The nation's physical education landscape: A survey of facts and figures

Melpomene Journal, Fall-Winter, 2002 by Aubrey Borland

"Every student in our nation's schools, from kindergarten through grade 12, should have the opportunity to participate in quality physical education. It is the unique role of quality physical education programs to develop the health-related fitness, physical competence and cognitive understanding about physical activity for all students so that students can adopt healthy and physically active lifestyles." (1)

This statement from the Physical Education for Progress Act of 2001 (PEP) appears to be a clear vote of support by the federal government for school-based physical education. One might then question why the majority of our nation's kids seem to be suffering from a significant lack of physical activity or health education. According to the National Association for Sport and Physical Activity (NASPE), 10-15 percent of children and teens are overweight, and fewer than one in four children get 20 minutes of physical activity three or more times per week. (2) One answer is, although the federal government has been encouraging states to adopt physical education standards for at least 15 years, no federal law actually exists to require state education boards to follow through on these guidelines. States may set broad guidelines, but the decision as to where, when and how much is left up to school districts and individual schools.

Recommended national guidelines for phy ed are 150 minutes a week in elementary schools and 225 minutes a week in secondary school. (3) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) reported in 2000 that 84 percent of elementary schools, 77.4 percent of middle and junior high schools, and 79.5 percent of senior high schools follow national or state phy ed requirements. (4) Based on this data, the state of phy ed in the US does not seem so bad. But when you look at schools that require daily phy ed for the entire school year, only 8 percent of elementary, 6.4 percent of middle/junior high, and 5.8 percent of senior high schools report such high standards. Furthermore, even if phy ed is required, 80 percent of states reported that they allow teacher to student ratios of at least 1:30. (5)

Battling budget constraints

However, blaming schools and school districts is too simple. Many public schools are already battling budget constraints, lack of staff (including a lack of certified phy ed teachers); overcrowded classrooms; lack of facilities, space and equipment; and lack of time. All of these issues have forced school boards and administrations to cut non-core classes, such as art, electives and phy ed. In addition to these constraints, new federal education standards (6) have forced schools to focus all of their resources on improving standardized test scores, leaving even less time and money to overhaul phy ed. Test results are publicly reported and, according to federal law, "If the district or school continually fails to make adequate progress towards the standards, they will be held accountable." (7) Thus, content areas that are not tested have become lower priorities.

Because standards are state-specific, data comparison is difficult. Based on a 1957 law, Illinois is the only state in the nation to require daily phy ed classes in grades K-12 but, since 1995, schools can apply for exemption waivers, if they even get that far. The Illinois Physical Activity Coalition for Kids found that 60 percent of elementary schools only taught phy ed one or two days/week, and 87 percent of them did so without a waiver. (8) Alabama public schools require daily phy ed for grades K-8. (9) The Texas Board of Education recently voted to include phy ed at the elementary level at a minimum of 135 minutes a week, reversing a 1995 decision to phase it out of the curriculum completely in order to give schools more time to focus on academics. However, they noted that schools without the funds to hire properly trained phy ed teachers will have to rely on current staff members to cover the new phy ed classes. (10) Delaware, Illinois, Michigan and Missouri are the only states that require certified ph y ed instructors at the elementary level. South Dakota and Colorado are the only states with no phy ed requirements or guidelines at all, leaving the decision of how much, if at all, up to each district. (11)

Some school districts are doing their best to generate change. Schools are now seeking additional funding, and forming partnerships and coalitions with hospitals, public health departments, colleges and community organizations to run physical activity programs in their schools. Successful programs are moving away from traditional phy ed, where team sports reign and kids stand in line to play. Newer programs are shifting the focus to more lifestyle-appropriate pursuits, such as yoga, rock-climbing, martial arts, cycling, triathlon training and dance. For example, target schools in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Charlotte, Detroit, Minneapolis, San Antonio, Seattle, Los Angeles and Philadelphia have all adopted the "Step With It" program for middle school students sponsored by Coke and NASPE. (12)