Impact of Instructional Time Configuration on State-Mandated Test Performance

• In Event: 33.079 - Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: 33.079-3 - The Impact of Structure and Time on Student Learning

Abstract

This study compared the academic performance of seventh-grade students on the social studies potion of South Carolina’s Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) test by the instructional time configuration used. While controlling for poverty, students in schools using a 61-79 minute block all year schedule configuration earned significantly higher seventh-grade student PASS social studies test scores than students in schools using a traditional schedule configuration or schools using other popular types of block scheduling configurations. Additionally, White students scored significantly higher on the test than Hispanic or African American students regardless of the instructional time configuration used.

Authors

• Kenneth E. Vogler, University of South Carolina

• Susan L. Schramm-Pate, University of South Carolina