Argumentative Essay: The Four Day School Week

For years professionals around the country have been juggling the idea of a four day school week. Most students are accustomed to the normal five day school week with the concept of a two day weekend. However, recent studies have shown that shortening the school week will increase the productivity of the district due to the fact that they would have to pay for transportation on one less day of the week. Also, recent evidence points to a drop in drop out rates and absences, and that test scores and grades have increased in school districts that have shortened their school weeks. Due to the fact that one less school day decreases the amount of money that a district will have to pay for transportation, the district will have more disposable money …show more content…
This may be that students feel more rejuvenated by the elongated weekend, and this very well may be the case. However, the credit is more easily put on a change in the students’ schedules. Due to the prospect of a three day weekend, and one of those days being a Friday, parents are finding it easier and easier to schedule doctor’s appointments as well as family trips and reunions. Also, in most school districts, sporting events usually are an activity that is held on Fridays. Seeing that Fridays are a part of the weekend in school districts that practice a four day school week, students on teams and their supporters find it easier to attend events without missing school and their classes. But because there is no school on Friday, the school has to compensate by making school longer on the days that it is still held. Some may view this as a disadvantage, but studies show that students are more involved in class, and that teachers are able to teach their lessons in a more effective manner. Districts that have switched to the four day week are normally districts that had lower average test scores. However, after switching to a four day week, these districts see an average of a seven percent increase in their math test scores after just one year. After two years of a four day week, students were also seeing an average of a three