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The 2025-26 school year is officially underway. Across the country, and even here in the state of Texas, many districts have transitioned to a four-day week. In the Lone Star State, around 500 schools across 181 different districts have made the switch.
Many of the districts making the transition have cited concerns about teacher retention, as well as their ability to attract and hire new teachers, as a primary reason for making the transition. So how is it working for them?
According to Jonathan Butcher with the Heritage Foundation, not quite as well as they'd hoped. He said, "There are new research papers that surveyed teachers in districts that have moved to a four-day work week, and they looked to see if that had made a difference in their working conditions. Turns out it had not."
Butcher also called out the focus on teacher quality of life, citing the obvious concerns about students. He said, "I would argue that given test scores, the issue that really should predominate is whether this is a move that will help improve student outcomes."
Nationally, and even in the state of Texas, it seems that results on that front have been mixed. With that in mind, Butcher warned that school districts should carefully test and study the effectiveness of a four-day week in their own classrooms before making a full-time transition permanent.
He said, "You can try different formats for part of a semester, or even part of a month, to determine whether or not students are retaining as much information."
Butcher warned that whatever is done, the focus should always be on making sure students are learning critical core skills like reading, writing, and math, not just making sure teachers are comfortable.