The relationship between the natural environment and individual-level academic performance in Portland, Oregon
Greening efforts aimed at improving academic performance would do well to focus on both school and home environments
Researchers accessed the standardized math and reading test scores of all students in Grades 3 to 8 and Grade 11 enrolled in Portland Public Schools during the 2013-2014 academic year. The total sample consisted of 21,107 students attending 93 schools in the Portland Public School district. Researchers used information from the EPA EnviroAtlas to calculate percent vegetation cover in 100-m and 200-m buffers around the students’ schools and homes. They also accessed information about road density around the home and school settings. For purposes of this study, road density measures were used as a proxy for air quality. Past research suggests that improved air quality may modify the relationship between the natural environment and academic performance.
Findings showed that more tree canopy within 200 m of a student’s home was associated with higher math test scores, but not with reading scores. More tree cover around a student’s school, however, was associated with higher reading test scores, but not math scores. While tree canopy as a measure of greenness was associated with higher test scores, another measure of greenness — grass-and-shrub cover – did not have the same association; neither did proximity to parks. Road density, however, did make a difference. Greater road density around a student’s home was associated with lower math test scores; and higher road density around a student’s school was negatively associated with reading scores. The influence of family income, parents’ educational levels, and other possible confounding factors were controlled for in the data analysis. These findings support the idea that exposure to the natural environment around a child’s home and school is linked with improved academic performance as indicated by standardized math and reading tests. These results also indicate that proximity to major roads is linked with lower levels of academic performance.
Thus, greening efforts aimed at improving academic performance would do well to focus on both school and home environments. The strength of the positive association between tree cover and reading scores is particularly relevant for policy. If the results of this study are confirmed, “then improving access to the natural environment may be a cost-effective intervention for improving early-life academic performance.”
Citation
Donovan, G.H., Michael, Y.L., Gatziolis, D., Hoyer, R.W., (2020). The relationship between the natural environment and individual-level academic performance in Portland, Oregon. Environment and Behavior
