Transcript Changing School Start Times: Findings and Issues Kyla L. Wahlstrom, PhD University of Minnesota.

Changing School Start Times:
Findings and Issues
Kyla L. Wahlstrom, PhD
University of Minnesota
Earliest Research Completed
in 1996-1998 by Univ. of MN
• Edina, MN school district in 1996 was
first in U.S. to shift to a later start, based
on medical research about sleep phase
shift in teens: 7:20
8:30
• Minneapolis School District in 1997 also
shifted start time, based on findings in
Edina: 7:15
8:40
Matched Comparison
Analysis on Student Surveys
• Edina compared with two neighboring
suburban districts which are highly
similar on demographic variables (SES,
ethnicity, family structure, graduation
rates)
• Minneapolis compared with neighboring
urban district very demographically
similar (SES, ethnicity, family structure,
graduation rates)
Findings from Teacher Survey
• Teachers in both Edina & Minneapolis
report students as more alert in the first
two periods of the day.
Teacher Survey: [With the later start time] I have more students who
seem alert and “with it” during the first two periods of the day (n=335).
Strongly
disagree
12.8
Disagree
Neither agree
nor disagree
Strongly agree
Agree
14.3
15.8
28.3
28.9
Findings from Student
Sleep Habits Survey (n=7,168)
• Students report earning higher grades and
are less sleepy than peers in comparable
populations.
• Students reported lower frequency of falling
asleep in class or during a test.
Letter grades coded as 5 = B & C; 6 = B; 7 = B & A; 8 = A
Means of Sleepiness Scores on
Student Sleep Habits Survey
17.37***
***p<.001
15.38***
Additional Findings
• There is no relationship between
participation in sports and letter grades
when practice occurs after school or on
the weekend.
• The more days per week students
spend practicing before school, the
lower the self-reported grades.
Socio-Emotional Findings
• Students in Edina reported statistically
significant less depression:
Edina mean
=
9.96
Comparable District B =
10.43
Comparable District C =
11.43***
p<.001
• School counselors and nurses reported fewer
students seeking help for emotional problems
and somatic physical complaints.
5-15 Years Later—Is Changing to
a Later Start Time the Answer?
It depends on the question. . . . . .




Educational benefits?
Psycho-social effects?
Health and sleep outcomes?
Achievement gains?
Educational Benefits for Urban
Students (N = 12,000)
• Rate of continuous enrollment (2 years in
same school) rose every year in grades 9-11,
leading to higher graduation rates.
1995
2000
• Grade 9
49.0
57.8%
• Grade 10
54.4
65.6%
• Grade 11
60.8
68.5%
Educational Benefits for
Urban Students (Cont’d)
• Attendance rates for all students in
grades 9, 10, and 11 statistically
significantly improved from before to
after the change.
• Attendance rates for students not
continuously enrolled notably revealed
grade 9 having the greatest
improvement: 72%
76% (p< .001)
Psycho-Social Benefits—
as reported in Kentucky, Connecticut,
Massachusetts, and Minnesota
• Parents overwhelmingly said that their teenagers were “easier to live with”.
• Parents note that they now have a
“connection time” over breakfast.
• Later start has not negatively affected
participation rates in after school sports and
extra-curricular activities.
• Principals reported fewer discipline incidents
in the halls and in the lunchroom.
Health and Sleep Outcomes
• Bedtime preference remained at about 10:45
PM, even with the later start time.
• Average one hour more sleep per school
night or 5 hours more per week than in early
start schools; persisted four years after
change.
• Significantly lower scores on the “Struggled to
stay awake” items.
• Significantly fewer days home sick.
Recent Car Crash Research
• Danner and Phillips (2008) compared
accident rate data for the 17- and 18-year-old
age groups before and after the school start
time delay in Fayette County, KY. After the
school start time delay was initiated, teen
crash rates in that district dropped by 15.6%,
while crash rates throughout the rest of the
state increased by 8.9% during the same time
period.
