PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Park, R. Jisung
TI  - Hot Temperature and High Stakes Performance
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.57.2.0618-9535R3
DP  - 2020 Mar 09
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2020/03/03/jhr.57.2.0618-9535R3.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2020/03/03/jhr.57.2.0618-9535R3.full
AB  - Despite the prevalence of high stakes assessments – and the growing likelihood of heat exposure during such assessments – the effect of temperature on performance has not yet been studied in such settings. Using student-level administrative data for the largest public school district in the United States, I provide the first estimates of temperature’s impact on high-stakes exam performance and subsequent educational attainment. Hot temperature reduces performance by up to 13 percent of a standard deviation and leads to persistent impacts on high school graduation status, despite compensatory responses by teachers who selectively upward manipulate grades after hotter exams.