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Block Scheduling Models

by Michael Rettig

About the Authors

Michael Rettig is assistant professor of education at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He taught for ten years in the Syracuse, New York, schools and served as a school Administrator in Martinsville and Lexington, Virginia, for six years. He is the co-author of Block Scheduling: A Catalyst for Change in High Schools and has served as a consultant on scheduling issues across the United States.

Note: Figures 1–3 are reprinted with permission from R. L. Canady and M. D. Rettig (1995). Block Scheduling: A Catalyst for Change in High Schools, pages 43, 75, 126. Eye on Education, P.O. Box 3113, Princeton, NJ 08543 (609) 395-0005.

Four basic varieties of block schedules have been implemented by schools around the country: the alternate day schedule; the 4/4 semester plan; trimester plans; and reorganizations of the 180-day school year such as the 75-75-30 plan.

Alternate Day Schedules

Rather than holding classes daily, students and teachers meet every other day for extended time "blocks." Alternate day schedules are also called "A/B," "Day 1, Day 2," and "Week 1, Week 2" schedules.

Figure 1 illustrates an alternate day six-course schedule. Students and teachers meet half of their classes one day and the other half the next day.

In six-course alternate day models with a seven-hour school day, classes are approximately 120 minutes long; eight-course models have classes of approximately 90 minutes; and seven-course schools have three alternating blocks of 105 minutes and one class that meets every day for approximately 55 minutes.

Figure 1

Alternate Day Block Schedule Built for 6 Courses (1 Lunch Period; Early Start)
	Blocks and Times	M Day 1 A	T Day 2 B	W Day 1 A	R Day 2 B
P  E R I O D	Block I & HR	1	2	1	2
	8:00–10:06 A.M.	1	2	1	2
	Block II	3	4	3	4
	10:14 A.M.– 12:14 A.M.	3	4	3	4
	12:22–12:52 P.M.	LUNCH
	Block III	5	6	5	6
	1:00–3:00 P.M.	5	6	5	6

Alternate day schedules offer the following advantages:

1. All teachers benefit from increased usable instructional time.
   Because there are fewer transitions and less time is lost beginning and ending class, more time is available for instruction.
2. Teachers are able to plan extended lessons.
   Extended classes of 90 minutes or longer make it possible to engage in a lengthy simulation, to do significant research in the library, to view an entire movie-length video on a historical topic, or to take a short field trip off school grounds.
3. The number of class changes is reduced.
   Fewer transitions result in a less frenetic school, an automatic reduction in the number of tardies, and fewer students being sent to the principal's office.
4. A variety of teaching strategies is encouraged.
   Teachers have the opportunity to provide a variety of activities, other than lecture, during the block. Various methods such as cooperative learning, inquiry, group discussion, concept development, role-playing, conflict resolution are possible.
5. Compared to every day models, alternate day schedules mean that students have fewer classes, quizzes, tests, and homework assignments on any one day.

A number of instructional issues arise when schools consider implementing an alternate day schedule:

1. Attention span.
   Many teachers worry that students will not be able to pay attention for 90–120 minutes. Experience suggests that it is not the length of a class that determines whether or not students will pay attention, but what happens during the class. If a teacher lectures the entire block, attention will be a problem; if a teacher provides a variety of activities during class, students can and will attend. Blocks work especially well for students with attention deficit disorder, who benefit from fewer class changes, fewer teachers, fewer groups of students, and fewer working environments during the school day.
2. Teacher planning.
   Care must be taken to balance a teacher's planning time on alternate days; however, this is impossible in schools in which teachers teach five of six or six of seven classes. In such schools teachers will have one double-length planning period every other day. While much preparation and grading may be accomplished in that planning period, the next day has no break but lunch. Some schools operating such schedules have been able to schedule a longer duty-free lunch for teachers on the day with no planning block.
3. Weather days.
   What do you do when school is canceled because of inclement weather: slide the schedule up or stick to the calendar? Most schools have opted to stick to the calendar; sliding causes problems with scheduled field trips and guest speakers.
4. Review.
   Teachers often are concerned that students may need a great deal of review, especially when class meets on Thursday and then not again until Monday. While some teachers in A/B schools report an increased need for review, they never report a doubling of review time. Many teachers also design lessons that naturally review previous concepts as part of the introduction of the new lesson.

