The Orange Country Register, By Elizabeth Chey, 1 July 1999

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A beam of sunshine can brighten a child, or so says a new study.

Students in rooms with wide windows or skylights learned faster and scored
higher on standardized tests than students in rooms without windows,
according to the study released by an energy consulting firm for the
California Board for Energy Efficiency and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

"Students respond to daylight. They also have a happier teacher who is
more empowered, awake and active," said Jeff Bristow, director of testing
and evaluation for the Capistrano Unified School District in California.
It was one of three school districts - the others were in Seattle,
Washington, and Fort Collins, Colorado - where test scores of more than
21,000 students were compared based on their learning environment.

In Capistrano, where children were tested at the start and end of each
school year, a comparison of 750 classrooms showed students with the most
daylight learned 20 percent to 26 percent faster than those with the least.
Students boosted their scores 2 points more in reading and 2.3 points more
in math when in light rooms rather than dim. Districtwide, averages
increased by 8.8 points in reading and 12.5 points in math.

Psychologists and energy experts say sunlit rooms make for more efficient,
productive and happier workers.

"The energy of natural light vibrates our pupils, which stimulates the
brain," said Lyn Falk, a Wisconsin-based retail designer.

Research and school design officials say the study flies in the face of a
1960s trend of building cavernous classrooms and dark auditoriums without
windows to accommodate overcrowding.