The Effectiveness Of Year-Round Education
iSearch Policy Research:
The Effectiveness of Year-Round Education
In 1904, the first year-round school in the U.S. was opened in Bluffton, Indiana for the purposes of increasing school building capacity and student achievement (Glines, 1995). Over the course of the 106 years since, the issue of year-round schooling and its effectiveness still provokes a strong reaction from parents, educators, and students on both sides of the aisle. The opponents of year-round education state there is negligible benefit to the year-round calendar, but the proponents cite the advantages of year-round education, stating it gives students a considerable competitive advantage over their peers. Whose opinion carries more validity? Is year-round …show more content…
education more effective for student progress? Or does the year-round calendar simply cause more headaches for already stressed school systems? This paper will attempt address the pros and cons of year-round education (YRE) and explore the effectiveness of the policy, as well as potential development of the policy for the future.
Traditionally, schools in the United States have operated on a 10-month education system, now widely known as the “traditional school calendar”.
Because children were often needed to assist with farming during the summer months, this calendar was established and coincided with the needs of our agrarian nation (Research Spotlight n.d.). However, times, as well as our nation, have changed immensely since the traditional school calendar was implemented and within the last decade there has been a major effort throughout our nation’s school districts to change their calendars to a year-round schedule. The “year-round” title associated with the modified calendar is actually a misnomer, as the year-round schedule is not an extension, but actually just a reorganization of the traditional school calendar (Year-Round Schooling 2004). Palmer and Bemis (1999) state that year-round schools are defined as ones that “reorganize their calendar such that blocks of instruction and vacation are spread throughout the year to make learning more continuous. Such programs do not add instructional days to those required of students, but simply reallocate the approximately 180 school …show more content…
days.”
The renaissance of the YRE movement can largely be attributed to 1970 from the amount of media coverage given to the Valley View, Illinois School District 96, which was the first in the nation to implement a year-round calendar district wide to address school overcrowding (Hermansen, K.L. & Gove, J 1971). The economic turmoil of the 1970’s brought on a strong anti-tax sentiment among the people of the United States and this created a perfect climate for the year-round movement to flourish (Bussard n.d.). From the 1987 to 2003, there was a 544 percent increase in year-round school implementations among the public schools of the United States (Year-Round School n.d.). As of 2007, YRE calendars had been implemented in 3,181 schools in 46 states and affecting 2.3 million students (Year-Round School n.d.). Although the general number of schools using the YRE calendar fluctuates yearly, the numbers of overall schools utilizing it are gradually increasing, and because President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently endorsed the idea of YRE calendars, this trend is likely to continue.
One facet of YRE calendars is the ability to implement a multi-track scheduling system in an effort to alleviate overcrowded schools and save the school systems, and ultimately taxpayers, money. In the multi-track system, students and teachers are divided into groups of about the same size. Each group follows its own schedule, so that one track is on vacation while the others are in school (Year Round Schooling 2004). Proponents of YRE calendars say this allows school districts to maximize the use of facilities, increasing the capacity of schools by 33 percent (Typical Year-Round n.d.). Unfortunately, based on my investigation thus far, this type of YRE calendar seems to be the most counter-productive. The majority of research seems to say that the multi-track system causes an educational inequity among students of the different tracks. One such study showed that students that were on what was is typically known as the “B” track, or the one that has classes during the months of June/July (while “A” track students are on a break), had the worst achievement scores when compared to students on the “A” track, or on a single-track system.
Other research also shows that the cost-savings from a multi-track system are negligible, if any, at best. Also, the multi-track system poses the possibility that siblings at different schools could be on different schedules, causing additional stress on parents in regards to their children. This leads me to believe that the multi-track system has thus far shown no viable positive effects and therefore should not be implemented by school systems.
On the other hand, the single-track YRE calendar seems to be productive when utilized efficiently. Proponents of the system believe that the single-track YRE calendar not only leads to increase productivity within the schools, but also better assimilation and retention of information. Unfortunately, research that attempts to measure these influences is inconclusive and contradictory (Year-Round Schooling 2004). It seems as though all current research on the matter is skewed based on the viewpoint of the organization collecting the data. Although, regardless of the influence on student achievement, the YRE calendar has shown a significantly high number of students, parents, and teachers are supportive of the calendar once it is in place.
