Public investments in repairs, modernization, and construction of schools cost billions. However, little is known about the nature of school facility investments, whether it actually changes the physical condition of public schools, and the subsequent causal impacts on student achievement. We study the achievement effects of nearly 1,400 capital…

This document discusses evidence regarding daylighting and student performance and development, and presents four case studies of schools that have cost effectively implemented daylighting into their buildings. Case studies reveal that design and construction strategies that incorporate daylighting do not significantly increase costs over…

Phase 1 of this report summarizes a simulated approach to analysis of energy consumption in five selected Alberta schools. Phase 2, the greater part of the report, deals with the selection of cost-effective modifications in two schools representative of the greatest range of schools presently in the system. In each of the schools, the energy…

A study of the Florida Public Building Loan Concept pilot program determined its effectiveness in helping to upgrade building energy systems. The pilot program, termed FLASTAR (Florida Alliance for Saving Taxes and Resources), involved the comprehensive metering of an elementary school to demonstrate energy savings potential after retrofitting…

A school district energy management program reduced oil consumption 34 percent and electrical consumption 20 percent. Low cost modifications to the heating and ventilating equipment in the schools resulted in energy savings that "paid back" the labor plus material costs in less than a year. Each building was placed into an energy…

Florida has recently completed a survey of energy use and related physical and operational characteristics of the state's public schools. This report presents results from 1,298 surveys received (680 providing matching utility data) revealing that total energy costs for the Florida school system totaled $205 million in 1995. Other data show that…

Analysis of a sample of 1,636 11- to 20-year olds from the Ghana Living Standards Survey showed the following: no strong selectivity bias in the sorting of higher ability children into better schools; indirect effects of improving school quality on student achievement; and repairing classrooms as a cost-effective investment compared to providing…

To determine whether initial facility improvement costs were paid back by the reduced operational costs resulting from the improvement projects, this study examined the relationship between initial costs and operational costs of fourteen school buildings improved during the 1978-79 school year in Greenville County, South Carolina. With energy…

The purpose of this practicum was to develop and field-test a model for reorganizing traditional school plants to accommodate and support individualized instruction. The model was implemented in five areas of eight traditional buildings in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Results demonstrated that reorganization could be accomplished at considerable…

This report is concerned with suggestions for translating changing educational requirements and community needs into appropriate school facilities that are designed, or changed, to be cost beneficial and to conserve energy. Planning guides are offered for the construction and the improvement of elementary and secondary schools. Some preventative…