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When the Bell Tolls: The Effects of School Starting Times on Academic Achievement

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  • Peter Hinrichs

    (Georgetown Public Policy Institute, Georgetown University)

Abstract

A number of high schools across the United States have moved to later bell times on the belief that their previous bell times were too early for the “biological clocks” of adolescents. In this article I study whether doing so improves academic performance. I first focus on the Twin Cities metropolitan area, where Minneapolis and several suburban districts have made large policy changes but St. Paul and other suburban districts have maintained early schedules. I use individual-level ACT data on all individuals from public high schools in this region who took the ACT between 1993 and 2002 to estimate the effects of school starting times on ACT scores. I then employ school-level data on schedules and test scores on statewide standardized tests from Kansas and Virginia to estimate the effects of bell times on achievement for a broader sample. The results do not suggest an effect of school starting times on achievement. © 2011 Association for Education Finance and Policy

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Hinrichs, 2011. "When the Bell Tolls: The Effects of School Starting Times on Academic Achievement," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 6(4), pages 486-507, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:edfpol:v:6:y:2011:i:4:p:486-507
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ha, Hyungserk & Jung, Eun Jin & Koh, Kanghyock, 2021. "Does a delayed school start time cause students to exercise less? Evidence from South Korea," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    2. Figlio, D. & Karbownik, K. & Salvanes, K.G., 2016. "Education Research and Administrative Data," Handbook of the Economics of Education,, Elsevier.
    3. Valerie Bostwick & Stefanie Fischer & Matthew Lang, 2022. "Semesters or Quarters? The Effect of the Academic Calendar on Postsecondary Student Outcomes," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 40-80, February.
    4. Cortes Kalena E. & Bricker Jesse & Rohlfs Chris, 2012. "The Role of Specific Subjects in Education Production Functions: Evidence from Morning Classes in Chicago Public High Schools," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-36, June.
    5. Joseph J. Sabia & Kurt Wang & Resul Cesur, 2017. "Sleepwalking Through School: New Evidence On Sleep And Academic Achievement," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 35(2), pages 331-344, April.
    6. Timothy M. Diette & Manu Raghav, 2017. "Does early bird catch the worm or a lower GPA? Evidence from a liberal arts college," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(33), pages 3341-3350, July.
    7. Groen, Jeffrey A. & Pabilonia, Sabrina Wulff, 2019. "Snooze or lose: High school start times and academic achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 204-218.
    8. Herber, Stefanie P. & Quis, Johanna Sophie & Heineck, Guido, 2017. "Does the transition into daylight saving time affect students’ performance?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 130-139.
    9. Valerie K. Bostwick, 2018. "Saved By The Morning Bell: School Start Time And Teen Car Accidents," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(4), pages 591-606, October.
    10. Thompson, Paul N., 2021. "Is four less than five? Effects of four-day school weeks on student achievement in Oregon," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    11. Williams, Kevin M. & Shapiro, Teny Maghakian, 2018. "Academic achievement across the day: Evidence from randomized class schedules," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 158-170.
    12. Wang, Kurt & Sabia, Joseph J. & Cesur, Resul, 2016. "Sleepwalking through School: New Evidence on Sleep and Academic Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 9829, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Luong, Phuc & Lusher, Lester & Yasenov, Vasil, 2017. "Sleep and Student Success: The Role of Regularity vs. Duration," IZA Discussion Papers 11079, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Scott E. Carrell & Teny Maghakian & James E. West, 2011. "A's from Zzzz's? The Causal Effect of School Start Time on the Academic Achievement of Adolescents," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 62-81, August.
    15. Lusher, Lester & Yasenov, Vasil & Luong, Phuc, 2019. "Does schedule irregularity affect productivity? Evidence from random assignment into college classes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 115-128.
    16. Cotti, Chad & Gordanier, John & Ozturk, Orgul, 2018. "Class meeting frequency, start times, and academic performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 12-15.
    17. Lenard, Matthew & Morrill, Melinda Sandler & Westall, John, 2020. "High school start times and student achievement: Looking beyond test scores," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    18. Dou, Jialu & Gihleb, Rania & Giuntella, Osea & Lonsky, Jakub, 2025. "Breaking the Early Bell: Lessons from the First Statewide Mandate on School Start Times," IZA Discussion Papers 17930, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Ellegood, William A. & Campbell, James F. & North, Jeremy, 2015. "Continuous approximation models for mixed load school bus routing," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 182-198.
    20. Teny Maghakian Shapiro, 2015. "The educational effects of school start times," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 181-181, August.
    21. Thompson, Paul N., 2019. "Effects of Four-Day School Weeks on Student Achievement: Evidence from Oregon," IZA Discussion Papers 12204, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Lusher, Lester & Yasenov, Vasil, 2016. "Double-shift schooling and student success: Quasi-experimental evidence from Europe," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 36-39.
    23. Edwards, Finley, 2012. "Early to rise? The effect of daily start times on academic performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 970-983.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    school starting times; school schedules; ACT data; academic achievement; standardized test scores;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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