| This dissertation investigates the connection between noise pollution near schools, the performance of the students in those schools, and the socioeconomic status of those students. I hypothesize that noise pollution will be higher at schools located in poor and minority neighborhoods, noisier schools' students will perform lower on test scores, holding constant other factors, and will therefore be prevented from performing well on placement exams, lowering the chance of acceptance in higher education. In this analysis I use the public school system in the city of San Francisco as a case study: comparing data on noise pollution, school locations, test scores of each school and linking this data to the socioeconomic status of the schools' students. Based on my findings, noise is detrimental to a school learning environment; an increase in the level of noise by one dBA results in a decrease in the school's API score by 1.52 points, regardless of other factors that may impact students' academic performance. This research also demonstrates that noise is disproportionately collocated with minority student populations, specifically African American and Hispanic student populations; for every one percentage-point increase in the African American and Hispanic student population there is an approximately .26 and .27 increase in the noise level respectively. Therefore, it is also necessary to address the environmental injustice aspect of this noise pollution through policy measures. |
