We explore whether investment in public school infrastructure affects students' achievement. We use data on extra funding to public high schools after the 2012 Northern Italy earthquake and apply a quasi-experimental design and an instrumental variable strategy. We find that spending on school infrastructure increases standardized test scores in mathematics and Italian language, and the effect is stronger for lower-achieving students and in mathematics. These results provide evidence in favor of a positive impact of capital spending in improving the learning environment and performances of high school students.