(Carolina Journal) The tight squeeze of public school instructional days could become more constrained after the North Carolina General Assembly mandated that an additional five days be placed on the yearly school calendar.
Although legislators hope the move will increase seat time and learning opportunities for students, there is growing skepticism that adding five days was an efficient way to improve performance. Moreover, the General Assembly did not fund additional days in the state budget, forcing districts either to cut teacher work days or ask the state for waivers.
Terry Stoops, director of education studies at the John Locke Foundation, said government officials are operating under a myth that schools in North Carolina can’t compete internationally because students don’t have enough instructional time. “We generally have the most hours in school per day, more than 1,023 hours, required of our students,” he said. “That’s one of the highest in the world.”
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