Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/174076 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 11166
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
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.
Subjects: 
academic achievement
school start times
sleep
time allocation
JEL: 
I12
I20
J22
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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