RAND Europe investigated the economic implications of later school start times in the U.S. through an innovative economic analysis (in 47 U.S. states) of a state-wide universal shift to 8:30 a.m. Using a novel macroeconomic modelling approach, the benefit-cost projections in the study suggested that delaying school start times is a cost-effective policy change, which could have a significant impact on public health and the U.S. economy.

Read Online

Later school start times in the U.S.

An economic analysis

by Marco Hafner, Martin Stepanek, Wendy M. Troxel

Full Document

Full Document

FormatFile SizeNotes
PDF file 1.1 MB

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience.

تأخير بدء الدوام الدراسي في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية: تحليل اقتصادي

Arabic language version

FormatFile SizeNotes
PDF file 1.5 MB

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience.

Research Questions

  1. What would be the economic impact of a state-wide universal shift in U.S. school start times to 8:30 a.m.?
  2. Would a state-wide universal shift in U.S. school times to 8:30 a.m. be a cost-effective policy measure?

Numerous studies have shown that later school start times are associated with positive student outcomes, including improvements in academic performance, mental and physical health, and public safety. While the benefits are well-documented in the literature, there is opposition against delaying school times across the U.S. A major argument is the claim that delaying school start times will result in significant additional costs due to changes in transportation, such as rescheduling bus routes. This study investigates the economic implications of later school start times by examining a policy experiment and its subsequent state-wide economic effects of a state-wide universal shift in school start times to 8:30 a.m.

Using a novel macroeconomic modelling approach, the study estimates changes in the economic performance of 47 U.S. states following a delayed school start time, which includes the benefits of higher academic performance of students and reduced car crash rates. The benefit-cost projections of this study suggest that delaying school start times is a cost-effective, population-level strategy which could have a significant impact on public health and the U.S. economy. From a policy perspective, the study's findings demonstrate the significant economic gains resulting from the delay in school start times over a relatively short period of time following the adoption of the policy change.

Key Findings

  • The study suggested that delaying school start times to 8:30 a.m. is a cost-effective, population-level strategy which could have a significant impact on public health and the U.S. economy.
  • The study suggested that the benefits of later start times far out-weigh the immediate costs. Even after just two years, the study projects an economic gain of $8.6 billion to the U.S. economy, which would already outweigh the costs per student from delaying school start times to 8:30 a.m.
  • After a decade, the study showed that delaying schools start times would contribute $83 billion to the U.S. economy, with this increasing to $140 billion after 15 years. During the 15 year period examined by the study, the average annual gain to the U.S. economy would about $9.3 billion each year.
  • Throughout the study's cost-benefit projections, a conservative approach was undertaken which did not include other effects from insufficient sleep, such as higher suicide rates, increased obesity and mental health issues — all of which are difficult to quantify precisely. Therefore, it is likely that the reported economic benefits from delaying school start times could be even higher across many U.S. states.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter One

    Introduction

  • Chapter Two

    Methodological approach

  • Chapter Three

    The economic implications of later school start times

  • Chapter Four

    Summary and discussion

  • Appendix A

    The overlapping generations model

  • Appendix B

    Derivation of educational attainment data

  • Appendix C

    Net increase in sleep length

  • Appendix D

    Benefit-cost ratios per student ("Very High" cost scenario)

Research conducted by

The research described in this report was conducted by RAND Europe.

This report is part of the RAND Corporation Research report series. RAND reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

Permission is given to duplicate this electronic document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND Permissions page.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.