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November 2008, Vol. 131, No. 11
How high school students use time: a visual essay
Mary Dorinda Allard
H igh school students have many demands on their time, and how they choose to spend that time on any given day depends on a variety of factors, such as the age and the sex of the student. Data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) show how much time per day, on average, high school students devote to leisure activities, household activities, work, and homework. ATUS data also reveal differences in students’ use of time between weekdays and weekend days.
In the ATUS, which is administered to individuals age 15 and older, survey respondents are asked about the activities they performed “yesterday.” The survey obtains information about respondents’ primary (or main) activities. (Information about other activities they were engaged in during these primary activities is not collected.) Data were collected throughout 2003–07; however, for this essay, data are restricted to months when most high school students attend school—that is, September through May.
All data in this visual essay refer to students ages 15 to 19 who were enrolled full time in high school. While most of the data used here are for those in grades 9 through 12, a small number of eighth-grade students may be included in the estimates.
This excerpt is from an article published in the November 2008 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. The full text of the article is available in Adobe Acrobat's Portable Document Format (PDF). See How to view a PDF file for more information.
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