Students will retain information longer with year-long schooling
When it comes to learning and retaining information, students who attend year-round schools have nothing to lose and much to gain.
Education
Learning
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The Argument
Year-round schooling means that students do not fall victim to the “summer slide,” the well-documented notion where students unlearn some of the knowledge they worked so hard to attain when too much consecutive time is taken off from school.[1]
With year-round schooling, students stay engaged with the learning process throughout the year. This reduces information loss and transitions are easier on students and teachers. Even though students at year-round schools attend the same days as traditional school students, they are at a slight advantage because the shorter breaks help them retain more of what they learned.
The National Summer Learning Association often cites decades of research that shows that it can take anywhere from 8 to 13 weeks at the beginning of every school year for teachers to get their students back up to speed and ready to learn the new grade’s material.[2]
Counter arguments
Research about the academic impact of year-round schooling has not clearly shown it is beneficial. One challenge in proving that year-round schooling is beneficial is that there are numerous factors that impact academic performance, which makes isolating the effects of this one aspect difficult.
A study released in 2007 by Ohio State University found that there are really no differences in learning between students who attend school year-round and those who are on a traditional schedule.
Premises
[P1] Year-long schooling helps students avoid losing knowledge by giving them smaller breaks rather than prolonged ones.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] It has not been proven that year-long school is beneficial for memory retention.