Shares information on current scheduling trends within Iowa and explains why some schools have adopted a more cautious schedule-modification posture. In Iowa, there is strong support for cocurricular activities, including music and art, and faculty resistance, based on instructional issues. Test scores are high with a traditional schedule. (13…

Compares achievement of students attending a large Florida high school under a traditional schedule during 1993-94 and a trimester block schedule during the following year. Passing grades have gone up 3.7%. Regarding Scholastic Aptitude Test and American College Testing results, there was no significant difference. Teachers, students, parents, and…

Based on his experience with the Copernican block scheduling plan used in British Columbia secondary schools, a principal identifies administrative challenges (abuse of tutorial time, uneven distribution of teacher-preparation time, teacher fatigue, pedagogical changes, and unrealistic expectations) and suggests ways to address them. Involving…

Compares teacher and student perceptions about a block scheduling system operating in two rural Alabama high schools since 1995 to 1996. Surveys completed by 481 students and 60 teachers indicated that both groups supported the new schedule. However, teachers' attitudes were more positive than their students'. Fully 58% of the students wanted…

Researchers designed and piloted a questionnaire that measures the level of implementation of exemplary middle school practices (based on the work of P. George and W. Alexander, 1993) using Rasch measurement theory. Assistant principals (n=26) participated in telephone interviews by responding to a 27-item questionnaire that contains items…

A study of 270 sophomores taught in either a block scheduling or traditional scheduling format showed significant results for English and biology. Block schedules significantly predicted pretest to posttest differences in Educational Testing Service subject scores over and above those of students following traditional schedules. (Contains 16…

Summarizes results of a nationwide survey to determine secondary principals' attitudes toward selected aspects of block scheduling. All 69 participants (from 10 states) expressed full support for block scheduling. Many principals expressed concerns about student maturity, sequential course offerings, and time spent on homework. Schedule…

Since 1989, North Carolina has implemented several statewide initiatives to establish high expectations for all students. State educators have also paid increasing attention to the flexible use of time as a resource for expanding student learning. Block scheduling is a reorganization of school time that is increasingly being adopted by North…

Principals can ensure stakeholders that a block schedule will provide enhanced teaching and learning opportunities for raising student achievement when implemented with adequate instructional planning and attention to teachers' instructional needs and students' academic needs. Success depends on the master schedule, training opportunities,…

A study focused primarily on building-level leadership by observing how principals in 12 high schools (11 public and 1 Catholic) engaged in planning a structural change from a traditional schedule with 45-minute periods to the 90-minute periods of a block schedule. Using a concerns-based model of change, principals' behaviors and teachers'…

A Nebraska high school implemented interdisciplinary teaming several years ago as a direct result of its strategic planning effort. It eventually rejected the intensified block schedule, which manipulated time without changing teacher roles, and adopted a flexible block schedule. Departments were replaced by interdisciplinary teams of teachers and…

As of 1996, Chaparral High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, was in the fourth year of a radical restructuring effort. The school changed from a 6-period day, composed of 51-minute periods, to an alternating day schedule, composed of 3 102-minute periods per day. This report describes how the school developed and implemented the new schedule. Faculty…

Secondary school administrators must carefully consider the ramifications of a proposed alternative scheduling plan before proceeding with implementation. The first article in this newsletter presents findings from a study that compared data from two groups of schools (one group with a 4 X 4 block plan and the other with a trimester plan) to data…

An administrative team member/restructuring facilitator analyzes the failure of a block scheduling reform in a small, suburban district. The prevailing dynamics that obstructed success were fear of change, propagandizing of data, and a culture of complacency. These problems could have been avoided by training staff to work in longer periods,…

In this interview, a high school art teacher explains why her initial enthusiasm for block scheduling evaporated. Problems arose with foreign-language instruction, science labs, lesson planning, field trips, space utilization, supplies, and overenrollment in elective subjects like music and art. Teachers had little control or administrative…