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Dive Brief:

• A four-day school week is "probably not" beneficial for students, and there's no evidence of large positive effects on student outcomes, according to an analysis of 11 high-quality U.S. studies by HEDCO Institute for Evidence-based Educational Practice at the University of Oregon.
• For rural districts, the research shows decreases in math and reading achievement for K-8 students but increased math scores and on-time graduation rates for high school students. For non-rural schools, the effects were mostly negative with evidence of decreases in math scores and graduation rates, as well as increased high school absences. 
• The four-day school week is a growing trend in the U.S. with 2,100 schools in more than 850 school districts using the model. While a four-day schedule is more common among rural districts, an increasing number of urban and suburban schools are considering the shorter week, according to the University of Oregon report. 

Dive Insight:

Across the 11 studies examined by the University of Oregon, most schools with four-day school weeks were located in Oregon, Oklahoma and Colorado. A minority of the studies reviewed included research in schools located in: Idaho, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico and South Dakota, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota and Wyoming. 

“Districts often turn to four-day school weeks to address budget and staffing pressures, but the evidence suggests this change may come at a cost to students,” said Elizabeth Day, a research assistant professor at the HEDCO Institute and part of the team that produced the report, in a statement. “There’s no consistent evidence that moving to a four-day schedule improves learning outcomes — and in some cases, it may do the opposite.”

Researchers acknowledge there were two main questions their analysis did not address: How does a switch to a four-day school week impact instructional time? And what activities are available in the community, at home or at the school for students to do on the fifth day?

The report said maintaining instructional hours is critical for preventing learning loss. The researchers also wrote that maintaining activities for students to do on the fifth day of the school week supports students' development. Those activities could include remedial classes, extracurricular activities and sports at schools; youth programs and child care at community centers; and homework time and home responsibilities at the student's house.