Comparison of occupied and unoccupied noise levels in K-12 classrooms

Abstract

Current research at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln aims to establish how indoor environmental conditions in K-12 school buildings impact student scholastic achievement. A large-scale in-situ survey is being undertaken to gather data on (1) indoor environmental conditions under different seasons or outdoor conditions (fall, winter, and spring), and (2) student’s standardized test outcomes and demographics, as classroom aggregates with no individually identifiable information. In this paper, acoustic data gathered to date from 110 classrooms are mined to determine how occupied and unoccupied noise levels correlate. The ANSI Classroom Acoustics Standard S12.60 (2010) specifies guidelines for unoccupied background noise levels, but students learn in occupied spaces. Logged acoustic data over multiple school days are analyzed to determine if designing for unoccupied noise levels is appropriate to achieve desired occupied acoustic conditions. [Work supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency Grant Number R835633.]