Sleep and Student Achievement

A study published in the Eastern Economic Journal examines the importance of sleep and standardized test scores. The study, Sleep and Student Achievement, authored by Eric R Eide and Mark H Showalter also looked at the issue of how sleep and student performance changes with age.

The results show a statistically significant relationship between sleep and test scores for students across the United States aged 10 to 19. They determined age-adjusted sleep patterns that are associated with maximum test scores. The results show a significant relationship with the most beneficial amount of time varying by age. This ranged from 9-9.5 hours for 10-year-olds to 7 hours for 16-year-olds.

This study offers important guidance to parents on assuring their children have the optimum sleep to perform well on tests. The fact that standardized tests play an increasingly important role in a persons success in elementary, high school, college, as well as influence life long financial success makes it especially important that parents pay attention to the amount of sleep their children receive.

http://www.palgrave-journals.com/eej/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/eej201133a.html