While the alternate day block schedule offers many advantages, a number of issues remain unaddressed:

• Teachers still work with 100–175 students during the semester.
• As many as six different preparations may still be assigned to teachers.
• Grades and records must be kept for 100–175 students all year long.
• Students continue to be responsible for 6–8 different subjects all year long.
• Students failing a course must continue to attend and have no opportunity to retake it until summer school.
• Students have limited opportunities for acceleration.
• Students' course choices remain unchanged.

The 4/4 semester plan begins to address some of the issues.

The 4/4 Semester Plan

In the 4/4 semester plan (Figure 2), or "Accelerated" schedule, students enroll in four courses that meet for approximately 90 minutes every day for 90 days. Teachers teach three courses each semester. "Year-long" courses are completed in one "semester." Students enroll in four new courses (teachers teach three) for the second semester.

The 4/4 semester plan offers the following additional advantages:

1. Teachers work with fewer students during any one semester.
   In the 4/4 plan more personalized instruction is possible because teachers work with only 60–90 students during any one semester.
2. Teachers prepare for fewer courses each semester.
   Teachers instruct three classes daily. Because semester plans require a reorganization of the curriculum and a redesign of traditional lesson format, it is recommended that only two different preps be assigned.
3. Teachers generally have longer and more useful planning time.
   A 90-minute daily planning period usually is provided.
4. Teachers and students have two "fresh starts" each year.
5. Teachers must keep records and grades for only 60–90 students per semester.
6. Students concentrate on only four courses per semester.
7. Students may retake failed courses during the second semester.
8. Students have greater opportunities for acceleration.
   A student who takes algebra during the first semester of ninth grade and excels can move on to geometry second semester, thereby "catching up" to the calculus track.
9. Eight credits are possible without the stress of taking eight courses at the same time.
10. Fewer textbooks are required.
    Because half of the students scheduled to take English 9 do so in the fall, those students scheduled for the course in the spring may use the same sets of books.

A number of concerns arise for teachers of social science when they consider implementing the 4/4 semester plan.

1. Will students retain less?
   Because it is possible for students to have longer periods of time between courses, many teachers are worried that an unreasonable need for review will be created by the 4/4 plan. The experience of schools using the 4/4 plan and research in this area should be considered. Teachers from Governor Thomas Johnson High School reported very little difference between the retention of students who had just completed a prerequisite and other students with greater time lapses between courses. In addition, research in cognitive psychology may be applied to this issue. One study discovered that students retained 85 percent of what they originally had learned after four months and 80 percent of what they originally had learned after eleven months. This slight additional decline in retention may be worth other benefits of the 4/4 semester plan.
2. Will we be able to cover the same curriculum?
   An important phase of the planning process for the 4/4 plan is the development of course pacing guides that prescribe a timetable for the completion of course objectives. Teachers' reactions to teaching in the plan are nearly always positive; however, some report that "I covered less, but they learned it better," while others report "I never taught so much in my life."
3. How will we handle year-long advanced placement (AP) courses?
   Instructors, parents, and students are concerned about the 4/4 schedule's potential effect on AP testing success. Some schools provide review sessions in the spring in preparation for the exam for students who have completed AP courses in the fall. Instead of scheduling these classes for either fall or spring, other schools have scheduled AP courses for both semesters and allocated two credits. In schools where students enroll in more than one AP course, two matched courses have been embedded into the 4/4 in single periods (or double periods on alternate days) all year long. The best solution for this problem may be for AP exams to be administered at least twice annually.

A number of other schoolwide issues, such as music programs, transfer students, schedule balance, and attendance policies, are important to address when considering the implementation of the 4/4 semester plan.

Despite the many advantages of the 4/4 semester plan for both teachers and students, several scheduling issues are left unaddressed. For example, students in the 4/4 semester plan still must fail before they can gain extended learning time; time is still held constant for all students.

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