Why School Should Start Later

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.

Early start times negatively affect teens in many different aspects. Many people say school starting early has worked fine in the past years, we have learned to adjust to it. Change will be hard, why change school times now? Yes, this is true, it will be a change, but it is a change worth it in the long run. Although we have adjusted to early school start times, it does not mean the current schedule is best for teens. School can begin simply too early considering most teens don’t get the opportunity to fulfill their sleep needs. This is often caused by homework, a busy social life, extracurricular activities, and family all combined. Sleep is well needed, but the necessary sleep amount is lost with early start times. Additionally, current school schedules are not benefiting teens; it comes with discouraging effects, there is evidence to support this. The National Sleep

If you want better grades and more sleep, school should start later. Many schools are considering early start times. In fact, at least three schools in Maine are considering starting school later. Middle and high schools should start later because students and parents would be less tired and because children would be able to play outside when the sun is out.

To begin, starting school later can improve students’ health and safety. The CDC urges people to schools to start later, and they have solid reasons for it. Researchers from Minnesota University analyzed over 9000 high school students and discovered that altering the original start time to a later one improved attendance, test scores, grades in math, social studies, and English, and decreased tardiness, drug abuse, and depression. Sadly, over 75% of schools in over 40 states start before 8:30. Without a doubt, later start times have obvious benefits

Should school start later is a question asked by many, and some people believe that school is just fine starting at 8:20 and going till 3:30, but they don’t know the benefits of later start times. Schools should start later for it provides better test scores, it gives kids the rest they need and students are more capable of getting to school. When students get the sleep they need, then they have a higher chance to get better test scores. According to “Should Schools Start Later?” “Studies show that well rested teens get better grades and have higher standardized test scores.”

Students never want to get up early in the morning to go to school.But that can possibly change if school started later in the morning.There are many benefits of school starting later.Especially for middle and high school students.

According to Heather Macintosh of Start School Later, a nonprofit organization,“Well rested kids learn better,”(20-21). If we went to school later, we would be able to focus better. More focus would help us learn more and understand better than we do now. She also said,”They’re happier, they get better grades, and their bodies are healthier. ”(21)

One reason is that if school times started later kids would get more sleep during the night. More sleep will help the kids stay awake in class and will focus more which will lead them to learn more. Paying more attention and learning more in classes will lead to higher grades. Also if kids get more sleep because of later start times they will be a lot healthier. “What If Schools Started Later by Jennifer Pignolet tells us about the benefits on later school days.

School starting later does have it’s positive affects it also has its negative effects as well. School starting later would allow students to sleep later, but according to the High Schools with late start times help teens but schedules and after-school can conflict, “potential complications,such as additional costs if buses were added, child-care issues where late-day schedules might prevent teens from picking up younger siblings after school, and implications for teams if they end up playing in the dark.” According to Fox News Megan Kuhfeld says, a student in California,” I enjoyed waking up later than everyone else in the area next to me where there were early start times, but as a member of the tennis team, she had to miss sixth and seventh period classes to compete at other schools.” Although school starting later would give teens more time to sleep, it would cause conflicts between their schedules after

As children’s doctor and sleep expert Daniel Lewin stated, “The call for later school start times is an essential movement for keeping tweens and teens healthy.” Several reasons why school hours are unjust due to early start times include first, students not being able to focus as easily in class. Next, students also cannot participate to their full capability when their mind and body are not rested properly. Also, recent studies have concluded that teenagers cause more automobile accidents on their way to school, due to being sleep deprived. A negative perspective considering a later school start revolves around the idea that through history school hours have consistently ended before a specific time. This seems to support the fact that “after school

There has always been a controversy as to if the school day should start later on in the morning or not. The University of Minnesota study shows that schools who have already changed the beginning of the school day to later have found that only a third of students actually received eight or more hours of sleep while the students who received less than eight hours reported to have more symptoms of depression, higher counts of caffeine, and substance abuse with alcohol and drugs. In “Should the School Day Start Later?” written by Michael Gonchar, Gonchar writes that, “New evidence suggests that a later start to the school day could have all sorts of benefits…” Some of those benefits could include the decrease of tardiness, increase in attendance, test scores and everyday grades, more positive mental health, and even car crash rates. All in all the research and studies over if the school day should start later has been in discussion for years.

I believe schools should move to a later start time. Starting later will be beneficial to teens. Starting time later will benefit teens because as they are growing and getting older they are requiring more sleep. First, teens require more sleep. For instance, teens require about 9.5 hours of sleep after puberty but only get 7.5 hours.

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.

It has been proven that schools that start later tend to have an increase of students who receive naturally higher standardized test scores, obtain higher grades, and earn higher grade point averages (GPAs). This is because later start times cause kids to be more alert and active during the day due to the body being well rested, which is improving their cognitive function. This is essential to learning (“California Academy” 8). According to California Academy of Sciences, “Students with symptoms of sleep disorders are more likely to receive poor grades in classes such as math, reading, and writing than peers without symptoms of sleep disorders.” As previously mentioned, adolescents who do not acquire much sleep might develop a form of sleep disorders, and it may hurt their academic performance. What is more, memory is also drastically impacted by how well rested one’s body is. It is imperative that the brain gets enough sleep, so it can process the day’s events and retain your memories. Web MD reads, “... sleep enhances memory, … helping them (students) to last for the long term (life).” It is believed that if a person has a good memory he/she is essentially “smarter” and can easily recall facts or concepts learned. There is a correlation between good memory and good academic performance (“California Academy” 10). People who do well in school tend to have good memories. Overall, many studies exhibit the impact of later school start times on academic performance, and they undoubtedly show that their students will have superior overall class grades, test scores, and