Block scheduling: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 16:24, 5 December 2020

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Many forms of block scheduling were devised. <ref name="Owl"/>

=== Alternate Day Block Scheduling ===

Also referred to as A/B block scheduling, Odd/Even block scheduling, or Day 1/ Day 2 block scheduling. Students take three to four courses, around 90-120 minutes in length, per day all year long on alternating days resulting in a full six or eight courses per year.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Trenta|first1=Louis|last2=Newman|first2=Isadore|date=Fall 2002|title=Effects of a High School Block Scheduling Program on Students: A Four-Year Longitudinal Study of the Effects of Block Scheduling on Student Outcome Variables|url=|journal=American Secondary Education|volume=31|pages=54|via=EBSCOhost}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Lewis|first1=Chance W.|last2=Dugan|first2=James J.|last3=Winokur|first3=Marc A.|last4=Cobb|first4=R. Brian|date=December 2005|title=The Effects of Block Scheduling on High School Academic Achievement|url=|journal=NASSP Bulletin|volume=98|pages=72-87|via=EBSCOhost}}</ref> An example table of a possible schedule is provided below.

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"

! colspan="3" |A/B Block Scheduling

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== Effectiveness ==

"Where we were able to combine data to produce summary effect sizes, we found that 4 x 4 block scheduling resulted in higher cross subject achievement than traditional schedules. However, the outcome average cross-subject achievement could conceal worsening performance in some subjects and better performance in others."<ref>{{cite web|title=Block Schedules and Student Performance on AP® Examinations|publisher=The College Board|date=May 1998|url=http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/pdf/block_schedules_10409.pdf|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727133107/http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/pdf/block_schedules_10409.pdf|archivedatearchive-date=July 27, 2011}}</ref>

Some schools have compensated for this by making AP courses last for the entire school year, providing essentially double the instruction time of normal classes, but this results in a dramatic reduction in the number of courses a student can take. Some schools that make AP courses year long offset this by having students always choose a pair of AP courses during class registration. The student will go to the first AP class one day, and the other AP course the next day. Therefore, the student takes the same number of courses as other students, but both AP classes last for the duration of the year.