PLEASE NOTE: The following resource list represents a preliminary search and is not all-inclusive. Annotations are based on author abstracts. Articles provided through Badgerlink may not be available to users outside of the state of Wisconsin. Articles provided through HUHS subscription databases may require a password. The articles are presented in alphabetical order, rather than by sub-topic. Please email Lora Cowell with additional articles and annotations you would like included on the list.

All Around the Block: The Benefits and Challenges of a Non-traditional School Schedule Link and annotation pending!
Rettig, Michael D.; Canady, Robert Lynn
School Administrator, v53 n8 p8-14 Sep 1996

An Analysis of Research on Block Scheduling Link and annotation pending!
Sally J. Zepeda, R. Stewart Mayers
Presents an analysis of 58 empirical studies of high school block scheduling, with findings in and across five groupings. Offers generalizations about block scheduling research, recommendations for further research, and a discussion of implementation issues.

Back from the Block--Or Not? Link and annotation pending!
Kenney, Linda Chion
School Administrator, v60 n9 p21-22,23-25 Oct 2003

Block Scheduling Revisited
Phi Delta Kappan; Nov2000, Vol. 82 Issue 3, p214, 9p Annotation pending!

Block Scheduling's Missteps, Successes and Variables. Link and annotation pending!
Rettig, Michael D.; Canady, Robert Lynn
School Administrator, v60 n9 p26-31 Oct 2000

A Comparative Study of Block Scheduling and Traditional Scheduling on Academic Achievement
Journal of Instructional Psychology; Sep2000, Vol. 27 Issue 3, p178, 5p, 2 charts Annotation pending!

Data-Driven High SchoolReform: The Breaking Ranks Model Link and annotation pending!
MA Lachat, P Silva, RA Mackin
NASSP Bulletin, 2005

Differential School Functioning in a Block Schedule: A Comparison of Academic Profiles Link and annotation pending!
The High School Journal - Volume 84, Number 4, April-May 2001, pp. 12-20

Effects of Four-Day School Schedule Undecided Link and annotation pending!
The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Vol. 73, 2002

Effects of Block Scheduling on Academic Achievement Among High School Students Link pending!
Gruber, Charlotte D., Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.
High School Journal; Apr/May2001, Vol. 84 Issue 4, p32, 11p
Presents a study which investigated the effects of block scheduling on academic achievement among high school students. Factors to which an increase in block scheduling is attributed; Advantages and disadvantages of block scheduling.

Effects of Block Scheduling on Grade Point Averages
Williams, Laura M. Annotation pending!

Effects of a High School Block Scheduling Program on Students
A four-year longitudinal study published in 2002 in American Secondary Education. The subject of study is a controversial block-scheduling program in a small, mid-western city. "Findings were based on "hard" data only, for example, grade point averages and attendance, and not attitudes and perceptions.

Four Day School Weeks (MCREL)
MCREL provides a look into a new trend which “in an effort to save energy and transportation costs" has some school districts adopting four-day school weeks.

From Five Days to Four
In 2006 Yarbrough and Gilman published this article in Educational Leadership detailing how one school system in Kentucky "implemented a four-day school week to save money on transportation and staffing" basing their decision on research that "indicated that such a calendar change could increase efficiency and also yield some unexpected benefits." The school's experence "confirmed the viability of the four-day week. Student achievement has risen, and teachers feel that they are using planning and staff development time more profitably. Anticipated problems--such as student fatigue from the longer school day and parent problems with child-care issues--have not proven to be serious obstacles."

High School Schedule Changes and the Effect of Lost Instructional Time on Achievement
In the High School Journal, four educational researchers (Kubitschek, Hallinan, Arnett, and Galipeau) address the effect of schedule changes at the start of a school year on student acheivement.

The Impact of School Daily Schedule on Adolescent Sleep
PEDIATRICS Vol. 115 No. 6 June 2005, pp. 1555-1561 Annotation pending!

Later High School Start Times a Reaction to Research
Jessica Tonn offers her reaction to the research in Education Week (2006). Specifically addresses the research conducted at Northwestern University which concluded that high school students perform better later in the day than early in the morning, and that most high school schedules contribute to sleep deprivation among students. "A growing number of school districts have altered their starting times or plan to do so at the beginning of next school year. Administrators struggling with tight budgets say the altered schedules can lead to cost savings by forcing more efficient use of buses."

Meeting Teen Sleep Needs Creatively
This article by Wolfson and Carskadon was published in September 2005 issue of Education Digest. It "discusses the adjustment of school schedules to meet the sleep needs of teenagers. High school personnel were surveyed on high school start times, factors influencing school start times, and decision making around school schedules. Surveys were analyzed from secondary schools selected at random from the National Center for Educational Statistics database. The final data set includes 345 surveys from regular public schools serving grades 9-12 for which data at least back to the 1986-87 school year were available. Of the respondents, 49% noted their students came from a comfortable socioeconomic background; 34% were struggling or impoverished; and nearly 13% had most of their students from well off, or affluent, families.

Prisoners of Time
A report of the National Education Commission on Time and Learning first published in 1994. Annotation pending!

Rethinking the Allocation of Teaching Resources: Some Lessons from High-Performing Schools
Link and annotation pending!
Karen Hawley Miles, Linda Darling-Hammond
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Spring, 1998), pp. 9-29

Scheduling Alternatives: Options for Student Success
Offers "insights and practical guidance related to block scheduling, four-day school weeks, and year-round education.” From the North Western Regional Education Lab (NWREL)

A Single 50-Minute Lunch Hour Fits Everyone
In a 2007 issue of Education Digest, Goodman examines the effects of switching from multiple lunch periods to one lunch period for the nearly 2,000 students at one Maryland high school. Her observations include more "positive school climate."

Starting Time and School Life: Reflections from Educators and Students
Educators at the University of Minnesota, Kubow,Wahlstrom, and Bemis, wrote this article for Phi Delta Kappan in 1999. "Using teacher surveys and focus groups, the study examined the effects of changing school starting times on school operations at all levels and on the community."

Whatever Happened To the Model Schools Project?
Phi Delta Kappan; Mar2005, Vol. 86 Issue 7, p536-544, 9p Annotation pending!

Without Limits: Breaking the Rules with Postmodernism to Improve Educational Practices in Order to Best Serve Students
Skinner, Desiree A. Annotation pending!
National Forum of Educational Administration and Supervision Journal v25 n4 2008. 11 pp.

To Block or Not to Block: That's Not the Question. Link and annotation pending!
E Jenkins, A Queen, B Algozzine
The Journal of Educational Research, 2002

Unlocking the Lockstep High School Schedule Link and annotation pending!
Journal article by Robert Lynn Canady, Michael D. Rettig; Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 75, 1993

Year-Round Schools Look Better All the Time. St. Gerard, Vanessa Link and annotation pending!
Education Digest; Apr2007, Vol. 72 Issue 8, p56-58, p.3