The University of Tulsa, Indoor Air Program, Tulsa, OK 74104-3189, USA.
Indoor Air. 2011 Apr;21(2):121-31. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0668.2010.00686.x. Epub 2010 Oct 28.
This study focuses on the relationship between classroom ventilation rates and academic achievement. One hundred elementary schools of two school districts in the southwest United States were included in the study. Ventilation rates were estimated from fifth-grade classrooms (one per school) using CO(2) concentrations measured during occupied school days. In addition, standardized test scores and background data related to students in the classrooms studied were obtained from the districts. Of 100 classrooms, 87 had ventilation rates below recommended guidelines based on ASHRAE Standard 62 as of 2004. There is a linear association between classroom ventilation rates and students' academic achievement within the range of 0.9-7.1 l/s per person. For every unit (1 l/s per person) increase in the ventilation rate within that range, the proportion of students passing standardized test (i.e., scoring satisfactory or above) is expected to increase by 2.9% (95%CI 0.9-4.8%) for math and 2.7% (0.5-4.9%) for reading. The linear relationship observed may level off or change direction with higher ventilation rates, but given the limited number of observations, we were unable to test this hypothesis. A larger sample size is needed for estimating the effect of classroom ventilation rates higher than 7.1 l/s per person on academic achievement.
The results of this study suggest that increasing the ventilation rates toward recommended guideline ventilation rates in classrooms should translate into improved academic achievement of students. More studies are needed to fully understand the relationships between ventilation rate, other indoor environmental quality parameters, and their effects on students' health and achievement. Achieving the recommended guidelines and pursuing better understanding of the underlying relationships would ultimately support both sustainable and productive school environments for students and personnel.
本研究关注教室通风率与学业成绩之间的关系。美国西南部两个学区的 100 所小学被纳入研究。使用在有学生上课的日子里测量的 CO₂浓度，从五年级教室（每所学校一间）估算通风率。此外，还从这些学区获得了与研究教室学生相关的标准化考试成绩和背景数据。在 100 间教室中，根据 2004 年美国采暖、制冷与空调工程师学会（ASHRAE）标准 62，有 87 间教室的通风率低于建议标准。在 0.9-7.1 l/s 每人的范围内，教室通风率与学生学业成绩之间存在线性关联。在该范围内，通风率每增加一个单位（1 l/s 每人），通过标准化考试（即得分满意或以上）的学生比例预计会增加 2.9%（95%CI 0.9-4.8%），数学成绩增加 2.7%（0.5-4.9%），阅读成绩增加。观察到的线性关系可能会在更高的通风率下趋于平稳或改变方向，但由于观察数量有限，我们无法对此假设进行检验。需要更大的样本量来估计高于 7.1 l/s 每人的教室通风率对学业成绩的影响。
本研究结果表明，提高教室通风率接近建议的通风率标准应能提高学生的学业成绩。需要更多的研究来充分了解通风率、其他室内环境质量参数之间的关系，以及它们对学生健康和成绩的影响。实现推荐标准并深入了解潜在关系，最终将支持学生和人员的可持续和富有成效的学校环境。
