School officials at a Mount Pleasant High School in Texas, launched an extended-length course venture four years ago in the hope that doubling the amount of class time on core academic subjects would raise student achievement and test scores. Similar strategies are being used in schools across the country, especially in reading and mathematics, where lengthier classes at all grade levels are becoming increasingly common. Research has shown that increasing "time on task" has a positive effect on student learning. But recent pressure to raise reading-and math-test scores under the federal No Child Left Behind Act has led more schools to pursue that approach. Others factors are also at work. Two federal grant programs to improve the performance of struggling readers, Reading First and Striving Readers, encourage schools to consider longer class periods in that subject. In many schools, however, increasing the time spent on core academic subjects requires cutting other classes. Mount Pleasant students must give up one elective each year they double-dose. Gains and Sacrifices are discussed in this article.