Higher temperatures most strongly affect math scores on test days¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Higher temperatures most strongly affect math scores relative to other subjects. → Sofia Postell 2025

Evidence¶

Sofia Postell 2025¶

Sofia Postell, Megan Kuhfeld, Susan Kowalski, Jazmin Isaacs. (2025). Hot test days, lower math scores: How heat affects student achievement. NWEA research brief. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/hot-test-days-lower-math-scores-how-heat-affects-student-achievement/

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Large-scale observational analysis combining daily temperature data with MAP Growth scores for grades 3–8 across six states, using roughly three million test events from fall 2022, 2023 and 2024. The brief reports "higher temperatures most strongly affect math scores". No effect size is printed in the available text.

"the analysis finds that higher temperatures most strongly affect math scores, with students in high-poverty schools facing the greatest impact."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The heat-achievement analysis links daily temperature data to MAP Growth scores for grades 3–8 in six states — related
• Heat effects on student performance may be more extreme for students in high-poverty schools where cooling conditions may be less reliable — related
• Environmental temperatures on test days are associated with student math and reading performance, per the report this appendix documents — a broader claim this one bears on
• Students in high-poverty schools face the greatest impact from hot test days — related
• Physical environment elements — sunlight, nature views, temperature, and lighting — affect learning — related