DO THE FACILITIES IN WHICH OUR CHILDREN LEARN REALLY MATTER?

FACILITIES DO IMPACT LEARNING.

How Important is a School's

Environment to Student Success?

Research overwhelmingly supports the link between student achievement and

facilities. In addition to the direct link to student achievement, new and well

maintained schools attract and retain more and better quality faculty. In this very

competitive market, quality teachers are instrumental to a school's success.

So, sacrifices in quality and architecture to compensate for the increase in construction

costs need to be carefully studied and evaluated. With the overwhelming amount of

research to support the relationship between school facilities and student performance,

it is critical that we avoid being penny wise, and pound foolish.

ACHIEVEMENT

• Studies indicate that student achievement is linked with building quality. High

student achievement has been shown to be associated with newer buildings,

updated and properly maintained buildings, improved lighting, thermal comfort

and  indoor air quality. (The Walls Speak: The Interplay of Quality Facilities, School

Climate and Student Achievement 2006)

• Inadequate school buildings result in poor academic achievement. There is a

negative, statistically significant relationship between a student's physical

environment and academic performance. (Stevenson, 2006. School Size and

its Relationship to Student Outcomes and School Climate)

ACOUSTICS

• Research indicates that high levels of background noise, be it vehicular traffic outside

the school foot traffic and conversations in the hallways, vibrations from ventilation

systems, or reverberation from inside the classroom itself, greatly hampers the

concentration of students, adversely affecting the learning environment. (Paradis,

2007. Acoustic Comfort)

INDOOR AIR QUALITY

• American students miss more than 10 million school days

each year because of asthma aggravated by poor IAQ.

(American Lung Association 2002. Asthma in Children

Fact Sheet)

• IAQ improvements have led to reduction in absenteeism

from 8.31% to 3.75% (Rosen & Richardson, 1999. Would

removing indoor air particulates in children's environments

reduce rate of absenteeism- a hypothesis)

LIGHTING

• Students in classrooms with natural light showed improvement

in test scores of 20% in math and 26% in

reading (Heschong Mahone Group, 1999. Daylighting in

schools: An investigation into the relationship between

daylighting and human performance)

PERFORMANCE

• A study done by the University of Houston Center for Public Policy found that

schools with inadequate infrastructure are less able to meet high levels of student

achievement. Specifically, schools in need of roof repair, schools with a high number

of temporary buildings, and schools with inadequate custodial staff will have lower

attendance rates, higher drop out rates, and poor  performance records. (Brenham,

2002. The Wise Man Builds His House Upon the Rock: The Effects of Inadequate

School Infrastructure on Student Performance)

SAFETY AND SECURITY

• The physical characteristics of learning environments can affect students emotionally,

with important behavioral consequences. Environments that produce "positive

emotional states can be expected to facilitate learning". Such environments

encourage positive interaction among students, resulting in safer schools. (Oblinger,

2006. Learning Spaces)

TEACHERS

• Poor facilities have been shown to

prevent teachers from effectively

carrying out their daily tasks.

Facilities that provide enough space

and the proper resources for staff

members to comfortably carry out

activities with students, assist with

homework, and communicate with

other faculty members have a

positive impact on the working

behavior of teachers, and thus, the

overall achievement of students.

(Leung, Chang and Wang, 2006.

Impact of School Facilities on

Working Behavior of Teachers)

TEMPERATURE

• Students perform better in rooms kept at moderate humidity (40%-70%) and moderate

temperature (68 - 74 degrees). (Harner, 1974. Effects of thermal environment on learning skills)

THERMAL COMFORT

• The best temperature range for learning, reading and mathematics is 68 to 74

degrees Fahrenheit. (Harner, 1974. Effects of thermal environment on learning skills)

VENTILATION

• Children breathe a greater volume of air in comparison to adults. Inadequate

ventilation limits a students' ability to perform at their fullest potential. (Kennedy,

2001. Into thin air)

• Elevated levels of carbon dioxide lead to decreased performance on concentration

tests, and increased complaints of health problems. (Myhrvold, Olsen and

Lauridsenl, 1996. Indoor environments in schools: Pupil's health and performance in regard to CO2 concentrations