Based on the findings from the second part of the dissertation, several policy implications are presented. First, policymakers should invest as early as possible in basic skills. For instance, the findings of the second part of this dissertations suggest that achievement gaps at the end of primary education, between students with differing levels of parental education, may be reduced through early interventions, if desired. Second, they should target these investments to those who need it most. Whereas it is beyond the scope of this dissertation to conclude who needs it most, I state that it should be a goal for policymakers to at least ensure that each individual has the minimum level of basic skill proficiency to function in society. Third, policymakers should oversee and support research towards basic skills. And fourth, policymakers should shape and design interventions taking in mind the interplay between skills. The third part of this dissertation, concerned with the influence of environmental factors on student performance, focuses on the effects of outdoor temperature on reading and math test scores. The chapter shows that heat has detrimental effects on student performance. Furthermore, this chapter provides suggestive evidence for the role of school building quality on the magnitude of the adverse effects of heat on student test scores. As it turns out that environmental factors influence student performance, policymakers should spend attention to these environmental factors, or to external factors in general. More research should be devoted to these factors, to create favorable learning and performance conditions for students. Regarding temperature, policymakers may implement policies to diminish adverse effects of heat on student test scores (e.g., by improving school building quality). 159
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