Transcript Supersizing Physical Activity May Boost Academic Performance ABSTRACT The impetus for the current study, came from prior work conducted in a set.

Supersizing Physical Activity May Boost Academic Performance
ABSTRACT
The impetus for the current study, came from prior work conducted in a set of schools
nationwide. In early 1990 a longitudinal study was conducted in schools across
California, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas. This program implemented a PE program
(Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health, CATCH PE), a food service
program, cardiovascular health classroom curricula changes, a tobacco curriculum and a
family/home component. The CATCH PE component specifically provided curriculum
and materials, professional development (in-service) sessions, and on-site consultations
with teachers in physical education classes. California’s Department of Education (CDE)
released some key findings concluding that higher achievement is associated with higher
levels of fitness. For example, results indicated that students who met minimum fitness
levels in three or more physical fitness areas showed the greatest gains in academic
achievement (CDE, 2004). This evidence has mandated 200 minutes of physical
education for grades one through six and 400 minutes for grades seven through twelve
every 10 school days.
Recently an intervention program, Educating Healthy Kids Project, was conducted in
Appleton, Wisconsin, based on the CATCH PE studies. This program also incorporated
new PE testing, a food program, and a nutrition component. For the most part, this
program hoped to make students healthier increasing the amount and quality of physical
activity and nutrition education. The current study uses a portion of data collected in this
study. We hypothesized that children with higher physical fitness scores would also have
higher standardize test scores.
Science
Math
Read
0.35
0.3
Measures: Two measures were used in this study: the state standardized tests and the
Fitnessgram. The Fitnessgram measures student’s physical activity based on health
standards rather than national norms. It is made up of five components including
cardiovascular (mile run, pacer), muscular strength (pull ups, push ups, curl ups), muscular
endurance (flexed arm hang, push ups, curl ups), flexibility (trunk lift, sit & reach, shoulder
stretch, and body composition (body mass index). From these five components the tests that
were used initialed curl-ups, pacer, BMI, push-ups, and trunk lift. Table 1 contains the
explanations of each of the tests used.
0.25
0.2
Procedures: Data was collected over the years of 1996-2004 but because of missing data,
aggregated data, and technical difficulties only a portion of the data were usable. The data
that we did use were the third and fifth grade physical education FITNESSGRAM scores
from years 2002-2003 and their corresponding standardized test data from either a year
before their FITNESSGRAM scores or a year after. In other words we matched third
grader’s FITNESSGRAM scores with their corresponding fourth grade standardize test
scores and fifth grade FITNESSGRAM scores with their previous fourth grade standardize
test scores.
0.15
0.1
0.05
lif
t
un
k
Tr
Pu
sh
-
BM
ce
r
I
up
s
0
RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Table 1: FITNESSGRAM
Curl-ups –For the curl-up test, the students complete
as many curl-ups as they can at a specified pace
(maximum 75). The curl-up has been selected because
it does not involve the assistance of the hip flexor
muscles and minimizes compression in the spine,
when compared to a full sit-up with the feet held.
Total Test Scores
Research has suggested that children who are more physically fit perform better
academically (Dwyer, Sallis, Blizzard, Lazarus, & Dean, 2001). Given the poor health of
many sections of the upper Midwest, we were interested in assessing a school in this
region to see if there were any correlation between physical fitness scores and
standardized test scores. These results could lead us to improved physical education and
get our children educated about the importance of nutrition and physical education.
0.4
Pa
The Surgeon General reports that children are increasingly becoming at risk for health
diseases because of the lack of good nutrition and physical education (1999). Therefore,
we need to start addressing this problem more aggressively. Since children spend most of
their time in school, school is an excellent place to start tackling the poor nutrition
problems and the lack of physical education. This study was conducted to inform people
about the importance of physical activity and education for students in the upper
Midwest. We hope to encourage increased levels of physical education and better
nutrition in many of the schools across Wisconsin, and consequently nationwide.
Participants: The present analyses used 132 third and fifth grade students from Johnston
Elementary school, in Appleton, Wisconsin (58% male, 42% female).
C
ur
l-u
ps
INTRODUCTION
Graph 2: Correlating Individual Exam and Fitness Scores
Exam Scores
This project assessed the importance of physical activity and
its association with academic performance. In the last
number of years physical education in schools has become
less of aINTRODUCTION
priority. However, obesity has recently become a
large problem in adults and children. Obesity is causing very
severe health risks in our youth, especially for Type II
diabetes. Does poorer health also hurt academic
achievement? Past research has indicated that healthier
children perform better academically. We hypnotized that
those children who preformed better on physical education
tests would perform better on standardized academic tests.
We used portions of a multiyear Educating Healthy Kids
study conducted in Appleton, Wisconsin, to test this
hypothesis. Physical fitness, measured using the
FITNESSGRAM, significantly correlated to some
standardized test scores.
METHOD
Trunk Lift—Students lie prone (face down) with their
hands under their thighs. The student lifts the upper
body off the floor in a slow, controlled movement to a
maximum of 12 inches.
Pacer—The Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular
Endurance Run is a multistage fitness test adapted
from the 20 meter shuttle run test. The test is
progressive; it is easy at the beginning and gets harder
each stage. Set to music, this test is a valid, fun
alternative to the customary distance run test for
measuring aerobic capacity. The PACER is
recommended for all ages.
Push-ups—The push-up to an elbow angle of 90
degrees is the recommended test for upper body
strength and endurance. The PACER test CD contains
a recorded cadence of 20 push-ups per minute (1 pushup every 3 seconds). The tests ends if a student: 1stops to rest; 2-does not achieve a 90 degree angle
with elbows on each rep; 3-does not maintain correct
body position; 4-does not extend arms fully.
Graph 1: Correlation of Total Exam and
Fitness Scores
The state standardized tests scores included both a) a total score and b) individual
scores for Math, Science, Reading, Language Arts, and Social Studies. In
addition, we created a total fitness score by combining each of the fitness scales
of the FITNESSGRAM (pacer, curl-ups, BMI, trunk lift, and push-ups). Total
fitness scores were significantly correlated with total standardized test scores, p <
.001. (See Graph 1)
20
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
We also correlated each of the individual standardized test scores (Math, Science,
Reading, Language Arts, and Social Studies) with each of the individual
FITNESSGRAM scores (curl-ups, pacer, BMI, push-ups, and trunk lift) and
found many significant correlations. (See Graph 2) The subcategories that
revealed the most significant correlations were curl-ups with a significance value
of p < .01 for all academic categories, and the pacer with significant values at
three of the academic categories (Math, Reading, and Social Studies).
Total Fitness Scores
No sex differences were found in fitness and academic scores or between
academics and fitness within sex. These results reveal that fitness and academic
achievement are positively related. However, we realize that there are many
things can cause both good physical activity and academics. The most
predominantly known is social economical status (SES). Further analyses of the
longitudinal data will allow us to draw of causal conclusions. The current data
support CATCH results and urge a greater focus on physical fitness in schools and
its potential links to academic achievement.
Tara Schuessler1, Regan A. R. Gurung1, & Mikki Duran2
University of Wisconsin, Green Bay1 & Appleton School District2
Presented at the 2005 American Psychological Society’s Annual Conference. Los Angeles, CA. Email [email protected] for a copy.