Another proposed benefit to the YRE calendar is the potential reversal of what is dubbed “summer learning loss”. Summer learning loss is the measured loss of information that students learn prior to their traditional 3-month summer breaks. The result of this learning loss is that teachers must waste valuable instructional time at the start of the new school year reviewing materials. A review of 39 studies confirmed summer learning loss, specifically indicating that student test scores did in fact drop over summer vacation, and that math scores dropped more significantly than any of the others (Year-Round Schooling 2004). In addition to the stagnation of summer learning loss, the single-track YRE calendar has been shown to reduce the amount of “burn-out” both students and teachers feel through a school year. Because of this, some data suggest that there is a beneficial correlation between YRE calendars and student and teacher absenteeism. The majority of school systems that implemented the YRE calendars have shown an increase in student and teacher attendance, as well as a reduction in “burn-out”, and an elevation in overall improved teacher attitude (Palmer and Bemis 1999). While speaking to a student at a local high school about her thoughts on the YRE calendar, she said, “…just when I feel like I’m going to pull my hair out because I’m tired of school, I get a small break…” (Jennifer Edwards, Personal Communication March 23rd, 2010.)
One unforeseen benefit of the YRE calendar seems to be a positive effect on students who are deemed at risk for academic problems, such as children from low-income families or other students who are considered at-risk (Year-Round Schooling 2004). In 1994 a study was released of three elementary schools in California that had implemented the YRE calendar. In it, each of the schools exhibited significant gains in achievement for its highly-targeted at-risk students, including low-performing students and English-language learners (Gandara & Fish 1994). This could be because struggling students have greater opportunities during their breaks for remedial help. Opponents of this research are skeptical though, citing that these schools added instructional days to their calendars, as well as year-round programs that resulted in lower class sizes.
My personal belief after my research thus far is that YRE implementation is effective and is significantly productive for students, only if it is supplemented with increased calendar days and additional programs that assist in remediation, acceleration, college preparation, or other types of enrichment.
Although the opponents of the YRE calendar cite their reasons for their viewpoints, many of their opinions seem unfounded or ineffective when looking at empirical data comparing the traditional vs. YRE calendars. In the continuation of my research, I will be looking for more recent reports of information in regards to the effects of YRE calendars, and I will be looking to see how the trends of schools implementing the YRE calendar continues now that the President and Education Secretary have both endorsed the ideas. Additionally, my further research will look for ways this policy may advance itself, including but not limited to, increasing the hours in a school day, dramatically increasing the number of days schools are in session, or even opening schools for remedial sessions on Saturdays, a recent proposal by the Education Secretary. It is I my opinion that it will take a mix of different strategies to strengthen and increase the effectiveness of our education system, and year-round education is just one stepping stone of
many.
References
Bussard, Billee A., (n.d). The Politics and Marketing of Year-Round School. Retrieved from http://www.summermatters.com/research%20paper.htm#_ftn6
Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. (2004). Year-Round Schooling. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/rc/issues/year-round-schooling/
Gandara, P., & Fish, J., (1996). Year-Round Schooling as an Avenue to Major Structural
Reform. In Robin Fogerty (Ed.), Year-Round Education: A Collection of Articles. (pg. 4). Arlington Heights, Ill., IRI/ Skylight Training and Publishing Inc.
Glines, D. (1995). Year-round Education: History, Philosophy, Future. San Diego, CA:
National Association for Year-Round Education.
Hermansen, K.L. & Gove, J., (1971). The Year-round School: The 45-15 Breakthrough.
Hamden, CN.: Linnet Books.
National Association for Year Round Education. (n.d.). Typical Year-Round Calendars.
Retrieved from http://www.nayre.org/cal.htm
Palmer, E. & Bemis, A., (1999). Alternative Calendars: Extended Learning and Year-
Round Programs. University of Minnesota. Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement.
