Kids in the U.S. spend more hours in school (1,146 instructional hours per year) than do kids in the Asian countries that persistently outscore the U.S. on math and science tests—Singapore (903), Taiwan (1,050), Japan (1,005) and Hong Kong (1,013). That is despite the fact that Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong have longer school years 190 to 201 days) than does the U.S. (180 days).
One would think, therefore, that the problem lies not in the length of the school day, rather in the quality of the education received while in school.
The model for the administration on policy – once again – is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
In Massachusetts' expanded learning time initiative, early results indicate that kids in some schools do better on state tests than do kids at regular public schools. The extra time, which schools can add as hours or days, is for three things: core academics—kids struggling in English, for example, get an extra English class; more time for teachers; and enrichment time for kids.
Extra time is not cheap. The Massachusetts program costs an extra $1,300 per student, or 12 percent to 15 percent more than regular per-student spending, said Jennifer Davis, a founder of the program. It received more than $17.5 million from the state Legislature last year.
The problem lays, to some extent , with the fact that students in Public Schools are not subject to “immersion” – learning to read and write the English language, with no extra bells and whistles – in order for those students to completely understand written tests and materials. In parochial and private schools, students coming from different cultures are subject to immersion, and generally, within a year, are able to excel. Additionally, students are not automatically given a “pass” to the next grade, extra help is made available. The rub, the cost to educate at the parochial level is approximately 50% below the public school level (based on Massachusetts parochial high school tuition at $8,000 (includes books), versus a tab of $12,000 at the public level.
Therefore, extending the school year, will do little but increase the cost of education, not the value of the education received – one would think that improving the quality of the education would increase scores overall and as far as programs for those students who are socially disadvantaged, programs could be set in place (many already exists (i.e. boys and girls clubs and summer school) which would fill any gaps.
The question one has to ask: is at what cost to the taxpayers – perhaps the parochial model should be used. One can argue (and that argument exists) that parochial students are not subject to mandatory state administered testing – and therefore, it is not the same, or that teachers are not, somehow, as qualified as those in the public sector (i.e. non-union), however, if one bothers to compare the graduation rates from the parochial (private) institutions compared to the public, and the comparative costs – it is apparent that our children nationally, could be educated for less, without the need to increase the burden on the taxpayer – or, more importantly, put additional burdens on the students who are outperforming their peers.
An aside: While working towards my hours for a teachers certificate, substitute teaching a class in December of 2000, a student, (whose teacher was away in Florida helping to make sure that George Bush did not cheat Al Gore out of the presidency), a young student (6th grade) told me that his teacher was away to help the children – because if George Bush was elected, they would spend 8 days a week in class. First, the fact that the student was leering about politics in a science class was a bit amusing, but the fact that the student thought there were 8 days in a week (once corrected, he was able to do the math), speaks to the quality of the education system regarding basis skills.
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