Unoccupied classroom acoustical conditions and elementary student achievement

In the recent edition of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, you’ll find an article by alum Dr. Lauren Ronsse and Dr. Lily Wang on “Relationships between unoccupied classroom acoustical conditions and elementary student achievement measured in eastern Nebraska”!  The article is based on Lauren’s PhD work at the University of Nebraska, indicating that student achievement in reading and language subject areas may be negatively impacted by higher unoccupied BNLs.  To meet the upper half of Nebraska state targets, background noise levels should be less than 45 dBA, but scores appear to improve as the noise levels become even lower.