How much sleep does a freshman get in comparison to a senior? What’s dTHS’ favorite class? How many students got their phones taken away? To recap the first semester and better understand what it means to be a student at our school, The Prowler surveyed students from all grades about their sleep patterns, their AI usage, and more.
Phones
The phone ban was the most polarizing change made to the student body at the start of the year. Many students expressed their uncertainty, and it was only a matter of time before rules would be broken.
In total, about one out of every three students have had their phones snatched at least once, with one in twenty students facing consequences–including suspensions–for breaking the rule three or more times. Students still feel rebellious about the phone policy, but many are acclimating to the new ways.
Homework
Harder classes correlate to more homework. Seniors, who have access to a plethora of advanced placement and honors courses are faced with the issue of balancing their elevated school work with college application essays.
Two out of every three seniors do more than an hour of homework per night. In contrast, only one out of four freshmen have that much homework.
However, 50 percent of our school’s body spend more than an hour of homework per night, increasing in workload as students elevate to the next grade.
Sleep
Half of students at dTHS get six to seven hours of sleep per night, but is that enough? According to Johns Hopkins pediatrician Michael Crocetti, “Teens need 9 to 9 ½ hours of sleep.” This is because of their developing brain, as well as reduced depression.”
After returning from Covid-19, dTHS changed their start time from 8:00 A.M. to 8:30 A.M., but this extra half hour doesn’t have much of an effect on students getting their recommended nine hours of sleep. 99 percent of students get less than nine hours of sleep per night, and 50 percent get less than seven hours per night.
Seniors, dealing with the most homework on average, still sleep the most out of any grade. After three years of high school experience, it is apparent that seniors learned that night is really the most important part of the day.
On the flip side, freshmen who average the least amount of homework by a wide margin, do not nearly get enough sleep. One in three freshmen get five hours of sleep or less.
Classes and A.I.
dTHS’s favorite class in 2025 was English. From AP Lang, to ninth grade English, two out of every seven students loved English the most.
Why is this the case? One of the most frequent uses of A.I. correlated to common English assignments. 50 percent of students used A.I. for creating ideas, and 40 percent used A.I. for editing papers or assignments for them. An easy class is a fun class!
Most frequent uses for A.I. are studying (70 percent) and concept explanation (60 percent).
Whether or not A.I. use should be permitted is highly situational, and teachers use their own reasoning to decide if their students can use A.I. on a given assignment.
Comments
Do you have opinions about phone use on campus? How is your workload impacting your sleep?
Leave comments below!
