In an attempt to discover exactly how much of the school day was being used for instructional activities, the Austin Independent School District Office of Research and Evaluation undertook an intensive study in the areas of time use. Two hundred twenty-seven students across seven grade levels in 32 schools were randomly selected for observation on a minute-by-minute basis throughout the school day with an instrument developed specifically for the purpose. Five groups of students were observed: Title I students, non-Title I students in Title I schools, students in non-Title I schools, State Compensatory Education (SCE) students, and non-SCE students in SCE schools. The areas observed were area of instruction or activity in which the student under observation functioned for the major part of the preceding minute, the group size, any adult contact, the place in which instruction occurred, and the materials used by the student. Among the findings was that only 47-50 percent of the school day was used for instructional activities. Numerous charts and tables of data are included. (Author/IRT)