Associations between classroom CO2 concentrations and student attendance in Washington and Idaho

Journal Article · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2004.00251.x· OSTI ID:842750

Shendell, Derek G ^[1]; Prill, Richard; Fisk, William J; Apte, Michael G; Blake, David; Faulkner, David

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1. LBNL Library

Student attendance in American public schools is a critical factor in securing limited operational funding. Student and teacher attendance influence academic performance. Limited data exist on indoor air and environmental quality (IEQ) in schools, and how IEQ affects attendance, health, or performance. This study explored the association of student absence with measures of indoor minus outdoor carbon dioxide concentration (dCO{sub 2}). Absence and dCO{sub 2} data were collected from 409 traditional and 25 portable classrooms from 14 schools located in six school districts in the states of Washington and Idaho. Study classrooms had individual heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, except two classrooms without mechanical ventilation. Classroom attributes, student attendance and school-level ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES) were included in multivariate modeling. Forty-five percent of classrooms studied had short-term indoor CO{sub 2} concentrations above 1000 parts-per-million (ppm). A 1000 ppm increase in dCO{sub 2} was associated (p < 0.05) with a 0.5% to 0.9% decrease in annual average daily attendance (ADA), corresponding to a relative 10% to 20% increase in student absence. Outside air (ventilation) rates estimated from dCO{sub 2} and other collected data were not associated with absence. Annual ADA was 2% higher (p < 0.0001) in traditional than in portable classrooms.

• Research Organization: Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE. Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and and Renewable Energy. Office of the Building Technologies Program; US Environmental Protection Agency Indoor Environments Division and Region X Contracts X-98084701-0 and X-97014901-0, National Institute for Standards and Technology
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 842750
• Report Number(s): LBNL--54413; LBNL-53586
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
AIR CONDITIONING
CARBON DIOXIDE
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
HEATING
PERFORMANCE
SIMULATION
VENTILATION