Increase Test Scores for Free!

Just read an article about the daily wake/sleep rhythms of teenagers and how adjusting school start times yields more attentiveness and fewer car accidents.

Certainly our society has the common sense to change things when it benefits society as a whole, as a number of states have already done. Without changing budgets, changing teachers or acquiring new equipment/training, we could increase the testing scores of high school students overnight. So why don't we do it?

Years ago when we were looking for schools for our son, we found one with a policy that really resonated with me. The school had researched and concluded that boys have a much shorter attention span than girls (ya think?) and that getting them up and moving at regular intervals allowed them to concentrate better. So, every 20 minutes the kids would switch classes. It seemed to work with them.

As a country, and a state (California) we have a huge education problem. So why not take the low-hanging fruit, so to speak, and make things easier for everyone? For young kids, start early and get them moving more. For older kids, start an hour later. There will be issues with after-school programs and timing, but we'll adjust. After all, the first priority should be our kids' welfare. We've adjusted to the current schedule, we can adjust again.