Social Determinants of Health: Year-Round Schooling

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Findings and Recommendations

The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) finds insufficient evidence to determine whether year-round schools improve academic achievement. Academic achievement is an established determinant of long-term health.

The evidence on effectiveness of single-track year-round schools is insufficient because the role of intersession programs is unclear. Intersession programs are offered between regular school sessions and may be used for remedial or accelerated course work.

The evidence for multi-track year-round schools is also insufficient. If these programs are implemented, it is important that students be equitably assigned to tracks that have equivalent resources.

The full CPSTF Finding and Rationale Statement and supporting documents for Social Determinants of Health: Year-Round Schooling are available in The Community Guide Collection on CDC Stacks.

Intervention

Year-round schooling alters the school calendar by redistributing school and vacation days more evenly throughout the year, without changing the number of school days per year.

There are two forms of year-round schooling:

  • Single-track: all students participate in the same school calendar. In place of long breaks such as summer vacation, shorter breaks are distributed more evenly throughout the year. Schools may offer intersession programs with remedial or accelerated classes. Single-track programs are generally implemented to address the problems of summer loss and achievement gaps
  • Multi-track: students are grouped into “tracks” and each one has its own schedule. There is always one track on break while the others are in session, and breaks are distributed throughout the year. Except for certain holidays, schools remains open year-round. Multi-track programs are generally implemented to address school crowding and take advantage of school facilities that are closed and empty during summer

About The Systematic Review

The CPSTF finding is based on evidence from a meta-analysis published in 2003 (Cooper et al., 47 studies, search period January 1965–March 2002) combined with more recent evidence (6 studies, search period March 2002–August 2016).

Of the 47 studies from the meta-analysis, 23 specified whether the calendar was single- or multi-track. In combination, 18 studies evaluated single-track year-round calendars and 11 evaluated multi-track year-round calendars.

Study Characteristics

  • Outcomes included student scores on standardized tests administered at national or state levels
  • All studies were conducted in the United States
  • In the Cooper et al. meta-analysis, year-round schooling was implemented in elementary (23 studies) and secondary (9 studies) schools in urban (18 studies), suburban (6 studies), and rural (5 studies) school districts.
  • In studies from the updated search, year-round schooling was implemented in elementary schools (3 studies), high schools (1 study), and a combination of elementary, middle and high schools (2 studies). Three studies evaluated interventions in mixed urban/suburban or rural (3 studies) settings, and 3 studies did not report this information.

Summary of Results

Cooper et al. meta-analysis

  • Studies of single-track year-round calendars showed small and consistent improvements in standardized achievement test scores (15 studies)
  • Studies of multi-track year-round calendars showed inconsistent results for standardized achievement test scores (8 studies)
  • There was no significant difference of effect between studies that did and did not include intersession programs

Evidence from the updated search

  • Studies of single-track year-round calendar reported mixed findings (3 studies). The role of intersession in single-track programs was not clear
  • Studies of multi-track year-round calendar reported mostly negative outcomes (3 studies)

Summary of Economic Evidence

An economic review of this intervention was not conducted because the CPSTF did not have enough information to determine if the intervention works.

Applicability

Applicability of single-track and multi-track year-round schools across different settings and populations was not assessed because the CPSTF did not have enough information to determine if these interventions work.

Evidence Gaps

  • Is there an optimal spacing of school days and breaks for purposes of learning?
  • Does optimal spacing match a particular calendar design?
  • Single-track calendars
    • Are single-track calendars effective in the absence of intersession programs? Does the intersession account for the benefit of single-track calendars?
  • Multi-track calendars
    • How is track placement achieved and how can equity be assured?

Implementation Considerations and Resources

Despite the finding of insufficient evidence, the following are considerations for implementation drawn from studies included in the evidence review, the broader literature, and expert opinion.

  • Before implementing year-round schooling, schools and school district should consider the following issues:
    • Parental employment and how it will be affected
    • Child care availability
    • School administration challenges
    • Use of intersessions
  • Year-round schooling can make it more difficult for families to schedule extra-curricular activities and vacations
  • Multi-track calendars:
    • Potential benefits of year-round use of the school building include decreases in school vandalism and cost savings or cost delays for the school district
    • Coordinating school administration and scheduling is complex
    • It can be difficult to schedule standardized testing and after-school activities
    • Students may be separated from their friends who are in different tracks
    • Steps must be taken to assure students are equitably distributed among all tracks. Some of the included studies reported that lower income and minority students were more often assigned to poorly supported tracks