While it may not be surprising that students do not perform as well academically when classroom temperatures climb, recent research from NWEA suggests math is more impacted by higher temperatures than reading, especially among students in high-poverty schools.
Analyzing results from its MAP Growth assessment for grades 3-8 across six states in various regions of the country — approximately 3 million tests from fall testing sessions in 2022 through 2024 — NWEA compared the findings against daily temperature data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, data from the school location and additional data from the Common Core of Data.
The core finding: High heat had up to twice the impact on students’ math scores in high-poverty schools compared to low-poverty schools.
“Extreme heat doesn’t affect all students equally — on test days where temperatures spike above 80 degrees, math scores drop the most for high-poverty students,” NWEA research analyst Sofia Postell said in a statement. “Our findings show that as temperatures continue to rise, disparities in school facilities, such as having appropriate HVAC systems, can deepen existing inequities and make school infrastructure and building conditions significant issues of educational equity.”
The report also showed that, overall, taking the MAP Growth assessment when temperatures were over 80 degrees was associated with lower scores in math but not reading. Even testing on a day that was unusually hotter than average but not considered extreme was associated with slightly lower math test scores.
Findings indicate math test scores were about 0.05 standard deviations lower when temperatures ranged between 81-100 degrees, and 0.06 standard deviations lower on days above 101 degrees. Put another way, students tested on a 101-degree day scored roughly 0.06 standard deviations below those tested on a 60-degree day.
According to researchers, 0.06 standard deviations is the equivalent of about 10 percent of the learning typically gained in a school year for a fifth grader.
The report calls on local educational agencies invest in more resilient facilities in the long term — echoing recommendations outlined in a June 2020 report released by the Government Accountability Office which found that 54 percent of schools nationwide needed to update or replace multiple building systems or features. That same report concluded that 41 percent of districts needed to update or replace the HVAC systems in at least half of their schools.
In addition to updating facilities, the NWEA study also recommends LEAs consider planning testing schedules around weather conditions, administer assessments within school locations that maintain more stable temperatures, and ensure that infrastructure planning takes educational equity into account in decisions regarding resource allocation, structural improvements and upgrades.
