Dive Brief:
- The DC Healthy Schools Act requires elementary schools to give students 150 minutes of physical education per week at the elementary level and 225 minutes per week in middle school.
- The Washington Post reports, however, that the ambitious P.E. requirements — approved in 2010 — haven’t been implemented in most schools, and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education says only 10 of more than 200 public schools are in compliance.
- The current physical education standards represent a 400% increase in P.E. time over the prior requirements, and middle schools, especially, have fallen far short, with advocates of the need to get kids active saying it is a question of priorities.
Dive Insight:
The standardized testing focus of the No Child Left Behind era has been a major contributor to the decline in recess and physical education time nationwide. Budget crises have also forced schools to cut teachers and classes that are not mandatory, and physical education has, along with the arts, routinely been on the chopping block. While educators fear taking time away from tested subjects like math and reading might decrease performance, the fear may be unfounded.
Research has tied improved academic outcomes to physical activity and found that physical education does not have a negative impact on academics when it does take away from other subject time. Researchers have also found that students have improved concentration and memory with breaks for physical activity.