Research brief
Hot test days, lower math scores: How heat affects student achievement
October 2025
Description
This research report examines a growing challenge for U.S. schools: keeping classrooms cool as longer, more intense heat waves disrupt learning and strain aging infrastructure. As of 2020, about half of schools required HVAC upgrades, and many now face closures or shortened days due to extreme heat. The study combines daily temperature data from various sources with MAP Growth scores for grades 3–8 across six states. Drawing on roughly three million test events from fall 2022, 2023 and 2024, the analysis finds that higher temperatures most strongly affect math scores, with students in high-poverty schools facing the greatest impact.
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