Marc Pierlott
Fundamentals of Curriculum Development
Dr. Jay Dugan
March 30, 2010
A Brief History of School Schedules in America
Schools in America have been on a 10-month schedule since the 1800’s. Many believe summer vacation was created to meet the demands of an agrarian society. Others suggest that if that were the case children would need time off in the spring for planting and in the fall for harvesting. The summer vacation, they contend, was centered on the needs of the wealthy who could afford to retire to the cooler air of a summer cottage in the country or back to Europe to visit relatives and to tour. Either way, the 10-month schedule has become the traditional schedule of the vast majority of schools in America.
Although most districts utilize the 10-month schedule, experiments with year-round schedules began with the influx of immigrants into our larger cities around the beginning of the 1900’s. As a means of organizing the overcrowded schools and as a way of providing remedial help to non-English speaking children, schools created a tracking schedule whereby some students would be in school while others where on vacation. This lowered class size while allowing for immediate remediation for those falling behind in their studies.
Year Round Schedules
The typical year-round schedule operates on the same 180 day system as the 10-month schedule. A popular year-round schedule is the 45-15 plan with students in class 45 days then getting 15 days off (the equivalent of three weeks). Other options include the 60-20 and the 90-30 plans. Schools can operate these schedules as a single-track (that is when everyone in the school is on the same schedule) or a multiple-track system (that is when some students are in session while others are on vacation.) When overcrowding is a concern schools turn to the multiple track system to lower class sizes.
Over the years, the majority of American schools that have instituted year-round schedules are located in western states that have experienced population booms and the subsequent strain on their education infrastructure. In fact Education Bug reports that, 55% of students enrolled in year-round schools during the 2006-2007 school year resided in California. However, to put this number in perspective, only approximately 15% of public schools in California are year-round schools.
Arguments for Year-Round Education
In a school system suffering from overcrowding, year-round schooling provides accommodations for students and staff. However, there are other reasons to experiment with year-round schooling. Advocates such as Charles Ballinger of the National Association for Year-Round Education (NAYRE) suggest that the shorter break between marking periods might increase retention of previously learned material. If so, less time will be required to review material at the beginning of each marking period. Additionally, the breaks between marking periods provide opportunities for remediation and enrichment. That way, teachers work with students before they fall too far behind their classmates while enrichment programs offer students opportunities for discovery and exploration in a more relaxed academic setting.
Arguments against Year-Round Education
The most significant argument against year-round schooling is the lack of evidence suggesting that students actually learn more or perform better on standardized tests. Critics, such as Ohio State University’s Paul von Hippel, question the amount of information students forget over the course of a summer, as well as, if some lost information is worth the costs and efforts associated with changing the traditional school schedule. Year-round schooling can create difficulties in scheduling after-school activities (sports, theatre, music, etc.). These scheduling challenges are further complicated if a school is operating on a multiple-track system where students will have to come to school for practice and rehearsals during their vacations. In a multiple-track system it is possible for siblings to end up on different schedules making family vacations impossible and presenting challenges to fulfilling child-care needs (older siblings or babysitters may not be available.) Additionally, year-round schedules would create far- reaching changes to summer jobs, internships as well as the tourism industry. Lastly, districts will have to absorb the costs of equipping schools with air-conditioning to alleviate the heat during the summer months.
Curricular Effects
The year-round schedule offers curriculum writers many opportunities. First, the standard curriculum would change to match the shorter length of the marking periods. Using Dr. Dugan’s “Quick & Dirty Method of Curriculum Mapping”, one could plan an effective marking period by choosing the essential curriculum and organizing material by the number of teaching days in the marking period. Next, the opportunity to create brief interventions or remedial courses to fit within the vacation period would require teachers to examine the core lessons of the previous marking period and to generate differentiated learning experiences for their struggling students. Lastly, the opportunity to create enrichment activities for students that extend the knowledge gained in previous marking periods by applying it in creative ways could inspire students to become life-long learners.
Conclusion
There is no clear evidence that year-round schooling increases student achievement. Gene Glass, associate dean of research in the College of Education at Arizona State University stated, “The conclusion is that 180 days of schooling a year gives you 180 days of schooling output, regardless of how you arrange it or how you spread it out.” Therefore, I would recommend year-round schooling for districts struggling with overcrowding. For districts seeking ways to improve student achievement, I would recommend that you invest money in teacher training, curriculum development and more immediate remediation such as in-school, after-school and Saturday-school support programs.
Quotes against Year-Round Schooling
“It is absurd to suggest that children aren’t learning during the summer. It’s a different type of learning, which simply is not tested.”
Dr. Leo Wisenbender
L. A. Unified Program and Evaluation Branch, 1994
“You can’t scrape up a piece of solid evidence that academic achievement is superior on that calendar.”
Dr. Gene Glass
Associate Dean of Research, College of Education, Arizona State University, 2001
“The evidence was that it would be about as effective as changing the color of the school bus.”
Dr. Chris Newland
Psychology, Auburn University, 1998
“Advocates of year-round schooling have sometimes oversimplified and exaggerated the financial benefits . . . In some instances, savings have been so minimal that year-round schooling has been abandoned after just a few years of implementation.”
Barbara J. Merino
“The Impact of Year-Round Schooling, a Review”, Urban Education, 1983
“As long as we’ve been on year-round schedule, we haven’t improved academically.”
Principal Lynda Haynes
Stripling Middle School, Fort Worth, Texas, 1998
“We found that students in year-round schools learn more during the summer, when others are on vacation, but they seem to learn less than other children during the rest of the year.”
