The primary function of a classroom is to serve as a learning environment where students can receive instruction from their teacher, collaborate with one another, read, and work independently to complete tests and learning exercises. The ability to hear, understand, and focus is critical to the learning process.

Sounds from other students inside the classroom, building appliances like heating, ventilation or air conditioning systems, as well as sounds coming from outside the building like cars or lawnmowers or playgrounds impede students’ ability to hear and concentrate.

One study shows that for a child sitting in the fourth row of an average classroom, speech intelligibility is only 50%. Classrooms with poor acoustics not only have a negative impact on students’ ability to comprehend speech, but they also impact their ability to read, pay attention, concentrate and behave appropriately. These challenges amplify for students with learning disabilities or hearing impairments. Teachers suffer from poor acoustics too. Another study showed that 50% of teachers have suffered vocal damage from talking over classroom noise. Longterm noise exposure can also cause hearing damage and consequences from prolonged stress and job burnout.

Good classroom acoustics benefit everyone. Following improvements to classroom acoustics, teachers have reported higher student engagement and improved learning outcomes. In one study, on-task student behaviour in an acoustically treated classroom increased by 17%. In another study, teacher absence decreased from 15% to 2% post treatment.