Dive Brief:

• Arkansas schools do not need to meet the state’s mandate of 178 schools days after an intense winter led to more than 20 snow days. 75 districts were told they only have to make up 10 snow days.

• Many districts will hold Saturday sessions and teach kids who show up over Spring Break to address the missed instruction time.  

• Arkansas state tests are in April and will not be pushed back. This has administrators anxious. “It puts a lot of pressure on us and everything especially trying to get ready for the tests,” said an Arkansas Superintendent. “Even if you extend the school year, the test dates haven’t changed.”

Dive Insight:

While at first one might think it’s a shame the districts are not required to make up all the snow days and students are missing so much instruction time, it is also important to consider what learning would have looked like if the school year was extended mid-year.  During a regular school year, students begin to get antsy — especially in states that have experienced cold weather — when the summer months roll around. Often, schools that are not year-round leave June for wrapping up projects and doing character building exercises; if Arkansas districts were required to extend their school year, it would be interesting to see how that time was spent and how productive it would have been. 

All this said, if winters continue to change in the United States and this year's frigid temperatures prove to be a norm, states should begin to think of more do-able contingency plans that will ensure all students get the learning they need for the year.