Block scheduling's effects on high school student test performance

Block Scheduling

Johnso62

The use of block scheduling is an increasingly popular alternative to more traditional eight period school days for high school students. The theory upon which this shift is based is that students will be better able to prepare for classes which are fewer in number but longer in period length. In practice this new method of scheduling, featuring longer but fewer classes, has resulted in increased test scores on written tests but in one instance poorer test scores on the written portion of a high school exit exam. It is important to understand the manner in which such scheduling can be maximized to not only maintain the existing observed increase in standardized test scores but also to increase the scores on written exams.

Table of Contents

Problem to be investigated

A. Purpose of the study

B. Justification of the study

C. Research question and null hypothesis

D. Definition of Terms

E. Brief overview of the study

Background and review of related literature

A. Theory

Procedures

A. Description of the research design

B. Description of the sample

C. Description of the instruments used

D. Explanation of the procedures followed

E. Discussion

IV. References

The effective utilization of class times in middle and high school is an essential function of administrators and those studying academic outcomes of said students. A traditional class day features between seven and eight 45 minute class periods per day. This requires students to prepare for up to eight diverse subjects every day. The prevailing research indicates that this division of attention results in less effective studying methods and students are less able to attend successfully to individual subjects. A block scheduled day features approximately four classes each of which is approximately 90 minutes in length. This staggered scheduling akin to that employed in university settings may allow students to focus more effectively on their classes resulting in more positive educational outcomes.

Problem to be investigated

Maximizing the potential educational outcome for high school students is an important part of educational research. Block scheduling though shown to have detractions may be a system which is more effective than the one currently employed. This study will determine the overall applicability of block scheduling to middle and high schools nationwide.

Purpose of the study

The overall standardized test scores in the United States have been falling significantly in the last ten years. The use of more effective scheduling and teaching strategies may result in a reversal of the observed trend. This reversal would be essential in raising the matriculation rate of high school students to higher education as well as increasing the length of time those individuals typically spend in those programs.

Justification of the study

The improvement of educational outcomes is an area of research into which millions of dollars are expended yearly. A more effective class scheduling system requiring no financially significant change to schools may allow those funds to be used for other things, as well as improving the overall educational outcomes of American teenagers.

Research Question & Null Hypothesis

The research question for this study is two part. First it must be conclusively established that block scheduling is an effective method of significantly improving the educational outcomes of American high school students. Then it must be established whether or not block scheduling is a concept which can be applied successfully to schools nationally. The existing hypothesis for this study is that block scheduling is an effective and nationally applicable means of improving educational outcomes for high school students. The null hypothesis accordingly is that block scheduling will have no significant impact on the educational outcomes of American high school students, and that it will not be able to be applied to schools nationally.

Operational Definitions

Traditional Scheduling- An eight period class day featuring at least 6 different subjects

Traditional Period- 45 minute lesson on a specific subject

Block Scheduling- A four period class day featuring at most 4 different subjects

Block- A class period lasting approximately 90 minutes on a specific subject

Educational Outcome- the results of the standardized test used in the assessment of the two scheduling methods

Longitudinal Study- a study in which the same group is assessed at different points in time

Pre / Post test- the same group is tested before and after the experimental condition has been applied

Brief overview of study

This study is comprised of two discrete parts. The first will be an extensive review of existing literature regarding the relative efficacy of block scheduling in comparison to traditional scheduling. There is extensive existing research including empirical studies so it will be reasonable to rely on the cumulative findings of said studies in the conduction of this study. The second part of this study is one which requires national accommodation. A cross section of American high schools would be asked to implement block scheduling for one half of the school year, and then traditional schooling for the second half of the year. The schools will be asked to implement this scheduling across all grades. Further, within school districts half of the schools will be randomly assigned to implement block scheduling for the first two marking periods, and the other half will be assigned to a condition in which they implement the block scheduling in the second half of the year. The efficacy of the scheduling will be compared internally through the administration of national standardized tests (PSAT) or (SAT) dependent on grade level. The tests will be administered upon completion of the second marking period of each half of the year. Tests will be from one year prior to the year of testing so as not to interfere with the validity of the existing test.

Background & Literature Review

Description of Research Design

The design will be a longitudinal within groups design featuring a pre-post test which is randomized. The Students will act as self-control in that all groups of students will experience both conditions of the set. The order in which the conditions are applied will be chosen at random, and the overall measure of success will be a standardized exam used as a general barometer for college preparedness. The exam though it's validity as a barometer for academic preparedness for higher learning is contested, is a means of examining the factors which have been shown to be directly related to the outcomes seen with this strategy. Block scheduling has been shown to correlate directly to mathematics, language, and critical thinking in terms of improving scores. Also, the application of this evaluative comparison across a variety of students and academic settings may resolve the existing questions regarding the relative failure of an otherwise successful technique to raise writing skills. The test will be administered at the conclusion of each trial period in the fashion it would be administered in its intended use. The scores of each student will be compared with their previous score. The overall bell curve of scores between conditions will also be compared as a means of determining both specific and general efficacy.

Description of Research Sample

The research sample will be comprised of American high school students in public school in grades 10 and 11. First years and final years will not be included in the study because of increased external influences which may have a negative effect on the study data. The reason that public schools were chosen is that their national funding would facilitate the timely completion of this project. If the researchers were to achieve national sponsorship it would allow for the collection of data from a representative sample of ethnic, social, and economic classes. It also allows for the uniform dissemination of information as opposed to approaching schools individually.

