Length of the school day and improvement of learning: Impact of the Full-Time Schools Program in a Mexican state

Abstract

The Programa Escuelas de Tiempo was established as a policy focused on promoting the improvement of learning and integral development through the extension of the school day in basic education. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the impact of the Programa Escuelas de Tiempo Completo in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes. Census data of the National Evaluation of Academic Achievements in School Centers (ENLACE) and National Plan for the Evaluation of Learning (PLANEA) assessments corresponding to a set of elementary and middle schools cohorts were analyzed, using the difference-in-differences model. The results indicate positive impacts only in the low performance and higher degree of marginalization cohorts. The impact in elementary schools ranges from 0.151 to 0.329 standard deviations, and in middle schools from 0.207 to 0.355. This study adheres to a body of literature aimed at examining the policy of extended school day and its impact on children’s achievement. The discussion addresses the quality and quantity o-f the school time, and points the pertinence of targeting the implementation of the program in the most vulnerable populations, which, according with the evidence, could benefit to a greater extent from this kind of policy.