Year-round education: Is summer vacation over... forever?

More and more U.S. schools are moving to a year-round class schedule. Is this controversial approach really the best way to boost achievement?

Up to 10 percent of American kids could say goodbye to summer vacation by 2012.
(Image credit: Corbis)

More than 2.5 million U.S. school kids have lost their summer vacation, as their school districts opt for a "balanced schedule" (also called year-round education, or YRE). Meanwhile, education experts are estimating that the ranks of summerless kids will rise to 5 million, or 10 percent of public schoolchildren, by 2012. What does YRE mean for students, and why get rid of such a longstanding American tradition? (Watch a report about schools going year-round)

How does year-round schooling work?

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