dramatically, then yes, teachers should be paid more!

For those kids who are not performing to plan, common sense would say perhaps we should try all three options to increase in-class learning time: lengthen the school day, increase the number of school days, and go to a year-round teaching calendar. Kids who are performing to plan could participate in enrichment classes.

The efficacy of spending more time on task is well demonstrated. All else being equal, a child who spends ten hours learning multiplication tables will likely score higher than a child who spends one hour on the same task. A child who has practice sessions on the piano 240 days each year, will likely be more accomplished than a child who practices only 180 days each year. A child who practices a foreign language evenly through the year is likely to perform better than a child who studies a language for nine months and then takes the next three months off.

In addition to decreasing the inevitable backsliding that occurs when students take ten weeks off for summer vacation, there are other benefits to shifting to a year-round school calendar. Mini-break times throughout the year could be used for remedial work with children who are having difficulty with a particular subject. Teachers could use this time to work with Master Teachers to hone their skills, attend conferences, adjust lesson plans to meet the needs of their students, or enroll in university seminars that bring them up to date in their knowledge specialty.

In any case, lengthening the school day, increasing the number of teaching days in the school year, and/or adopting a year-round school calendar should be options available to school principals and their teaching teams, without first having to jump through complex bureaucratic hoops.