Extra Class Time For Florida’s Low Performing Schools

May 9, 2012 | 11:53 AM

By Gina Jordan

flickr.com

Florida elementary schools that don’t perform up to par in reading will have an extra hour tacked on to their day. A new law that goes in to effect this summer will target the worst 100 performers.

Schools getting the extra class time will be determined based on reading scores from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).

The law says each school district having low-performing elementary schools will have to provide an additional hour of intensive reading instruction each day. Districts will pay for the expanded school day with more than $600-million set aside by legislators to cover the law.

This isn’t just a state effort. Federal funding is also being distributed around the country as part of the School Improvement Grant program.The federal money is an effort to overhaul the country’s bottom 5 percent of public schools.

The expanded school days come as Florida implements a tougher scoring system for the FCAT. The higher academic standards mean more students are likely to fail the test. Another reason to boost reading scores is that they will soon have an effect on teacher salaries.

FCAT results won’t be available until June. Only then will parents know if their child will be staying an hour later at school.

Comments

Jose

This is an excellent idea. I remember reading an article about students in Hong Kong or Taiwan attending these afternoon cram schools intended for students to gain competence in school work.

When the school master in one of the feeder schools was asked, “What happens to children that fall behind here?” His reaction was, “Nobody ever falls behind… they just work harder.” He alluded to the cram school sessions being particularly important in getting those students falling through the cracks up to speed. All of the evidence points to education having variable effects depending on the socioeconomic status of the student and the level of education of the parent. Moreover, it has also been shown that students from lower socioeconomic statuses being hurt by long summer breaks and the lack of intellectual engagement outside the classroom.

This is a good policy and we ought to stand behind it. We spend more on education than virtually any country in the world and our results are dismal. We have to buffer the adverse effects of variable household environments by extending the school day and perhaps shortening summer breaks for students that are falling behind.

Scheerco

Long summer breaks? Those lower performing students are in summer school. What break are you looking at?

http://twitter.com/ctdedsolutions Connect the Dots

If you use the same failing teaching methods the extra time
will not positively impact student reading
T4sue2

All this New FCAT grading is totally out of line. It’s unfair that over $600 million dollars is being spent on this program. That money could be put into programs and or extra teachers to help with the physical teaching instead of the outside companies salaries that are doing nothing to help teach our children anything but the fact that politicians make poor decisions when it comes to Education. A child is not going to learn more by being forced to take standardized FCAT’s, instead they will suffer emotional and physical stress due to the pressure that is being placed on them.
KNC1014

If you look at other countries education and time they put into it then you will see why we are behind. We have our kids attending school for much fewer hours than in other countries. It can only benefit our kids and our country to have them attend longer days. I don’t think this should just be for poor performing schools. This should be nationwide! How is an extra hour each day going to hurt anyone?????

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