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The academic impact of multi-track year-round school calendars: A response to school overcrowding

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  • Graves, Jennifer

Abstract

Using detailed longitudinal data for the state of California, this paper studies the effect of multi-track year-round school calendars on academic performance. This particular type of year-round calendar allows for schools to house more students within the same facility than other calendars and is often motivated by its potential to alleviate overcrowding as well as to save costs relative to new school construction. This paper finds that these financial savings "come at a cost" in terms of the quality of education produced, as measured by a school's national percentile rank on standardized tests. Being on a multi-track year-round calendar results in a drop of 1-2 percentile points relative to a traditional calendar in national rank on reading, math and language scores. The policy implications are especially relevant to the current condition of the US education system, where many states are facing overcrowding problems and have implemented or are seriously considering implementation of multi-track year-round calendars as a remedy.

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  • Graves, Jennifer, 2010. "The academic impact of multi-track year-round school calendars: A response to school overcrowding," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 378-391, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:67:y:2010:i:3:p:378-391
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    1. Graves Jennifer & McMullen Steven & Rouse Kathryn, 2018. "Teacher Turnover, Composition and Qualifications in the Year-Round School Setting," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 18(3), pages 1-27, July.
    2. Depro, Brooks & Rouse, Kathryn, 2015. "The effect of multi-track year-round academic calendars on property values: Evidence from district imposed school calendar conversions," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 157-171.
    3. Derek Wu, 2020. "Disentangling the Effects of the School Year from the School Day: Evidence from the TIMSS Assessments," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 15(1), pages 104-135, Winter.
    4. Graves, Jennifer, 2013. "School calendars, child care availability and maternal employment," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 57-70.
    5. Kevin P. Belanger & Angela K. Dills & Rey Hernández-Julián & Kurt W. Rotthoff, 2019. "Class Size, Course Spacing, and Academic Outcomes," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 45(2), pages 301-320, April.
    6. McMullen, Steven C. & Rouse, Kathryn E., 2012. "School crowding, year-round schooling, and mobile classroom use: Evidence from North Carolina," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 812-823.
    7. Valerie Bostwick & Stefanie Fischer & Matthew Lang, 2022. "Semesters or Quarters? The Effect of the Academic Calendar on Postsecondary Student Outcomes," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 40-80, February.
    8. Steven C. McMullen & Kathryn E. Rouse, 2012. "The Impact of Year-Round Schooling on Academic Achievement: Evidence from Mandatory School Calendar Conversions," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 4(4), pages 230-252, November.
    9. Gregory Gilpin, 2018. "Policy-induced School Calendar Changes and Teacher Moonlighting," CAEPR Working Papers 2018-009, Center for Applied Economics and Policy Research, Department of Economics, Indiana University Bloomington.
    10. Thompson, Paul N., 2021. "Is four less than five? Effects of four-day school weeks on student achievement in Oregon," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    11. Jennifer Graves & Steven McMullen & Kathryn Rouse, 2013. "Multi-Track Year-Round Schooling as Cost Saving Reform: Not Just a Matter of Time," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 8(3), pages 300-315, July.
    12. D. Mark Anderson & Mary Beth Walker, 2015. "Does Shortening the School Week Impact Student Performance? Evidence from the Four-Day School Week," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 10(3), pages 314-349, July.
    13. Dills, Angela & Hernández-Julián, Rey & Rotthoff, Kurt W., 2016. "Knowledge decay between semesters," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 63-74.
    14. Sun, Shengmin & Chen, Jiawei & Chen, Jiaying, 2023. "Cohort crowding in education and employment: Evidence from China's compulsory education law," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 391-411.
    15. Thomas, Jaime L., 2012. "Combination classes and educational achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1058-1066.
    16. Thompson, Paul N., 2019. "Effects of Four-Day School Weeks on Student Achievement: Evidence from Oregon," IZA Discussion Papers 12204, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Takyi, Stephen Appiah & Azerigyik, Richard Apatewen & Amponsah, Owusu, 2019. "The effects of multi-track year-round education on the delivery of senior high school education in Ghana. Lessons from global MT-YRE systems," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    18. Graves, Jennifer, 2011. "Effects of year-round schooling on disadvantaged students and the distribution of standardized test performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1281-1305.
    19. Hashim, Ayesha K. & Strunk, Katharine O. & Marsh, Julie A., 2018. "The new school advantage? Examining the effects of strategic new school openings on student achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 254-266.

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