Making Time for What Matters Most: How an Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) Grant Used Trimesters to Extend Learning

• In Event: Roundtable Session 43
  In Roundtable Session: Fostering Noncognitive and Social-Emotional Skills in Out-of-School Time Settings

Abstract

Supported by Investing in Innovation funding, this paper provides the results of a four-year project focused on improving student non-cognitive and academic outcomes through restructuring the school day by implementing a trimester schedule and setting aside time for students to participate in advisories at six low-performing high schools in a large urban district. Using a mixed-methods approach, this paper demonstrates how students improved their pass rates in core content classes but did not demonstrate growth on college readiness assessments. It also shows how student perceptions regarding their own academic self-efficacy changed over the course of the grant. The paper ends with conclusions and recommendations about extending time to increase learning and further research questions the study could address.

Authors

• Tara Donahue, McREL

• Pamela Royster