Good classroom acoustics are a good investment for America

Buzz Towne’s idealism sparked ASA’s current activities to improve classroom acoustics, including ANSI S12 WG43’s activity to produce an American standard for classroom acoustics. But idealism alone may not suffice to realize the reforms Buzz sought. It will help if advocates can show that good classroom acoustics are a good investment for community and nation. Absent were the resources necessary for serious economic cost‐benefit studies, some very informal, ‘‘back‐of‐the‐envelope’’ engineering estimates were made by acousticians, audiologists, and material vendors. All assume 20 year life cycles for new and renovated classrooms. In one scenario, costs for quiet HVAC and sound absorbing ceilings are shown to be a small fraction of costs for ordinary school construction yielding substandard acoustics. In another scenario, costs for quiet classroom HVAC are shown to be small compared to annual operating costs per student. A third scenario shows that a modest but plausible assumed increase in average lifetime earnings generously will repay the initial costs for good acoustics. These scenarios do not consider the economic costs of bad acoustics, including high dropout rates, truancy, juvenile crime, and teacher burnout. The authors hope to inspire others to more fully study the economic, social, and educational benefits of good acoustics.