Middle and high schools in Anne Arundel County are likely to move to uniform four-period schedules next year, which officials say would use school time more efficiently and give students more flexibility in choosing classes.

Superintendent Eric J. Smith, who is expected to make his final decision next month, said having everyone on the same type of schedule would help him track and improve student achievement at all schools, which vary in course offerings and test scores.

"It allows us to better support our classroom teachers in defining the kind of instruction that needs to take place," said Smith, who asked middle and high school principals to study the issue. He says he supports their four-period recommendation, which he will present to the school board next week.

The four-period schedules, which use 86-minute classes, would replace a hodgepodge of four-, seven- and six-period models used in county schools. Officials say problems exist with the existing schedules, especially the six-period day, which is used at nine of 12 county high schools although it offers little flexibility to students and has largely been phased out elsewhere in Maryland.

Schools across the country are moving to four-period schedules because they allow students to take more electives while fulfilling ever-increasing graduation requirements, said Michael D. Rettig, a professor at James Madison University in Virginia and an expert on school scheduling.

Under the proposed Anne Arundel County model, high school students would alternate every other day between two sets of classes. A student might have geometry, English, biology and physical education one day and four different classes the next.

In middle school, three periods would be devoted each day to the core academic subjects: language arts, math and a half-year each of science or social studies. The remaining daily slot would be filled by one of three rotating noncore classes, such as art or physical education.

The shift to longer classes would require a great deal of staff training because instructors would need to learn classroom techniques to fill periods longer than the 47- or 55-minute periods students are used to.

"Teachers are going to have to expand their teaching horizons a bit," said Ken Nichols, a director of instruction who helped design the proposed high school schedule. "They're not going to be able to stand up and lecture for 86 minutes."

Reaction has been mixed, with some parents concerned about the effectiveness of long periods of certain subjects, such as math or band, and many teachers expressing anger about not being consulted.

Officials say they are confident everyone will like the new schedules once they get used to them. Among the advantages to having fewer and longer classes, they say:

Less "transition" time - the minutes students spend traveling from class to class and settling down to a lesson.

Fewer discipline problems occurring while students change classes.

A larger chunk of the school day spent on instruction, and the opportunity for more intensive, uninterrupted study of a single subject, such as an experiment in a science class.

For high schools, officials say, the biggest advantage of the new schedule would be the increase in the number of classes a student would be able to take. Under the six-period schedule, students can earn 24 credits by the end of their four years. With the new schedule, students could enroll in eight courses a year and graduate with up to 32 credits.

For students who have trouble in school, Smith said, more time slots mean more opportunities for classes that provide support, such as reading or math intervention.

The trade-off for taking more classes is that each subject would have four hours less of class time each month.

Already 'maxed out'

Some high school teachers criticized the new plan because it would increase the number of students they teach. Instead of teaching five classes a day on the six-period schedule, they would be teaching six different classes over a two-day period.

Julia Pruchniewski, an English teacher at South River High School, said she already is "maxed out" grading student papers. "I can only have nightmares about what my life would be like next year with all those papers," she said.

The new schedule, she said, would mean "every teacher gets a whole additional set of papers and a whole additional set of parents to deal with, and the district doesn't pay a cent more," Pruchniewski said. "It's like taking a pay cut."

Pruchniewski said she sees the advantages of longer class periods, but objects to having alternating sets of students. She would support the four-period schedule, she said, if it were based on semesters.

Smith and the principals rejected that version - in which students take four classes every day for a semester and four different classes the next semester - because they want to avoid problems with retention in subjects such as math or foreign language, where students need continuity.

"There are going to be pluses and minuses to every schedule," Smith said.

More math

In designing the middle school schedule, principals tried to satisfy the superintendent's desire to focus on math instruction. Pupils will get seven to 13 more hours of math each month, depending on whether their schools now are on four or seven periods.

There would be a slight reduction in total class time for science and social studies, as well as noncore classes such as physical education or art, a fact criticized by some parents.

"I'm very distressed about the implications for a well-rounded education," said Terra Ziporyn Snider, a Severna Park resident who has a daughter in middle school.

Smith said improving pupils' math skills - he has vowed to more than double by 2007 the number of eighth-graders who complete Algebra I - will translate into gains in other subject areas.

The Board of Education will have an opportunity to weigh in when Smith presents his proposal Nov. 22. The superintendent also has scheduled public hearings next month, before he makes a final decision.