The impact of class schedule on student learning in a middle-level computer science classroom

Abstract

This study sought to determine if there was a relationship between class time length, schedule type and student academic performance on student learning at Middle School A, a suburban 7th and 8th grade school in southeast Wisconsin. Between 2017 and 2021, the school transitioned between three different schedules, most recently adopting a 96-minute block. Data from these four school years are compared using a one-way ANOVA on the average grade point average and end of quarter assessment scores in the Introduction to Computer Science course. Findings revealed that the average GPA dropped each year from 2017 to 2020, but it rebounded slightly in 2021, when the block schedule was implemented. However, scores for the Introduction to Computer Science end of course assessments dropped each year. In both cases, the most significant drop was in 2020, when Middle School A implemented virtual learning for eleven weeks learning because of COVID-19. While the scores decreased over the time, it is unclear whether schedule length affected this because of the many effects of the pandemic on the learning environment.