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Study finds interesting link between poor exam results and ceiling height
A new study from the University of South Australia and Deakin University has found an interesting link between poor exam results and the height of the ceiling the test was taken under.
Most of us have some core memory about exams. Whether you completed bombed one or witnessed a strange occurrence during the timeframe, exams have left deep grooves in all of our minds. While teachers might lead you to believe that the only thing stopping you is yourself, it turns out that architecture plays a part too.
Ceiling height is the great enemy of test-takers
In a new study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology this week, Dr Isabella Bower and Associate Professor Jaclyn Broadbent investigated how building design impacts our ability to do specific tasks.
The team pulled data from 15,400 undergraduate students with special attention paid to the ceiling heights of the room in which they sat the examination. After taking into account factors like coursework performance, the scientists found lower scores than expected when the exam was sat in a room with a tall ceiling.
These spaces are often designed for purposes other than examinations, such as gymnasiums, exhibitions, events, and performances, Dr Bower said. The key point is that large rooms with high ceilings seem to disadvantage students and we need to understand what brain mechanisms are at play, and whether this affects all students to the same degree.
The key point is that large rooms with high ceilings seem to disadvantage students and we need to understand what brain mechanisms are at play, and whether this affects all students to the same degree,” she added.
The data supported previous tests
The researchers were pleased to discover that their data set connected to previous research of Dr Bower’s that was completed using virtual reality.
Through a process known as electroencephalography, which is fixed to the participant’s head using electrodes, it was understood that simply sitting in a large room was enough to make concentration more difficult.
Based on these results we were curious to apply our lab findings to a real-world dataset and see if being in a large space like a gymnasium while having to concentrate on an important task would result in a poorer performance, Dr Bower added. Examinations have been a key part of our education system for over 1300 years, shaping students’ career paths and lives, says Assoc Prof Jaclyn Broadbent.
