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The Relationship Between the Natural Environment and Individual-Level Academic Performance in Portland, Oregon
Journal article   Peer reviewed

The Relationship Between the Natural Environment and Individual-Level Academic Performance in Portland, Oregon

Geoffrey H. Donovan, Yvonne L. Michael, Demetrios Gatziolis and Robert W. Hoyer
Environment and behavior, v 52(2), pp 164-186
01 Feb 2020

Abstract

Environmental Sciences & Ecology Environmental Studies Life Sciences & Biomedicine Psychology Psychology, Multidisciplinary Science & Technology Social Sciences
We tested the hypothesis that exposure to the natural environment is associated with improved academic performance. Specifically, we examined the association between individual-level standardized math and reading test scores and exposure to the natural environment using data from Portland Public Schools (17,918 students attending 83 schools for the math model and 19,459 students attending 90 schools for the reading model). We found that a 1-SD increase in tree cover within 200 m of a child's home was associated with moving from the 50th percentile to the 51st percentile on math tests. A 1-SD increase in tree cover within 100 m of a child's school was associated with moving from the 50th percentile to the 56th percentile on reading tests. Finally, a 1-SD increase in road density within 100 m of a child's home was associated with moving from the 50th percentile to the 47th percentile on reading tests.

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10 Record Views
20 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Environmental Studies
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
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