<p>LA Times article on the pros and cons of beginning the fall semester before Labor Day to increase academic performance:</p>
<p>
[quote]
The start of school has become a moving target, creeping ever earlier as educators are pressured to give students more time to prepare for standardized tests and finish fall exams before the winter holiday break...Nationally, about three-quarters of public schools start classes sometime in August, according to education research firm Market Data Retrieval...</p>
<p>One of the driving factors (for our earlier start) is based on students' performance relative to mandated tests...for example ... tests for Advanced Placement classes are administered in May. Schools that start a week or two later have less instruction time...We hear from parents who believe it's best for kids to have a long, 10-week summer, and also parents who say I need them back in school. So you really can't win."...</p>
<p>A Michigan law enacted last year mandates that schools begin after Labor Day, and Texas school districts this year cannot begin until the fourth week of August. Other states, such as Pennsylvania and Tennessee, are studying similar laws....
<p>I think they should change the date of AP tests. From what I understand most schools do not get out before the first week in June and I've never understood why the AP tests are almost a month before that. </p>
<p>Our school tried a before labor day start date a few years ago and got blasted by the parents, but it wasn't because of the date really, just that it wasn't made known until July when the school calendar came out. Many people set their vacation dates in January. We have a mandated 180 days, it doesn't matter to me whether it starts mid-August or after labor day, just so it's not more then 180 days and I have plenty of notice of the dates.</p>
<p>They can't move the AP test dates out because if they did, the scores wouldn't be available in time for college registration.</p>
<p>Second, if an AP class is truly a college level course, it can certainly be taught between the first of September and May, which is how long the college year is.</p>
<p>Good point, but the kids that are done the AP tests are left with projects or even busywork at my son's HS. And the kids that start school in August have two extra weeks of information. I know my kids AP teacher was really rushing at the end of AP Euro to get a few hundred years worth of History taught. And instead of heaving a sigh of relief after the test, the kids had a final and more work. Students that are done at the end of May are probably DONE.</p>
<p>I don't think early start and late end will help kids have better preparation for AP tests. Many kids don't seriously prepare until the exams are close. And I think long school hours do more harm than good. I also don't understand why California cannot follow the school schedule in other states (start after Labor day and end in end of May). Kids need long summer to regain energy, take summer classes that schools don't offer, work, play,...</p>
<p>High school and college schedules in California don't make much sense. The UC system starts late September and ends in early June. The CSU and community colleges start the third week of August end in end of May. High school and college students really have a hard time to take advantage of summer classes offered by the colleges.</p>
<p>My school started 3 weeks ago. Honestly, I don't find anything wrong with an earlier start date, but if AP tests and the like are scheduled so early and unaccommodating to later start dates for schools, I also wouldn't mind starting later. To kids, it doesn't really matter as long as summer isn't cut short.</p>
<p>For seniors, whether or not they start later, it works out better to get the exams done in May, even if it means cramming in the test prep a little. The last month or so of school is "short timer season" anyway, so getting those tests out of the way earlier rather than later is a good thing.</p>
<p>Other than that, the shorter window for test prep doesn't, or shouldn't, affect some AP courses. For example, the semester courses like Econ, Gov, Psych, Stat (I believe it is a semester equivalent), and Environmental Science. There may be more. If they are taken over the course of the entire year, there is ample learning time. If they are taken in the first semester, it doesn't affect the test, since they can't take it until May anyway. The only people who would be affected are those taking a semester-equivalent course in the second semester of high school, where the second semester doesn't start until well past the first or second week of January.</p>
<p>Likewise for yearlong-equivalent science APs that are scheduled for two periods per day, 5 days per week. There should be ample time to prepare for the exams. For English AP's, usually the brunt of reading is done over the previous summer. Even for the rest, there should be time to cover the material if the class is meeting 5 days per week, 50 minutes a day (that's still more classroom instruction than the equivalent college class would get).</p>
