研究發現：天氣太熱真的會影響考試成績

In years with hotter weather pupils are likely to perform less well in exams, says a major study from researchers at Harvard and other US universities.

哈佛等美國大學的研究人員開展的大型研究指出，在天氣炎熱的年份，學生們的考試成績會變差。

There is a "significant" link between higher temperatures and lower school achievement, say economic researchers.

這些經濟學研究員稱，高溫天氣和考試成績下降之間有“重大”關聯。

An analysis of test scores of 10 million US secondary school Students over 13 years shows hot weather has a negative impact on results.

這項研究在分析了1000萬名美國中學生13年間的考試成績後發現，炎熱天氣對考試成績有負面影響。

The study says a practical response could be to use more air conditioning.

研究指出，比較實際的應對措施就是多開空調。

Students taking exams in a summer heatwave might have always complained that they were hampered by the sweltering weather.

在酷暑天考試的學生可能總是抱怨考不好是因爲天太熱。

But this study, from academics at Harvard, the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and Georgia State University, claims to have produced the first clear evidence showing that when temperatures go up, school performance goes down.

哈佛大學、加州大學洛杉磯分校和喬治亞州立大學的學者開展的這項研究聲稱，首次有明顯證據表明，氣溫升高時，學生考試成績會下降。

Researchers have tracked how secondary school students performed in tests in different years, between 2001 and 2014, across the different climates and weather patterns within the US.

研究人員追蹤了2001年到2014年間這些中學生在不同年份的考試成績，這些中學位於美國不同的氣候帶，天氣模式也不同。

The study, published by the US National Bureau of Economic Research, found that students were more likely to have lower scores in years with higher temperatures and better results in cooler years.

美國國家經濟研究局發佈的這項研究發現，氣溫高的年份裏學生的考試成績更差，而天氣涼爽的年份裏學生的考試成績更好。

This applied across the many different types of climate - whether in cooler northern US states or in the southern states where temperatures are typically much higher.

這一結論適用於美國不同氣候帶的學校，無論是在涼爽一些的北部州，還是在氣溫通常高得多的南部州。

The study, Heat and Learning, suggested that hotter weather made it harder to study in lessons in school and to concentrate on homework out of school.

這項名爲“高溫與學習”的研究指出，天熱的時候，學生在學校上課更困難，在校外做作業時也更難以集中注意力。

Researchers calculated that for every 0.55C increase in average temperature over the year, there was a 1% fall in learning.

根據研究人員的計算，一年的平均氣溫每升高0.55攝氏度，學習成績就會下降1%。

Colder days did not seem to damage achievement - but the negative impact began to be measurable as temperatures rose above 21C.

冷天似乎不會影響學習成績，但是當氣溫升到21攝氏度以上時，負面影響就開始顯現。

The reduction in learning accelerated once temperatures rose above 32C and even more so above 38C.

一旦氣溫升到32攝氏度以上，學習成績的下滑速度就加快，氣溫升到38度以上後更是如此。

Joshua Goodman, associate professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and his co-authors provide evidence that the "heat's disruption of instruction or homework time is responsible for the observed drop in test scores".

哈佛大學肯尼迪政府學院的副教授喬舒亞·古德曼和他的合著者提出了證據，證明“高溫對上課和作業時間的影響導致了考試成績的明顯下降”。

He says students were incrementally more likely to be "distracted, agitated and find it harder to focus".

他說，學生更可能“分心、躁動、難以集中注意力”，這一現象會隨着溫度升高而加劇。

Mr Goodman says the findings also raise bigger questions about whether climate change and global warming will have implications for school achievement.

古德曼說，研究結果還提出了一個更大的問題，即氣候變化和全球變暖是否會影響學生的成績。

Mr Goodman says the researchers also want to examine the long-term consequences of a hot year on a cohort of students.

古德曼說，研究人員還想調查高溫年份對同一屆學生的長期影響。

If students happen to take important exams in a heatwave year, does that mean they are more likely to miss out on exam results and university places?

如果學生碰巧在高溫年份參加重要考試，這是否意味着他們更可能考試失利，錯過大學入學機會呢？

Mr Goodman says that policymakers and parents have under-estimated the significance of temperatures in schools and overheated classrooms.

古德曼說，決策者和家長們都低估了學校溫度以及教室溫度過高的影響。

"Teachers and students already know it's a problem - because they've had to live it," he said.

他說：“老師和學生們早就知道這是個問題——因爲他們不得不忍受。”