Many parents learned from an article in the Baltimore Sun, here, that public high schools in Baltimore County, Md., would be changing their schedules to one of two choices in the 2014-15 school year: an A/B block schedule with 90-minute classes, or an eight-class daily schedule with 40-minute classes.
The current schedule at several high schools in the district, including some of the higher-performing ones, is the traditional seven-period day, with each class lasting between 45 and 50 minutes. Students take the same seven classes every day, and their schedules are good from the beginning to the end of the school year. In an A/B block schedule, students would sign up for eight classes every year, taking four of them on the “A Days” and the other four on the “B days.” Most commonly, A and B days just alternate—i.e., the A days would be Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Tuesday, Thursday, Monday, etc. Each class period is longer under a block schedule, usually coming in at about 90 minutes.
Some high schools in the US use a regular block schedule, not an A/B block schedule, where the first four classes meet every day for the first half of the year, ending in January, and students start taking the second group of four classes in the second semester. Although a number of Maryland high schools use the more traditional block schedule, sometimes referred to as a 4×4 block schedule, that’s not one of the options being offered in Baltimore County.
There are some obvious advantages to an eight-class year: Students can take one more class than they would have been able to take with a traditional seven-period day. This could prove useful not only for struggling students who failed a class and need to make it up but also for those who want to take an extra class, like statistics or a fine arts elective, for enrichment. There are also anecdotal reports from schools that have switched. Although the change may be stressful in the beginning, as teachers adjust to filling longer class periods with material, the school environment eventually adjusts and both teachers and students feel less stress in an A/B block schedule. It gives everybody more time to let lessons sink in.
Along with those advantages come some disadvantages: Students have to keep up with the work in eight classes at a time under an A/B block schedule, rather than just seven. Furthermore, some student advocates have argued that many high school kids can’t remain focused for a 90-minute class period. Teachers, however, have found ways to fill the extra time with engaging student activities, so probably about four out of five teachers won’t fill the extra time with more lecturing. Another problem, brought up mainly by math and foreign language teachers, is that students retain knowledge better if they see it every day. With an A/B block schedule, there’s a day in between where students won’t get the material.
Some less obvious pros and cons of 4×4 block scheduling
Student achievement in science classes is higher with a 4×4 block schedule than with a traditional seven-period schedule, research out of North Carolina has found, here. On an end-of-course biology test, similar to the High School Assessment in biology used in Maryland, a statistically significant difference was observed between students who took biology for a full year on a seven-period schedule and students who took the class for a semester using the longer class period each day on a 4×4 block schedule.
Among all students, more were proficient on the exam who took biology on a 4×4 block schedule than on a seven-period schedule. African-Americans also showed statistically significant proficiency differences under a block schedule than under the traditional seven-period schedule. In both cases, students under a 4×4 block schedule performed better than those under a seven-period schedule. The differences for students with disabilities were not statistically significant in this study, although the data showed more were proficient under a traditional seven-period schedule than under a 4×4 block schedule. Possible reasons for the statistical dead heat among students with disabilities focused on individualized instruction plans. If used correctly, the IEP for any given student may prevent longer class periods, even if the school is using a block schedule.
Other disadvantages of a 4×4 block schedule are addressed with A/B block scheduling as well. For example, classes like orchestra and choir, as well as several other electives, meet for the entire year whether the school uses a block or seven-period schedule. With a 4×4 block, students have to sign up for these classes twice, making a moot point out of the advantage of having a schedule slot for one more class. This disadvantage affects more than electives, too, since most colleges require three “years” of math, with selective colleges recommending four years. This means, one class in the 4×4 schedule is some type of math in both semesters, again nullifying the advantage of being able to take one more class every year. With an A/B schedule, since the classes meet for an entire year, students only have to sign up for one math class out of their eight classes.
The Baltimore County strategy
Although I think parents should find out what their schools are doing from the schools themselves, not from the newspaper, I applaud the change in Baltimore County Public Schools. I just don’t applaud their communication strategy or the limited involvement of their own teachers or parents in the decision-making process. (Ten teachers were included in a focus group to assess the change described here.) I believe, once teachers and students adjust to the change, it will be positive for everyone involved. Differences in academic performance, based on research, will be small but non-negative, so I think the change will do no harm to the school’s mission or to student life. It’s that community interface that needs work.
Furthermore, the move to an A/B block schedule, in which some classes will be more difficult because of the alternate day, especially foreign language, seems a good compromise between classes that occasionally need more time, like lab classes and the fine arts, and those that can’t always make effective use of the extra time or lose student engagement at the end of long periods.