•Pack et al. (1995) examined crash records and
found the peak age of sleep-related car
crashes is 20 years, and the peak time of
accidents is between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m.
•The researchers assert primary contributing
factors are:
sleep-deprivation
 the challenge of operating a motor vehicle
before teens’ circadian-dependent alertness
is fully engaged
all compounded by the teens’ lack of
driving experience.
Depression by Average Number of Hours
of Sleep on a School Night
Eighth, Tenth and Twelfth Grade Students
Fairfax County Public Schools, 2009
Source: Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, 2009, Youth Survey
Depression and Suicide by Average Number of Hours
of Sleep on a School Night
Eighth, Tenth and Twelfth Grade Students
Fairfax County Public Schools, 2009
Source: Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, 2009, Youth Survey
Achievement Outcomes
• Note: Minimum of three years of grade data is
needed to assess effects
• Trend lines for achievement in earned letter
grades were flat prior to the change, and rose
slightly continuously after change, although
not statistically significantly
• Mild rise in SAT scores, but not statistically
significant—difficult to factor out other
influences
Summary Chart Based on Regression Coefficients of
Relationships Between Study Indicators and
Achievement in Treatment vs. Control High Schools
Depression
Scale
Sleep Time
During
School Week
Academic
Aspirations
Academic
Achievement
Time Spent on
Homework
Struggled to Stay
Awake in Class Scale
Hingham, MA—Academic
Outcomes
• Pre-post (early vs. late start) outcomes
on state tests over three years reveal
students scoring proficient or advanced
in math increased from 76% to 83%.
• Students scoring proficient or advanced
in English increased from 86% to 90%.
• Percentage of students needing
improvement dropped from 19% to 13%.
Hingham SAT Scores
Early Start
2002 Verbal
564
Math
565
Combined
1129
587
1160
Late Start
2004
573
How Late is “Late Enough?”
• Early findings suggested that districts
who made a modest move to a later
start (e.g., from 7:25 to 7:55; from 7:35
to 8:05) experienced only modest
benefits, but have experienced the
same amount of community disruption
as did the districts that made the
change to start at 8:30 or later.
Secondary Teachers’ Opinion of Optimal
Start Time for First Class Period for
Majority of Students
<7:30
382
12.8%
7:45
162
5.5
8:00
1062
8:15
294
8:30
707
8:45>
No Opinion
TOTAL
371
12.2
36
1.0
3014
100.0%
35.7
Research Findings: Real Issues vs.
Those Not Substantiated
Real
• Athletics—schedules and
last class missed
• Younger children in AM
darkness
• Child care schedules for
younger kids before and
after school
• Parents’ work schedules
• Local traffic patterns
Not Substantiated
• Athletics—less
participation, fewer
games won
• Transportation costs
higher
• After-school activities
decline
• After-school employment
negatively affected
Caveats and Difficulties in
Educational Research
• Impossible to control for individual teachers’
grading schemas and practices.
• Transience of students in urban districts is
problematic.
• Grades, tardiness, and attendance for 12th
graders often decline in final semester.
• Grade inflation.
• Comparison among similar courses is very
difficult due to “creative” naming of courses.
Implications for Changes
• Policy initiatives (e.g., accountability
pressures) stimulate interest
• Culture of resistance in schools & districts
 changing start times for secondary schools usually
also affects elementary schools
 schools are highly bureaucratic structures
 change destabilizes our cognitive and
interpersonal worlds
 personal belief systems often override facts
On-Going Research
CDC recently awarded U of MN a two-year
grant to study student outcomes &
community decision processes:
• Longitudinal view of academics
o Grades earned
o Performance on standardized tests (ACT,
Advanced Placement, state achievement, etc)
• Attendance, tardiness, extracurriculars
• Health & safety (depression, car crashes)
Conclusions
• Need to emphasize the use of all data
when measuring the change, and not a
single metric.
• Need frequent reminders that the sleep
phase shift is based in human
development and not in rebellious
adolescent behavior.
• Keep focus on the child, not the system.
For more information:
[email protected]