St. Louis Park will finally catch up to Minneapolis schools with an earlier start date to the school year.

Overall, the change that will shift the school year is generally more positive than negative.

The 2015-2016 school year ends June 10, whereas the 2016-2017 year will end June 2. The district made this change to allow for road construction to begin sooner in June.

Starting school earlier gives students one extra week to prepare for standardized testing such as AP tests, IB tests, the ACT and the SAT. While some people would dismiss this as just one week, this could be very beneficial for the students who use their time wisely.

One extra week for studying could cover more than 100 years in an AP or IB history class.

For students this can only be a positive change, as more time to cover more material further prepares students for exams, often for college credit.

According to a CNN report, most schools in the United States start before Labor Day.

The report says education professors at the head of Atlanta Public Schools see having school in early June as a bad idea because after that point students stop taking school seriously. After standardized testing and the long Memorial Day weekend wrap up many students effectively “check-out” from school.

Ending school June 2 would create a smoother transition from the school year to summer break.

Also, with an earlier school year, it’s very likely first semester finals will happen before winter break. This is a beneficial situation because students will not have to do work during their school break.

Winter break is a time that should be spent with relatives,  not studying for finals. With all the holidays during this time, school will be the least of students worries.

Students will now be able to fully enjoy their breaks without having anything hanging over their heads.

Even though time will be lost for first semester finals and the first summer, it will be gained for all standardized tests, which is far more important in the end.

At the end of the day, having an earlier school start date provides far more advantages than disadvantages.