Charter schools and extended learning time

In a recent Education Week article Eric Schwartz and Fred Frelow describe the benefits of extended learning time. Extended Learning Time is the idea that additional time on task will assist many students to master material that they might otherwise not learn.

In yesterday's blog, I wrote about the concept of proficiency based promotion. While ELT does not completely violate proficiency based promotion, many schools that practice ELT are not flexible enough to practice proficiency based promotion in the way that I would like to see it. In other words, in many ELT environments, all students have extended days. It is, of course, possible to have extended days in which proficient or advanced students have additional enrichment opportunities, but that's not always the way it works. Largely because of seat time restrictions, a school cannot simply dismiss students once they have mastered the day's or even the semester's material.

While I applaud Mr. Schwartz and his achievements at Citizen Schools, I have to differ with him on two points. The first is simply what I've begun to describe above. There are students who do not benefit from an extended day. In fact, depending on the environment, an extended day may even be counterproductive. The second is the idea of closing the achievement gap. It's not that I do not think that all kids should have a good education--far from it. I believe very much that all kids should have opportunities to master a subject before being promoted to the next grade level. I also believe that closing the gap, especially between racial lines is a high priority. There is no scientific reason for the disparity in education between the races. My fear is that too often when I've heard people talk about closing this gap, it means something close to ignoring the needs of superior students and making education better for them. I believe that everyone should have the best education. In other words, in a really good education system, everyone would achieve their best or the best that they could given their genetic make up and their desire to succeed.

So, if ELT helps students, then I say, "Yes." If it does not, then I say, "No." Of course, this is the value of charter schools, they can innovate with ELT or not. Parents can choose what works best for their students. Some traditional public schools and school districts offer similar benefits. I only hope that ELT, as many other good things, does not become legislated as the answer for every student.