Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
John Reynolds
Committee Member
Polly Ebbs
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
academic achievement, Alabama, block scheduling, educational scheduling, mathematics achievement, middle schools, Mobile, Mobile County Public School System, reading achievement, SAT-9, science achievement, Semmes Middle School, seventh-grade students, Stanford Achievement Test Ninth Edition, student perceptions, teacher perceptions, traditional scheduling
Abstract
This study compared the academic achievement of 7th-grade students using a block schedule with the academic achievement of 7th-grade students using a traditional schedule. The goal was to determine what impact, if any, block scheduling had upon academic achievement. The sample included 7th-grade students at Semmes Middle School in the Mobile County Public School System in Mobile, Alabama.
The 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition (SAT-9) test results in reading, mathematics, and science, which are required of all students in Grades 3-8 in the Mobile County Public School System, provided the necessary data.
A t test was used to compare the 2 groups’ means for each of the 3 subject areas to determine if a significant difference existed at the .05 level of significance. Researcher-developed surveys were used to collect qualitative data. One researcher-developed survey was used to collect data describing students’ perceptions of traditional schedules and block schedules. Another researcher-developed survey was used to collect data describing teachers’ perceptions of using a traditional schedule and a block schedule.
The findings revealed that students using the traditional schedule scored significantly higher on the SAT-9 in mathematics and science than students using the block schedule, and students using the block schedule scored slightly higher on the SAT-9 in reading. The findings also revealed that students and teachers preferred using a traditional schedule over a block schedule.