CAUSE has released the User Guide: An Open-Access Occupancy Evaluation Framework and Tool for K-12 Schools (Version 1.0, August 1, 2025)—a practical, research-grounded resource for educators, designers, and district partners committed to measuring how school environments shape teaching and learning. Published under a Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 license, the guide invites schools and project teams to download, adapt, and share methods freely while keeping results open for others to build upon.
The guide operationalized a 5-part POE framework and, in this first public release, prioritized Chapter 2: Human/Building Interactions and Chapter 3: Human Outcomes with survey instruments for grades 3–12. These tools captured sensory conditions (lighting, temperature, acoustics, air quality, access to nature), spatial functionality (comfort, movement, privacy, safety), perceived agency and control, and core outcomes linked to success in school—belonging, engagement, self-regulation, plus teacher efficacy and job satisfaction. Forthcoming chapters will expand the toolbox with Spatial Characteristics and Building Outcomes to align user perceptions with measurable environmental performance.
The User Guide reflected a coalition effort. CAUSE convened architecture firms, academic partners, school districts, and CADRE, guided by three advisory committees (school design, design research, education policy). Founding contributors (alphabetical) include Erika S. Eitland, ScD, MPH (Perkins&Will); Raechel French, PhD; Renae Mantooth, PhD (HKS; NC State); Michael C. Ralph, PhD (Multistudio; University of Kansas); and Alexandra Rett, PhD. Heartland IRB provided oversight for studies informing tool development, and sponsors alongside CAUSE Fellows supported analysis, codebook development, and literature review.
What this means for schools and design teams: a standardized, comparable approach to POE that lowers the barrier to credible data collection, enables study-to-study comparison across sites and time, and supports meta-analysis—turning one project’s lessons into sector-wide evidence.
Explore the guide, pilot the surveys, and share results under CC BY-SA 4.0 to strengthen the shared evidence base. Access tools, codebooks, and release notes at CAUSECoalition.org.