DATA

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

NCES 2020-006 FEBRUARY 2020

Start Time for 

U.S. Public

High Schools

This Data Point examines the school start time for public high schools in the United States by selected characteristics and state. It uses data from 

the School Questionnaire of the 2017–18 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), which is both a state and nationally representative sample 

survey of public and private K–12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The selected school samples 

include about 10,600 traditional and charter public schools and 4,000 private schools. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics

recommended in August 2014 that middle 

and high schools start at 8:30 a.m. or

later to give students the opportunity to 

get a sufficient amount of sleep.1  

What was the average and 

percentage distribution of high 

school start times during the 

2017–18 school year by school 

characteristics? 

Schools were asked to report the 

official start time for most students at 

their school during the 2017–18 school 

year. The average start time for public 

high schools2 was 8:00 a.m.3Forty 

percent of schools had start times 

between 8:00 a.m. and 8:29 a.m. 

(figure 1). 

While the average start time was 8:00 

a.m., schools with certain characteristics 

had later average start times. Specifically, 

the average start time for schools with 

less than 100 students and those with 

100–199 students had average start 

times of 8:12 a.m. and 8:15 a.m., 

respectively. These later averages were 

driven by larger percentages of start 

times at 8:30 a.m. or later. Similarly, 

FIGURE 1. Public high school average start time and percentage distribution of start times, by 

school characteristics: 2017–18 

! Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 percent and 50 percent (i.e., the standard error is at least 30 percent and less than 50 

percent of the estimate).

‡ Reporting standards not met. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is 50 percent or greater (i.e., the standard error is 50 percent or more of the estimate). 

1 Schools with afternoon start times were not included in the average.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Documentation Data File,” 2017–18.

Data in this report are from the 2017–18 NTPS, a nationally representative sample survey. To learn 

more, visit https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps. For questions about content or to view this report 

online, go to https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020006.
Start Time for U.S. Public High Schools

charter schools had an average start 

time of 8:05 a.m. More than half 

(64 percent) of charter schools had a 

start time after 8:00 a.m.

Most high schools in suburbs (54 percent) 

had a start time before 8:00 a.m. More 

high schools in cities (26 percent) than 

in suburbs (18 percent), towns (13 

percent), and rural areas (11 percent) 

had a start time of 8:30 a.m. or later.

FIGURE 2. Public high school average start time, by state: 2017–18 

‡ Reporting standards not met. The response rate is below 50 percent. 

NOTE: Schools with afternoon start times were not included in the average.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Documentation Data File,” 2017–18. 

Do average high school start 

times vary across the 50 states 

and the District of Columbia? 

High schools in the four states of Alaska, 

Iowa, Minnesota, and South Carolina and 

the District of Columbia reported their 

average starting time as 8:16 a.m. or 

later. High school began, on average, at 

8:16 a.m. in Iowa, followed by 8:21 a.m. 

in Minnesota, 8:26 a.m. in Alaska, 8:34 

a.m. in South Carolina, and 8:41 a.m. 

in the District of Columbia (figure 2).

High schools in four states (Connecticut, 

Louisiana, Massachusetts, and New 

Hampshire) reported their average 

starting time as being before 7:45 a.m. 

High school began, on average, at 7:30 

a.m. in Louisiana, followed by 7:38 a.m. in 

Massachusetts, 7:39 a.m. in Connecticut, 

and 7:41 a.m. in New Hampshire.

The average high school starting time 

in all other states fell between 7:45 

a.m. and 8:15 a.m. 

Endnotes 

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Schools Start Too Early. Retrieved September 12, 2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/features/school-start-times/.

2 High schools have no grade lower than 7 and at least one grade higher than 8. 

3 Schools with afternoon start times were not included in the average.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Data Point presents information 

on education topics of current interest. It was authored by Holly Sawyer and Soheyla 

Taie of Westat. Estimates based on samples are subject to sampling variability, and 

apparent differences may not be statistically significant. All stated differences are 

statistically significant at the .05 level, with no adjustments for multiple comparisons. 

In the design, conduct, and data processing of NCES surveys, efforts are made to 

minimize the effects of nonsampling errors such as item nonresponse, measurement 

error, data processing error, or other systematic error.