FREE ESSAY ON YEAR ROUND EDUCATION -- IS IT GOOD OR BAD FOR EDUCATION?

YEAR ROUND EDUCATION -- IS IT GOOD OR BAD FOR EDUCATION?

Imagine a child, on a hot summer day... no baseball, no swimming, no picnics or amusement
park rides. Instead of spending time doing all of the things kids like to during summer
vacations, this child, is attending school. Year round education (YRE) has been around
since 1904, with 3,000 schools and 2 million students currently using the program
(National Association). Students in year round schools go to school the same 180 days
that traditional schools attend. In YRE, the summer vacation is eliminated, replacing it
with shorter, more frequent breaks. There is a number of ways the year round school can
operate, including: 90/30, 45/15, and 60/20. The most popular of these calendars is the
45/15, where the year is divided into 4 nine week terms, separated by 4 three week
vacations (National Association). YRE has been a debated issue in education almost since
it began. Supporters of YRE say this schedule improves the learning process. The biggest
debate, however, comes from the parents and teachers who believe there are no proven
studies that YRE helps the learning process at all. So, is year round schooling a good
choice for the education of your children? YRE will not only hurt the education system,
but it will create chaos for the lives of the students attending and their families. 
Supporters of YRE believe year round schools are more cost effective than traditional
schools. With population in some districts rising rapidly, YRE is said to reduce
overcrowding of schools and classrooms. In many cases, school calendars are changed in
response to population growth. By running schools all year, districts can pack in more
students and postpone building new schools (Endless Summer). Supporters of YRE say that
by staggering vacations and schedules, schools can increase capacity by 25-50 percent
(Should Kids go). Supporters argue that the costs for the transition form a traditional
calendar to year round schools are modest compared to the construction costs of new
schools (Inger, Morton). 
However, those against YRE feel that expenses will only be reduced temporarily. According
to a "Year Round Education Study" conducted by the Lewisville, Texas Independent School
District, "Findings of a year-long study concluded that there is no financial benefit to
operating a Single Track System. The system would cause a modest increase in operational
expenses without providing any instructional benefits" (Time to Learn). In Iowa, the
Carroll School Board found that the costs of the district moving to a year round
education system could range from $16,786 to $32,412. Taylor Elementary School, in Cedar
Rapids, spends more money according to the classroom teachers that any other elementary
school. Schools in Davenport reported that the switch to YRE will cost an additional
$36,000 in salaries, $3000 per year for equipment, and supplies, and $22,300 as a one
time expense for teacher training. Plus, the move to YRE would also cost the district an
extra $92,626 to fully air condition the school building. In Des Moines, Moulten schools
spend about $80,000 annually for year round schooling. If YRE were implemented, Indianola
school districts would spend an additional $3,655 for middle school and $5,000 for
elementary school to pay for the additional secretarial, administrative, and custodial
time during the summer (Time to Learn). Costs will not only be incurred with the schools,
but also with the state and with taxpayers. Cost savings for one of these groups may
create cost increases for the other (Naylor, Charlie). Contrary to what supporters of YRE
claim, there are definitely extra costs to implementing and maintaining a year round
education system. 
Supporters of YRE say that year round schools would promote continuous learning. The
belief is that students forget a lot of what they learn while on long summer vacations.
This is seen more in slower learning students and for those who know English as their
second language. It is also thought that because students retain more when the learning
process is interrupted for only short periods of time, teachers in year round schools
need to spend less time reviewing pre-vacation material (Inger, Morton). Although this
seems true, opponents believe that there is research that needs to be addressed. 
Mary Lee Smith and Gene V. Glass have done extensive research in year round schools since
1974. In a study conducted by Smith and Glass, in a school district in Colorado, the
learning loss in the students was evaluated. They found that although teachers in year
round schools spent less time reviewing pre-vacation material than teachers in
traditional schools did, the actual achievement differences were insignificant on tests
designed specifically to measure district objectives (Glass, Gene V). According to Don
Patterson, a member of the Albuquerque, New Mexico School Board that tried and rejected
year round schooling, "Short term memory loss is very acute. Studies show that the only
discernible summer loss occurs in the first two to three weeks. So, by introducing all
these multiple breaks, all you're doing is maximizing forgetting." It has also been
proven that forgetting and relearning are part of the learning process. Gaps in student's
learning begin with loss of context retention in the subject area, which begins within
24-48 hours, unless the new information is reinforced or applied immediately. After a
month without reinforcement, about 80% of what a student has learned is recently lost.
Research indicates what we retain depends on student motivation and teacher-effectiveness
and isn't limited to a time factor (Time to Learn). It is quite obvious that YRE does not
improve the learning process, as those who support YRE claim. 
Supporters of the year round school system believe there are many benefits in the program
for students and teachers. Advocates of YRE say families have greater flexibility in