<p>The part about the month-after AP tests- that's a different story. Our teachers use the leftover time to do enrichment activities that they were unable to do prior to the AP exams. Usually these activities are "fun" and not grade-punitive.</p>
<p>Coolweather, Starting after labor day is common for most East coast schools. I'm not sure why it is but it seems like the early start, early finish schools are in the Midwest and Southwest. I know my nephews in Arizona start pretty early in August and are done by mid-May and when my daughter did her student teaching in St. Louis the kids started at least a week before labor day. Sept start - June end, is not a California only schedule. I would really like a week earlier start and a week earlier end in June. I don't see any down side at all.</p>
<p>Our HS does keep on chugging away after the AP's and no, it's not usually fun stuff, it's tests and projects.</p>
<p>"Sept start - June end, is not a California only schedule."</p>
<p>No, school started August 20 for my kids this year. And they had only 8 weeks for summer. In 8 summer weeks my older kid had to submit 2 essays in the middle of the summer, read books, took notes and prepared for tests on the first day of school. The kid wanted to take a summer class at the UC system but could not because that class would not end until last week.</p>
<p>When I was in high school I had 3.5 months for summer. Other schools in my city started a month earlier but their students did not do as well as students in my school did at the baccalaureat tests.</p>
<p>One of the problems with California school schedule is many parents don't see the benefits of a long summer. They want kids to stay longer in school so that they don't have to worry more about child care. And I guest the other problem is the school administators and teachers want to justify their pay. I don't have problem with their pay as long as they leave my kids alone. Yes I am ranting in the heat.</p>
<p>Our school is on block scheduling, so they start mid-August, but are done with their first term before winter break, finals included. It gives them a nice break, knowing they don't have homework or exams hanging over their heads during that time.</p>
<p>Due to block scheduling, a majority of our AP classes are offered in the spring term, which also works out well. There's usually only a week or so of classes left after they take their AP tests. School is always over before Memorial Day, and seniors usually graduate the weekend before Memorial Day.</p>
<p>Although they're always the first to return in the fall, they really do enjoy having a real break in December/January with no responsibilities to school work.</p>
<p>bluebayou - I don't actually see a public school schedule starting after labor day and ending by May 31. But I do see one ending on June 9. I also see some private schools start around August 20 and end on May 23.</p>
<p>Our district starts after Labor Day, but students taking APs are expected to do the first month's worth of work before the summer vacation ends, and projects are due the first day of school - "culling the herd" for those who procrastinate. So if you are taking four or five AP's, the summer vacation is pretty much cut short that way. If a student decides to participate in a summer enrichment program somewhere, has a summer job, or starts fall sports practice mid-August, they have little or no real "downtime" during summer at all (a preparation for real life some would say, but I know some students really need a break).</p>
<p>In New York State, there are regents exams to take in June, so the time between May and June is spent preparing for those if you have already taken an AP test in the same subject...</p>
<p>my school starts this thursday and we end June 28th.
June 28th.
That's nearly July.
Summer camps start before that. </p>
<p>anyway, we start a month later than some schools and therefore have to do a lot more work in a shorter amount of time for APs than some other kids. And also, since Regents exams are a joke after APs, from May to June (or July in our case), we do nothing but some busywork, random projects, and watch movies. The last week before Regents, we do some practice Regents questions in class and that is the extent of most of our studying for subjects we've already taken APs in.</p>
<p>Plus, not all APs have Regents exams that corrolate. I'm a Junior and I've finished all my Regents except Physics. I am taking 5 APs and one Honors class with no Regents exam.
That month long stretch between the APs and Regents is going to be a complete joke. The only class I am taking that I will have to do anything in is Physics. The other 6 periods will basically be study halls. </p>
<p>It is a COMPLETE waste of time to be in school for those 6 periods.</p>
<p>You're in school for the entire time Regents are going on, plus two days after?? What's the point of that? We usually have our last (half) day of school the day of the first Regents.</p>