An evaluation of the seven-period day as implemented at Abingdon High School 1985-86

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the seven-period day schedule implemented at Abingdon High School and to judge the feasibility of implementing a comparable schedule in all Washington County high schools on a permanent basis. In order to facilitate the evaluation, several areas of inquiry were identified. Questions of interest included: Did the students take advantage of the additional opportunities to take courses? If so, what courses were selected? Did an extended day create problems for students and/or faculty? If so, what kind of problems/concerns were encountered? Was students' performance affected? Did students' behavior change? Did the lengthened school day increase stress or otherwise affect teachers' performance? What about cost? Finally, administrators in the region were asked to comment on the possible impact (advantages and disadvantages) of a seven-period schedule as an addendum to the data collected at the school. Data pertinent to the evaluation of the seven-period day were obtained from various offices at Abingdon High School and the Washington County School Board. Data regarding perceptions of faculty and students were obtained from two 13-question surveys, one given to 76 faculty members with 58 responses and the other given to all students with 977 responses. There were subjective qualities involved in the study such as newness of the seven-period day or change itself. These qualities cannot be measured quantitatively and may have affected the results of the study. Aside from these considerations, no evidence was revealed by the research that would indicate the seven-period day was less effective than the six-period day. The results of the study indicate that students would take additional courses if given the opportunity with no apparent negative effects. The cost of the seven-period day was less on a per course basis than for the six-period day.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Administration

Department dc:contributor.department

Educational Administration

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Year dc:date.issued

1986

Author dc:creator

• Bishop, Jerry C.

Chairs dc:contributor.committeechair

• Worner, Wayne M.
• Weber, Larry J.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Harder, Martha B.
• Andrew, Loyd D.
• Dudley, C. Jack

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10919/49984

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/49984