Four-Day School Week Slows Learning.

• Position: EDUCATION

Students earn lower math and reading scores on standardized tests after their schools switch to a four-day school week, Paul Thompson of Oregon State University reports in an article for Education Next As schools across the country grapple with a return to in-person schooling amid pandemic-induced learning loss, the findings offer a cautionary tale.

Nationwide, even before the pandemic some 1,600 schools adopted four-day schedules, most often to cut costs. While these schools extend instructional time during the four days they are open, students still lose about three to four hours of instruction every week compared to students on a five-day schedule. Four-day schools average 148 schooldays a year, well below the 175-180 average typically provided by a traditional weekly schedule.

"Teachers, students, and families have now experienced radically different learning schedules due to school closures and broad adoption of hybrid schedules, which mimic the part-time nature of the four-day school week...