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Abstract

At Varnado High School in Washington Parish, Louisiana, the 4x4 block has been in place for three years. In order to compare the two schedules, I obtained the Louisiana Department of Education's District Composite Report for Washington Parish. This report contains data concerning dropout rates and ACT scores from two traditionally scheduled school years (1995-1997), the year of 4x4-block implementation (1997-1998), and two years of the block (1998-2000).

More districts are relying on standardized test scores in order to determine a school's success; therefore, I also analyzed pass ing rates from the state-mandated Graduate Exit Examination (GEE) for the same time period. Using perspectives gathered from literature regarding the 4x4 block and traditional schedules, I developed a qualitative survey for the 12th grade class of Varnado High School. Only seniors were surveyed to maximize test/retake opportunity validity and exposure to the traditional and block schedules. This survey was approved by The University of Southern Mississippi's Human Subjects Protection Review Committee. After receiving written permission from the participants and their parents, the survey was administered during class: 38 out of 53 surveys were completed, netting a return percentage of 71.6.

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