Building Achievement | Carol S. Cash 95
Temperature The temperature range for optimal learning is narrow. The research of Perez, Montano, and Perez (2005) investigates the impact of classroom temperature on student performance and finds that student performance is higher when the setting ranges between 70.5 and 72.5 degrees Fahrenheit than when the temperature is set at either 61 or 81 degrees. Wargocki and others (2005) also conclude that student academic performance is negatively impacted by adverse temperature and poor ventilation in the classroom. Cash (1993) also finds that students perform better in buildings that are air conditioned.
Acoustics If students are unable to hear, their learning will be challenged. Cash (1993) finds that student performance is lower in buildings with poor acoustics or inadequate noise inhibitors. Haines and others (2001), in a study of schools near Heathrow Airport in London, England, finds that children exposed to noise are more likely to suffer from hyperactivity, become irritated more easily, and perform poorer academically. Vilatarsana (2004) supports these conclusions on the negative effect of aircraft noise on student learning.
Cleanliness Several factors addressed in research relate to the cleanliness of the school facility. A connection has been made between lack of graffiti, clean floors and walls, and other measures of a school’s cleanliness and student academic performance. Frequent painting keeps walls clean and the environment fresh. According to the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), disrepair and inadequate cleanliness are major concerns among sophomores. Overall, this national survey indicates that 66 percent of 10th grade students report at least one unacceptable building condition relating to vandalism, disrepair, or cleanliness. These conditions included trash on the floors, graffiti on the building, unclean floors or walls, bathroom stalls without doors, unrepaired ceilings, and chipped paint on the walls (Planty and DeVoe 2005). Further, it is noted that students who score in the lowest quartile of their composite achievement tests are more likely to attend schools with trash on the floors and graffiti than students who place in the highest composite achievement test quartile.