Block scheduling

Time	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri
09:00 – 09:50	Math	English	Math	English	Math
09:55 – 10:45					English
10:50 – 11:40	History	Science	History	Science	History
11:45 – 12:35					Science
12:40 – 01:00	Lunch
01:05 – 01:55	P.E.	Computer	P.E.	Computer	P.E.
02:00 – 02:45					Computer

Block scheduling is a type of academic scheduling in which each student has fewer classes per day for a longer period of time. This results in more time for teaching due to less time wasted due to class switching and preparation.

The exact method used varies greatly between schools. Below and on the right are two fake schedules demonstrating common examples.

Time	A Days	B Days
09:00 – 10:45	Math	English
10:50 – 12:35	History	Science
12:40 – 01:00	Lunch
01:05 – 02:45	P.E.	Computer

In the example on the left, the first day of school is an A Day, the next a B Day, the third an A Day again, and so on. A similar type of schedule, called 4x4 block scheduling, puts all the A Days in the first semester, and all the B Days in the second. The benefit to this is that it allow students to "double up" so to speak, and take two courses in one year which they ordinarily wouldn't be able to take due to serial issues such as taking Algebra 1 in the First Term and Algebra 2 in the second. This also allows students to retake a course they did poorly in. This is especially useful for seniors who may need to retake an essential class they fail, where as in other schedules they would not be able to graduate with the class at the end of the year, with this it is possible if the student is motivated enough to put in the effort to pass the class the second time through, and still graduate with the class.

External links

• "The Case Against Block Scheduling" by Jeff Lindsay
• "Block Scheduling Revisited" by J. Allen Queen
• Collection of weblinks about block scheduling
• Block schedule of Dana Hills High School