Paul von Hippel
Sociologist, Ohio State University, 2007
Fundamentals of Curriculum Development
Dr. Jay Dugan
March 30, 2010
A Brief History of School Schedules in America
Schools in America have been on a 10-month schedule since the 1800’s. Many believe summer vacation was created to meet the demands of an agrarian society. Others suggest that if that were the case children would need time off in the spring for planting and in the fall for harvesting. The summer vacation, they contend, was centered on the needs of the wealthy who could afford to retire to the cooler air of a summer cottage in the country or back to Europe to visit relatives and to tour. Either way, the 10-month schedule has become the traditional schedule of the vast majority of schools in America.
Although most districts utilize the 10-month schedule, experiments with year-round schedules began with the influx of immigrants into our larger cities around the beginning of the 1900’s. As a means of organizing the overcrowded schools and as a way of providing remedial help to non-English speaking children, schools created a tracking schedule whereby some students would be in school while others where on vacation. This lowered class size while allowing for immediate remediation for those falling behind in their studies.
Year Round Schedules
The typical year-round schedule operates on the same 180 day system as the 10-month schedule. A popular year-round schedule is the 45-15 plan with students in class 45 days then getting 15 days off (the equivalent of three weeks). Other options include the 60-20 and the 90-30 plans. Schools can operate these schedules as a single-track (that is when everyone in the school is on the same schedule) or a multiple-track system (that is when some students are in session while others are on vacation.) When overcrowding is a concern schools turn to the multiple track system to lower class sizes.
Over the years, the majority of American schools that have instituted year-round schedules are located in western states that have experienced population booms and the subsequent strain on their education infrastructure. In fact Education Bug reports that, 55% of students enrolled in year-round schools during the 2006-2007 school year resided in California. However, to put this number in perspective, only approximately 15% of public schools in California are year-round schools.
Arguments for Year-Round Education
In a school system suffering from overcrowding, year-round schooling provides accommodations for students and staff. However, there are other reasons to experiment with year-round schooling. Advocates such as Charles Ballinger of the National Association for Year-Round Education (NAYRE) suggest that the shorter break between marking periods might increase retention of previously learned material. If so, less time will be required to review material at the beginning of each marking period. Additionally, the breaks between marking periods provide opportunities for remediation and enrichment. That way, teachers work with students before they fall too far behind their classmates while enrichment programs offer students opportunities for discovery and exploration in a more relaxed academic setting.
Arguments against Year-Round Education
The most significant argument against year-round schooling is the lack of evidence suggesting that students actually learn more or perform better on standardized tests. Critics, such as Ohio State University’s Paul von Hippel, question the amount of information students forget over the course of a summer, as well as, if some lost information is worth the costs and efforts associated with changing the traditional school schedule. Year-round schooling can create difficulties in scheduling after-school activities (sports, theatre, music, etc.). These scheduling challenges are further complicated if a school is operating on a multiple-track system where students will have to come to school for practice and rehearsals during their vacations. In a multiple-track system it is possible for siblings to end up on different schedules making family vacations impossible and presenting challenges to fulfilling child-care needs (older siblings or babysitters may not be available.) Additionally, year-round schedules would create far- reaching changes to summer jobs, internships as well as the tourism industry. Lastly, districts will have to absorb the costs of equipping schools with air-conditioning to alleviate the heat during the summer months.
Curricular Effects
The year-round schedule offers curriculum writers many opportunities. First, the standard curriculum would change to match the shorter length of the marking periods. Using Dr. Dugan’s “Quick & Dirty Method of Curriculum Mapping”, one could plan an effective marking period by choosing the essential curriculum and organizing material by the number of teaching days in the marking period. Next, the opportunity to create brief interventions or remedial courses to fit within the vacation period would require teachers to examine the core lessons of the previous marking period and to generate differentiated learning experiences for their struggling students. Lastly, the opportunity to create enrichment activities for students that extend the knowledge gained in previous marking periods by applying it in creative ways could inspire students to become life-long learners.
Conclusion
There is no clear evidence that year-round schooling increases student achievement. Gene Glass, associate dean of research in the College of Education at Arizona State University stated, “The conclusion is that 180 days of schooling a year gives you 180 days of schooling output, regardless of how you arrange it or how you spread it out.” Therefore, I would recommend year-round schooling for districts struggling with overcrowding. For districts seeking ways to improve student achievement, I would recommend that you invest money in teacher training, curriculum development and more immediate remediation such as in-school, after-school and Saturday-school support programs.
Quotes against Year-Round Schooling
“It is absurd to suggest that children aren’t learning during the summer. It’s a different type of learning, which simply is not tested.”
Dr. Leo Wisenbender
L. A. Unified Program and Evaluation Branch, 1994
“You can’t scrape up a piece of solid evidence that academic achievement is superior on that calendar.”
Dr. Gene Glass
Associate Dean of Research, College of Education, Arizona State University, 2001
“The evidence was that it would be about as effective as changing the color of the school bus.”
Dr. Chris Newland
Psychology, Auburn University, 1998
“Advocates of year-round schooling have sometimes oversimplified and exaggerated the financial benefits . . . In some instances, savings have been so minimal that year-round schooling has been abandoned after just a few years of implementation.”
Barbara J. Merino
“The Impact of Year-Round Schooling, a Review”, Urban Education, 1983
“As long as we’ve been on year-round schedule, we haven’t improved academically.”
Principal Lynda Haynes
Stripling Middle School, Fort Worth, Texas, 1998
“We found that students in year-round schools learn more during the summer, when others are on vacation, but they seem to learn less than other children during the rest of the year.”
Paul von Hippel
Sociologist, Ohio State University, 2007
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