Or, more precisely, more time creates the possibility for teachers to extend their work and
improve learning. Many researchers point to the importance of academic learning time – “time
students are actively, successfully, and productively engaged in learning relevant academic
content.”4 Academic learning time is a product of time for instruction, institutional supports for
teaching and learning, and high-quality teaching. It thus not only varies widely across schools,
but also across and within classrooms, depending on whether learning tasks are framed at an
appropriate level of difficulty and whether students experience the subject matter as meaningful
and interesting.5