One of the primary purposes of this study will be to determine the relative efficacy of block scheduling to national public high schools. The data used to ultimately make such a large scale decision consequently must come from the same population sample. It is important that despite the inherent difficulties in attempting to implement experimental conditions in hundreds of independent locations, that the test successfully include at the very least all major cities in the United States. While it may seem that regionally schools should be similar within districts and further within regions, that is not necessarily the case. It is possible for there to be vastly different socioeconomic representations within a single town. The same is true of larger districts or regions. In order to determine accurately whether or not block scheduling will work across the country, all instances must be tested.

Education is an exceptionally difficult field in which to perform actual experiments. Necessarily, the effects on actual students must be taken into account in any instance of manipulation of variables. This study will not ultimately cause undue harm to the participants because both methods of scheduling are currently successfully in effect. Block scheduling is a standard feature of higher education, and it has been successfully tested in high schools previously. The standard method of scheduling is currently in effect in the majority of American high schools. The single unique and potentially stress inducing feature of the entire construct is the addition of testing beyond that which the students would normally encounter. However, it is fairly common practice for high schools and SAT preparation programs to utilize old tests in the coaching of students preceding their sitting of the actual graded exam.

Description of Instrument Used

The SAT is a three hour and forty five-minute proctored exam which assesses writing, mathematics, and critical thinking. There are breaks built into the exam which allow students to consume snacks, generally unwind, and use the restroom. Each section is scored independently on a score out of 800 possible points. The SAT is a nationally accepted measure of academic preparedness for higher education. It is standard procedure as discussed above for high schools, college preparation programs, and even SAT preparation programs to utilize older versions of the exam for training purposes.

The SAT has come under scrutiny recently in that it assesses primarily reasoning skills as a measure of academic preparedness. Although the exam itself may not be an accurate assessment of individual subjects, it is an accurate and accepted representation of the ability to integrate and synthesize information in real time. These skills have been deemed necessary for the purposes of matriculating to higher education. Inclusion of the writing portion of the revised exam will allow for the assessment of block scheduling in a known area of weakness. This inclusion will help to determine whether the scores seen in the original assessment were localized or whether there genuinely is an inferiority in the integration of information regarding writing skill when block scheduling is utilized.

The SAT answers are recorded with the exception of the writing sample on a multiple choice scantron sheet. The ordering of questions is staggered throughout the booklets to minimize the possibility of cheating. The use of a scan-tron sheet makes the margin for incorrect grading extremely slim thus producing very accurate data for analysis. The written portion of the exam must be evaluated individually, however given that faculty members familiarity with the students being tested the margin for handwriting being a potential systemic error. The emphasis of this experiment is not to determine the accuracy of the SAT, rather it is to utilize the SAT as a means of understanding the relative success of block scheduling in increasing positive educational outcome.

Explanation of Procedures Followed

This experiment will have a duration of one academic year. In the summer months before the beginning of the program school administrators will be called into regional seminars in which they will be instructed in the techniques which they in turn will pass on to the teachers under their purview. The seminar lasting approximately two days will include an explanation of the theory behind the experiment as well as the most effective ways of presenting material in both conditions. Based on national school identification numbers, schools will be chosen at random to be in either condition A or condition B. Though random within counties an effort will be made to balance the samples so that there is an equal representation of both conditions within counties.

The use of this strategy minimizes the necessity of personnel specifically for data collection or for the actual running of the experiment. Rather, teachers will be able to instruct students normally and proctor an exam which would normally fall under their purview to proctor. This adherence to normative roles increases the validity of the study in that there is no risk that teachers are altering their performance. Students also will not be experiencing a significant variation in their normative school experience. Though the schedule will be different there will be no overt additions or changes to their routine. Though of course they will be informed of their participation, the manipulation is not such that it will inherently generate anomalous behavior.

Discussion of Internal Validity

For the purposes of understanding the relative efficacy of block scheduling to traditional scheduling this is perhaps the most effective method of testing. Within each individual school, students will act as their own control with a nationally accepted measure of effect. The variable manipulated is the time distribution within a school day which will still be the length students have always experienced. The potential for internal confounds has been relatively eliminated in that students from grades 10 and 11 are being assessed. 9th grade students experience an undue amount of pressure as a result of their status of newcomers to a social setting. 12th grade students are experiencing stress related to graduation as well as college application and acceptance.

As discussed above, the proposed procedure minimizes intrusion as well as overt manipulation in the context of the actual real conditions. Teachers and students are all experiencing their education as they would normally. The measure used is also one which is a test students of the cohorts age group and educational status are generally exposed to. There will be nothing aside from the difference in time management internally interfering with the results of this proposed experiment.

Discussion of External Validity

External validity is addressed in that this study is indicated for implementation across the entire United States. This will ensure that the results are directly applicable to the intended populations. A further benefit of this wide spread implementation is that potentially outlying results will be more immediately confirmed as instances for further investigation, than in instances where the effects of an individual community may have been at work. The use of two grades also corrects for the effects of age, or residual effects of college stress or lingering experience of entering a new social and academic environment.