Don’t take away Texas students’ vacation days
As the school year winds down, the start of a seemingly endless summer delights students (and their teachers).
Nevertheless, the Texas Commission on Public School Finance sees the traditional school year as an anachronism. Last year the commission recommended that the Legislature pay for up to 30 more instructional days. With only about 40 percent of third-graders reading at grade level, the argument is that adding to the 180 seven-hour days to the school year is the solution.
But by itself, subjecting students to an extended school year is unlikely to produce the desired results.
Public schools in Texas and in other states, such as California, New York and Massachusetts, already have higher totals of instructional time (more than 900 hours) than most countries, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Paradoxically, Finland, which scores near the top on nearly every international assessment, requires fewer hours (608 hours) than any other state in this country.
Consider what happens in New York. Every year, attendance in New York City’s public schools slips as the spring semester comes to a close. Principals try to combat the chronic end-of-year attendance drop-off with class trips and field days. But those have done little to remedy the problem.
Test scores do not necessarily rise with a longer school year. Despite support by a majority of parents in favor of a year-round schedule, Salt Lake City ended its experiment in 2011 after an analysis found that comparable local schools with traditional schedules posted better test scores. Las Vegas also abandoned its year-round schedule when results failed to meet expectations.
Researchers believe the answer can be found in the benefits of distributed versus mass learning. Students learn more efficiently when subject matter is spread out, rather than when it is crammed in.
Instead of merely adding days to the present calendar, therefore, Texas should consider structuring the year differently to keep student interest high and maximize learning. One way of doing so is to stagger vacations. Rather than the traditional 10- or 12-week summer break, schools would operate yearround, but with a series of three-week breaks. Or they could have six weeks off in the summer, with additional twoweek vacations.
No calendar is perfect and no outcomes are guaranteed. For one thing, year-round schools cost more to operate because of air-conditioning, extra transportation costs and other expenses. For Texas, which is known for its climate extremes and geographical distances, these are serious considerations. Moreover, splitting up summer vacation would mean that parents have to scramble more often to find suitable childcare.
If Texas is seriously considering altering the school calendar, we need to consider all the ramifications. Research is mixed and parents are divided. No calendar is ever going to satisfy everyone. But when it comes to public schools, that should be no surprise.