Physical Activity Can Improve Scores

Middle School Recess & PE Time Increases Achievement

Mar 7, 2009

Many administrators have cut recess and PE time to get in more study time. However, studies have shown that less recess and physical activity may actually hurt scores.

Recess is not just for elementary students. Middle school students need it too. Most parents know that their children need to blow off steam so that they can focus later. However, school districts are under heavy pressure to pass tests. More study time instead of a recess seems like the answer to higher test scores; however, the opposite is true.

Study Shows Higher Test Scores with More Physical Activity

Researchers found in a study of fourth through eighth graders that "the odds of passing both the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, MCAS, Mathematics test and the MCAS English test increased as the number of fitness tests passed increased ." The researchers reported their findings in the Journal of School Health in the research article "Is There a Relationship Between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement? Positive Results From Public School Children in the Northeastern United States" [December 19, 2008].

The conclusion that student attention was generally higher in students who were active rather than sedentary led the authors to urge schools to increase physical activity as a part of the school day.

Keep Recess in the School Day

Researchers are not the only ones who have figured out that physical activity is important to student success. Cartoon Network started its Get Animated campaign to get kids moving instead of sitting. In addition, Cartoon Network also supports Rescuing Recess, a campaign to keep recess an important part of the school day.

National Recess Week

Cartoon Network's efforts have grown. It, along with the National Basketball Association Cares, Wade's World Foundation, the National Association of Elementary School Principal, the Center for Disease Control and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education are sponsoring National Recess Week, which is March 2-6 in 2009. Schools can register at the Cartoon Network website to win money.

Dwayne Wade, NBA star and partner with National Recess Week and Rescuing Recess, says that recess is a good way to be active and fit. He believes that recess allows students to "re-energize" to do better in school in the article "Dwyane Wade, NBA Team Up With Cartoon Network" on the NBA website [September 24, 2007].

It is time to bring back recess and more P E. The No Child Left Behind Act has made many middle school administrators focus only on the tests, which has caused many children all over the nation to lose recess and PE time. However, they may have caused more harm than good.

The copyright of the article Physical Activity Can Improve Scores in Middle School Life is owned by Kellie Hayden. Permission to republish Physical Activity Can Improve Scores in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.