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Opportunity to learn, a concept introduced by John Carroll (1963), is controlled by classroom teachers.  State and national standards define what every student should know and be able to do.  "Curriculum design and delivery face one fundamental problem in schools.  When the door is shut and nobody else is around, the classroom teacher can select and teach just about any curriculum he or she decides is appropriate" (English, 2000, p. 1).

Four Decisions Which Impact Opportunity to Learn:

In designing the enacted curriculum, or the taught curriculum, teachers make content decisions about:

1.  How much time to spend

2.  What topics to cover within that time

3.  Which students are to study what content and

4.  To what standards of achievement

(Porter, p. 437, 1994)

If students are to be held accountable for their learning, then schools must be held accountable as well by demonstrating that they provide each student with opportunities to learn the standards that have been established.  Opportunity to learn impacts student achievement during their current grade level and determines their ability to understand key concepts and skills in the next grade level.  

For more information on Opportunity to Learn, visit:  Opportunity to Learn 

References:

Carroll, J.B. (1963). A model of school learning. Teachers College Record, 64,
        723-733.

English, F.W. (2000). Deciding what to teach and test: Developing, aligning, and
        auditing the curriculum. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
 


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