When Anne Arundel County schools Superintendent Eric J. Smith closed the book last week on his first major controversy since arriving in July - his imposition of uniform, four-period schedules on middle and high schools next year - he left many teachers, students and parents with bruised feelings.

"I feel deflated," said Tonie Domino, an Old Mill High School junior who spoke against the schedules at the two public hearings held by the school board. "People put their heart and soul into their speeches. It appears he's ignored what everyone told him."

More than 100 people testified at the packed hearings, most of them speaking against four-period schedules or urging the superintendent to study the matter further.

Smith said he listened carefully to everyone's concerns - ranging from loss of instructional time to larger class sizes - and made the decision he thought was best.

"I'm aware that all these changes have personal impacts on people," Smith said in an interview after he announced his decision Wednesday. "It doesn't mean that in every case we're going to end up with what everyone wants. We wouldn't be doing our job if we simply took opinion polls and went with them."

Smith made one adjustment to the schedules in response to public concerns. In the middle school plan, which consists of three core academic classes every day and one period of rotating electives, he shortened foreign language courses to one semester so pupils could take a greater variety of electives.

The high school schedule - which consists of two sets of classes alternating every other day, for a total of eight a year - was left intact.

Middle schools currently operate on four- or seven-period days, and high schools use four- or six-period schedules.

Smith and his staff say the new schedules will allow a greater focus on math and reading in middle school and more opportunities for advanced and remedial work in high school.

Less frequent and longer class periods - 86 minutes instead of 47 or 55 - also would enable in-depth study, officials said.

Many people were upset that Smith moved so quickly and with an apparent disregard, opponents say, for individual needs.

Last year, when the school system reviewed the schedules so middle schools could fulfill a state requirement to offer physical education and fine arts, schools were allowed to choose between two schedules. Thirteen schools decided on seven-period days, and six went with four-period days.

Smith favors uniformity. And he argues that the four-period schedule will give high-achieving students more time slots to take more Advanced Placement courses while it allows less capable students to take advanced coursework alongside academic support classes.

Many of those who objected to Smith's plan said schools and students should not be forced into the same mold.

"We're not a uniform county, for crying out loud," said Anna Walker, an English teacher at Northeast High School in Pasadena. "There are schools in this county that have entirely different socioeconomic backgrounds."

Walker and other teachers testified at the hearings that not all of their students have the ambition to be in Advanced Placement classes.

"I adamantly disagree," Smith said of the idea that some students cannot succeed in AP. "We have an obligation to make sure those doors are open for students from all backgrounds and all schools."

Smith said uniformity among schools is a crucial first step to his plan to standardize instruction, the quality and difficulty of which varies across the county.

"You can't do a one-size-fits-all, but you can have the same level of expectation for kids," he said. "If they pass Algebra I at the end of the year, they will have all done the same level of work and been taught the same content."