TELPAS Practice

Which detail from the article best supports the author's claim that the early start time hurts students' learning?

Analyze and Evaluate Information and Ideas · TELPAS Grades 10–12 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Reporting category 3: make inferences, draw conclusions, and think about why the author wrote a text and how it is built.

Read the opinion article from a school newspaper. Then answer the questions.

Let Us Start Later

By Valeria Rios, senior

Every school day, I set an alarm for 5:50 a.m. so I can catch a bus at 6:35 for a first period that starts at 7:25. Many of my classmates do the same. By second period, half of us are struggling to stay awake. Our district should move the high school start time to 8:30 a.m. or later.

This is not just about teenagers wanting to sleep in. During the teenage years, the body's internal clock shifts later. Most teenagers do not feel sleepy until around 11 p.m. or later, even if they go to bed early. Sleep experts recommend that teenagers get eight to ten hours of sleep a night. A student who falls asleep at 11 and wakes up at 5:50 gets less than seven.

Doctors have noticed the problem too. In 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Tired students have a harder time paying attention, remembering what they learned, and controlling their moods. Teen drivers who are short on sleep are also more likely to have accidents, and many of us drive ourselves to school.

Some people argue that a later start would cause problems for after-school sports and jobs. That is a fair concern. Practices would end later, and some students work evening shifts to help their families. But schools that have changed their schedules have found ways to adjust, for example by moving some practices to the morning or the weekend. A schedule that works for the bus system but not for the students it carries is not working.

Others say teenagers should simply go to bed earlier. I have tried. Lying in the dark at 9:30 does not make my body tired, any more than a younger child could fall asleep at 6 p.m. on command. Telling us to try harder does not change our biology.

The school board will discuss next year's calendar at its meeting on March 4. I urge students and parents to attend and speak in favor of a later start. We are asking for a schedule that lets us arrive ready to learn, not one that rewards whoever can survive on the least sleep.

The question

Choose the best answer.

Which detail from the article best supports the author's claim that the early start time hurts students' learning?

  • The school board will discuss next year's calendar at its meeting on March 4.
  • Practices would end later, and some students work evening shifts.
  • The author sets an alarm for 5:50 a.m. to catch a bus at 6:35.
  • Tired students have a harder time paying attention and remembering what they learned.Correct answer

Why “Tired students have a harder time paying attention and remembering what they learned.” is correct

This asks the student to judge which piece of evidence actually supports a specific claim. Only the correct answer connects lack of sleep to problems with learning; the others are true details from the article but support different points or none. Ask the student to say why each wrong choice does not prove the claim.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • The school board will discuss next year's calendar at its meeting on March 4. — This tells readers when to act but gives no evidence about how tiredness affects students.
  • Practices would end later, and some students work evening shifts. — This comes from the opposing argument and is not evidence about tired students.
  • The author sets an alarm for 5:50 a.m. to catch a bus at 6:35. — This shows how early she wakes up, but it does not show how tiredness affects learning.

Practice more of this

More reading practice for Grades 10–12, or see the TELPAS practice test for 10th–12th grade.

This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.