Should the United States' School Schedule Be Extended?

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The Board of Education wants to add hours to the school schedule. The problem proposed is American student’ test scores are falling behind counties in Europe and Asia. To see how more time in school will affect students and test scores, schools in Iowa, North Carolina, and California have increased the time some students spend in class. Some parents and faculty members think extending the school year into the summer could help American students compete academically with other countries, but the school year should not be extended because summer is needed for academic respite, the extension will cost millions, and there is not enough evidence to say that it can boost academic achievement.
Ideally, extending the school schedule into the summer equals more learning. Because students are not dedicated to their studies, often they do not retain the information they learned over the school year during summer vacation. According to the article “Will Longer School Year Help or Hurt US Students” Smyth notes that, “Proponents argue that too much knowledge is lost while American kids wile away the summer months apart from their lessons” (Smyth). Smyth argues that students clearly do not retain their lessons over the period of their summer break. However, opponents of the extension of the school schedule say, “summer breaks are needed to provide an academic respite for students’ overwrought minds, and to provide time with family and the flexibility to travel and study favorite subjects in more depth” (Smyth). Smyth’s observation not only protests taking summer away from families but also describes summer as a time needed to rest student’s minds.
Logically an extension to the school schedule would provide the schools with more federal money. Th...

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... with Europe and Asia, the American Board of Education placed project schools around our nation to examine the effect of extended school hours. Extra hours, however, will not contribute to increasing test scores as well as other factors can. Instead, the government should provide our schools with more qualified teachers. Without professional teachers, extending the hours in class cannot possibly help US students.

Works Cited

"Schools Give Extended Class Time a Longer Look." Gannett News Service. 18 Sept. 2006: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Smyth, Julie Carr. "Will Longer School Year Help or Hurt US Students?" Commercial Appeal. 14 Jan. 2013: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Viadero, Debra. “Mass Initiative: Does More Time Equal More Learning?.” Education Week 27.15. 12 Dec. 2007: 10-11. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

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