Crumbling classrooms affect performance - Your Life - disrepair of US school facilities may relate to low academic achievement - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Sept, 2003

Of all the world's economies, the U.S. is ranked No. 1. Why, then, are American students ranked sixth internationally in academic achievement? It may have something to do with their schools' infrastructure. Since the 1930s, research has shown a link between a student's physical environment and his or her academic achievement, according to the Council of Educational Facility Planners, International.

Many people, however, blame poor test scores on teachers or students--without really knowing how run-down their particular school district's buildings and classrooms have become. America's school buildings need more than $286,000,000,000 for improvements, claims Saving America's School Infrastructure, a book co-edited by educational administration professor David Thompson of Kansas State University, Manhattan. These needed repairs include roofs, windows and doors, brick and stone work, electrical systems, outlets, quality of lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.

A large number of infrastructure problems stem from building age. As they get older, repairs become even more expensive and more common. Plus, schools now need to provide services they were not designed to handle. Ramps and elevators for the disabled and extra outlets for computers often must be added.