Air Pollution and Learning

Authors: A. Patrick Behrer, Joshua Goodman, J. Parker Goyer, R. Jisung Park

Project Summary

Air pollution is usually treated as a public health and environmental concern, but it can also affect how much students learn. This brief summarizes a new study of how exposure to polluted air over a school year affects student learning, when that exposure matters most, and which students bear the greatest cost. The authors draw on College Board data for nearly 10 million students who took the PSAT at least twice between 2007 and 2016. They compare each student’s scores across years with cleaner and dirtier air, using smoke from distant wildfires to isolate the effects of pollution.

Key Findings

Air pollution exposure measurably slows learning

• 1 year of air pollution exposure lowers PSAT scores by 14–19% of typical annual growth
• Moderate pollution matters more than heavy pollution
• Pollution on school days matters more than summer pollution

Air pollution exposure widens achievement gaps

• Effects are 3 times larger in socioeconomically disadvantaged schools
• Effects are large for Black & Hispanic students, not observed for White & Asian students