Year Round Education and Achievement

Several studies provide a solid research base for discussing the effects of year-round schooling on student achievement. Winters (Ballinger, 1995) reviewed 19 studies of academic growth in year-round schools and found that students in year-round settings performed better on achievement tests than their peers who followed traditional calendars. In addition, "Kneese also investigated the impact of the year-round calendar on student achievement, matching 311 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students enrolled in year-round classes with students in traditional classes in the same schools. She found statistically significant differences in favor of the year-round students in both math and reading achievement for all students, and especially in reading for at-risk students. Year-round students in low socioeconomic schools also performed better in both reading and math" (Ballinger, 1995). In 2001 Kneese reported the results of a research synthesis that looked at 61 studies of achievement. The results favored students in year-round settings, showing positive achievement gains in 66% of the comparisons.

The University of Minnesota has been actively investigating the implementation of year-round schooling around the state. Data collected from schools involved in year-round schooling indicated that students attending year-round schools perform at least as well and sometimes better than students on traditional calendars ("Alternative Calendars…", 1999). For more information on year-round schools in Minnesota refer to the CAREI website: http://education.umn.edu/carei/.