Why School Should Start Later Essay

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You’re in your bed sleeping peacefully when all of a sudden you’re jolted awake by your alarm. You drag yourself out of bed, having only gotten five hours of sleep. Does that sound like a nightmare? For many students, that’s a reality. Many students feel they aren’t getting enough sleep which can lead to more problems at school; therefore, school should start later in the day because it would increase grades, keep students safer, and allow teenagers to get enough sleep.
If school started later, it would increase grades. For example, a high school that tried a later start time noticed big changes in their grades. The average SAT score for one class rose from 1288 to 1500 after the students got to sleep in longer (Popova, Maria).This shows that their grades grew 14% by just sleeping in longer. It also accentuates the long term effects of sleeping in more. In fact, the college board saw the new results and said it was “truly flabbergasting” (Popova, Maria). If even the college board agrees that starting school later could be beneficial, than why haven’t more schools taken action? Not only does later start times improve grades, it also keeps student safer. …show more content…

An example of this is when a town in Kentucky pushed the start time back and noticed a 16 percent reduction in teenage car accidents (Popova, Maria). Teenagers were more alert on the road because they got to sleep in longer. Drowsy driving is a big issue in the morning and teenagers that just woke up doesn’t help that. Students who don't get enough sleep are more likely to engage in underage drinking, smoking and drugs (Wheaton, Anne G., et al.). This could lead to addictions and other health problems in the future. Not only does having later school start times improve student safety, it also will allow students to get enough

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