year long school

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3..2..1.. summer the yearlong torturer of another school year is over and summer has begun but what do we forget during our break, students traditionally return to school to repeat the process of acclimating to new teachers, new classmates, and a new classroom. Students struggle to remember lessons and assignments they have not been taught for months. The summer learning loss, many schools have implemented year-round schooling. The Association for Year-Round Education reported that in 2007 that 3,000 year-round schools enrolled more than 2 million students in the United States. But does the research show that year-round schooling really pays off? Students in year-round schools do as well or slightly better in terms of achievements than students in traditional schools. Research is inconclusive on whether year-round schooling is an effective solution to this problem. Two major surveys on year-round schooling have shown that the findings are mixed and that many studies, failing to account for family socioeconomic level or parental education. However, both of these surveys—Worthen and Zsiray (1994) and Cooper, Valentine, Charlton, and Melson (2003)—did find supporting evidence for these conclusions. Students in year-round schools do as well or slightly better in terms of achievements than students in traditional schools. Year-round school may be beneficial for students from poor or middle class families. Students, parents, and teachers who are involved in a year-round school program tend to have a positive outlook about the experience. The research also indicates that when year-round schooling has resulted in higher academic achievement, the schools in question are usually doing more than just rearranging the school calendar. These sc... ... middle of paper ... ...., Charlton, K., Lindsay, J., & Greathouse, S. (1996). The effects of summer vacation on achievement test scores: A narrative and meta-analytic review. Review of Educational Research, 66(3), 227–268. Cooper, H., Valentine, J. C., Charlton, K., & Melson, A. (2003). The effects of modified school calendars on student achievement and on school and community attitudes. Review of Educational Research, 73(1), 1–52. McMillen, B. J. (2001). A statewide evaluation of academic achievement in year-round schools. The Journal of Educational Research, 95(2), 67–74. National Association for Year-Round Education. (2007). Statistical summaries of year-round education programs, 2006–2007. San Diego, CA: Author. Worthen, B. R., & Zsiray, S. W. (1994). What twenty years of educational studies reveal about year-round education. Raleigh: North Carolina Educational Policy Research Center.

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