Most of the students at Chapman have four classes. Sitting in a class for an hour and 45 minutes is hard. At some point, most students stop listening to the teachers. This also makes it harder for students who can’t concentrate for long periods of time. 

On the other hand, eight classes can be better for students because they aren’t in class long enough to get bored. But having multiple classes can be hard to manage because of homework and sports. 

So less homework means more time for the students to do their hobbies, and hone their skills. 

Having to think about only four classes can be easier and less stressful for everyone, including the teachers when making lesson plans.  But only getting to take four classes can be restricting when you want to take other classes. 

One reason some students liked the eight-class schedule was getting to see friends more often. One downside is that with eight classes they are year-round, so if you don’t like a teacher you can’t really change that like you can with only 4 blocks a semester.  

Except with 4 blocks, it costs you more when you miss a school day because you learn and do more in 90-minute classes.

Michael D. Rettig and Robert Lynn Canady from Education World estimates that “more than 50 percent of high schools in the United States are either using or considering a form of block scheduling.”

The block schedule can prepare you for college; on average most students in college take around 3-5 classes a day depending on their major, and most of those classes are around 1.5-2 hours long. So both options have pros and cons, it just depends on what works best for your school.