Tracking an Emerging Movement: A Report on Expanded-Time Schools in America

This article presents a report on expanded-time (ET) schools in America produced by the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL). Extracting and analyzing information from NCTL’s database of 655 schools, this report describes trends emerging among these schools, including issues related to costs, time use, and student outcomes. The searchable database is available at www.timeandlearning.org. Though findings cannot be considered conclusive — the field of expanded-time schools is too new and decentralized to be confident that the database is fully representative — they do highlight the relatively widespread use and potential benefits of expanded time. Data analysis suggests a positive relationship between student achievement and school time. The characteristics of expanded-time schools and trends in teacher and student time are discussed.