Facility conditions have clear relationships to learning and teaching outcomes
School facilities are more than physical structures — they are active components of the educational ecosystem. Studies consistently find that students in poor-quality facilities perform worse academically than peers in well-maintained buildings, with measurable differences in test scores, graduation rates, and attendance linked to conditions such as inadequate ventilation, thermal discomfort, excessive noise, and exposure to contaminants. Building conditions also affect teachers and staff: poor facility quality is linked to lower job satisfaction, higher turnover, and reduced instructional effectiveness, with consequences that compound over time for students who lose experienced educators.
But improvements to building conditions, including upgraded ventilation systems, better lighting, reduced noise, and remediation of contaminants, have been associated with measurable gains in student attendance, behavior, and academic performance, suggesting that facility investments that improve indoor environmental quality are an investment in educational outcomes. The growing body of research in this area connects the dots between facilities management, infrastructure investments, and student success.
Explore these topics in more depth on the Student Impacts and Teacher and Staff Impacts pages.
Explore resources available in the NCSI library.
Guide/Tool
National Center on School Infrastructure (NCSI)
Watch this webinar, hosted by NCSI on Sept. 30, 2025, to learn what recent research shows about how school facilities impact student outcomes and property values. You’ll also hear practitioner perspectives on communicating the value of school facility investments.
Research/Report
NetZED Laboratory at the University of Oregon
This report provides a detailed overview of research evidence on the many ways that school facilities either support or impede student engagement and learning.
Research/Report
T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University
This report reviews findings from more than 200 scientific studies and explains the ways that a range of environmental exposures in school buildings impact student health, student thinking, and student performance.
This review explores the ways that school facility attributes affect academic outcomes. The research covers six main categories: indoor air quality, ventilation, and thermal comfort; lighting; acoustics; building age and quality; school size; and class size.
Voices from the field
Child Trends
Child Trends, a NCSI Consortium partner, promotes the well-being of children and youth through applied research that informs public policy. In this post, they highlight the need for more attention on the ways that school facility conditions impact teachers and staff.
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Pennsylvania
Spotlight PA – July 23, 2026
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National
Black Press USA – July 18, 2026
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California
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