The Effects of Block Scheduling - school schedules

School Administrator, March, 1999 by Michael D. Rettig, Robert Lynn Canady

Comparisons With Canada

Several Canadian studies have compared achievement for students in semester schedules and students who take courses in year-long, single periods. In a study frequently cited by critics of block scheduling, David J. Bateson of the University of British Columbia reported significantly lower achievement in science as measured by a 40-item multiple-choice test given in 1986 to secondary school students in British Columbia operating on the 4/4 schedule. The conclusions and educational significance of this study have been questioned for the following reasons:

* The testing timetable favored students in year-long classes. The examination was given in May, regardless of when students took science that year. For students who had completed the class during the fall semester, the exam was taken nearly a full semester after finishing the course. Spring semester students missed two days of instruction for every one day missed by full-year students. The testing time frame itself could have affected results.

* Considerable doubt exists as to whether the groups of students being compared were equivalent. Evidence in the United States suggests that before the adoption of the new schedule, 4/4 schools had lower average test scores and served a lower SES population than the comparison schools that remained on the single-period schedule. Schools satisfied with students' academic performance have been less likely to change their schedules. The differences in populations caused by this "volunteer effect" could account partially for the differences in achievement reported.

* Important differences exist in the way U.S. and Canadian educators implement the 4/4 semester block schedule. In Canada, blocks range from 60 to 80 minutes in length. In the United States, we know of only one 4/4 school with fewer than 80 minutes per block, and most have classes of 85 to 90 minutes. In Canada, it appears little staff development was provided to teachers in how to adapt instruction and course pacing--training that has been stressed in most successful U.S. implementations. Teachers in Canada often were provided planning time only one semester, while U.S. teachers generally have been allocated one of four blocks for lesson planning each semester.

Questions About Retention

The long-term effect of the 4/4 schedule on student retention of learned material, which is an issue especially with teachers of mathematics and foreign languages, remains a matter of contention. Steven Kramer, who reviewed 25 years of research relating block scheduling to mathematics achievement for his doctoral work at University of Maryland, stated: "It seems safest to conclude that a gap in instruction may reduce recall of recently learned material but that it will probably have no long-term negative effects on student learning."

Many schools report greater numbers of students enrolled in Advanced Placement classes with stable or increasing pass rates. The College Board has reported that students in the 4/4 schedule who take AP courses for only one semester score lower on some AP examinations than do students who are enrolled in courses for the entire academic year.