Students at Bureau of Indian Education schools like Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota say they benefit from the cultural practices they find there — for instance, burning sage, an Ojibwe tradition. But their school’s physical facilities are lacking. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Improving academic achievement in the federal Bureau of Indian Education's 183 schools, which serve some of the nation's most disadvantaged learners on remote reservations, is a daunting challenge.

Reading and math scores for BIE students lag those in public schools, including American Indian students. Indian students overall have the lowest graduation rates of any ethnic group in U.S. schools.

The problems that have led to those results can't be solved all at once, nor is there one solution. But replacing deteriorating BIE schools with safe, modern facilities that have the tools and technology that kids need to learn and teachers need to teach is a logical place to begin. About one-third of BIE schools are in poor condition, meaning that new schools or extensive renovations are needed.

There's research to back up making facilities a starting point. A 2009 report from the Government Accountability Office surveyed two dozen studies of educational outcomes. "A majority of these studies indicated that better school facilities were associated with better student outcomes — such as higher scores on achievement tests or higher student attendance rates.''

While the studies did not prove that conditions cause better outcomes, the GAO report said, there is a correlation. It's also worth noting that most of the studies accounted for other variables, such as poverty, that could affect student performance.

More research is needed to determine the impact of specific features in new schools, such as improved indoor air quality or more natural lighting. The link between school conditions and teacher quality also merits further scrutiny. Still, there's a growing consensus that school buildings can have positive or negative effects on academic achievement.

"It has been said a good teacher can teach anywhere and that a willing student is capable of learning despite the setting. There may be some truth to that,'' said a 2003 report on facilities and educational outcomes in Tennessee. ''The issue is, however, whether teachers teach as well or students learn as much as they could have in better surroundings. It is simply a fact that the school environment itself has a largely untapped potential as an active contributor to the learning process.''