of educational reform in the United States. The League of Education Voters cites the study in support of its Initiative 728, which advocates reducing class size and increasing per-pupil is a topic that educators are talking about and struggling to accomplish each day. One problem is that schools have high learning expectations, but continue to provide the same amount of time for mastering concepts as they did years ago. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the National Education Commission on Time and Learning (1994),"American public schools have held time constant and let learning vary." Research confirms that some students take three to six times longer to learn than the average student. It is now clear that more time is necessary to support those students in need of additional time to be able to successfully master and build upon national and state standards and expectations. Extending learning time for students can bridge the gap to successful academic learning and provide students with the time they require to master subject content. Many California schools are turning to some form of extended-day programs to provide extra time and assistance to students, especially at-risk students The term at-risk students is used to describe students who are "at risk" of failing academically, for one or more of any several reasons. The term can be used to describe a wide variety of students, including,
What are extended-day programs? Extended-day programs may take a variety of forms: * Before- or after-school programs * Extended-day kindergarten kindergarten [Ger.,=garden of children], system of preschool education. Friedrich Froebel designed (1837) the kindergarten to provide an educational situation less formal than that of the elementary school but one in which children's creative play instincts would be * Saturday school * Summer school * Intercession intercession, n a prayer in which a request is made on behalf of another person. programs Extended-day programs do not include the incorporation of extended time during the school day, such as extra help during recess, lunch or free periods. Do extended-day programs affect achievement? In a number of studies, extended-day activities have been found to positively affect the achievement of participating low-achieving students, who received more passing grades, higher grades and/or better test scores. For example, one study that found achievement gains is the Optional Extended Year Program in Austin, Texas, which provides hands-on activities, cooperative learning cooperative learning Education theory A student-centered teaching strategy in which heterogeneous groups of students work to achieve a common academic goal–eg, completing a case study or a evaluating a QC problem. See Problem-based learning, Socratic method. , Project Read and Reading Recovery-based lessons. Students in grades three through eight showed measurable gains in their reading scores both in the classroom and on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills The TAAS, or Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, was a standardized test used in Texas between 1991 and 2003, when it was replaced by the TAKS test. Prior to 1990, the test was known as the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills. (Washington, 1998). In another study, extending the school day for kindergartners using the same curriculum as its half-day counterparts made a significant difference in the achievement levels of the full-day participants (Hough n. 1. Same as Hock, a joint. v. t. 1. Same as Hock, to hamstring. [ imp. & p. p. os> r>; p. pr. & vb. n. os> n. 1. An adz; a hoe. v. t. 1. To cut with a hoe. and Bryde, 1996). Yet another study found that providing content and instructional pace adaptations to accommodate the student's style of learning during the extended learning time in one-on-one or one-on-two tutorial sessions can cause a rise in student achievement scores (Mac Iver, 1991). Should extended-day programs be linked to the regular school day? It is clear that increasing the school day without quality instruction will not have a profound effect on student achievement. Time must be spent wisely, with the extended-day program building on the regular school day. A higher success rate is found when students participate in extended-day programs that are similar to their regular school-day programs. Reading strategies that are utilized in the regular school day should be continued in the extended-day program, but with some different materials and some added activities that support low-achieving students with their reading achievement. Programs that link the regular school day with the extended day program by using similar, but slightly different academic strategies generally have more success than programs with no linkage linkage In mechanical engineering, a system of solid, usually metallic, links (bars) connected to two or more other links by pin joints (hinges), sliding joints, or ball-and-socket joints to form a closed chain or a series of closed chains. . Programs held on the school site allow teachers to use actual materials from the students' regular classroom. What about staffing for extended-day programs? The hiring of staff is critical to the success of the program. This should include credentialed teachers along with assistants, parents and community volunteers. In one study showing student achievement gains, a primary reason for the success of the program was due to the regular classroom teachers being the primary instructors in the after-school program (Schwendiman and Fager, 1999). A major report on after-school programs recommended that the curriculum of the after-school program be aligned with the regular school day by using teachers already associated with the school site (Urban After-school Programs: Evaluations and Recommendations, 1998). Teachers with extensive knowledge of how to work with at-risk students will help the program to be more successful. Teacher assistants, parents and community volunteers need to be recruited and hired using selection criteria that can lend academic support to low-achieving students. Criteria for hiring staff can include, but not be limited to, the following: Teachers whose classrooms consistently show significant gains in achievement (especially with at-risk students), availability of time before or after school, plus the flexibility and willingness to attend frequent and varied staff development opportunities. Is any specialized training needed for the staff? A staff development program that provides planning time, evaluation time and professional growth by staff members is recommended for all people supporting the extended-day program. Time should be provided to the staff before, during and after the implementation of the program. The staff development should include reviewing teaching philosophies, academic integration into the regular program and effective instructional strategies, especially with regard to the needs of academically at-risk youth. The staff development sessions need to be scheduled on a regular basis. What about program evaluation Program evaluation is a formalized approach to studying and assessing projects, policies and program and determining if they 'work'. Program evaluation is used in government and the private sector and it's taught in numerous universities. ? Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the program is vital to successful practices, trends and outcomes. Student assessment data and evaluations for participants (students, teachers and program staff) are recommended to provide ongoing information. The following steps can support an effective evaluation process: 1. Focus the evaluation with specific questions related to program goals and strategies. 2. Identify how the program will track students' progress. 3. Develop assessment instruments and data collection techniques. 4. Summarize sum·ma·rize intr. & tr.v. sum·ma·rized, sum·ma·riz·ing, sum·ma·riz·es To make a summary or make a summary of. sum data. 5. Analyze and interpret information. 6. Summarize and act on findings (U.S. Department of Education, 1995). References Hough, D. & Bryde, S. (April 1996) The effects of full-day kindergarten on student achievement and affect. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association The American Educational Research Association, or AERA, was founded in 1916 as a professional organization representing educational researchers in the United States and around the world. , New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , NY. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 395 691). Mac Iver, D. (1991). Helping students who fall behind: Remedial REMEDIAL. That which affords a remedy; as, a remedial statute, or one which is made to supply some defects or abridge some superfluities of the common law. 1 131. Com. 86. The term remedial statute is also applied to those acts which give a new remedy. Esp. Pen. Act. 1. activities in the middle grades. Baltimore, MD: Center for Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Students. National Education Commission on Time and Learning. (1994). Prisoners of time: Research--What we know and what we need to know. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. Schwendiman, J. and Fager, J. (1999). After-school programs: Good for kids, good for communities. By request series. Portland, OR.: Northwest Regional Educational Lab. Urban after-school programs: Evaluation and recommendations (1998). EDO-UD-98-0, ISSN ISSN abbr. International Standard Serial Number 0889-8049. Clearinghouse on Urban Education, Columbia, NY. U.S. Department of Education. (1995). Extending the learning time for disadvantaged students. An idea book. Vol. 1: Summary of promising practices. Washington, D.C.:U.S. Department of Education. Washington, W. (1998). Optional extended year program: Feedback. Austin, TX: Austin Independent School District Austin Independent School District is a school district that is based in the city of Austin, Texas. It was established in 1881. Its current Superintendent is Dr. Pascal D. Forgione, Jr. Austin ISD serves most of the city of Austin with an enrollment of 78,000 students. . Catherine Dodd is a learning director at Clovis High School There are several high schools named Clovis in the United States, including:
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