Texas senators weighing whether to rein in four-day school weeks heard Tuesday that the shorter calendars line up with weaker reading and math results, though witnesses stopped short of urging a statewide ban.
The Senate Committee on Education took up the issue as part of an interim review before lawmakers return for the next session. Texas Scorecard reported the review covers more than 200 districts on four-day or hybrid schedules; Nexstar's Austin bureau put the number that have moved to four-day weeks at more than a hundred.
The state's numbers
Education Commissioner Mike Morath said a Texas Education Agency comparison of similar campuses linked four-day weeks to reading and math proficiency rates 6% to 8% lower than at comparable five-day campuses. He said the average Texas campus now holds 169 days of instruction a year, and about 15% of campuses hold fewer than 165.
Districts must provide 75,600 operational minutes a year and can reach that by lengthening the school day. Emily Morton, director of research consulting at the testing nonprofit NWEA, said Texas districts on four-day schedules average about 16 fewer school days, and the extra minutes may be spent on recess or other time that is not instruction.
Morath pointed to El Paso-area schools, which run a longer calendar with week-long breaks used for targeted tutoring, as a region that tends to post better results. "A longer day, but less total days, is pretty bad for total instructional attainment," he said.
Benefits and drawbacks
Morton said the schedules carry some benefits, including teacher retention about three percentage points higher, spending roughly 2% lower and a 30% to 40% drop in bullying. She also cited higher juvenile crime and food insecurity in districts using the model, and said it has not added teachers statewide.
