The four-day school week (4DSW) is an alternative schedule gaining popularity among K–12 schools in the United States, with a resultant growing body of empirical research. This scoping review examined the extent and types of published empirical research evidence on the 4DSW. As of November 2024, we located 123 empirical research studies on the 4DSW in U.S. K–12 schools. The majority of studies provided evidence on the effects of 4DSWs (n = 78; 63%), examined 4DSWs in rural communities (n = 91; 74%), and are published in gray literature (n = 92; 75%). We created an online interactive database for interest holders to explore the diverse types of available evidence for studies most relevant to their specific contexts and informational needs.
AinsworthA. J.PennerE. K.LiuY. (2024). Less is more: The causal effect of four-day school weeks on employee turnover. EdWorkingPaper No. 24-1035. Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University.
2.
Alonso-CoelloP.SchünemannH. J.MobergJ.Brignardello-PetersenR.AklE. A.DavoliM.TreweekS.MustafaR. A.RadaG.RosenbaumS.MorelliA.GuyattG. H.OxmanA. D. (2016). GRADE Evidence to Decision (EtD) frameworks: A systematic and transparent approach to making well informed healthcare choices. 1: Introduction. BMJ, 353, i2016. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i2016
3.
AndersonS.AllenP.PeckhamS.GoodwinN. (2008). Asking the right questions: Scoping studies in the commissioning of research on the organisation and delivery of health services. Health Research Policy and Systems, 6(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4505-6-7
4.
AnglumJ. C.ParkA. (2021). Keeping up with the Joneses: District adoption of the 4-day school week in rural Missouri. AERA Open, 7, 23328584211002842.
5.
CampA.WilsonT.LiuY.AnglumJ. C.ManionA.NguyenT. (2024). Teacher retention and the four-day school week in Missouri. Policy Research in Missouri Education Center at Saint Louis University.
HaddawayN. R.GraingerM. J.GrayC. T. (2022). Citationchaser: A tool for transparent and efficient forward and backward citation chasing in systematic searching. Research synthesis methods, 13(4), 533–545.
8.
IsraelW.MulitauopeleC.MaM.LevinsonA. H.CikaraL.Brooks-RussellA. (2020). Adolescent health behaviors in schools with 4- versus 5-day school weeks. Journal of School Health, 90(10), 794–801. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12941
9.
KilburnM. R.PhillipsA.GomezC. J.MarianoL. T.DossC. J.TroxelW. M.MortonE.EstesK. (2021). Does four equal five? Implementation and outcomes of the four-day school week. RR-A373-1. In RAND Corporation. RAND Corporation. https://doi.org/10.7249/RR-A373-1
10.
KraftM. A.NovicoffS. (2024). Time in school: A conceptual framework, synthesis of the causal research, and empirical exploration. American Educational Research Journal, 61(4), 724–766.
11.
MaidenJ.CrowsonH. M.ByerlyC. (2020). The influence of the adoption of a school district four day instructional week on teacher retention. Journal of Education Finance, 46(2), 117–139.
12.
McGowanJ.SampsonM.SalzwedelD. M.CogoE.FoersterV.LefebvreC. (2016). PRESS Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies: 2015 Guideline Statement. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 75, 40–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2016.01.021
13.
McKenzieJ. E.BrennanS. E.RyanR. E.ThomsonH. J.JohnstonR. V.ThomasJ. (2024). Defining the criteria for including studies and how they will be grouped for the synthesis. In HigginsJ. P. T.ThomasJ.ChandlerJ.CumpstonM.LiT.PageM. J.WelchV. A. (Eds.). Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions (version 6.5). Cochrane.
14.
MortonE. (2021). Effects of four-day school weeks on school finance and achievement: Evidence from Oklahoma. Educational Researcher, 50(1), 30–40. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X20948023
15.
MortonE. (2023). Effects of 4-day school weeks on older adolescents: Examining impacts of the schedule on academic achievement, attendance, and behavior in high school. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 45(1), 52–78. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737221097420
16.
MortonE.DewilE. (2024). Impacts of Four-Day School Weeks on Teacher Recruitment and Retention and Student Attendance: Evidence from Colorado. Working Paper No. 307-0924. National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER).
17.
MortonE.ThompsonP. N.KuhfeldM. (2024). A multi-state, student-level analysis of the effects of the four-day school week on student achievement and growth. Economics of Education Review, 100, 102524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102524
PetersM.GodfreyC.McInerneyP.MunnZ.TriccoA. C.KhalilH. (2020). Chapter 11: Scoping reviews. In AromatarisE.MunnZ. (Eds.), JBI manual for evidence synthesis. JBI.
20.
RethlefsenM. L.KirtleyS.WaffenschmidtS.AyalaA. P.MoherD.PageM. J.KoffelJ. B.BluntH.BrighamT.ChangS.ClarkJ.ConwayA.CoubanR.de KockS.FarrahK.FehrmannP.FosterM.FowlerS. A.GlanvilleJ.. . . PRISMA-S Group. (2021). PRISMA-S: An extension to the PRISMA Statement for reporting literature searches in systematic reviews. Systematic Reviews, 10(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-01542-z
21.
ThompsonP. N. (2021). Does a day lost equal dollars saved? The effects of four-day school weeks on school district expenditures. National Tax Journal, 74(1), 147–183. https://doi.org/10.1086/712916
22.
ThompsonP. N.GunterK.SchunaJr.JohnM.TomaykoE. J. (2021). Are all four-day school weeks created equal? A national assessment of four-day school week policy adoption and implementation. Education Finance and Policy, 16(4), 558–583. https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00316
23.
ThompsonP. N.TomaykoE. J.GunterK. B.SchunaJ. (2022). Impacts of the four-day school week on high school achievement and educational engagement. Education Economics, 30(5), 527–539. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2021.2006610
24.
ThompsonP. N.TomaykoE. J.GunterK. B.SchunaJ.McClellandM. (2023). Impacts of the four-day school week on early elementary achievement. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 63, 264–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2022.12.009
25.
ThompsonP. N.WardJ. (2022). Only a matter of time? The role of time in school on four-day school week achievement impacts. Economics of Education Review, 86, 102198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2021.102198
26.
TomaykoE. J.GunterK. B.SchunaJ. M.ThompsonP. N. (2020). Effects of four-day school weeks on physical education exposure and childhood obesity. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 17(9), 902–906. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2019-0648
27.
TomaykoE. J.ThompsonP. N.SmithM. C.GunterK. B.SchunaJ. M (2021). Impact of reduced school exposure on adolescent health behaviors and food security: Evidence from 4-day school weeks. Journal of School Health, 91(12), 1055–1063. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.13095
28.
TriccoA. C.LillieE.ZarinW.O’BrienK. K.ColquhounH.LevacD.MoherD.PetersM. D. J.HorsleyT.WeeksL.HempelS.AklE. A.ChangC.McGowanJ.StewartL.HartlingL.AldcroftA.WilsonM. G.GarrittyC.. . . StrausS. E. (2018). PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation. Annals of Internal Medicine, 169(7), 467–473. https://doi.org/10.7326/M18-0850
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
