Comparing calendars and schedules
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The document examines the organization of school calendars and schedules globally and in the U.S., highlighting the variations in school years, instructional time, and recent initiatives aimed at extending learning time. It discusses the historical context of summer vacation, noting that the traditional 9-month school year remains predominant despite various modifications aimed at improving student learning. Additionally, it addresses how different countries have different school day lengths and instructional minutes, with many outperforming U.S. schools in terms of academic achievement due to longer school years.
Comparing calendars and schedules
- 1. Comparing Calendars and Schedules Organizing the School Year and School Day Around the World and in the United States
- 2. Providing Additional Instructional Time • Not just a recent concern • A Nation at Risk – 1983 (Cooper, Nye, Charlton & Lindsey, 1996; Gewerts, 2008) • Prisoners of Time – 1994; Tough Choices, Tough Times – 2007 • Response to Reports – Reorganizing time in classrooms (Anderson, 1994; Cuban, 2008) • Almost 300 initiatives to extend learning time (Gewertz, 2008)
- 3. Providing Additional Instructional Time • Initiatives included (Neal, 2008): – Lengthening the school day – Increasing the number of school days – Various forms of year-round school • Majority of American public schools unchanged over last 100 years (Pennington, 2006) • A number of other countries have moved away from traditional calendar (Pennington , 2006)
- 4. Studying the Impact of Time on Student Learning • Studies of the impact of time on student learning began in the early 1900s • Summer fade or summer loss studies have examined the loss of academic gains over the summer for all students and especially for those in poverty • Time on task studies have looked at the impact of on task behavior on student learning
- 5. Studying the Impact of Time on Student Learning • Student engagement studies have looked at learning outside of class through variation in day length, blocks of classes and breaks or recess time between classes • Recent studies have looked at the impact of the loss of instructional days prior to high stakes assessment on student proficiency
- 6. Organization of the School Year Around the World • School year calendars around the world vary significantly • Some countries set school years at the national level while others set them at state or local level • Countries use semester (14-20 weeks), trimester (8-16 weeks), or quadmester (up to 12 week) systems
- 7. Organization of the School Year Around the World • Number of school days varies from 170 to 251 days – Majority of countries have more days than U.S. • School weeks are generally 5 days although a number of countries have six-day model (including Saturday morning) • The major break (summer or winter) ranges from 5 to 13 weeks
- 8. Organization of the School Year Around the World • Many countries have breaks of 2 or more weeks in each of the other 3 seasons • Several studies have reported that nations with more than 180 days or year-round calendars outperform American schools (Farbman & Kaplan, 2005)
- 9. Organization of the School Year Around the World • Average number of instructional minutes ranges from 223 to 370 minutes – U.S. 338 minutes – Few countries have longer days • Average number of hours of instruction per school year ranges from 658 hours to 1,276 hours – U.S. 1003 hours – Because of longer day, U.S. has more instructional hours per year than many countries
- 10. Organization of the School Year Around the World • Daily Schedule also varies greatly. The following are examples: – Australia – 9:00 to 3:30 – Brazil – 7:00 to 12:00 – China – 7:30 to 5:00 with 2 hour lunch break – France – 8:00 to 4:00 with 2 hour lunch break – Russia – 8:30 to 3:00 – Korea – 8:00 to 4:00 with evening study sessions
- 11. Organization of the School Year in the United States • Since 1980, 14 state have increased minimum number of school days, 9 states have reduced minimum number of days and a number of states have opted to permit districts to measure student contact time in either hours or days
- 12. Organization of the School Year in the United States • States vary widely on the number of days: – Two states mandate 181 days – A majority (30 states) set bar at 180 days – Three states range for 179 to 176 required days – Five states set it at 175 days – Two states mandate 174 to 171 days – One state is at 170 days – Nine states, including Minnesota, require a minimum number of hours not days
- 13. Organization of the School Year in the United States • Minnesota had neither minimum days or hours until 2011 – Now: – Half-day Kindergarten minimum is 425 hours per year (131 days of 3.25 hours per day) – Grades 1-6 minimum is 935 hours per year (144 days of 6.5 hours) – Grades 7-12 minimum is 1,020 hours per year (157 days of 6.5 hours ) – Northfield has1,095 hours per year for Grades 1-12 – 4 day weeks and before Labor Day starts require Commissioner approval
- 14. Organization of the School Year in the United States • Only three states require starting on a certain date – remainder leave that decision to local districts. • Approximately 75% of students in United States start school before Labor Day including 98% of Iowa schools and 59 school districts in Minnesota who requested and were granted a before Labor Day start waiver.
- 15. History of Summer Vacation • In the 1800’s: – Many rural students went to school 6 months a year – December to March and June to August. – Many urban students went to school 11 months a year (251-260 days) while parents worked in factories and immigrant students learned English and other subjects.
- 16. History of Summer Vacation • In the 1800’s: – One measurement of a good school was the number of days it was open – Longer calendars perceived to be more effective. (Weiss & Brown, 2005) – Districts operated on calendars that varied from region to region based on unique calendar needs of the community.
- 17. History of Summer Vacation • In the 1900’s: – The nine month/three month calendar was never intended to be the standard calendar for schools. (Ballinger &Kneese, 2006) – Educational reforms in the 1900s sought to unify rural and town/urban systems. – Larger K-12 buildings required K-12 calendars and limited schools being in session in summer heat.
- 18. History of Summer Vacation • In the 1900’s: – Revenues of seasonal industries became dependent on the openings and closings of the school calendar. – Year-round programs were implemented in some school districts in Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Nebraska and North Dakota as far back as 1920s. (Glines, 1997)
- 19. History of Summer Vacation • In the 2000’s: – The traditional 9 month calendar with 3 month summer vacation still the most common in the United States. – In 2005, approximately 2,300 public schools and about 2.3 million students followed some form of modified schedule. (St. Gerard, 2007)
- 20. History of Summer Vacation • In the 2000’s: – Modified calendars include year-round, after school or Saturday classes, extended school year and other modifications. – These modifications have been implemented with the goal of increasing time on task and improving student achievement. (Cooper et al., 1996)