This is Faith Lapidus with the VOA Special English EducationReport.

Last week, the Education Report discussed schools that operateall year round with shorter holidays in the summer. This week, wereport about another public school change, a shorter school week.

In most of the United States, students attend class for five dayseach week -- Monday through Friday. Schools are required to holdclasses for about one-hundred-eighty days a year. Recently, schoolsin some areas of the country have begun investigating the idea ofholding classes for four days a week. Classes would meet eitherMonday through Thursday, or Tuesday through Friday. Some schools intwelve American states are now using that schedule.

The students still have the same number of total hours in classas before. But they attend school for a longer time on each of thefour days. In the western state of Colorado, schools on the four-dayweek hold classes for seven-and-one-half hours a day forone-hundred-forty-four-days. Traditional schools meet for six hoursa day for one-hundred-eighty days.

Many schools on a four-day schedule offer special programs forstudents or teachers, trips or sports competitions on the fifth day.Officials say this gives students even more time in class than onthe traditional schedule. Students do not have to miss school to goto the events. Students can also go to doctors or other appointmentson the fifth day.

The main reason for shortening the school week is an economicone. Small school systems say they can save money by not providingmeals or transportation for students on the fifth day. And they sayresearch shows that students are not harmed by the shorter week.

Opponents of the four-day school week say the research is notclear on this. They say the four-day week has not been shown toimprove students' learning. And they say that three days off fromschool each week is too long a time away from class.

Financial pressures seem to be leading to a shorter school weekin many parts of the world as well. Japan and Israel are changingfrom a six-day school week to a five-day schedule. South Korea willmake the change next year. And some areas of Canada have alreadyshortened their school week from five days to four.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by NancySteinbach. This is Faith Lapidus.