Block Schedule Endures, But Results Are Unclear

"By the end of the first couple weeks, the teacher could pretty much name each student," said Lucy Romeo, who will be a junior at Middletown High School.

The schedule has its drawbacks. Around the country, band and art teachers have complained, citing difficulty in persuading students to schedule a class that will take up one-quarter of their academic day.

Anne Arundel and Prince George's schools adopted the other pervasive form of the block schedule, known as A/B. Students take four classes one day and four other classes the next, for a total of eight courses taught on alternating days.

This format allowed Anne Arundel high schools to offer two additional class periods; before fall 2003, most high schools had a six-period day.

As with the 4x4 schedule, the A/B schedule allows teachers more planning time. The chief drawback: It increases each teacher's student load. A typical Anne Arundel high school teacher sees at least 180 students over the course of a week.

Even with the expanded planning period, teachers "are not getting the time to sit and plan," said Sheila Finlayson, president of the Anne Arundel teachers union. She said the block schedule -- and the student load, in particular -- is a top complaint among teachers who leave the system.

Smith, the Anne Arundel superintendent, thought high schools needed to offer a seventh or eighth class period to stay competitive, given the rising expectations of college admissions officers. Simply adding a period would be too costly, he said, because it would require hiring many more teachers. The block schedule accomplished the goal without added expense.

"It was important that we increase the number of credits available to students in Anne Arundel County," Smith said. "I knew, from a financial standpoint and a political standpoint, it would be impossible to go to a seven-period day."

He said teachers have been steadily added to the system to lower class sizes and teacher loads in response to teachers' complaints.

By squeezing eight classes into an academic calendar that once accommodated six, Smith has reduced the number of hours a teacher can devote to a course. The instructional time spent in a class has dropped from about 9,000 minutes to 7,750.

Belisle, who experienced the old and new schedules at Severna Park High, noticed the difference.

"In some classes, there was like an eighth of the book that we didn't finish," she said. "Nothing can make up for the fact that a class that was made to go in 180 hours now has to go in 140 hours."