The Impact of a Four-Day School Week on High School Student College Readiness and District Financial Savings

Abstract

As school district budgets have declined and districts looked to find solutions tobudget shortfalls, the four-day school week schedule has become more popular. Theeffects of this shortened schedule, however, are not well known. The first purpose of thisstudy was to determine the effect of a four-day school week schedule on collegereadiness, as measured by the average ACT composite scores of school districts in thestate of Kansas utilizing a four-day school week. The second purpose of this study wasto determine if cost savings were realized when a school district switched from a five-dayschool week to a four-day school week.Using average ACT composite scores as a measure of college-readiness, schooldistricts utilizing a four-day school week were compared to districts with similardemographics that utilized a five-day school week. The results showed that switching toa four-day school week negatively impacted ACT composite scores, an indicator ofcollege readiness. Using school district budget expenditures from two years before thedistrict switched to a four-day school week and two years after the district made theswitch, savings in the areas of utilities (heating and electricity), transportation, classifiedstaff personnel costs, and food service personnel costs were examined. School districtsthat switched to a four-day school week showed significant savings in the areas ofheating, transportation, and food service personnel costs. Savings in the areas ofelectricity and classified personnel costs were not realized.The study has implications for school districts that are currently using a four-dayschool week as well as those districts that are considering its use in the future. Whilemore than one set of data should be collected to ultimately guide the decision to stay with or implement a four-day school week schedule, the results of this study could help guidethis decision. It is recommended that future research include additional measures ofcollege readiness, perhaps examining longitudinal effects of a four-day school weekschedule on students’ future endeavors. It is also recommended that a larger number ofschool districts be examined to increase the power of the statistical analyses garneredfrom a larger sample size.