The same is true for second-semester AP students who begin the class in late January or early February. Teachers of one-semester AP classes had asked the College Board for a fairer testing schedule for their students but were turned down as too few in number. The success of some of the semester-block schools with the Advanced Placement classes is in fact quite noteworthy. In just three years using two-semester AP classes , the number of students taking AP classes and exams doubled at the rural Virginia school mentioned earlier. It is unfortunate and unnecessary that this issue divides communities.
Block scheduling is simply a tool to manage personnel and facilities.
The schedule, just like the building, provides a structure within which instruction takes place. It is neither good nor evil. The schedule does not raise test scores nor lower test scores. And quality instruction can take place in any building and with any schedule. Two earlier Philadelphia Inquirer articles rejected block scheduling as an alleged' reform while calling for higher standards, school choice, and vouchers.