Does a 4 day school week improve attendance?

The researchers found that student attendance may have improved slightly at the four-day schools, but the difference was not statistically meaningful. They found that younger students reported getting more sleep, but not students in middle or high school.

Why shouldn't schools move to a 4 day week?

By moving to a four-day school week, a district inadvertently places working parents in a position of doling out more money for childcare—something many cannot afford. In addition, some families experiencing food insecurity rely on public schools for nearly half of their meals.

Does a 4 day school week improve mental health?

A four day school week will help alleviate some of the rising stress levels in our students, while aiming to enhance student, teacher, and parent mental health. It will help provide better opportunities, allow for time to strengthen families, and shift towards student-centered learning.

Does shortening the school week impact student performance evidence from the four day school week?

In general, we found a statistically significant increase in math achievement after the introduction of a four day week. The relationship between the schedule change and reading achievement was also positive, although it was not statistically significant by the usual benchmarks.

How would shorter school days benefit students?

Shorter school days gives the student more time outside of school to accommodate other aspects of their life. This means a student finally has the time to maintain and work on their mental health. Whether this is in the form of getting restful sleep, decompressing, or pursuing hobbies!

Pros and cons of a 4-day school week

Should the school week be 4 days instead of 5?

The four-day week isn't feasible for most schools in the state. California's Education Code requires schools to hold classes five days a week or have their funding reduced.

What are the cons of shorter school days?

How does a 4 day school week affect students?

At first blush, a 2022 study of the effects of shortened school schedules in 12 states seems pretty bleak. Nationwide, researchers found significantly lower math and English/language arts achievement at schools using four-day weeks during the time period from 2009-2018 than in schools using a traditional schedule.

Does 4 day school week reduce stress?

Rand.org found a 4-day week had other positive effects on: Reduced parental stress. Improved student mental health. Improved school climate.

How would a 4 day school week affect students mental health?

Some pros include better mental health, more time for teachers to work on grades, and letting schools save money. If students have a day off in the middle of the week, they have more time to relax, and not get overwhelmed by school. Teachers would have a whole extra day to work on grades.

Does 4 day school week decrease bullying?

Results indicate that four-day school weeks decrease per-pupil bullying incidents by approximately 31% and per-pupil fighting incidents by approximately 27%, but have no detectable effect on other incident types, ACT scores, or attendance.

What states have a 4 day school week?

Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado have had four-day schools for a long time. They are a more recent addition in places like Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Missouri.

Why students should have Wednesdays off?

A study shown by Dawna Ballard, an expert of chronemics suggests giving students an extra day off improves learning. It could also be a step in the right direction for teacher workloads. Teachers as well will benefit from Wednesdays being off from school since it can give them a quiet day to work on their workloads.

Why do people want 4 day school weeks?

About 90 percent of districts operating four-day weeks are located in rural areas. Leaders in those communities cite teacher recruitment and retention, cost savings, and community support among the reasons they've opted for the shortened week. Childcare is often raised as a concern related to four-day weeks.

Why 4 day school weeks are good for teachers?

Teachers reported feeling less burned out and missing fewer instructional days due to illness or exhaustion. And while they spent time working on school tasks like grading and lesson planning over the weekend, they had more time to prepare for the coming week.

Should schools give teachers and students Fridays off?

If schools want to try and do something to help, they should give students Fridays off or every other Friday off so they have a break and have more time to do things such as study for upcoming tests, catch up on missing assignments and homework, spend time with family and friends, and even have more time to ourselves.

What are the cons of a 4 day school week?

One study found that the four-day week may hurt reading scores more than math scores. A large study released last year found that the shorter schedule held back student achievement in small-town and suburban districts but had little or no effect in rural districts.

How long school days affect mental health?

Finally, long school hours can also lead to a feeling of isolation and loneliness for students. With such long hours, it can be difficult for students to make friends and socialize. This can lead to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.

Should school days be shorter pros and cons?

What areas of the United States use the 4 day school week most?

As of 2019, over 650 districts across 24 states are using this schedule — a 600% increase since 1999. The schedule is particularly popular in rural Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma and Oregon. As this option grows in popularity, state leaders are eager to learn about the impacts on students and schools.

Why 23 Utah schools have moved to 4 day weeks?

On the positive side, some schools report that four-day school weeks are a boon for educators because they have an extra day to plan lessons, grade assignments and attend teacher training opportunities.

What Texas schools are 4 day week?

Why shouldn't kids have longer school days?

Limits Time for Other Activities

From sports to music to dance, many children participate in extracurricular activities designed to teach them new skills and enrich their lives. A longer school day could make participating in extracurriculars more difficult. It can also reduce the free time children need.

Are longer school days better?

An expanded school schedule engages students more fully, and children learn better in a more stimulating environment. By reducing the pressure on the system to cram math and reading and science into too few hours, the new school day opens up the schedule for subjects that students enjoy and teachers like to teach.

What are school hours in Finland?

Usually, school starts at 8:15 a.m. and ends at 2:45 p.m., with an hour for lunch and 15 minutes between each class, so students have plenty of time to relax between classes!