4-Day School Week Has Neutral Impact in Missouri

Dive Brief:

There has been no statistically significant difference in student achievement for Missouri school districts that switched to a four-day school week since 2011, according to a report released last week and commissioned by the state's board of education.

The analysis yielded similar results - that a four-day school week was neither helpful nor harmful - for districts that moved to a shortened academic week following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research from Missouri echoes other national studies of four-day school weeks that found neutral impacts on student learning, according to the report. Other various factors district leaders consider when debating abbreviated school weeks include impacts on teacher recruitment and retention, potential cost savings and community buy-in.

Dive Insight:

The Missouri report said the number of school districts in the state switching to a four-day school week increased from just 1 in 2011 to 123 in 2022 - making up roughly 22% of the state's districts. SAS Institute, an analytics solutions company, prepared the state report.

Overall, students attending schools with a four-day academic week were more likely to be in rural areas, be White and participate in free-and-reduced priced lunch. They were also found to have lower achievement prior to their district making the switch and were less likely to be English learners or in gifted programs.

About 57% of the 123 school districts changed to a four-day school week after the onset of the pandemic. These students were more likely to live in towns, qualify for special education services, and be Hispanic, multiracial or in foster care compared to students whose districts made the switch to a four-day school week prior to the pandemic.

Amanda Weissman, a research statistician developer with SAS, presented the report to the Missouri Board of Education on Feb. 6. Weissman told the board that of multiple studies of four-day school weeks from districts in 16 states that had negative achievement results, those appeared driven by non-rural districts. Districts that had a decrease in the total number of instructional hours students received also saw a negative impact on achievement.

About 1,600 school districts across 24 states operate on a four-day schedule, according to Oregon State University's Hallie E. Ford Center, which analyzes four-day policy adoptions.

A 2021 RAND paper said that the top factor for districts choosing a shortened academic week was for cost savings with the presumption that dropping one school day during the week could yield a 20% reduction in costs. In reality, however, estimates based on research suggest a less than 5% savings, due, in part, because the expense of salaries and benefits don't vary by the length of the school week.