<p>Don’t want to go off topic- but our district just requires 20 credits for graduation & while students generally have 6 classes a week through jr year, it isn’t unusual for seniors to have 4 or 5 because there isn’t anything else they can take.</p>
<p>How many credits do districts require for schools on the A/B block plan?</p>
<p>Both my daughters schools were on block that had each class for one double block each week- rest of time single block.</p>
<p>We have a block schedule (four periods per day) plus an alternating Alpha/Omega schedule for IHS plus a term schedule (half a semester; used for electives and phy ed). A few classes (AP Bio) run all year. There are advantages and disadvantages as everyone’s pointed out above, but for us the advantages win out. My son likes that his day/year is intense but he has a free fourth hour so he gets out early. He will still have plenty of credits because one of the IHS hours is a zero (early) hour. My daughter likes that she can give math her all for a semester and then is spared half a year. Kids who excel or like a certain subject (math, languages) can double up and really get pretty far ahead in those subjects. Apparently there was an outcry when our school went to block but now it’s established and okay.</p>
<p>My D had an A/B block schedule in high school and loved it. She went to a performing arts magnet school, however, so it worked particularly well for that. The schedule was new to her for high school because her middle school did have that setup. It was a tougher adjustment for me than her. I could never remember when she had what.</p>
<p>Also, I’ve been told there’s a bit of an adjustment period for the teachers as they try to figure out how to pace their classes, but they figure it out.</p>
<p>For lack of time, I have not read all the posts, so I may repeat a lot of points already made.</p>
<p>Advantages:
<p>Disadvantages:</p>
<ol>
<li> Subjects that may need to percolate a little (most notably math and foreign languages) are too rushed and some students get behind quickly.</li>
<li> AP exams for fall courses aren’t given until the spring (although most teachers hold review sessions).</li>
<li> Missing a whole class period is a real killer, because there’s more work to make up. (On the other hand, that same time period may mean missing two classes under the year-round schedule.)</li>
</ol>
<p>Advantage/disadvantage: A course that a student doesn’t like only lasts a semester. A course that a student likes only lasts a semester!</p>
<p>I prefer block scheduling, for the reasons listed under Advantages.</p>
<p>Block was started in our high school a few years ago. One of the biggest disadvantages was that students were only getting one semester of math per year. Conceivably, a sophomore could have math first semester and not have it again until after they take the December SATs as a junior.</p>
<p>Now we have a modified block - Math and English are block and A/B alternating, APs are full year, every day “skinnys” which are a half a block and all other classes are block. I think it’s great for most classes but an entire block of classes like health every day is a bit much.</p>
<p>It seems to be working okay but I know our poor registrar almost had a nervous breakdown trying to figure out this year’s schedule.</p>
<p>
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<p>My kids have never had anything else BUT this type of schedule. Their elementary school actually had block scheduling, so they’ve never known anything different. Worked just fine for both kids.</p>
<p>The high schools in our town have had three types of scheduling in three years. Had a 4x4 block plan for many years. Last year they switched to an A/B day rotation with four classes a day. This year, for budget reasons, they’ve switched to seven period day. Most kids liked the A/B day rotation with four classes a day. The extra day to do homework was really nice for kids with time consuming ECs. Sports teams here frequently have to travel great distances so that was very helpful. Also, 90 minutes was great for science labs and group projects.</p>
<p>The 4x4 rotation didn’t work well for either first or second semester AP classes. If you had it first semester, taking the AP exam four months after the class ended was no fun. If you had the class in the spring, the teacher lost five weeks of teaching time because the test was in early May and the semester didn’t end until mid-June. You could also have Spanish 2 in the fall of your sophomore year and then not have Spanish 3 until the spring of your junior year. That’s a mighty big gap!</p>
