Reply to "4x4" block at Wilson HS next year?

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Reply to ""4x4" block at Wilson HS next year?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Folks should explore the research on this.  The district (I assume) is trying to use existing evidence to improve student outcomes.  This is a good thing.  There are certainly pros and cons to this approach.  Many of the previous posts have identified the cons - all of which should be considered.  But the research has found may positives.  And anecdotally I can see that this approach would be helpful for my son (and many kids I know) who struggle with balancing multiple subjects/assignments/teacher styles etc. at once.  Having fewer things to juggle and more time to go in depth in a few subject sounds appealing (this is how college schedules are set up...).

Please see the following for more info:
http://www.aasa.org/SchoolAdministratorArticle.aspx?id=14852 
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3b6c/1c8fd11c583db771dd44daad78b3a33c3519.pdf
http://www.nea.org/tools/16816.htm
http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol3/SLMR_BlockScheduling_V3.pdf

And consider this excerpt for the second link which is a A Synthesis of Evidence-Based Research on block scheduling done by an independent academic researcher for the Department of Ed):

The findings from experimental and quasi-experimental studies have generally been positive for the effect of block scheduling on student grades, attendance rates, and graduation rates. Most researchers have reported statistically significant grade-point average (GPA) gains for students on a block schedule (e.g., Deuel, 1999; Edwards, 1995), while only some have found no effects, or adverse effects, for block scheduling students (e.g., Skrobarcek et al., 1997). This pattern continues with the findings for attendance and graduation, as a majority of studies have shown significant increases in daily attendance and student graduation rates Block Scheduling in the High School Setting after conversion to a 4X4 (Nichols, 2000; O’Neil, 1995) or A/B block scheduling plan (Buckman, King, & Ryan, 1995). The research on student discipline is decidedly mixed. Some studies have shown significant drops in discipline problems (e.g., suspensions) with block scheduling (Buckman et al., 1995; Eineder & Bishop, 1997; Thomas & O’Connell, 1997), while an equal number have
reported no change in the amount of discipline incidents as compared with traditional scheduling (Deuel, 1999; Knight, DeLeon, & Smith, 1999; Wilson & Stokes, 1999).

[/quote]

Thanks for providing these resources. The following are major cons offered in two of the links you provided (the third is too long for me right now, and the fourth deals with school libraries):

Quotes from the AASA link:

•In almost all cases, the 4/4 schedule must be adapted to allow some courses to run year-long; [My note: in a school as administratively challenged as Wilson, this is completely untenable]
 
•Merely changing the school bell schedule will not guarantee better student performance.

•[Regarding standardized testing, such as AP tests]: The testing timetable favor[s] students in year-long classes. The examination was given to all students in May, regardless of when they took science that year. For students who had completed the class during the fall semester, the exam was taken nearly a full semester after finishing the course.

•Teachers and parents are more positive toward block scheduling when they have been involved in the decision-making process. We have found that a schedule change mandated through administrative edict to have a negative effect on the implementation.

Quotes from the NEA link:

•If a student misses a day under the modular schedule, that student is actually missing two, or sometimes even more days. 
•In a 4x4, all of the information normally taught in a semester course has to be covered in one quarter. 
•It is difficult to cover the necessary material for Advanced Placement courses in the time allotted.

[/quote]

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