February 2010
Health & Physical EducationCurriculum Study Report2009-2010
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2009 Health & Physical Education Curriculum Review Report
Committee Members:
Vicki Galliher, ATC, VATL, ACSMChairK-12 Health/FLE/PE CIRTTom Horn, CAA, Athletic Director, George Mason High SchoolDavid Garrison, Mt. Daniel Elementary PE InstructorJulie Huber, T.J. Elementary Health & PE InstructorNathan Greiner, T.J. Elementary Health & PE InstructorMark Coffren, Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School Health & PE InstructorJill Knapic, PE Department Chair – George Mason High School
Physical Education
In schools across the United States, physical education is being substantially reduced – and in someinstances completely eliminated – in response to budgetary constraints and pressures to improveacademic test scores. Yet research based evidence shows that children who are physically active and fittend to perform better in the classroom, and that daily physical education does not adversely impactacademic performance. Schools have the opportunity to provide outstanding learning environments whileimproving children’s health through quality physical education.Today, obesity is one of the most critical health concerns for our children. The percentage of childrenwho are overweight and obese has reached epidemic proportions nationally. More than one-third ofchildren and teens, approximately 25 million kids, are overweight or clinically obese – and physicalinactivity is a leading contributor to this epidemic. Overweight children and youths are more prone todevelop serious health problems now and in the future. The U.S. Surgeon General states that childrenwho have an unhealthy diet and low levels of physical activity are at a greater risk for developing chronichealth problems, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, and heart disease. Centers forDisease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientists recently predicted that 30% of U.S. children born in2000 will develop Type 2 diabetes in their lifetime. If left unchecked, diabetes can lead to complicationssuch as kidney failure, blindness, heart attack, and amputations. It is feared that overweight and obesitymay erase the last century’s victories over heart disease and stroke, and that the rates of breast,prostate, and colon cancer will increase.The economic burden of so many children and adolescents being overweight is high. The CDC reportsthat in one 2-year period (2006-2008), U.S. taxpayers spent $127 million on hospital costs associatedwith caring for overweight children and adolescents. This represents almost a four-fold increase in twodecades. The social stigmatization and low self-esteem often associated with being an overweight childor adolescent may lead to even higher costs in future years.Unfortunately, budgetary shortfalls and increasing pressure to improve standardized test scores and toincrease enrollment in advanced placement and International Baccalaureate program studies havecaused school officials across the nation to question the value of physical education and other physicalactivity programs (i.e., intramural programming, structured recess activity, etc.). This has led to asubstantial reduction in the time available for physical education. Yet advocates for school-basedphysical activity programs argue that allocating time for daily physical education or physical activity doesnot adversely affect academic performance and that regular exercise may indeed improve students’concentration and cognitive functioning.
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A summary of peer-reviewed research on the relationship between physical activity and academicperformance among children and teens yields the following insights:
Sacrificing physical education for classroom time does not improve academicperformance.
Many school systems have downsized or eliminated physical education under the assumption that moreclassroom instructional time will improve academic performance and increase standardized test scores.
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To date, five controlled experimental studies – in the United States, Canada, and Australia – haveevaluated the effects on academic performance of allocating additional instructional time for physicaleducation. All five studies clearly demonstrate that physical activity does not need to be sacrificed foracademic excellence.A study conducted in 2006 with 214 sixth-grade students in Michigan found that students enrolled inphysical education had similar grades and standardized test scores as students who were not enrolled inphysical education, despite receiving 55 minutes less of daily classroom instruction time for academicsubjects.
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In 1999, researchers analyzed data from 759 fourth- and fifth-graders in California and found thatstudents’ scores on standardized achievement tests were not adversely affected by an intensive physicaleducation program that doubled or tripled physical education time. On several test scores, students withenhanced physical education performed at a higher level than students in control groups.
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In 2007, 287 fourth- and fifth-grade students in British Columbia were evaluated to determine ifintroducing daily classroom physical activity sessions affected their academic performance.
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Students inthe intervention group participated in daily 10-minute classroom activity sessions led by their academicclassroom instructors in addition to their regularly schedule 80-minute physical education class. Despiteincreasing in-school physical activity time by approximately 50 minutes per week, students receiving theextra physical activity time had similar standardized test scores for mathematics, reading, and languagearts as did students in the control group.
Kids who are more physically active tend to perform better academically.
Fourteen published studies analyzing data from approximately 58,000 students between 1967 and 2006have investigated the link between overall participation in physical activity and academic performance.Eleven of those studies found that regular participation in physical activity is associated with improvedacademic performance.A national study conducted in 2006 analyzed data collected from 11,957 adolescents across the U.S. toexamine the relationship between physical activity and academic performance. Adolescents whoreported either participating in school activities, such as physical education, intramurals, and team sports,or playing sports with their parents, were 20% more likely than their sedentary peers to earn an “A” inmath or English.
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Activity breaks can improve cognitive performance and classroom behavior.
According to five studies involving elementary students, regular physical activity breaks during the schoolday may enhance academic performance. Introducing physical activity has been shown to improvecognitive performance and promote on-task classroom behavior.
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Cognitive and behavioral responses tophysical activity breaks during the school day have not been systematically studied among middle or highschool students.Researchers in Georgia studied the effects of an activity break on classroom behavior in a sample of 43fourth-grade students in 2008. Students exhibited significantly more on-task classroom behavior andsignificantly less fidgeting on days with a scheduled activity break than on non-activity break days.
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