Opinion: Four-Day School Weeks Deserve a Harder Look

More than 2,000 schools across the country have moved to a four-day week, most of them in rural districts struggling to hire teachers. The appeal is obvious. The evidence is not.

Early studies suggest modest learning losses, concentrated among students who most depend on school for meals, supervision, and structure. A long weekend is a gift to a family with a parent at home. It is a burden to one without.

Before more districts sign on, we should ask who is covering the fifth day, and at what cost.