The extension of the school day means that many high schools will be dismissed between 3:30 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. depending on their new schedule. Due to large homework loads, long commutes to and from school, and extracurricular activities, students will not receive the rest and sleep they need. CPS and the school board want to catch up with schools around the world. They think that lengthening the school day will help CPS raise their ACT and other test scores. Some students get 1 to 5 hours of homework a night. Even with the dismissal time of 3:00 p.m., they are doing homework very late. Also, many students have long commutes home (1-2 hours) plus homework and extracurriculars (which could last up to 2 hours). Students need 8-9 hours of sleep, but if they are up late doing homework then they are damaging their health in order to complete their work (javascript:nicTemp();). 

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