As school districts examine ways to cut spending, interest in moving to a shortened school week is growing. According to a recent article in Teacher Magazine, more than 120 school districts across the country have gone to a four-day-a-week school schedule. Most of the districts using this concept are small, rural ones with less than 5,000 students. Though more districts are making the change, one noteworthy poll shows that public support for the four-day schedule remains low.
A district may be motivated to move to a four-day school week for budgetary reasons, but the potential impact on student performance must also be considered. Data on the effect of a four-day school week on student performance is limited so all districts have to go on are anecdotal reports from districts that have made the switch.
Some districts report that student performance improved with the shortened schedule. Their observation is that students are less tired and more focused. Yet, other districts found the four-day schedule had a negative impact on student performance. They’ve found that not only did they not save a substantial amount of money by being off an extra day, they also saw students struggle because they weren’t in class enough and didn’t have enough contact with teachers.
Lack of public support for the four-day school week is clear. A recent national telephone survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports, an electronic media company specializing in public opinion polls, found that just 21 percent of Americans favored a four-day school week. Sixty-five percent opposed the idea, while 14 percent had no opinion.
Rasmussen Reports discovered that, “Women support a four-day school week more than men. Adults who are married and those with children at home like the idea more than those who are not married and have no children living with them. Still, the sizable opposition to a four-day school week is not surprising, since a plurality of adults (49 percent) think U.S. children need to spend more time in school to make them more competitive with students from other countries.”
In the past couple of years Georgia, Oklahoma, and Maine have changed their state laws to allow districts to count the school year in hours rather than days, allowing districts to go to a four-day week if desired. The Texas Legislature would need to take the same action to make a four-day week a possibility for Texas school districts. Currently, Texas districts are required to provide a minimum of 180 days of instruction and cannot count instructional time in hours. In addition, state law requires teachers to work a minimum of 187 days on a 10-month contract.
—“4-Day School Weeks Gain Popularity Across US,” Teacher Magazine, June 4, 2010.
—“65% Oppose Four-Day School Week,” Rasmussen Reports, April 18, 2010.