<p>So far, the seven period day is okay, but the teachers don’t like it. The district also lowered graduation requirements because kids can only earn seven credits a year instead of eight. It would have made more sense to have the requirements change in steps but they did it all at once, so suddenly my senior son only needs a credit and a half this year to graduate with honors!</p>
<p>Our kids spent the first 2 years of HS in a public school on 4 by 4 block (as most of the county we live in was on that schedule). I wish I could find positive things to say about block, but the results in our area have been sufficient over time for most schools ( public) to have gone off of 4 by 4 block. Test scores and proficiencies in math were a major issue. Depending upon what semester your student took Algebra II, it could literally have been over a year since the student was in a math class before taking the SAT or ACT. During the time (2004) our kids were in public school they took APWH on block and struggled with the amount of content to be covered in one semester. I wrote to the AP section of the College Board and began corresponding with some of the test development staff for APWH. I was told the CB did not want/encourage/support APWH and some other AP classes being taught on block because the curriculum was too detailed for it to be taught properly in a block schedule. Also, as others have mentioned-a student could be enrolled in an APWH in the fall and then of course take the AP exam in the Spring. At that time there was a lot of data one could find to support the assertion that block scheduling is a factor in declining student performance.</p>
<p>We ultimately moved our kids ( at their request) to a Catholic prep. school where they were able to flourish in AP classes and their test scores for admission confirmed to us that we had made the correct decision. As I said, this is just my opinion. One other note of interest: the highest performing school in our county is a charter school who , in part, obtained that status to stay off of block scheduling. Their standardized test scores have always clearly exceeded students of comparable socio-economic background who were on block scheduling.</p>
<p>Our school switched to 4x4 block scheduling a few years back. Kids and teachers love it (less work - less hassle). Educationally things are suffering in math/science. They are supposed to cover 2 days worth of classwork in one day, and don’t do it. One science teacher told me she had to cut 1/3 of the material off her final exam due to not getting there.</p>
<p>Testing days (several), special days, snow delays, etc, all really cut into educational time with block scheduling.</p>
<p>We don’t do AP, so that hasn’t been an issue, but it is an issue when I ask if they will get some AP classes.</p>
<p>Our high school is underperforming according to our state stats and is in our 2nd year of “warning.” Honestly, we weren’t all that great before switching either.</p>
<p>But, as I said before, kids and teachers love it, so we’re not likely to change.</p>
<p>In another life, I’ll more thoroughly investigate school districts before choosing where to live.</p>
<p>I am so not a fan of the 4X4 block but the students love it, primarily because it is less work.</p>
<p>If you do the math, there is actually less instructional time in a given subject than on a 6 period day schedule.</p>
<p>More importantly, don’t presume that all teachers can teach effectively in a 90 minute block. In my experience,many cannot. I would ask the school administration about training for teachers and what is the monitoring plan. Kids doing homework during class is not an advantage for learning.</p>
<p>Math needs to be year round and at most 4by4 block schools there is not the option to take more than one math course a year. PLUS, how many advanced math courses does the school offer anyway.</p>
<p>AP classes in the fall, exams in the spring, etc…</p>
<p>Nationally, the trend is away from the block, it cost more than the 6 or 7 period day.</p>
<p>When both my kids started h.s. they were on an A day/B day schedule and liked it due to the “two days to get homework done” perk. Every week the A day classes and B day classes flip-flopped. I always thought it hard to keep up with but they never had a problem with it.
