Opportunity to learn

Opportunity to learn (OTL) generally refers to inputs and processes within a school context necessary for producing student achievement of intended outcomes. Most theorists and researchers studying OTL have focused on the classroom as their unit of analysis and have privileged the actions of teachers (e.g., Kurz, 2011; Porter, 2002). In doing so, instructional time and content consistently have been characterized as core elements of OTL, along with a number of instructional quality indicators. A few investigators, in particular those using large extant data sets, have focused on schools or programs (e.g., mathematics), as their unit of analysis. With this approach to studying OTL, coarser indicators, such as courses taken, educational program types (e.g., remedial, gifted), and technology use, have been studied as predictors of student achievement (e.g., Muthen, Huang, Jo, Khoo, Goff, Novak, & Shih, 1995).

The present examination of OTL is based on the majority approach where the classroom is the unit of analysis. Consequently, we characterize OTL as a multi-dimensional construct central to quality teaching and prerequisite to student achievement. Our examination indicates there is 50+ years of OTL research focusing on instructional time, content, and quality. Collectively, this research has influenced many investigators to think of OTL as a teacher effect, and this has characterized the construct as a fundamental aspect of fairness and test validity and stimulated its better measurement.