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Tag: Facilities Maintenance

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O'Sullivan, 2006

This study investigated the relationship between school building conditions and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania’s high schools. Research questions analyzed by step-wise multiple regression were: (a) Is there a relationship between overall school building conditions and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania’s high schools when socio-economic status (SES) is held constant?; (b) Is there a relationship between the cosmetic conditions of school facilities and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania’s high schools when socio-economic status (SES) is held constant?; and (c) Is there a relationship between the structural conditions of school facilities and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania’s high schools when socio-economic status (SES) is held constant?

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In 2007 the Provincial Executive had proposed in the Annual Action Plan a research study aimed at verifying the importance and value of using board employed staff in providing student services, namely the professional student service personnel. The resulting report, Enhancing Services, Enhancing Success, was used to help establish outside agency protocols around the province and assist in protecting important support service jobs.

The 2013–2014 Annual Action Plan included a research project that examines the relationship between school cleanliness/maintenance and student performance. The study was to clearly demonstrate the importance of adequate funding for the maintenance of current structures and could be used to demonstrate that improving the overall building condition is a cost effective way to achieve measurable improvements in student performance.

The next step in this process will be to develop lobby materials based on the report for use by local Bargaining Units and Districts.

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Lyons, 2001

This paper reviews research that correlates student achievement and the condition and utility of school facilities. The discussion focuses on the influence of various facility conditions on students, including building age, temperature and ventilation, acoustics, lighting, curriculum development, and school size. Research shows that older buildings may pose a variety of negative consequences for the learning process, while safe and modern schools with controlled environments enhance learning. More specifically, students who attend better buildings have test scores ranging from 5 to 17 percentile points higher than students in substandard facilities. The paper concludes by quoting a recent report suggesting that a school's condition may have a stronger influence on student performance and achievement than the combined influences of family background, socio-economic status, school attendance, and behavior.

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McGowan, 2007

The purpose of this study was to explore the possible relationship between school facility conditions and school outcomes such as student academic achievement, attendance, discipline, completion rate and teacher turnover rate.

School facility condition for the participating schools was determined by the Total Learning Environment Assessment (TLEA) as completed by the principal or principal’s designee on high school campuses in Texas with enrollments between 1,000 and 2000 and economically disadvantaged enrollments less than 40%. Each school in the study population was organized by grades nine through twelve. Data for achievement, attendance, discipline, completion rate and teacher turnover rate were collected through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) managed by the Texas Education Agency.

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Lawrence, B., 2003

Deferring maintenance in small rural schools creates poor conditions that can affect the health and safety of everyone who uses the facility, damage the morale of students and teachers, impair their ability to teach and learn, and threaten the facility itself. Numerous recommendations for policy changes that affect maintenance are presented. A percentage of the replacement cost of the facility should be spent on maintenance. This should be required at the state and district level. Energy conservation and the use of safe materials should be promoted. State policies that require a minimum number of students per building, disqualify renovation projects based on arbitrary formulae of cost ratio to new construction, and promote sprawl should be eliminated. State and local building codes and regulations should be updated to reflect local needs and modern construction practices. Ongoing education for custodians and maintenance workers should be implemented along with a data bank of relevant information. School board members, educators, architects, contractors, andother decision makers should receive education in school maintenance. Regular inspections of school facilities should be required. Students and community members should be encouraged to participate in maintenance and repair projects. Renovation and conversion of existing facilities should be promoted, and feasibility studies of the cost of new construction, renovation, and lease or purchase of existing facilities should be required and discussed in open community forums. State and the federal government should be required to fund maintenance, particularly in poor districts.

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Lanham, J., 1999

Across the country, increased accountability for public education has emerged over the last decade as a central theme in both the educational and political arenas. Calls for higher standards of learning, more rigorous testing of the country’s school children, and greater degrees of accountability for both teachers and administrators have been heard from the White House, Congress, governors’ mansions, and state legislatures. In his 1998 State of the Union address, President Bill Clinton expressed his desire to raise standards, expectations, and accountability in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools. At the same time, political leaders and public bodies have also focused on our nation’s crumbling infrastructure, particularly the sorry state of many of the nation’s schools. Members of Congress have requested extensive reports from the General Accounting Office to document the state of the nation’s school facilities.

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Lair, 2003

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect school facilities have on student achievement as measured by the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, TAAS, test in a high-performing, high-poverty school district in Texas. A relationship between the condition of school facilities and student achievement, while assumed, is difficult to assess. This study contains a presentation of the information and data findings from the Ysleta Independent School District and its decision in 1994 to include school facilities as a component of its student achievement initiative. The schools were randomly selected and the case study ix research was conducted using a mixed-method approach. Data provided by the schools’ principals on building structure, maintenance, and housekeeping were collected using a questionnaire based in part on the “Commonwealth Assessment of Physical Environment” used by Cash (1993), Hines (1996) and Lanham (1999) in Virginia. Student achievement was measured using the percent of students at each school passing the TAAS sub-tests of reading, mathematics, and writing and the percent passing all the TAAS tests from 1994 to 2001. The effect school facility conditions have on student achievement found definition through the major themes of risky decisions, powerful people, buildings matter and accountability.

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Earthman, Cash, and Berkum, 1995

A statewide survey of all high schools in North Dakota was undertaken to examine the relationship between achievement and behavior of students and the condition of the school building. The study used the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills as a measure of student achievement and the numbers of disciplinary incidents to record the behavior of students. The condition of the school building was determined by using an evaluative instrument used in previous studies. A relationship between the achievement of students and the building condition was found to exist in these schools. A relationship was also found between student behavior and school condition. The results of this study were. compared with previous studies using similar methodologies, but different populations. This study supports the growing body of research that suggests there is a positive relationship between achievement of students and the condition of the built environment in which they are housed.

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Earthman, 2002

This paper shows that the condition of school facilities has an important impact on student performance and teacher effectiveness. In particular, research demonstrates that comfortable classroom temperature and noise level are very important to efficient student performance. The age of school buildings is a useful proxy in this regard, since older facilities often have problems with thermal environment and noise level. A number of studies have measured overall building condition and its connection to student performance; these have consistently shown that students attending schools in better condition outperform students in substandard buildings by several percentage points. School building conditions also influence teacher effectiveness. Teachers report that physical improvements greatly enhance the teaching environment. Finally, school overcrowding also makes it harder for students to learn; this effect is greater for students from families of low socioeconomic status. Analyses show that class size reduction leads to higher student achievement.

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Earthman, 2004

I have been asked by the ACLU of Maryland, which represents the plaintiffs in the Bradford v. Maryland State Board of Education case, to review the 31 criteria for school facilities established by the Maryland Task Force to Study Public School Facilities and to recommend priorities for those criteria in light of the available research on the links between conditions in school buildings and student achievement. Based on my own studies, my review of pertinent research studies, and my background and experience in the field, I have recommended a set of priorities among the criteria based upon the extent to which an element impacts student academic achievement. I recommend that the highest priority be given to those elements which have a demonstrated and significant impact on student achievement and on those elements that directly relate to student safety.

Below, I first summarize generally the research generally demonstrating the link between school condition and student achievement, and the link between the age of a facility and achievement. Then, I explain why, in my opinion, it is crucial for Maryland to address issues related to student safety first, in conjunction with the criteria most directly related to student achievement. Then, I rank several of the criteria that research demonstrates are most directly linked to student achievement, and summarize some of the research related to those criteria. All of my opinions are explained in greater detail in the accompanying report.

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