planning vacations that often cost less. Parents that support YRE feel that the shorter,
more frequent vacations allowed students to remain focused and enthusiastic (Prisoners of
Time). Angie Maniscalco, a 5th grade student at Fairmount Elementary in St. Louis, says,
"Kids should go to school nine weeks and be off three because, kids get bored in the
summer. They get sick of swimming every single day going skating or basically doing
anything. I go to school for nine weeks, then get off three" (Should Schools). Supporters
also believe parents who are working outside the home can take advantage of year-round
care for their children. Teachers that support the idea of YRE feel that the more
frequent breaks reduce burnout, and that the frequent breaks during the school year
enable teachers to visit and learn from other programs and other teachers (Prisoners of
Time). 
Those against YRE have different views about what year-round schooling will do for the
students and the teachers. In year round schools, middle, elementary and high school
students often have different schedules. While vacationing in the off-season may work
well, when children are on different schedules, vacations can be more of a problem. YRE
can certainly disrupt family life. With different ages of students, vacations are
difficult to schedule. For example, children on non-traditional schedules may miss out on
Boy Scout Camp, because their summer vacation falls in the month of August and the
activity is programmed for July. School activities can suffer as well. One study found
that band, chorus, drama, and student government were particularly hit hard (Never Ending
School). While there may be some benefits to YRE, it is obvious that there are many
situations where the year round calendar will cause confusion in the lives of those
involved. 
Perhaps the most debated issue in YRE is that of the achievement scores. Supporters of
YRE claim that student performance in year round schools is much greater. They believe
that year round schools will yield higher achievement scores that traditional schools.
Many advocates for YRE claim there are studies by the National Association for Year Round
Education that report that year round schools have a very positive impact on student
grades. Although supporters boast high achievement scores on tests, and higher student
grades, those against YRE disagree (Year Round Education: Is).
Critics of YRE say there is no evidence for higher academic gains under YRE as compared
to traditional schools. Studies and test scores repeatedly show little improvement by
students in year round schools. When test scores do increase, many educators hesitate to
attribute increases to the new calendar (Time to Learn). Many of these studies, have been
conducted by the National Association for Year Round Education (NAYRE), a highly biased
organization, whose consultants earn significant amounts of income by promotion YRE.
Robert Rosenfield, a systems analyst from Potomac, Maryland, was so concerned at what he
considered to be misrepresented data by the NAYRE that he analyzed a substantial number
of YRE evaluations in a 1994 paper. He concluded, "Each study presented in the NAYRE
review has either been incompletely characterized, or otherwise contradicted by other
studies within the same state or district. Nothing in the NAYRE review demonstrates any
academic achievement gain by changing to a year-round calendar." In a 1993 Resnik study
of Oakland Unified School District, California, concluded, "Students at year-round
schools show on average a lower academic achievement level than those at other schools,
and their achievement has decreased for the period, while it increased for schools in the
regular calendar." Overall, as you can see, there is little difference in student
achievement between year-round and traditional calendars (Year Round Education: Is). 
As evidence has shown, year round education will not improve the education of our
children. YRE will cost more money for schools. YRE will not promote continuous learning.
YRE won't create benefits for students and teachers, but will create chaos in the lives
of the people around them. Achievement scores in schools with YRE will not increase, but
in fact, in some cases, get worse. A few spoken views on YRE say it best. Sheila Duty
Gibson says, "Many students show that year-round schools do not improve education.
Changing the days students attend school does not address what many believe are the real
problems in education such as a lack of parental involvement, teacher development,
effective teaching methods and curriculum." An anonymous editorial in a North Carolina
newspaper says, "It's time to face the truth. The year-round schedule is a personal
preference, not the answer to our educational problems. Year-round school doesn't work
for everyone." Executive Editor of Elizabethton Star in Tennessee, said it well when he
said, "Summertime offers our youngsters an extended time to experience life in such a way
that will never again be afforded. If we are going to do anything with respect to school
scheduling, we should extend the summer vacation to Labor Day" (Time to Learn).
Bibliography
Works Cited
Burgoyne, Becky. "Backgrounder: The Never Ending School: Year Round Education. 
12 March 2000. 
"Endless Summer? Not for Children in Year-Round School; Education: Prompted by
overcrowding or by belief in its effectiveness, more and more school districts are
shifting to a 12-month calendar, The." Electric Library. 15 March 2000. 
Glass, Gene V. 7 March 2000. 
Inger, Morton. "Year Round Education: A Strategy for Overcrowded Schools." 12 March 2000.

The National Association for Year-Round Education page. 12 March 2000. 
Naylor, Charlie "Year Round Education:Is it worth the Hassle?" 7 March 2000. 
Prisoners of Time page. 7 March 2000. 
"Should kids go to school year round?" Electric Library. 15 March 2000. 
"Should School Be Held Year Round?" Electric Library. 15 March 2000. 
Time to Learn page. 16 Feb 2000.