Review of Year-Round Schools

JOINT LEGISLATIVE AUDIT

AND REVIEW COMMISSION

Repor t To the

Governor and The Gener al Assembly of Virginia

Review of Year-Round Schools

house document no. 3 (2013)

Commonwealth of Virginia

Richmond

oc tober 2012

Members of the Joint Legislative Audit and

Review Commission

Chair

Delegate John M. O¡¯Bannon III

Vice-Chair

Senator John C. Watkins

Delegate David B. Albo

Delegate M. Kirkland Cox

Senator Janet D. Howell

Delegate Johnny S. Joannou

Delegate S. Chris Jones

Delegate James P. Massie III

Senator Thomas K. Norment, Jr.

Delegate Robert D. Orrock, Sr.

Delegate Lacey E. Putney

Delegate Lionell Spruill, Sr.

Senator Walter A. Stosch

Walter J. Kucharski, Auditor of Public Accounts

Director

Glen S. Tittermary

JLARC Staff for This Report

Justin Brown, Division Chief

Kimberly Sarte, Project Leader

Katie Francis

Greg Rest

David Reynolds

Photo of year-round elementary school in Lynchburg,

Virginia (upper right). Copyright by Kipp Teague. Used with

permission.

Report No. 430

This report is available on the JLARC website at



November 28, 2012

The Honorable John M. O'Bannon III

Chair

Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission

General Assembly Building

Richmond, Virginia 23219

Dear Delegate O¡¯Bannon:

House Joint Resolution 646 of the 2011 Session directed the Joint Legislative

Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study the efficacy of year-round schools.

Specifically, staff were directed to determine which Virginia school divisions have

implemented year-round schools and conduct a comprehensive analysis of each yearround school, examine year-round schools utilized in other states and countries, and

review the Board of Education¡¯s procedure for approving year-round schools.

The final report was briefed to the Commission and authorized for printing

on October 9, 2012. On behalf of the Commission staff, I would like to thank staff at

the Department of Education for their assistance during this review. I would also

like to thank the division- and school-level staff in Virginia who are currently

operating year-round schools or have utilized them recently for the assistance and

information they provided during this review.

Sincerely,

Glen S. Tittermary

Director

GST/mle

Table of Contents

JLARC Report Summary

1

2

i

Year-Round School Calendar Redistributes

Traditional Summer Break Throughout Year

1

Nearly All Virginia Schools Operate on

Traditional Calendar Rooted in Agrarian History

2

Other States Also Use Year-Round Calendars,

While Other Countries Use Differing Calendars but

Tend to Have Shorter Summer Breaks

4

Year-Round Calendars Have Shorter, More

Frequent Breaks Compared to Traditional

School Calendars and Are Often Used to Increase

Student Achievement

5

Year-Round Schools Teach Same Curriculum but

Use Intersessions for Extra Educational

Opportunities

9

Local, State, and Federal Funding Sources Are

Used for Year-Round Schools in Virginia

13

Test Scores of Certain Students at Year-Round

Schools Were Better Than at Traditional

Schools

15

Research Finds Limited Academic Impact of YearRound Schools, but That Certain Student

Subgroups May Benefit

15

Some Student Subgroups at Year-Round Schools

Appear to Do Better on SOL Tests

17

Intersession Instruction and Shorter Summer

Breaks May Be Reasons for Higher SOL Test

Scores of Certain Student Groups

23

Educational Best Practices Influence Student

Achievement Regardless of the School Calendar

26

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