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  • Essay / The Blockage Is Not to Blame: Collaborating to Fix...

    The early 1990s marked the beginning of major educational reform in America's public schools. High school school calendars were at the center of this reform. The four-period block schedule has been widely adopted over the traditional academic calendar in order to improve student performance, prepare graduates for college, and reduce discipline problems. Twenty years later, following stagnant academic performance, many of these schools are choosing to return to versions of the traditional eight-period school day. Several changeable factors hinder the success of the block schedule. Rather than falling into a model already deemed ineffective, schools that have adopted block scheduling must take a holistic approach to the educational environment by focusing on ongoing staff development, curriculum design, parents and the overall morale of the establishment. of the education reform movement, which became popular following the 1994 National Education Goals set by Congress to mandate outcomes-based education in the American public school system (Queen, 2009, p. 88 ). Later, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 solidified these standards by mandating federal education funds based on the results of quantitative assessments (Queen, 2001, p. 92). School districts responded by seeking innovative strategies that would give their students an advantage. Block scheduling offered a viable solution by organizing the year to allow for four 90-minute periods of intense study during a semester rather than eight 45-minute classes for the entire school year. This promised more time for teachers to prepare lessons, a reduction in unproductive classroom transition protocols such as attendance, and freedom to...... middle of paper ...... block: there n That's not the question. The Journal of Educational Research, 95, 196-202. Retrieved from http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/00220671.aspNorton, M.K. (2010). A study of the impact of block scheduling on student achievement in public high schools (Doctoral dissertation). Available in the ProQuest Dissertations and Thesis database. (AAT 3397428)Queen, J.A. (2009). The Block Planning Handbook. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Slate, J. and Jones, J. (2000). Student perspectives on block planning: Reactions after a brief trial period. The High School Journal, 83 (3), 55-55. Retrieved from http://soe.unc.edu/hsj/Veal, W. (2000). Teaching and student success in science: comparison of three different types of timetables. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 11:B, 251-275. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/1046-560X