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30 Aug 2016
Report

Boston Public Schools Expanded Learning Time Research Collaborative: Year 1 Findings Report

Stephanie Marek, Shandra Goldfinger, Emily Mayer, Sarah Faude, and Donna Muncey, Boston Public Schools
Kelly Hallberg, University of Chicago Urban Labs
Alexandra Kistner, Erin Haynes, and Kellie Macdonald, AIR

A growing practice nationwide, expanded learning time (ELT) is a practice that entails increasing the length of the school day for all students, with the goal of improving student outcomes, especially in low-performing
schools. 

Boston Public Schools (BPS) has been implementing ELT as an improvement strategy in low-performing schools since 2006, and has recently drastically expanded these efforts, with schools receiving wide latitude for program implementation.

BPS is collaborating with AIR to study its ELT program types, with the goal of understanding the impact of ELT on student academic and behavioral outcomes as well as program cost-effectiveness. This report describes the results from the first year of the study, which sought to identify common uses of time in the 46 schools implementing ELT in school year 2015–16 as well as perceived strengths and common challenges.

Key Findings

  • The district lacks centralized information about schools’ time usage, a potential barrier to understanding ELT implementation.
  • The amount of time added varies by ELT policy and funding type, with no single districtwide system. Allocation of time also varies, with some relationship to instructional focus.
  • The greatest reported strength of ELT—teacher satisfaction about its potential for student outcomes—is at odds with the greatest reported challenges—lack of teacher buy-in and teacher burnout.
PDF icon Boston Public Schools Expanded Learning Time Research Collaborative: Year 1 Findings Report (PDF)

Related Projects

Project

Boston Public Schools: A Study of Expanded Learning Time

Expanded learning time (ELT) is a school improvement strategy in which time is added to the regular school day for additional instruction or enrichment activities for students, and collaboration and professional development for teachers. Boston Public Schools and AIR are collaborating to conduct research about ELT, specifically to determine how these practices affect student outcomes, and to understand keys to the sustainability of effective practice.

Related Work

25 Jan 2018
Report

Boston Public Schools Expanded Learning Time Research Collaborative: Year 2 Findings Report

Since 2006, Boston Public Schools has been implementing expanded learning time (ELT), a practice that increases the length of the school day for all students, in an effort to improve student outcomes and narrow opportunity and achievement gaps. This report on second-year findings uses data from 2005 to 2016 to understand the impact of ELT on student achievement for BPS students.
Topic: 
Education, Afterschool and Expanded Learning

Further Reading

  • Boston Public Schools Expanded Learning Time Research Collaborative: Year 2 Findings Report
  • Boston Public Schools: A Study of Expanded Learning Time
  • Research Practice Partnerships at AIR
  • Boston Public Schools: Turnaround Using Increased Learning Time
  • Lessons Learned in Massachusetts High School Turnaround: A Resource for High School Leaders
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Alex Kistner

Alexandra Kistner

Senior Researcher

Topic

Education
Afterschool and Expanded Learning

RESEARCH. EVALUATION. APPLICATION. IMPACT.

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