Snooze or lose


Groen, J. A., & Pabilonia, S. W. (2019). Snooze or lose: High school start times and academic achievement. Economics of Education Review. (IZA Discussion Papers, No. 11166). Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.05.011

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Abstract

Many U.S. high schools start classes before 8:00 A.M., yet research on circadian rhythms suggests that students’ biological clocks shift to later in the day as they enter adolescence.Some school districts have moved to later start times for high schools based on the prospect that this would increase students’ sleep and academic achievement. This paper examines the  effect  of  high  school  start  times  on  student  learning.  We  use  longitudinal  data  from the  Child  Development  Supplement  to  the  Panel  Study  of  Income  Dynamics  (PSID-CDS) to  conduct  the  first  study  of  this  relationship  using  a  nationally-representative  sample  of students. We also use the CDS time diaries to explore the effects of high school start times on students’ time allocation. Results indicate that female students who attend schools with later start times get more sleep and score higher on reading tests. Male students do not get more sleep when their schools start later and their test scores do not change.

 

Keywords

Academic achievement, School start times, Sleep, Time allocation