Tageducation(21)
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The impact of noise on childhood cognitive development
Poor classroom acoustics: The invisible reason Johnny can’t read. Poor classroom acoustics create a negative learning environment for many students, especially those with hearing or learning difficulties. According to a report by David Lubman (“America’s Need for Standards and Guidelines to Ensure Satisfactory Classroom Acoustics”) “acoustical conditions in many classrooms are unsuitable for such tasks -
Treat air quality to safeguard buildings against COVID-19
By Gus Simonds Special to The Times Enough sweatpants and Zoom meetings already. Employees who have worked from home since March because of COVID-19 want to get back to the office to enjoy the face-to-face camaraderie and collaboration with mentors and teammates. Parents are anticipating getting their children back into the classroom. Winter is approaching, making -
2020-07-22Highline Forum: Making Highline the constant in uncertain times
Highline College held a community forum on July 22, 2020, addressing COVID-19 impacts, anti-racism efforts, and budget planning under the theme 'Making Highline the Constant in Uncertain Times.' The college serves approximately 16,000 students across programs including English learning, transfer education, career and technical education, and six Bachelor of Applied Science degree programs. Note: this document does not contain content directly related to Sea-Tac Airport noise policy. -
Installing air filters in classrooms has surprisingly large educational benefits
$1,000 can raise a class’s test scores by as much as cutting class size by a third. By Matthew Yglesias@mattyglesiasmatt@vox.com An emergency situation that turned out to be mostly a false alarm led a lot of schools in Los Angeles to install air filters, and something strange happened: Test scores went up. By a -
2002-09-01A prospective study of some effects of aircraft noise on cognitive performance in schoolchildren
A study tracking 326 schoolchildren around Munich's old and new airports found that exposure to aircraft noise impaired children's reading and long-term memory, while children who were relieved of noise when the old airport closed showed improvements in those same areas. Researchers tested the children before and after the airports switched operations, carefully matching noise-exposed and non-exposed groups by socioeconomic background. The findings suggest that aircraft noise has measurable, but potentially reversible, effects on key cognitive skills in school-age children. -
1997-09-01Chronic noise exposure and reading deficits: The mediating effects of language acquisition
A 1997 Cornell University study found that elementary school children chronically exposed to aircraft noise showed significant reading deficits, even when tested under quiet conditions — meaning the harm stems from long-term exposure, not just momentary distraction. The researchers identified impaired language acquisition, particularly speech perception, as a key reason why noise-exposed children fall behind in reading. These findings have direct relevance for communities near busy airports, where sustained noise levels may quietly undermine children's academic development. -
1997-04-28
Kids near airports don’t read as well because they tune out speech, Cornell study finds
Children in schools bombarded by frequent aircraft noise don’t learn to read as well as children in quiet schools, Cornell University researchers have confirmed. And they have discovered one major reason: kids tune out speech in the racket. “We’ve known for a long time that chronic noise is having a devastating effect on the academic -
1996-12-04Neighborhood impact matrices
This document outlines a Neighborhood Impact Matrices framework used to assess environmental, transportation, and socio-economic effects of a proposed airport-related project on communities surrounding Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, including cities such as Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Normandy Park, and Tukwila. Each matrix evaluates impacts across four columns — Measure, Impact, Mitigation, and Cost — covering issues such as aircraft noise (DNL and SEL contours), air quality, surface and groundwater quality, wetlands, and floodplains. Proposed mitigations range from neighborhood buyouts at $760,000 per acre for areas within the 65 DNL contour to easement and insulation programs, stormwater management plans, and flight track modifications. -
1975-12-01The effect of elevated train noise on reading ability
A 1975 study by Bronzaft and McCarthy examined how noise from passing elevated subway trains affected the reading ability of elementary school children at a New York City school located approximately 220 feet from the tracks. Researchers compared reading scores of students in classrooms on the noisy train-facing side of the building versus the quieter opposite side, finding that chronic exposure to loud, unpredictable noise was associated with measurable reading deficits. The findings built on earlier research suggesting that children in high-noise environments struggle to distinguish relevant speech cues, which can hinder their ability to learn to read.