The Impact of Delayed School Start Times During COVID-19 on Academic Performance: A Longitudinal Naturalistic Study in Italian High Schools

Valentina Alfonsi; Agostino Carbone; Serena Scarpelli; Maurizio Gorgoni; Antonella Luchini; Patrizia D'Andrea; Stefania Cherubini; Cristina Costarelli; Alessandro Couyoumdjian; Fiorenzo Laghi; Luigi De Gennaro

doi:10.2147/NSS.S437958

The Impact of Delayed School Start Times During COVID-19 on Academic Performance: A Longitudinal Naturalistic Study in Italian High Schools

Nat Sci Sleep. 2023 Dec 23:15:1129-1138. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S437958. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
² Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
³ IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
⁴ Liceo Scientifico Statale "Isacco Newton", Roma, Italy.
⁵ Istituto di Istruzione Superiore via Copernico, Pomezia, Italy.

Abstract

Background: Delaying school start times has been proposed as a potential solution to address chronic sleep curtailment among adolescents and its negative consequences on their physical and mental well-being. This study investigates the impact of delayed school start times due to the COVID-19 pandemic on academic achievement.

Subjects and methods: Two separate observational studies were conducted involving high school students from the first/second year (n=232) (Study 1) and from the final year (n=39) (Study 2). Multivariate Analyses of Covariance were performed to assess for statistical differences in academic performance (ie, global, humanistic, and scientific performance) and absenteeism (ie, number of school absences). Two main factors were considered: "school start time" (ie, standard-8:00 AM vs late-9:40 AM) and "time interval" (ie, first academic semester vs second academic semester), controlling for the school year (Study 1) and circadian preference (Study 2).

Results: Delaying school start times was positively associated with better academic performance in scientific subjects among first/second-year students (F_1,229=6.083, p=0.026) and global academic performance among last-year students (F_1,35=4.522, p=0.041). Furthermore, first/second-year students significantly increased their school achievement (F_1,229>29.423, p<0.001) and school absences (F_1,229=66.160, p<0.001) during the second semester of the academic year. No significant effect of "school start time" on school attendance was observed. Additionally, circadian preference was found to be a significant covariate among last-year students, with early chronotypes exhibiting better academic performance (r>0.369, p<0.025).

Conclusion: These findings confirm past evidence about the beneficial effects of delayed school start times on academic outcomes, with the additional advantage of observing them within a natural context that emerged during the pandemic. Further research is needed to explore the phenomenon more systematically and take into account the broader implications of implementing this change.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; academic achievement; adolescents; circadian preference; later school start time.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Ministry of Education, University and Research under Grant number [FISR2020IP_02204] by Principal Investigator: Luigi De Gennaro.