Whether tests are you jam or give you anxiety out the wazoo, they are a part of our scholastic lives from a young age.

If you’re in a profession where continuing education is required, exams might even plague you for a majority of your working life.

There are all kinds of tips and tricks out there for doing better on them, but this recent study reveals that the room’s ceiling height could matter as well.

The research suggests that rooms with high ceilings can impact brain activity as far as concentration.

The researchers involved, from the University of South Australia and Deakin University, looked at data taken from 15,400 undergrads across three campuses between 2011-2019.

This included facts about the ceiling height in the rooms where they took their exams.

The researchers took into account coursework scores, student’s age, the time of year, the subject studied, and whether they had studied the subject previously.

They found a notable difference in performance between students seated in rooms with normal and high ceilings.

Lead author Dr. Isabella Bower released a statement on the findings.

“These spaces are often designed for purposes other than examinations, such as gymnasiums, exhibitions, events, and performances. The key point is that large rooms with high ceilings seem to disadvantage students and we need to understand what brain mechanisms are at play, and whether this affects all students to the same degree.”

They aren’t sure, based on this data, what causes the poorer performance of students in rooms with higher ceilings.

“A key constraint of this naturalistic retrospective study is that we are unable to probe whether the observed result is direct result of the design quality of scale, or if differences arise because of the indoor environmental parameters afforded by the scale. For instance, as enlarged gymnasium spaces are often poorly insulated and are expensive to climate control, the observed effect may be due to lowered ambient temperature on the students, which has been shown to reduce cognitive function in young adults.”

Cognitive performance has also been proved to be affected by factors like unfamiliarity with the exam room and in crowded spaces as well.

“Lastly, the smaller room scale may allow students more opportunities to cheat. While the proctor-to-student ratio is far higher, the student-to-student ratio is lower reducing peer surveillance and monitoring which may influence if a student cheats by smuggling in notes.”

That said, they are confident that room size is at least a partial factor when it comes to the outcomes of exams.

“In Australia, many universities and schools use large indoor spaces for exams to streamline logistics and costs. It’s crucial to recognize the potential impact of the physical environment on student performance and make necessary adjustments to ensure all students have an equal opportunity to succeed.”

They believe the findings are important and will help architects and designers create buildings that can help us be at the top of our games at school and at work.

And who doesn’t want that?

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