Hot weather makes exams tougher

HOT weather harms children’s chances of doing well in exams – unless classrooms are air conditioned, a study has found.

Researchers found that each 0.5 degree increase above 70F (21C) causes a 1 per cent reduction in their performance.

The impact on results accelerated when temperatures rose above 89F (32C).

It comes as British pupils have been sitting their GCSE and A-level exams during a number of mini-heatwaves, when record temperatures have been hit in parts of the country. The Harvard University research, which analysed the results of 10 million US children over 13 years, discovered a ‘significant’ link between temperature and achievement and suggests that air conditioning should be used to keep classrooms cool.

Joshua Goodman, associate professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, said that hot students were more likely to be ‘distracted, agitated and find it harder to focus’.

The study found that students were more likely to have lower scores in years with higher temperatures and better results in cooler years. This applied across the many different types of climate in America – whether in cooler northern states or the typically much warmer south, where students had to suffer in temperatures recorded above 100F (38C).