8 Tables

8.1 Table 1. Eligibility criteria for including and escluding studies in the scoping review

Criteria Include Exclude
Population School stakeholders None
Concept Four-day school week Other changes to the traditional school calendar (e.g., extended school year)
Context Primary and secondary schools in the United States Pre-schools, postsecondary schools, and schools outside the United States
Study Design Any empirical design Conceptual and opinion articles
Publications Research reports in English Reports in a language other than English and non-research reports (e.g., popular media)

8.2 Table 2. Characteristics of included sources of evidence on the four-day school week

Characteristic N % Median Range
Publication Type
Student 75 56%
Journal 31 23%
Report 19 14%
Preprint 8 6%
Student Type1
Doctoral dissertation 62 83%
Masters thesis 11 15%
Undergraduate thesis 2 3%
Student Discipline1
Education 67 89%
Economics 4 5%
Psychology 2 3%
Music 1 1%
Sociology 1 1%
Publication Year 2018 1980-2025
Study Year 2012 1975-2025
Community Type2
Rural 97 73%
Urban 39 29%
Suburban 36 27%
Not reported 32 24%
School Level2
Elementary 96 72%
High 95 71%
Middle 90 68%
Not reported 15 11%
Majority Student Race/Ethnicity
White 46 35%
Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish 4 3%
American Indian or Alaska Native 1 1%
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 1 1%
Not reported 81 61%
Fifth Day Activities2
Teacher in-service 39 29%
Nothing (school closed) 37 28%
Student instruction 22 16%
Extracurriculars clubs sports 12 9%
Child care 5 4%
Trips educational field 2 2%
Not reported 79 59%
1 Denominator for percentages is n = 70 student manuscripts.
2 Percentages total more than 100% because categories are not mutually exclusive.

8.3 Table 3. Types of available research evidence on the four-day school week

Characteristic N %
Effectiveness 86 65%
Acceptability 50 38%
Interest-Holders1
Teachers 34 68%
Parents 20 40%
Administrators 18 36%
Students 15 30%
Community members 11 22%
Principals 8 16%
School staff 8 16%
Superintendents 8 16%
Athletics 2 4%
Business owners 2 4%
Counselors 2 4%
School board members 2 4%
Inferential Approach1
Difference-in-differences 23 27%
Descriptive statistics only 16 19%
Before-after study 15 17%
Between-group (no statistical control) 15 17%
Between-group (with statistical controls) 7 8%
Matched pair design 7 8%
Computational model 3 4%
Outcome Domain1
Achievement 55 64%
Attendance 26 30%
Staff/Teacher retention 16 19%
Attainment 9 10%
Health 9 10%
School climate 7 8%
School disciplinary incidents 6 7%
Household impacts 4 5%
Criminal activity 3 4%
Equitability of Effects1 45 34%
Age or grade level 28 62%
Community type (rurality) 11 24%
Socioeconomic status 11 24%
Race or ethnicity 7 16%
Student gender identity or sex 5 11%
Special education status 5 11%
English language learner 3 7%
Gifted student status 3 7%
Immigration status 1 2%
Not reported 0 0%
Feasibility 41 31%
Resource 32 24%
Priority 6 4%
1 * Denominator for specific categories is the number of studies on that type of evidence.