Will longer school year help or hurt US students? (AP/Yahoo!)

[mbperrin]

16. Texas could just reduce the 45 testing days we're going to have the next 90 days,

couldn't they? Yes, you read right - one half of all instructional days, someone will be testing with makeups for TAKS, or the new EOC in all core subjects, or the STAAR test to determine your graduation.

Plenty of time to teach, if the powers that be would allow it.

And more hours doesn't mean better, necessarily - you could easily enter the domain of diminishing marginal returns on that time.

AND if more time is required for teachers, more pay will also be required. Not likely in Texas, where we cut $5.4 billion statewide from education last legislative session. No raises for two years, not even a step increase in our district, but they did start a bonus this year, payable each semester that you don't quit. 25% of our teaching staff districtwide did just that last year.

Pretending that we're already trying our current resources is simply bullshit. I wouldn't support major changes to anything until we've actually tried our current system, really. Or have independent and dependent variables gone the way of all other common sense?