Physical activity plays a big role in the transition to adulthood. Schools keep kids active through Physical Education (PE), which gives them more energy, helps improve concentration, and supports healthy interaction. There's more structure to PE than most people realize.

Physical Education can provide benefits in three main areas: Physical health, Academic Performance and Psycho / Social interaction. Childhood physical activity and fitness patterns often persist into adulthood. Physically active people need (and make) fewer visits to physicians, have lower hospital usage, and require less medical attention overall than less active individuals. To the extent that PE courses help students develop habits of physical activity, they contribute to a healthier life and a less costly American population.

Does your school provide kids enough PE time?

Here are the state requirements:

• Elementary grades 1-6, minimum of 200 minutes each ten days
• Secondary grades 7-12, minimum of 400 minutes each ten days
• Elementary school districts grades 1-8, minimum of 200 minutes each ten days

The intent of these Education Code policies is to make daily physical education available in all grade levels and to require the equivalent of two years of physical education in high school.

Across the U.S. few schools offer daily PE classes (From Active Living Research Fall 2007 Research Brief, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.)

Active Living Research is a national program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which supports research to examine how environments and policies influence active living for children. According to their research, academic performance does not improve when physical education is sacrificed for classroom time. On the contrary, students who spent more time in school-based physical activity either maintained or improved their grades. Their scores on standardized achievement tests also improved, even though they received less classroom instructional time than students in control groups.

From Active Living Research Fall 2007 Research Brief, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

In the following short clip John Ratey, author of the popular book Spark describes research suggesting that cardiovascular fitness improves mental fitness:

Physical activity plays an important role in mental health, too -- reducing anxiety, depression and tension.

Sports and Recess

Organized, competitive sports are not offered by all schools, and budget pressures have caused an unknown number of schools to drop their sports programs. This is a loss. In an article on the subject, education journalist Jay Mathews features a study by Mathematica Policy Research that shows "although math had the biggest impact of any skill on later earnings, playing sports and having a leadership role in high school also were significant factors."

'...although math had the biggest impact of any skill on later earnings, playing sports and having a leadership role in high school also were significant factors.'

To make better use of the school day and mitigate the chaos of recess times, some schools have opted to add structure to recess. For example, Playworks.org is a national non-profit organization that offers a structured recess program.

The Institute of Medicine serves as an adviser on health issues to the National Academy of Sciences. In a 2013 brief, the Institute recommends both state and local policies to integrate physical activity into school programs.

Presidential Fitness

In 1966, schools throughout the United States were required to identify their fittest students through the Presidential Physical Fitness Award, a series of physical tests of strength, endurance and flexibility. The program was dropped in 2012.

Students in grades 5, 7 and 9 are required to take a Physical Fitness Test (PFT) known as FITNESSGRAM, which is based on standards defined by the Cooper Institute. Yes, pull-ups are still part of the test, but there's no longer an award at stake — it's oriented toward health rather than shame or pride. The California State Department of Education collects data on the administration of the PFT.

Quality Counts

Of course, not all PE programs are automatically good PE programs. In 2018 a provocative study examined the unintended negative effects of a middle-school PE program in Texas. It found evidence of increased disciplinary incidents and reduced attendance. It makes some sense. About one out of five students report being bullied once per week or more, and the playground is a classic location for conflict to erupt. If they feel uncomfortable or unsafe, some students stay home.

Next Steps

The National Institute of Health and the PTA provide strategies to encourage physical activity.

Updated December 2024