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National Association for Year-Round Education

Time to Learn: An anti-year round organization

U.S. Department of Education

For Teachers: Full coverage of Education Insights

Going to school year-round
August 8, 2001

While most students in the U.S. are dusting off their book-bags and thinking about a new school year, some students have been sitting in class all summer.

They didn't have to go to summer school -- these students attend schools that have moved to a year-round schedule.

According to the National Association for Year-Round Education, the trend is growing. Over 3,000 schools had year-round education programs last year. That's less than four percent of all schools, but it's four times the number of students in year-round schools 10 years ago.

Despite what you might think, year-round school does not necessarily mean less vacation time. What does it mean? Read on...

Traditional vs. year-round schedules

The traditional school-year calendar with early morning start times and two or three month summer breaks was designed when many Americans lived on a farm.

At the time, school calendars revolved around the harvesting and planting of crops so that children could be home to help during the busiest summer months.

Schools stuck to the schedule after farming declined, in part because it was difficult to hold classes during the hot summer months without air conditioning.

In the early 1900s, American schools began experimenting with a switch to year-round schedules. But the idea didn't really become popular until the past two decades, as studies showed American students are not scoring well on national and international tests.

Year-round schooling is a misleading term; it makes many students imagine that they would have to say goodbye forever to summer traditions, such as summer camp or beach vacations.

In reality, students in most American year-round school districts spend the same amount of days in class as students in traditional calendar schools - the days are just arranged differently, with smaller, more frequent breaks throughout the year. The summer break is perhaps only a month, instead of two or three.

Reasons to switch schedules

If year-round school does not mean that students are in class more days, why do some education officials believe that students will perform better by simply changing the scheduling?

One idea is that students and teachers, refreshed by more frequent breaks, will not get burnt-out as easily. Some teachers also complain that on traditional schedules, too much time is spent reviewing in the fall, after many students have forgotten what they learned the previous year. Many immigrant children fall behind because they are not exposed to English during the long summer breaks.

Also, students requiring academic support don't have to wait to go to summer school to get help. Instead, they can attend remedial classes earlier in the year, to catch -- and fix -- problems quicker.

Supporters say year-round systems improve academic performance. They point to Japan, where student scores are higher then those in the U.S. and where students attend classes 220 days a year on average, as opposed to 180 days in America.

But there is plenty of debate.

Several years ago, many Texas districts adopted year-round calendars, but nearly half switched back. School officials said the program did not improve academic performance substantially, and they were unable to win the cooperation of parents; it was simply too hard to fight tradition.

By contrast, the Oxnard, California school district has a long record of successful year-round schooling. It has been on a year-round calendar since 1976, and a nine-year analysis shows significantly improved test scores, without changing the basic education program.

Of course, academic performance is not the only concern of school districts. By switching to a year-round schedule on a multi-track system (with several groups of students rotating), some overcrowded districts avoided the expense of building new schools - even when you take into account increased maintenance costs and higher pay for teachers.

Common Drawbacks

Critics challenge the idea that year-round schedules improve grades, and have raised other concerns as well. Especially for multi-track districts, the scheduling issues can harm families.

For example, a family with kids in different schools operating on different tracks could have a tough time scheduling day care or family vacations.

And sports teams in competing districts could have a different schedule, so athletes may have games scheduled during breaks. If you participate in sports in a multi-track school, other team members may be on a different track, which would make it very hard for everyone to coordinate practice times.

Some students worry that they couldn't attend summer camp, although most students could still go to a camp of some type during their summer inter-session.

To offset these headaches, supporters of year-round schools recommend single-track systems as much as possible, and say that all schools within a district should try to adhere to the same schedule.

Many school districts have adopted year-round schooling only in the elementary schools since most students have more complicated schedules as they get older. Also, older students have a harder time adjusting to such a radical change, since they are accustomed to long summer breaks.

Many high school students worry that they would not be able to take a summer job, earning the income to either make ends meet or to afford extra things like clothes or CDs.

Making the choice

Year-round schooling continues to be controversial in almost every school district. Districts from New York to Los Angeles are experimenting with the new calendars and hoping to make positive changes to improve student performance.

Long term, it's hard to know whether the idea will become more popular or less as parents and administrators try to figure out the best solution.

What do you think? If you could decide your school's schedule would you consider family traditions, cost-effectiveness, academic performance? Should parents, teachers, administrators, or students get to make the decision?