This study reviews research and data to determine whether student achievement is affected by the high school scheduling model, and whether changes in scheduling models result in statistically significant changes in student achievement, as measured by the ACT Composite, ACT English Language Arts, and ACT Math scores. The high school scheduling…

In 2011, Macquarie University moved to a three-session academic year which included two 13-week sessions (traditional mode) and one seven-week session (intensive mode). This study was designed to compare the intensive and traditional modes of delivery in a unit of undergraduate neuroanatomy. The new intensive mode neuroanatomy unit provided the…

The participants of this phenomenological study were employed at a school that previously was not performing on assessments at a level equal to schools in the state comparison group. Due to low student achievement, school leaders explored pathways to improve instruction and changed the school schedule from a semester schedule to a trimester…

The greatest capital expenditure a school system can make is a high school. What can be done to accommodate students and programs when funding is scarce, high schools are crowded, and more students are expected? The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) in Raleigh, North Carolina, first addressed this issue when enrollment growth more than…

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…

One has heard it before: time is money, especially when it comes to adding time for instruction to the school day. When budgets are tight and relief is nowhere in sight, how can schools afford to implement a reform as costly as adding instructional time? It's a daunting task, yet current federal educational priorities tied to federal funding…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how students experience and respond to Michigan's increased graduation requirements. The study was conducted in a large, suburban high school that instituted a change to a trimester system in response to the state mandate. A criterion-based sample of 16 students, both college bound and…

The authors investigated whether the curricular structure of an economics course (semester, trimester, or compressed block schedule) has an effect on an undergraduate's subsequent retention of course material, while controlling for other relevant differences. They tested separately for theoretical or process comprehension and for graphical…

Although many high schools are switching from a semester to a trimester schedule as a response to increased high-school graduation requirements, there is very little empirical research on trimesters. In this ethnographic case study (2006-2009), we observed 22 math and science classrooms, interviewed seven administrators, two counselors and 22…

The articles reviewed in this paper are a supplement to a previous publication on college and university calendars. This new data tends to strongly reinforce the crucial point made in the previous study that indicated that college and university administrators have advocated one system, then another, without adequate empirical follow-up of the…

History of the academic calendar. (HS)

It has been argued that higher education in Ontario should be lengthened from a 7-month academic year to a 9-month academic year that costly facilities might be more fully utilized and that students might complete degree requirements in 3 years instead of 4. This brief is organized into 6 sections consisting of (1) a brief discussion of the issues…

This document reports the results of a survey conducted to determine (1) the types of academic calendars being used in colleges and universities in the U.S.: and (2) the changes taking place. Six types of calendars are defined: the traditional semester calendar; the trimester calendar; the 4-1-4 calendar; and other calendars. The survey was very…

TO EVALUATE STUDENT ATTITUDES TOWARD SUMMER TRIMESTER SCHEDULING, A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS ADMINISTERED TO 206 ENTERING FRESHMEN. FINDINGS INDICATED THAT 37 PERCENT OF THESE STUDENTS DID NOT PREFER JUNE ENTRANCE AND THAT THE COURSE OFFERINGS UNIQUE TO FARMINGDALE HAD A BALANCING EFFECT ON ATTITUDES IN A NUMBER OF CASES. CHOICE OF COLLEGE WAS MADE IN…