Research shows that the average public school student loses approximately 25% of the previous year’s reading skillset during the three months of summer break. For math, the loss is 30%.
American students spend approximately 180 days a year in structured instruction in our public schools. In Japan, the figure is 220 days. Those 40 extra days of instruction per year add up to over 500 days in a kindergarten through grade 12 public education. These extra days in Japan are part of an instruction model that lasts all year long, with breaks in a trimester system that are significantly shorter than in the United States.
The research on the Japanese model demonstrates significantly greater retention from one break period to the next. For numerous reasons, this is a model that should be followed by public schools in the United States.
First and foremost is the increased quality and quantity of learning that would take place among American students. Second, because most public school students have working parents, it reduces the amount of time that parents need to find alternative supervision for their children. Third, the physical facilities, primarily in the form of classrooms, would be better utilized, as opposed to long periods of dormancy. Fourth, it would make the teaching profession a 12-month rather than a nine-month job and therefore significantly increase the remuneration rate for educators.
Currently, college-educated licensed professionals are on the low end of this pay scale compared with individuals in other professions with similar requirements. With competitive salaries, more individuals would choose education as a career, and the five-year attrition rate would significantly decrease.
Our local public schools in Asheville and Buncombe County need to be at the front of the pack when it comes to best practices. Providing a new model of year-round schooling with more days of education and shorter breaks is a good place to start.
— Richard Boyum
Candler