Then,after S2’s soph. year, the switch was made to 4x4. The reason given was that it would improve graduation rates and save money, giving kids who failed a class required for grad. a chance to make retake in the same academic year. The school system also cut out summer school classes that year. </p>
<p>With the A Day/B day sched. a lot of the AP’s were double-blocked (met every day of the school year rather than every other day). </p>
<p>When the 4x4 system was implemented some AP classes were still every day for entire year and some were one semester only.</p>
<p>The advantage of 4x4 is less classes to balance at once and if they have a teacher/class they really dislike, they only have to deal with it for one sem.</p>
<p>Our school system requires 28 credits to graduate including four years of math (regardless of what was taken in middle sch). Passing Alg. 1 and Biology is also a req. which is sometimes a big hurdle for some of the lower achieving kids…hence the change to give them more shots at it over four years.</p>
<p>My high school offered block scheduling through my senior year, but switched to the traditional 7-bell schedule just after I graduated. This was to be able to cut some teacher positions to save money.</p>
<p>I loved block schedule. I was able to get much more done in an hour and a half instead of 50 minutes. This schedule also allowed me to graduate with 6 units of math, double the units necessary to graduate. I was able to complete AP French by my Junior year. Overall I thought it was a great structure and even though I graduated, I was sad to see it go.</p>
<p>One of our area hs used to have 4x4 block. My kids didn’t go there then, but I did think about it and had concerns. One was lack of continuity (esp for math and english). Another was the fact that you can’t do music all year w/o having it take up 25% of schedule. </p>
<p>My kids ended up at the IB magnet with A/B block (4 classes on even days, 4 different classes on odd days). In general they like it, but I did have one kid with organization issues that had trouble with the multiplexing. We considered getting day1 & day2 backpacks.</p>
<p>Our independent private school has block scheduling in Middle School & High School. But it works differently between the two.</p>
<p>In Middle School the kids take their classes all year along, but they alternate on A/B days. So they have longer class periods, and take each class every other day. As someone mentioned above, it is great for homework flexibility… homework assigned on a given day is not due for 2 days. So if you have one of those super busy EC days (or a family committment), you can plan around it. You have to keep track of which kind of day it is (A or B, though). But the kids always seem to know.</p>
<p>Our high school handles it differently. It has four quarters, with five periods each day. Certain periods are reserved for academic classes and others for electives. Usually our kids take 3 “academic” courses per quarter, and a couple of electives. Some of the electives also only meet every other day (eg, drawing or theater class) – uses the same A/B day calendar as Middle School to figure out when they are meeting. Some electives, like yearbook or choir, cross multiple quarters (but meet every other day). So this offsets the concern someone had about music taking 25% of class time all year. Science classes do meet year around (every day for two quarters, every other day during the other two quarters). AP classes are not treated differently than others (although I think they are stacked more to 1st & 3rd quarter than 2nd & 4th where possible).</p>
<p>With only a few small drawbacks, we love the block schedule. The kids are really focused in-depth on a few things. It gives the teachers a chance to engage the kids more deeply in the classroom (76 minute class periods, except for one of the elective periods, which is shorter). For a kid with any organization issues, it is much more managable. I think it would be a lot less productive for my kid to juggle homework for 6 academic classes at once (and I can’t figure out how she would actually carry all the books that are needed!). We like it so much that D2 is looking at quite a few colleges that sort of mimic the block (either trimesters with 3 classes per term, or true “block” – one class at a time). It isn’t a deciding factor, but she does like that chance to really dig in and focus.</p>
<p>Someone mentioned that the break might have hurt their kid with PSAT prep. We had the same break this fall (no math until mid-October); we decided to have D2 focus some specific time on math prep for the PSAT prior to the test to offset this. Don’t have scores yet, but she thought it went well (“I don’t think I missed any problems” well). I would say she spent about 10 hours on math prep. Not a big deal to her, and she would definitely say it was still worth it to have block scheduling.</p>
<p>For older D, who was not a great math student, sometimes I would have liked a regular schedule for math. It is a lot to absorb a year’s worth of math in 2 quarters. But she coped okay with it, and actually really enjoyed the break for two quarters are year.</p>
<p>100% of our students are admitted to 4 year colleges, and about 7% are going to HYPS. Pretty good for a small midwestern school. So I don’t think the schedule is hurting them academically. And it seems to me that they have a bit more “sane” schedule than high schools with the “regular” schedule.</p>
<p>Change like this is always tough, especially if you haven’t seen it in action. I wasn’t sure about it before our first kid entered middle school, and then again before high school. But after more than 10 years with kids in block scheduling systems, I think it is great.</p>