Research Spotlight on Year-Round Education. (n.d.). NEA Reviews of the Research on
Best Practices in Education. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/tools/17057.htm
The Effectiveness of Year-Round Education
In 1904, the first year-round school in the U.S. was opened in Bluffton, Indiana for the purposes of increasing school building capacity and student achievement (Glines, 1995). Over the course of the 106 years since, the issue of year-round schooling and its effectiveness still provokes a strong reaction from parents, educators, and students on both sides of the aisle. The opponents of year-round education state there is negligible benefit to the year-round calendar, but the proponents cite the advantages of year-round education, stating it gives students a considerable competitive advantage over their peers. Whose opinion carries more validity? Is year-round …show more content…
education more effective for student progress? Or does the year-round calendar simply cause more headaches for already stressed school systems? This paper will attempt address the pros and cons of year-round education (YRE) and explore the effectiveness of the policy, as well as potential development of the policy for the future.
Traditionally, schools in the United States have operated on a 10-month education system, now widely known as the “traditional school calendar”.
Because children were often needed to assist with farming during the summer months, this calendar was established and coincided with the needs of our agrarian nation (Research Spotlight n.d.). However, times, as well as our nation, have changed immensely since the traditional school calendar was implemented and within the last decade there has been a major effort throughout our nation’s school districts to change their calendars to a year-round schedule. The “year-round” title associated with the modified calendar is actually a misnomer, as the year-round schedule is not an extension, but actually just a reorganization of the traditional school calendar (Year-Round Schooling 2004). Palmer and Bemis (1999) state that year-round schools are defined as ones that “reorganize their calendar such that blocks of instruction and vacation are spread throughout the year to make learning more continuous. Such programs do not add instructional days to those required of students, but simply reallocate the approximately 180 school …show more content…
days.”
The renaissance of the YRE movement can largely be attributed to 1970 from the amount of media coverage given to the Valley View, Illinois School District 96, which was the first in the nation to implement a year-round calendar district wide to address school overcrowding (Hermansen, K.L. & Gove, J 1971). The economic turmoil of the 1970’s brought on a strong anti-tax sentiment among the people of the United States and this created a perfect climate for the year-round movement to flourish (Bussard n.d.). From the 1987 to 2003, there was a 544 percent increase in year-round school implementations among the public schools of the United States (Year-Round School n.d.). As of 2007, YRE calendars had been implemented in 3,181 schools in 46 states and affecting 2.3 million students (Year-Round School n.d.). Although the general number of schools using the YRE calendar fluctuates yearly, the numbers of overall schools utilizing it are gradually increasing, and because President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently endorsed the idea of YRE calendars, this trend is likely to continue.
One facet of YRE calendars is the ability to implement a multi-track scheduling system in an effort to alleviate overcrowded schools and save the school systems, and ultimately taxpayers, money. In the multi-track system, students and teachers are divided into groups of about the same size. Each group follows its own schedule, so that one track is on vacation while the others are in school (Year Round Schooling 2004). Proponents of YRE calendars say this allows school districts to maximize the use of facilities, increasing the capacity of schools by 33 percent (Typical Year-Round n.d.). Unfortunately, based on my investigation thus far, this type of YRE calendar seems to be the most counter-productive. The majority of research seems to say that the multi-track system causes an educational inequity among students of the different tracks. One such study showed that students that were on what was is typically known as the “B” track, or the one that has classes during the months of June/July (while “A” track students are on a break), had the worst achievement scores when compared to students on the “A” track, or on a single-track system.
Other research also shows that the cost-savings from a multi-track system are negligible, if any, at best. Also, the multi-track system poses the possibility that siblings at different schools could be on different schedules, causing additional stress on parents in regards to their children. This leads me to believe that the multi-track system has thus far shown no viable positive effects and therefore should not be implemented by school systems.
On the other hand, the single-track YRE calendar seems to be productive when utilized efficiently. Proponents of the system believe that the single-track YRE calendar not only leads to increase productivity within the schools, but also better assimilation and retention of information. Unfortunately, research that attempts to measure these influences is inconclusive and contradictory (Year-Round Schooling 2004). It seems as though all current research on the matter is skewed based on the viewpoint of the organization collecting the data. Although, regardless of the influence on student achievement, the YRE calendar has shown a significantly high number of students, parents, and teachers are supportive of the calendar once it is in place.
