I heard or read about this topic in news earlier this week. I was hopeful because 4-day work weeks are great in my own experience.

But, yikes! This research on the topic was not what I was hoping for schools. That feeling aside, it’s good to see more research on this.

It should discourage schools from going with four day work weeks. Why? The negative impact on student learning.

There are no shortcuts for creating quality working conditions for teachers.

Research

This info from 3 Star Learning Experiences cites research from:

Morton, E., Thompson, P. N., & Kuhfeld, M. (2024). A multi-state, student-level analysis of the effects of the four-day school week on student achievement and growth. Economics of Education Review , 100 , 102524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102524

An excerpt

3-STAR LEARNING EXPERIENCES AN EVIDENCE-INFORMED BLOG FOR LEARNING PROFESSIONALS shares:

investigate the effects of four-day school weeks on student performance and their progress within the school year.

They not only found significant negative effects of a four-day school week on academic performance at the end of the school year, but also a negative effect on the ‘normal gains’ in math/math and reading per semester.

Progress in reading and arithmetic/maths per semester also lagged behind the four-day school week compared to the five-day week. This was especially true for students in city schools and girls. via 3 Star Learning Experiences

3-2-1 on Four Day Schooll Week

Here is Perplexity’s take via 3-2-1 format with citations at the end.

Here is the information in the 3-2-1 format with 3 facts, 2 quotes, and 1 scientific conclusion:

3 Facts:

  1. As of the 2022-23 school year, around 900 school districts across 26 states have adopted a four-day school week schedule.[9]

  2. The four-day school week model is most prevalent in rural areas, where districts face challenges like smaller tax bases and difficulty attracting/retaining teachers.[7][14]

  3. Research indicates that while the four-day week can aid in teacher recruitment and retention, it may have a small negative impact on student achievement, particularly for minority, low-income, and special needs students.[2][9]

2 Quotes:

“The four-day school week may offer that additional flexibility in areas where maybe they just can’t offer teachers greater monetary compensation.” - Paul Thompson, Economics Professor at Oregon State University [4]

“Nobody has ever said once that going to four days is better for kids. No one has ever said it is better for learning. They’ll say it hasn’t hurt. But the research is so limited. …. We don’t know.” - Doug Beck, Missouri State Senator [6]

1 Scientific Consensus

While the four-day school week can provide some benefits like improved teacher recruitment/retention and cost savings for districts, the existing research suggests it may have adverse effects on student learning outcomes, especially for already disadvantaged student groups.

The impact varies based on implementation details like how instructional time is adjusted. More comprehensive, long-term studies are needed to fully understand the tradeoffs of this schedule change.[2][3][5][9][10][14]

Sources

[1] Four-day school week questions answered | Fort Worth Star-Telegram www.star-telegram.com/news/loca…

[2] Teacher shortage pushes schools to 4-day schedule publicintegrity.org/education…

[3] The rise of the four-day school week - NPR www.npr.org/2023/10/2…

[4] Districts increasingly turn to 4-day school weeks to recruit, retain staff www.k12dive.com/news/staf…

[5] Can four-day school weeks help tackle teacher shortages? www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/s…

[6] Embracing the Four-Day School Week | AASA www.aasa.org/resources…

[7] As more schools switch to 4-day weeks, will teachers stay? abcnews.go.com/GMA/Famil…

[8] What Teachers Are Saying About the Four-Day School Week www.aaeteachers.org/index.php…

[9] The four-day school week: Research shows benefits and … journalistsresource.org/education…

[10] 4-day school weeks, gaining in popularity, face pushback from … stateline.org/2023/05/0…

[11] The Impact of Four-Day School Weeks on Teacher Recruitment in … scholars.org/contribut…

[12] What the Teacher Shortage Means for the Four-Day Workweek www.businessinsider.com/what-the-…

[13] Schools in rural Texas move to 4-day school weeks www.texastribune.org/2022/07/1…

[14] More school districts adopt 4-day weeks, citing lower costs … - PBS www.pbs.org/newshour/…

[15] The Rise Of The Four-Day School Week—Are You on Board? www.parents.com/four-day-…

[16] Brief Four-Day School Week Overview www.ncsl.org/education…