Previous studies have shown positive associations between exposure to living environments (especially vegetation) around schools and academic performance. Such studies have generally focused on just two academic areas -- math and reading -- and rarely considered blue spaces (water). This study expands the scope of previous research by including two additional academic areas -- science and social studies -- and by considering both green and blue (water) spaces in assessing students' exposure to living environments. This study considered demographic and socioeconomic factors in assessing the impact of exposure to nature on academic performance. Additionally, assessments of exposure to living environments focused on the schools' attendance area (SAA) versus the immediate area around the schools.
Researchers accessed the third-grade reading, math, science, and social studies assessment scores of 470 schools in the Atlanta Metropolitan area. They then calculated percent canopy cover, grass, shrub, water bodies, and impervious surface in each school's attendance area. This measure was used to describe a school's environmental landscape representing levels of greenness, blueness and development intensity. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Land Cover Dataset was used to obtain this information. The Georgia Department of Education website was used to obtain information about race/ethnicity, family income, gender, school wide enrollment, and absence rate for students at each of the included schools.
An analysis of the data showed that canopy cover (a measure of greenness) was positively and significantly associated with test scores in English language arts (including reading), math, and science. Results also showed a significant positive association between percent of water bodies and test scores in science and social science. There were no significant associations between levels of other types of greenness (grass and shrub) and test scores in all four subject areas.
These findings highlight the need for further investigations into the effect of both green and blue space on academic performance. These findings also support initiatives designed to increase students' exposure to living environments. Such exposure may be especially beneficial for disadvantaged students. The implications for urban planning and design include focusing natural space initiatives on areas experiencing greatest socioeconomic disadvantages. For the Atlanta Metropolitan Region, this includes adding green and blue spaces in areas that have been especially disadvantaged due to historical segregation and extensive deforestation.
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