New CEP Report: Instructional Time in Elementary Schools
Last summer, a groundbreaking report verified what many in the education and policy communities had long suspected: that a majority of the nation’s school districts were increasing time spent on reading and math in elementary schools since the No Child Left Behind Act became law in 2002, while most of these districts cut back on time spent on other subjects. A follow-up report, Instructional Time in Elementary Schools: A Closer Look at Changes for Specific Subjects, issued by the Washington, D.C.- based Center on Education Policy provides an unprecedented look at the magnitude of those changes.
This new CEP report focuses on the effect No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has on school curriculum. According to the report, districts increasing time for English/language arts (ELA) and math have done so by about three hours a week. To make room for this, districts have reduced time in other areas by nearly 2.5 hours a week. A total of 8 of the 10 districts that increased time for ELA did so by at least 75 minutes per week and 54 percent increased time by 150 minutes or more per week. Of the districts adding time for math, 63 percent increased by at least 75 minutes per week and 19 percent found time for 150 minutes or more. When looking at districts that both increased time for ELA or math and decreased time in other subjects, the report found that 72 percent of districts cut time by at least 75 minutes per week for at least one other subject. For example, 53 percent of these districts cut instructional time by at least 75 minutes per week in social studies and the same percentage cut time by 75 minutes in science. The report seems to indicate that some subjects have been pushed aside for the holy duality of math and reading. Nevertheless there is still scant information on whether schools that increase ELA and math time also are incorporating content from art, social studies and science into the instruction of these core subjects.
For more information on this CEP report, click on the URL link below.
Related Resources from SchoolsMovingUp: SchoolsMovingUp's Reading Room section provides articles, books, and abstracts offering practical ideas and models for school improvement. For easy reference, resources are organized by major topics. For related information on curriculum and instruction, go to the Curriculum & Instruction section of SchoolsMovingUp's Reading Room.
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