We all wish we had more days off from school. So a four day school week seems like heaven to most of  us. Come on, an extra day for video games?  But it’s not all it’s cut out to be. A four day school week can ruin test scores, student health and their environments.

California requires a minimum of 180 days, or 1,080 hours, worth of school per academic year. With a day cut out from each week, the school day would stretch from six hours and 50 minutes to a whopping eight hours and 20 minutes. I believe that it would be damaging to a student’s health as the amount of hours in a school day can be more harmful than days in the week.

Lengthening the school day would also cut down what little down time student-athletes have, adding more stress and less meals to the never-ending pile. Sacrificing a day is not worth the lessened amount of free time.

Many working class families rely on the school-provided lunches. Removing a day may leave these students without breakfast or lunch for that day. In addition, they may have trouble covering the costs for necessary childcare while they are away at work. 

Some families can’t account for this change in time, as they may work night shifts and leave too early to pick up their students. The end time could interrupt certain chores, such as preparing dinner. As someone from a busy household, I believe this could be detrimental to families that run low on time between school, work and sports. A time-constrained household can be a large stressor for many, including myself.

According to a study conducted in Oregon in 2021, where 700,000 students’ performances were evaluated, math and reading scores decreased after districts switched to a four day school week. Test scores were deviated by about four percent for reading and six percent for math, after losing almost an hour of lessons for each. Even with lengthened days, schools still lose three to four hours per week, which could be used to learn more curriculum.

Although a four day school week seems like heaven to most of us, its cons outweigh the benefits of one less day.