A recent Washington Times article discusses Maryland officials joining other states in reconsidering school start dates that have been pushed earlier in the summer over the last several years. Some officials say moving the start dates to after Labor Day could benefit the state economically due to additional tourism dollars.
Public Policy Professor and Graduate Program Director Dave Marcotte was interviewed for the article and commented on potential academic effects of moving school start dates to after Labor Day.
“With the state testing schedule, schools that start early have an advantage,” Marcotte said. “In the state of Wisconsin, schools started moving their start dates up in order to do better on standardized tests. The state had to restrict the early start dates because the schools were creeping up into early August.”
Marcotte said that students from lower income families suffer the most from long learning gaps during the summer and tend to lose many educational gains made during the school year.
To read the full article in The Washington Times titled, “Starting school later could generate an extra $7.7 million for Maryland’s coffers, click here.
Tags: CAHSS, PublicPolicy
