The Effects of the Four-Day School Week on Teacher Recruitment and Retention

School districts across the United States are increasingly adopting the four-day school week, often in the hope of addressing teacher staffing challenges. We examine the effects of the four-day week on teacher recruitment and retention in Missouri, where three in ten districts currently use it. After presenting qualitative data showing that school and district leaders, and teachers, believe the four-day week improves recruitment and retention, we estimate the effects of the four-day week on these outcomes using difference-in-differences models. We find no consistent evidence that the four-day school week improves teacher recruitment or retention. Our findings hold when considering potential saturation effects, indicating that even early adopters experienced no statistically significant benefit from adopting the four-day school week calendar.

This is an updated version of CALDER WP 320-0625, originally released in June 2025.