Can 4 be equal to 5? The impact of 4-day school weeks

Every year, we share our 10 most read stories. Not surprisingly, many of this year's top 10 focused on equity, educational technology innovation, immersive learning, and the science of reading. This year's seventh most read story focuses on the possibility of four-day school weeks.

Four-day weeks are increasingly common in school districts, particularly in rural areas of the U.S. Many districts find that students and families like the shorter school weeks. In fact, in a survey of schools with four-day week policies, 85 percent of parents and 95 percent of students said they would choose to stay on the schedule. instead of going back to a five-day week. While these shorter weeks are popular with stakeholders, could there be unintended consequences of four-day school weeks? Are there certain ways to implement the schedule that lead to better outcomes for students?

Most of what is known about these issues comes from research conducted in the last five years. My colleagues and I have studied the four-day week using quantitative and qualitative data from state departments of education, school districtsand the NWEA MAP Growth Research Database. These projects and others recent research on four-day school weeks have shed some light on questions about the implementation and outcomes of four-day school weeks. The research analyzes qualitative and quantitative data to compare student experiences and outcomes across four- and five-day school weeks. We found that the shorter school week has advantages and disadvantages, and these trade-offs can vary depending on the characteristics of the school district and how they implement the four-day school week in practice.

Benefits: What supporters of the four-day school week say

Supporters of four-day school weeks argue that the schedule change can result in cost savings for the district, better student attendance, and better teacher recruitment and retention. However, research to date does not offer strong support for these arguments. Districts with four-day school weeks experience only a modest, ~2% spending reduction and they are see no change in your attendance rates on average. Superintendents and principals report that they believe the four-day week is helping them recruit and retain teachers, but current research does not provide evidence to support this claim.

Another benefit of the four-day school week is that parents, students and educators like the schedule. Students reported that they enjoyed having more free time, time to work, and time with family. Most teachers viewed the four-day school week as a positive change, saying it reduced the stress of their job or allowed them to critically supplement their income. A common claim among members of the district with a four-day school week is that the schedule boosted morale. In support of that assertion, a study of disciplinary incident rates in Oklahoma high schools shows that four-day school week significantly reduced bullying and fighting rates. However, the survey data finds no differences in student or family perceptions of school climate in similar four- and five-day-week districts.

Impacts on student achievement: disadvantages and factors to consider

Despite claims from district stakeholders that students learned as much, or even slightly more, on the four-day-a-week schedule, research generally suggests otherwise. Although student test scores may remain stable or increase in a district with a four-day week, we must consider how student scores are improving relative to similar students on a five-day-a-week schedule. If the four-day-a-week students would have improved more by staying on a five-day week, the four-day week would be negatively impacting their test scores. In fact, studies consistently estimate Small to medium negative effects of four-day school weeks on student achievement over time compared to five-day school weeks.. However, these negative effects are not the same for all districts. Research indicates that there are at least two factors that can make a difference when it comes to the impact of the schedule on student achievement: (1) instructional time and (2) whether the district is located in a rural area.

Four-day weekly districts with greater amounts of instructional time are more likely to have minor or no negative effects of the schedule on achievement. When switching from a five-day week to a four-day week, districts typically opt to have Monday or Friday “off” and extend the length of the other four school days each week. According to a study of four-day weeks in Oregon, having at least eight hours of school per day in a four-day week, compared to the average seven-hour day in districts with a five-day week, avoided the negative impacts of the schedule.

Rural districts, compared to districts located in cities or suburbs, also experience minor or no side effects of the four-day week on student achievement. Research cannot yet explain why the schedule has fewer negative impacts in rural areas, but possible reasons include: more instructional time, outsized positive effects on teacher recruitment and retention, and students missing less class time to travel to athletics and other interscholastic competitions.

Key Takeaways: Research-Based Recommendations for Educators and Districts

Given these conflicting findings, communities are likely to make different decisions about the four-day school week depending on their goals and local context. Below are three key findings from the research to keep in mind.

• In conversations about adopting four-day school weeks, we must consider that research offers only weak support for some of the current arguments for adopting four-day school weeks (saving money, reducing student absences, and attracting and retaining to teachers).
• Policy debates need to consider the overwhelming popularity of the four-day school week among stakeholders and the perceived benefits of the calendar.
• District leaders should consider the potential negative consequences of four-day weeks on student achievement, particularly if the change will substantially reduce instructional time. The data show that while student achievement in districts with four-day school weeks has generally trended upward over time, the gains were smaller than those in similar districts with five-day school weeks.

When determining whether a four-day school week is appropriate for your district, consider the local context, stakeholder goals and priorities for the district, and how its implementation will reinforce the positive effects of the schedule and minimize or avoid the negative effects. The calculation needed to weigh the pros and cons of the schedule will depend on the expected size of each offset and the priorities of each district. For academic recovery efforts, it is essential that districts committed to or planning to adopt four-day weeks monitor their students' academic progress and look for ways to increase instructional time on the schedule. While four-day school weeks have advantages and disadvantages, considering each district's context and priorities is critical to guiding conversations about adopting four-day school weeks.

Additional Resources for Educators:

4-day school weeks: Innovation or educational detriment?
Four is five? Implementation and results of the four-day school week

Related:
What if all teachers had a work-from-home day?
For school leaders, routine decisions are not so routine
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