The Los Angeles Times (11/1, Rivera) reports that nonprofit group Education Trust-West has released a report warning that should California make cuts to its school calendar to cope with reduced state funding, "low-income students, students of color and English learners will be disproportionately harmed." The report "cites research findings that extending instructional time leads to academic gains and narrows the achievement gap for low-income students and struggling schools. Yet two years ago, amid a floundering economy, the state allowed districts to reduce the calendar from 180 to 175 days."
The San Jose Mercury News (11/1, Harrington) adds that in addition to this, schools could cut seven more days should state revenues fall below projections, resulting in "some districts shortening the year to 168 days, which would be one of the shortest school years in the country and would be 75 days shorter than the school year in Japan." The paper notes that the report "said that charter schools and districts that have increased learning time have seen jumps in test scores, while the opposite is true in districts that have cut school days."
No comments:
Post a Comment