Four-day school week schedule¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 10 claims (5 for, 4 mixed, 1 against) · 2 studies (1 causal, 1 associational), q2 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 10 claims rest on one study

Description¶

A school schedule in which the instructional week is compressed into four days instead of five, adopted by school districts as an alternative calendar arrangement. The article notes that four-day school weeks have "proliferated across the United States in recent years, reaching over 650 public school districts in 24 states as of 2019", and evaluates the schedule's causal effects on high school achievement, attendance, and behavior using Oklahoma district-level panel data.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• District-level adoption of the compressed four-day calendar, as studied in Oklahoma panel data

Constraints¶

• Effects estimated for high school students in Oklahoma; the article reports no detectable effect on ACT scores, attendance, or incident types other than bullying and fighting

Target Learners¶

• High school students in districts adopting a four-day school week

Target Learning Goals¶

• Maintaining academic achievement (ACT scores) and attendance while reducing disciplinary incidents

Claims¶

• Four-day school weeks decrease per-pupil bullying incidents among high school students by approximately 39% [+W]
• Four-day school weeks decrease per-pupil fighting incidents among high school students by approximately 31% [+W]
• Four-day school weeks have no detectable effect on high school students' ACT scores [~W]
• Four-day school weeks have no detectable effect on high school attendance [~W]
• Four-day school weeks have no detectable effect on disciplinary incident types other than bullying and fighting [~W]
• Students on the four-day school week have lower English language arts and math test scores over time than peers on five-day schedules [-W]
• Qualitative data support the view that the four-day school week helps attract and retain teachers in rural districts [+W]
• Four-day school week cost savings are relatively small but may help maintain instructional expenses during revenue shortages [+W]
• No quantitative evidence that the four-day school week improved student attendance [~W]
• Families and students highly value extra time from the four-day week, and stakeholders report high satisfaction [+W]

Related Elements¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Emily Morton. (2022). Effects of 4-day school weeks on older adolescents: Examining impacts of the schedule on academic achievement, attendance, and behavior in high school. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737221097420