Analysis Of High School Starting Time By Jeff Jarley

According to a study done in North Carolina schools that start as little as an hour later can cause standardized test scores to go up by as much as 2 percent (Educationnext.org).Two percent may not seem like a lot but it can be the difference between a C or a B on a standardized test. Earlier start times also can cause students to get less sleep which can cause students to perform worse. If students were able to get more sleep they may perform better and actually enjoy going to school and getting good grades while still getting a decent amount of sleep.

Have you ever wondered about the effects that would be brought if school started later? At the moment, school clearly begins too early. This is a problem that is unquestionably bringing negative affects to many students. Many schools throughout the country are addressing this problem by considering school schedule changes including later start times for middle and high schools. Research indicates there are unfavorable effects to current school schedules, as well as well as positive effects to delayed start times. To best meet the needs of teens, school should start later.

Research has shown that teenagers experience a change in the internal sleep clock so that waking up early and going to sleep early are difficult. Some people believe that high school classes should begin later in the day to better accommodate students’ natural sleep clocks. Waking up early can be a real struggle for teenagers. Most teens naturally sleep in until ten thirty or eleven on weekends. I do believe high school classes should start later because teens could sleep more naturally, it would give teenagers more time to do things in the mornings, and more sleep equals better

The school day should start later in order improve students’ mental health. Survey results have consistently indicated that middle level and high school students who start school at 7:15 a.m. or earlier obtain less total sleep on school nights due to earlier rise times in comparison to students at later-starting schools. () This is just the beginning of the negative impacts that early start times have on students. By starting school at a later time, students’ brains will function better, their grades and learning increases, and will be more mentally stable.

If we were to start school later, academic GPA’s (grade point averages) would definately increase. Isn’t this what we want in our school? It is proven that the more sleep you get, the more awake and alert you actually are. I interviewed Michael Claffey, a sophomore at Newington High School, he stated “ Goooooud.” Also Jorge Premto a sophomore at Newington High School stated “Yes Michael, yes I do believe school should start at nine o’clock am. This will thus help further my education because I will be well rested.” In all, we need school to start later because it will help us with our education.

High Schools should begin later in the day to accommodate for students to get the natural sleep they really need.

Being a High schooler in today's society is hard, especially when you dread getting up at 6 o’clock (or earlier) every morning, and pressing snooze so many times to the point where you have to miss out on breakfast and rush to school. If school started 30 minutes to an hour later every day, it would help students in plenty of ways: alertness, better test scores, and teachers would also enjoy it because students would be more responsive. There would be some extra costs for bussing, though. Hudsonville High school should definitely look into and consider later start times, for it would benefit both the students and teachers.

Almost 10% of U.S. high schools start before 7:30 a.m. Over 20% of middle schools start class at 7:45 a.m. or earlier. This is leaving students everywhere overwhelmed and tired. This can lead to tremendous effects on their health and grades. Research shows that only do later start times improve those things, but ends up increasing the school's yearly income in the long run. For these reasons, schools should make their hours later because it can affect students grades and health in a positive way.

Teenagers need more sleep. If schools start school later, students would be less tired. A study of eight schools in Minnesota started school 1 hour later and grades and morale went up and tardiness went down. It has been scientifically proven in a test they did in Minnesota that 8 schools stated later and most of the students grades went up they were happier and everyone seemed more

Opponents of a later high school start time argue that teenagers won’t really get more sleep, they’ll just stay up later instead.  Students have activities and homework after school, and the later start time would just push it later into the night.  In “Controversy Over School Start Times,” journalist Laura VanDemark, a staff writer for Mainstream said that a survey from the April 15, 2013 meeting of the Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association general assembly showed that, “only 43% of students believed that a later start time would allow them to get more sleep”(VanDemark).  To elaborate, if less than half of the students thought they wouldn’t get more sleep with a later start time, then they probably wouldn’t in reality either. Though it is a valid point, students’ internal clocks, or their

In the beginning the author starts with why school times should remain the same. Opposed to starting later, the author states how that would not only how difficult it is to change the current "status quo" but also how it would affevct parents, teachers, and outside activites. However, the author then states how changing the start times of high schools would positivitly impact the students in

Secondly, school starting at a later time is beneficial academically. Most teens don’t get enough sleep which causes them to feel sleep deprived and stressed for school. Teens usually get six to seven hours of sleep but Dr. Cora Breuner says, “ We truly believe that our teenagers are getting six to seven hours of sleep a night, and they need eight to 10 (Shute).” This causes teens exhausted for the school and not mentally or physically prepared for each class in school. However, teens who get more sleep do better academically, with better standardized scores and a better quality living style (Shute). For example through one studies, showing the delay by an hour in start time, increases standardized test scores by roughly 3 percentile points (Edwards). So academically it is beneficial for the kids in school.

The national sleep epidemic that has taken the world by storm is also taking a toll in not only teen’s health but also their performance in school as well as personal safety. The sleep deprivation that teens are experiencing everyday has caused many health problems as well as academic problems. I believe starting school later will hinder this ever growing teen sleep deprivation problem we face today. Letting teens sleep later is beneficial to their learning capacity as their heightened alertness improved their classroom performance as well as better memory and many other crucial achievements. So probably starting school later, but no later than eight thirty am, will lead students to perform better in school and their health will improve drastically.

We live in an age when many growing adolescents are constantly fighting their natural body clocks. It could potentially be one of the biggest issues facing our high school systems. Many school’s across America have started to push back their school start times. Is it worth it? The answer is yes. School should start later in order to unlock our nation’s high school potential.

School’s start times have been an arising issue in the United States for many years and recently began to surface. More and more individuals everyday are realizing the effects of a school’s start time on those attending the school, teaching at the school, parents of those who attend the school as well as the surrounding community. “…education seems to be the most sleep-deprived field in America” (Black, 2001). Beginning a school’s start time at 7:17 in the morning isn’t the best time to try and teach adolescents calculus or Shakespeare. “For many, the unusually early start time is nothing short of torturous. A survey of 26 Denver –area companies showed that the average adult trudges into