The Effects of Heat on Teachers and Their Students

• In Event: Adaptation to Environmental Effects? Win-Win, Win-Lose, or Lose-Lose?

Abstract

This paper provides the first evidence that extreme heat directly affects teachers, with consequences for student learning. Using matched student–teacher administrative data from North Carolina linked to high-resolution weather records, the analysis shows that older teachers, who are more sensitive to heat stress, experience greater productivity losses and higher absence rates during hot years. Students of older teachers see test score declines with each additional extreme heat day, effectively erasing the benefits of teaching experience. The cumulative impact of climate change–driven increases in heat is potentially large: equivalent to experiencing an event comparable to Hurricane Katrina every ten years. This works aims to inform evaluations of student and teacher performance, guide infrastructure investment decisions, and support policies related to school closures during heatwaves. In doing so, this work helps address inequities between students attending heat-vulnerable schools and those in better-equipped environments. These considerations are increasingly urgent in light of climate change, which is likely to exacerbate disparities between under-resourced schools with aging infrastructure and well resourced schools with modern facilities.

Author

• Mary Quiroga, University of Michigan
  Presenting Author