Studies have shown that the amount of time students spend engaged in learning tasks is related to learning outcomes. However, schools often offer to the students only a fraction of the time that governments pay for, and schools in lower-income areas often offer less time than governments plan for students. Instructional time ought to be an important accountability tool for those who finance education. Government revenues and private investments pay for teachers' salaries, buildings, teacher training and textbooks, and it is expected that 100% of this investment be used for student learning. In fact, an hour of class in a particular school corresponds to a fraction of the amount of time schools officially operate (about 200 days, 4-5 hours per day at the primary level). Governments' intentions to provide a certain number of instructional hours are defeated at the local level. However, data have rarely been collected to demonstrate the links between instructional time loss, local-level governance, and potentially effective remedies. In this article, the author talks about instructional time, means to assess it, and the implications for improvement through better governance. (Contains 4 figures and 1 note.)