While some students are still out in the sun enjoying their summer vacation, several students across the country have already begun to get ready for school — picking up schedules, signing up for lockers, and buying school supplies.
Schools across America have varying starting dates. Some students start going back to school as early as late July while others start in September.
According to CNN, there are many benefits to starting early, such as taking finals and completing final projects before winter break, and having more instructional days in order to prepare for statewide testing such as AP exams.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Eurie Nam, an upcoming freshmen at the University of California Berkeley told JSR, “By the time standardized testing rolls around, students in schools that start early have more information under their belt. Take, for example, AP testing: they’re all administered at the same time so students who had more hours in the classroom will have an advantage and likely do better.”
Yena Park, upcoming senior at Northwood High School also added, “Many AP courses do not have much material left to cover, if any, after the AP exams in May. Many of the teachers at my school choose to do a fun final unit for the remaining week or two of school, which may not be possible if we had too much time left before summer.”
However, although there are people who would rather have school start early, there are also others who enjoy the later breaks for the benefits of resting and removing themselves from their hectic academic lives.
Philip Chung, a junior at La Crescenta High School stated, “I prefer that the school starts later in September because there are people who study for the ACT or SAT or take summer school during their summer ‘break’. I think that starting at later times would allow students to relax before they go back again into their academic mode for the school year.”
Whether it is going to school early or starting later in the summer, both have their benefits and disadvantages. Although starting early can give more exposure to standardized test material over the school year, starting early can also deprive the students of a much needed break from a stressful academic year.
