Given the proximity of individuals and the rapid spread of airborne illnesses, there are a lot of factors that suggest indoor environmental monitoring could be key to maintaining safe and healthy classrooms for students and staff that maximize the chances of high academic performance.
How Are U.S. Students Faring Since the Pandemic?
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on U.S. students. The disruption of in-person classes proved detrimental to nationwide test scores, which have been continuously falling. The most recent results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, released in September 2025, were dire:
- Only 31% of eighth-grade students are proficient in science
- Only 22% of high school seniors are proficient in math
- Only 35% of high school seniors are proficient in reading
Though a variety of uncontrollable factors have impacted and continue to affect student learning and growth, school leaders can focus most on the independent variables they can control, such as test-preparation strategies and comfortable learning and testing conditions. For example, indoor air quality has a greater impact on student focus and performance than one might expect.
How Air Quality and Classroom Conditions Affect Academic Performance
Studies have shown that adjustable environmental conditions tailored to the highest level of student comfort can lead to greater attention and focus in class and better test performance. Once the distraction of being too hot, too cold, or too stuffy is removed from the equation, matters of primary importance like schoolwork and assessments are returned to the front of students’ and teachers’ minds.
There are a variety of ways to optimize air quality and conditions, such as:
- Opening or closing windows for outdoor air ventilation
- Ensuring proper maintenance of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems
- Tracking temperature and humidity levels in classrooms and testing rooms
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Monitoring the use of chemicals in regular building cleaning
Good IAQ can also help minimize health issues picked up or exacerbated during time spent in school, such as asthma, the spread of viral illnesses, and moisture-, dust-, and mold-related respiratory problems, which in turn minimize absences and maximize time spent in class. Better attendance means more exposure to learning materials and more time spent engaging with educators, which means higher levels of understanding and subsequently higher testing scores.
The Environmental Protection Agency recommends that schools establish an IAQ management program. The agency suggests encouraging staff and student autonomy over their environment, like opening and closing doors and windows, and weighing in on ideal room temperatures or AC and heating settings. They also recommend that schools implement environmental monitoring systems to track classroom temperature and humidity levels, which will solve moisture (and therefore mold!) issues.
Automated Solutions for Optimized Classroom Indoor Air Quality
There is a plethora of OneVue Sense® products that can help with facility IAQ management. For example, OneVue Sense Ambient Air Temperature and Humidity Monitoring tracks classroom air temperature and humidity levels and provides alerts — via text message, email, or phone call — when conditions exceed or fall below a customizable range‚ allowing for corrective action. Uncontrolled temperature and humidity in classrooms could lead to:
- Lower immune system effectivity, making students more susceptible to infectious illnesses like colds, the flu, or other airborne diseases
- Mold growth due to high moisture levels and subsequent educational performance problems for students and health issues for all
With ambient air temperature and humidity monitoring, moisture levels are under control. Don't let poor IAQ disadvantage students or staff during learning hours.
Synchronized Timekeeping to Keep Your School on Schedule
The Primex Sync™ synchronized time solution can help school facility managers by easing their already full workload. Beyond providing synchronized time throughout entire schools or campuses, Primex Sync clocks automatically update every spring and fall for daylight saving time shifts, eliminating the need for manual clock changes. With both analog and digital clock options available, there are multiple ways to ensure that students and test administrators have exact knowledge — down to the second — about start times, end times, and remaining time, allowing for the best execution of effective school schedules, test strategies, and time management.
Primex Sync offers four different technologies for synchronized time to fit any institution, from wireless solutions like Radio 72 MHz technology, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth® Low Energy to a wired option: Power over Ethernet.
Helping Ensure Classroom Safe In-Person Attendance
For ultimate insurance that school days go off without a hitch, and to promote optimum health, safety, and performance among students and educators, OneVue Sense also offers automated Water Leak Monitoring to keep an eye on expensive, essential systems like HVAC units and pipes and a Temperature Monitoring Solution to help ensure that cafeteria food and medicine storage units are keeping their components safe.
Keeping students and staff fueled with proper food, with attention to health, and monitoring important building systems to eliminate schedule disruptions and keep the school safe and in session are essential to ensuring that learning is the number one thing students should focus on.
When OneVue Sense and Primex Sync solutions are in place, school staff and parents can have peace of mind knowing that their students are in a safe environment that promotes health and high levels of learning. A controlled environment is the foundation for the most successful performance on standardized tests, which could help improve future national scorecard results.
Ensure the comfort and quality of your indoor learning environments by contacting us today!
This blog was originally written in October 2021 and has been updated to reflect current data and times.
