You wouldn’t be surprised if I told you that 85% of students who operate with a 4-day school week said they are very satisfied with a shorter schedule. 120 out of 178 of Colorado’s schools have shifted over to a four-day week schedule. This means over half of Colorado school students get an extra day off during the week. This change is a very battled decision that has resulted in many interesting findings.
Speaking to Journalist Resource, Dale Herl, a superintendent at the Independence Missouri school district, found, “The number of teacher applications that we’ve received has gone up more than four-fold.”
Such an astounding amount signifies not only would we expect students to benefit, but also the teacher’s willingness to work. But to find out if this change is also an improvement, we interviewed Hayden Murray, a student at Utah’s High School, who’s been on a four school day per week schedule for over two years, ”I’m able to have more time outside of school and it makes it feel less stressful. If you’re dreading school then it’s nice because it acts like a day off.”
These benefits may sound quite attractive so we began questioning what negative aspects he has felt academically due to these changes, “I think the schedule has harmed my academic potential because we have fewer days to learn in school so they just try and pump as much stuff in four days rather than five. It often sometimes feels rushed for people. But I feel it’s worth it because, in my opinion, mental health is more important than academic potential.”
We became curious about just how much this one less day impacted students. In Oregon children who went to an elementary school four days a week were academically compared to kids who went to a five-day school week through math and English scores. The results were nearly identical, with “minimal and non-significant differences” to be found.
This study is particularly interesting because it also shows how fatigue throughout the week can leave Friday ultimately inferior in terms of effort compared to the other days of the week.
With more and more studies being conducted on this entire idea, investigations are being executed. With how things seem to be recorded at the moment, four-day school weeks may be here to stay. To be wary of whether this change is to be a good one or a negative one, Paul Thompson, an associate professor of economics who is part of Oregon State’s Four-Day School says in caution, “it is still too early to tell.”
