Education

Additional School Time Questioned

May 19, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan take note: longer school days and years may not be the key to improving student performance. According to a Miami-Dade County district report, a three-year, $100 million project to extend the school days and school year in the district’s lowest-performing public schools failed to improve student achievement, The Miami Herald reports.

The School Improvement Zone, a “pet-project” of former Superintendent Rudy Crew, added an hour to each school day and increased the length of the school year at 39 elementary, middle, and high schools. The project initially earned strong praise in education circles, including being named one of the “top innovations in government” by Harvard University. But, in a comparison of the Zone schools with a control group, the district’s final report on the project found that Zone students did worse on reading, science, and math exams and only slightly better on writing exams. The long hours and added workload also reportedly left both students and teachers exhausted.

Now some are wondering whether the program was a waste of taxpayer money.

“It was more of a public relations campaign to make the administration look good than anything else,” said Marta Pérez, Board Vice Chairwoman. “They used massive amounts of money without testing or piloting it first.”

In previous interviews, according to the Herald, Crews has defended the program, saying it brought heightened attention to the district’s lowest performing schools and gave them an opportunity to boost achievement.

Another school board member, Ana Rivas Logan, said the district needs to learn a lesson from the failure of the Zone program. “This shows us that throwing money at the problem is not the solution,” she said. “We need to implement programs that have proven results.”

A version of this news article first appeared in the Web Watch blog.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
The Future of the Science of Reading
Join us for a discussion on the future of the Science of Reading and how to support every student’s path to literacy.
Content provided by HMH
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
From Classrooms to Careers: How Schools and Districts Can Prepare Students for a Changing Workforce
Real careers start in school. Learn how Alton High built student-centered, job-aligned pathways.
Content provided by TNTP
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: July 16, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
5 min read
Education Follow Education Week’s K-12 Coverage on Bluesky
Education Week has joined the social media platform Bluesky.
1 min read
Illustration of Education Week and Bluesky logos.
F. Sheehan/Education Week
Education Quiz Who Qualifies to Receive the First-ever Federal School Voucher? Take the Quiz to Find Out
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz Trump’s Surprise Freeze on School Funding—How Much Do You Know?
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read