We demonstrate that heat inhibits learning and that school air conditioning may mitigate this effect. Student fixed effects models using 10 million students who retook the PSATs show that hotter school days in the years before the test was taken reduce scores, with extreme heat being particularly damaging. Weekend and summer temperatures have little impact, suggesting heat directly disrupts learning time. New nationwide, school-level measures of air conditioning penetration suggest patterns consistent with such infrastructure largely offsetting heat's effects. Without air conditioning, a 1°F hotter school year reduces that year's learning by 1 percent. Hot school days disproportionately impact minority students, accounting for roughly 5 percent of the racial achievement gap.

中文翻译：

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热和学习

我们证明热量会抑制学习，而学校空调可以减轻这种影响。使用重新参加 PSAT 考试的 1000 万学生的学生固定效应模型表明，在考试之前的几年里较热的学校日子会降低分数，极端高温尤其具有破坏性。周末和夏季的气温几乎没有影响，这表明高温会直接扰乱学习时间。新的全国性、学校级空调渗透率指标表明，与此类基础设施一致的模式在很大程度上抵消了热量的影响。如果没有空调，1°F 的热学年会使当年的学习减少 1%。炎热的上学日对少数民族学生的影响不成比例，约占种族成绩差距的 5%。