While the mission of public schools has expanded beyond education to include social support and extra-curricular activities, the academic schedule has changed little in more than a century.
Reclaiming the school day for academic instruction and escaping the time-bound traditions of education are vital steps in the school-reform process, says a report released today by the National Education Commission on Time and Learning.
The commission's report, titled "Prisoners of Time," calls the fixed clock and calendar in American education a "fundamental design flaw" in desperate need of change. "Time should serve children instead of children serving time," the report says.
The two-year commission found that holding American students to "world-class standards," will require more time for classroom instruction. "We have been asking the impossible of our students—that they learn as much as their foreign peers while spending half as much as in core academic subjects," it states.
The Commission compared the relationships between time and learning in Japan,' Germany, and the United States and found that American students receive less than half the basic academic instruction that Japanese and German students are provided. On average, American students can earn a high school diploma if they spend only 41 percent of their school time on academics, says the report.
American students spend an average of three hours a day on "core" academics such as English, math, science, and history, the commission found. Their report recommends offering a minimum of 5.5 hours of academics every school day.
The nine-member commission also recommends lengthening the school day beyond the traditional six hours.
"If schools want to continue offering important activities outside the academic core, as well as serving as a hub for family and community services, they should keep school doors open longer each day and each year," says John Hodge Jones, superintendent of schools in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and chairman of the commission.
The typical school year in American public schools is 180 days. Eleven states allow school years of 175 days or less, and only one state requires more than 180 day.
"For over a decade, education reform advocates have been working feverishly to improve our schools," says Milton Goldberg, executive director of the commission. "But... if reform is to truly take hold, the six-hour, 180-day school year should be relegated(归属于)to museums—an exhibit from our education past."

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】第5段第1句提到了美日德学生在时间安排与学习关系上的对比，C为本题答案。选项D最具于扰性，第5段末句提到美国学生只要把在校时间的41％用于学术科目就可以得到中学毕业证了，但是，时间用得少并不意味着毕业容易，而且此细节与美日德学生之间的比较无关，因此，选项D犯了过度概括的错误。选项A不正确是因为文中并没有提到美日德学生在这一方面的比较。选项B与第4段末句提到的事实相反。