http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/15/health/15PATT.html

New York Times

October 15, 2002

Patterns: Linking Airplanes to Test Scores
By JOHN O'NEIL

After Munich moved its airport in 1992, scores on reading and memory tests went up near the old airport and down near the new one, a recently published study reports.

According to the article in the journal Psychological Science, a number of studies on noise's effect on learning have found that children in schools near airports are harmed. But those have all been comparisons of students in different circumstances, in what are called cross-sectional studies, whose results are regarded as a lesser level of evidence.

The preparations for the Munich airport's move gave researchers from the University of Hamburg, University of Gavle in Sweden and Cornell University a rare opportunity to conduct a prospective study, watching how the performances of two groups changed when the noise levels in their neighborhoods did.

The students were tested before the move and one and two years later, along with two control groups of students who had similar characteristics but did not live in noisy settings. The researchers found improvement among students near the old airport on tests of reading skills and short-term and long-term memory, while near the new airport students' reading skills and long-term memory performance declined.

While the results demonstrated that high levels of noise could interfere with learning and development, the researchers also saw a brighter side: most of the damage appeared to reverse itself when the noise was removed. (non text portions omitted) ===

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