Why do a trimester schedule? With the advent of block scheduling, many high schools conducted research on utilizing that plan in a trimester format. There appeared to be three issues that most schools faced: (1) How to provide substantive instructional time that was not fragmented?; (2) How does the school climate contribute positively to…

A Virginia Department of Education survey of urban, suburban, and rural schools using block scheduling revealed fewer disciplinary problems, a strong teacher preference for this format over traditional scheduling, and positive effects on standardized test scores in reading and mathematics. When time is used well in schools, school climate improves…

This paper examines the implementation of an alternate block (A/B) schedule in three high schools in Irving, Texas. The purpose is to review how time was used in 48 randomly selected high school Algebra 1, Biology 1, English 2, and U.S. History classes. Of the 48 classes, 12 observations were conducted for each course. The findings revealed a…