Parents of the HS Class of 2014

[snowbeltmom]

IMO, the big negative about block scheduling (at least the way it is done at our local high school) is that some students will complete an AP course the middle of January, and then they will not be able to take the AP exam until May. Also, depending on when a class is offered, some students may finish a foreign language or math class the first semester of the school year and then have to wait until the second semester of the following school year before the next level is offered. Much can be forgotten during that interval.

[missypie]

Our block scheduling is A/B..they have 4 classes on A day and 4 on B day...they have each class every other day.

missypie: I hope that your school district realizes the additional cost for block scheduling. While it may save on teachers, the number of textbooks needed is huge. Like, double what you currently need. That short-term hit could runs in the hundreds of thousands.

Did you misunderstand my post, or am I misunderstanding yours? The school is currently on block scheduling. There is a big budget crisis so they want to go to a regular 7 period day to save money (they can fire quite a few teachers.)

[snowbeltmom]

Missypie, your block scheduling arrangement makes a lot more sense than the way it is done at our local high school. Here, a student has 4, 85 minute classes the first semester and a different set of 4, 85 minute classes the 2nd semester. I don't think it is a good idea for students to go months between math and foreign languange classes.

[missypie]

The beauty of it is that if you keep up, your homework is never due tomorrow...no matter how much the teacher piles on, the kids have at least two nights to do it. It is also very nice for those whose ECs are on M-Th nights, like the freshman and JV athletes and cheerleaders....if you get home from a game at 9:30 at night, you can wait until the next night to do homework. The only teachers who don't like the A/B schedule are the foreign language teachers...they'd rather see their students every day, for less time. The science teachers love it - they can actually get something done in lab with the longer class times.

[blueiguana]

We are on block not by semester however, just by class every other school day. They have really liked this concept. The APChem class actually required a block for lecture and a block for lab...two classes, so you see the teacher every day. I can imagine without a separate class for lab the extended block would really be necessary! A few years my kids have been lucky enough to have FL for first block which is every day. I agree the repetition is good and the shorter class periods aren't as much of a problem. The class that always gets short shifted is the one they leave to go to lunch and come back. There is inherently 7min+/- lost getting out of the class for lunch and settled again when you return.

It is wonderful and has saved my kids rear ends when it comes to their EC. They can plan to do their homework around the nights they are at school until 9 vs when they are home by 5-6. The trick is planning. The other thing that's nice is if you review your hw the night it's assigned and have a question there is time to see the teacher before school the next day, and still get the assignment done that night. With class every day, if you've missed a concept, botched hw, the next day you are moving on to a new concept. This is really pronounced with higher math.

I'm sure there are other pros to having all classes every day. All my kids have had even/odd days and have found the ways to benefit.

[snowbeltmom]

Even though the high school is on semester blocks (thanks, didn't know what it was called before reading your post), AP Physics B and AP Chem meet for 85 minutes per day for the entire school year. These two classes are each worth 1.5 credits vs. 1 credit for the semester block classes. A neighboring district that does not have blocks also allots 85 minutes per class for AP Physics B.

[ordinarylives]

We've got 7 periods a day. The district across the river has semester long blocks. It's difficult to argue that one is better than the other. The advantage to the blocks would have to be that the kids can get in 8 classes in a year instead of just 7. Blocks, however, don't work very well for music. Band block HAS to be fall for marching band, but what about fall vocal stuff (all-state, Christmas madrigals, etc). The district across the river tried an every other day schedule for band/choir, but kids in only one lose a class as nothing else is offered on alternating days. And band complained about not enough practice time during competition season. And, as someone teaching at a school with 70 minute periods, I've got to say that kids have difficulty concentrating for long periods of time. You can shift gears, but you're still talking about English (or Biology or Math) for 85 minutes. Shoot, sometimes I bore myself!

[missypie]

At our HS (with each class every other day), some classes are "double blocked" meaning you have them every day...all sports, drill team, cheer and band.

[blueiguana]

I agree that 'true' block scheduling where you have a full year in a single semester would not be ideal for classes like foreign language and math. Anything that is a direct building block. Perhaps I don't understand the concept well enough, but I know my kids forget stuff over the 10 week summer holiday. I can't imagine taking a class during the first semester and not having the next in the sequence until the first semester of the following year. There would be too much 'melt'.

[snowbeltmom]

I agree about "too much melt." Historically, the AP scores at our high school are low for classes that end the middle of January. For example, last year's AP Calc AB class had 89% of the class receive a "1" on the AP exam; only one student passed with a score of "3". I am not sure these results can be blamed entirely on block scheduling, but it certainly can't help. I would also not want to take the APush or AP World 3+ months after finishing the course.

The school doesn't advertise these results, but I requested the AP Score Summary Report; my guess is that none of the other parents realize what is going on across the board with the AP results. Our school is listed in Newsweek's annual list (not top 100) so everyone thinks the education is great.

[ordinarylives]

Missypie, are you saying sports and cheer are classes? Are you from Texas by any chance? I've had some football players from that state tell me that they take football as a class. I was skeptical, but maybe I shouldn't have been.

[missypie]

Yep. Sports (I think except for track and lacrosse) are double blocked classes, as well as band, cheer and drill team. They are 2 of your 8 classes. If you do one of these all four years, a full 1/4 of your credits will be in your sport or activity. Kind of crazy to have twice as much football or cheer as math, but welcome to Texas.

[FallGirl]

Local MS and HS have been on the A day/B day Block schedule for years. All classes are every other day (no double blocks), and only a few electives are one semester classes. All AP classes run all year. AP exams are mandatory if you take the class.

S's magnet school has all 8 blocks (shorter time) on Monday. Tues/Thurs are Blocks 1-4, Wed/Fri are Blocks 5-8. There are no actual classes in 8th block, its for clubs and other EC's,tutoring,test make up, etc. Because they are a science & tech HS, I can't see them not doing a Block schedule.

[susan4]

D2's block schedule is the same as missipie described 4 blocks every other day. In D2's HS, 25% of students are IB students and they are on block schedule. The other 75% students are traditional students and these students are on 7 period schedule. IB students (belongs to magnet program) and traditional students are taught by two different sets of teachers.

[pdxsuzanne]

I'm curious if anyone has experience with the EXPLORE test (precursory to the ACT). My daughter just received the results from her test (she's a 9th grader) and I'm wondering if these scores tend to stay constant? Suggestions for improvement? If a kid does well on an ACT-type test, how does that compare to SAT scores?