Another proposed benefit to the YRE calendar is the potential reversal of what is dubbed “summer learning loss”. Summer learning loss is the measured loss of information that students learn prior to their traditional 3-month summer breaks. The result of this learning loss is that teachers must waste valuable instructional time at the start of the new school year reviewing materials. A review of 39 studies confirmed summer learning loss, specifically indicating that student test scores did in fact drop over summer vacation, and that math scores dropped more significantly than any of the others (Year-Round Schooling 2004). In addition to the stagnation of summer learning loss, the single-track YRE calendar has been shown to reduce the amount of “burn-out” both students and teachers feel through a school year. Because of this, some data suggest that there is a beneficial correlation between YRE calendars and student and teacher absenteeism. The majority of school systems that implemented the YRE calendars have shown an increase in student and teacher attendance, as well as a reduction in “burn-out”, and an elevation in overall improved teacher attitude (Palmer and Bemis 1999). While speaking to a student at a local high school about her thoughts on the YRE calendar, she said, “…just when I feel like I’m going to pull my hair out because I’m tired of school, I get a small break…” (Jennifer Edwards, Personal Communication March 23rd, 2010.)
One unforeseen benefit of the YRE calendar seems to be a positive effect on students who are deemed at risk for academic problems, such as children from low-income families or other students who are considered at-risk (Year-Round Schooling 2004). In 1994 a study was released of three elementary schools in California that had implemented the YRE calendar. In it, each of the schools exhibited significant gains in achievement for its highly-targeted at-risk students, including low-performing students and English-language learners (Gandara & Fish 1994). This could be because struggling students have greater opportunities during their breaks for remedial help. Opponents of this research are skeptical though, citing that these schools added instructional days to their calendars, as well as year-round programs that resulted in lower class sizes.
My personal belief after my research thus far is that YRE implementation is effective and is significantly productive for students, only if it is supplemented with increased calendar days and additional programs that assist in remediation, acceleration, college preparation, or other types of enrichment.
Although the opponents of the YRE calendar cite their reasons for their viewpoints, many of their opinions seem unfounded or ineffective when looking at empirical data comparing the traditional vs. YRE calendars. In the continuation of my research, I will be looking for more recent reports of information in regards to the effects of YRE calendars, and I will be looking to see how the trends of schools implementing the YRE calendar continues now that the President and Education Secretary have both endorsed the ideas. Additionally, my further research will look for ways this policy may advance itself, including but not limited to, increasing the hours in a school day, dramatically increasing the number of days schools are in session, or even opening schools for remedial sessions on Saturdays, a recent proposal by the Education Secretary. It is I my opinion that it will take a mix of different strategies to strengthen and increase the effectiveness of our education system, and year-round education is just one stepping stone of
many.
References
Bussard, Billee A., (n.d). The Politics and Marketing of Year-Round School. Retrieved from http://www.summermatters.com/research%20paper.htm#_ftn6
Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. (2004). Year-Round Schooling. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/rc/issues/year-round-schooling/
Gandara, P., & Fish, J., (1996). Year-Round Schooling as an Avenue to Major Structural
Reform. In Robin Fogerty (Ed.), Year-Round Education: A Collection of Articles. (pg. 4). Arlington Heights, Ill., IRI/ Skylight Training and Publishing Inc.
Glines, D. (1995). Year-round Education: History, Philosophy, Future. San Diego, CA:
National Association for Year-Round Education.
Hermansen, K.L. & Gove, J., (1971). The Year-round School: The 45-15 Breakthrough.
Hamden, CN.: Linnet Books.
National Association for Year Round Education. (n.d.). Typical Year-Round Calendars.
Retrieved from http://www.nayre.org/cal.htm
Palmer, E. & Bemis, A., (1999). Alternative Calendars: Extended Learning and Year-
Round Programs. University of Minnesota. Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement.
Research Spotlight on Year-Round Education. (n.d.). NEA Reviews of the Research on
Best Practices in Education. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/tools/17057.htm