Physical Education and Academic Achievement in Elementary School: Data From the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study
Open accessAbstract
Objectives. We examined the association between time spent in physical education and academic achievement in a longitudinal study of students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Methods. We used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998 to 1999, which employed a multistage probability design to select a nationally representative sample of students in kindergarten (analytic sample = 5316). Time spent in physical education (minutes per week) was collected from classroom teachers, and academic achievement (mathematics and reading) was scored on an item response theory scale. Results. A small but significant benefit for academic achievement in mathematics and reading was observed for girls enrolled in higher amounts (70–300 minutes per week) of physical education (referent: 0–35 minutes per week). Higher amounts of physical education were not positively or negatively associated with academic achievement among boys. Conclusions. Among girls, higher amounts of physical education may be associated with an academic benefit. Physical education did not appear to negatively affect academic achievement in elementary school students. Concerns about adverse effects on achievement may not be legitimate reasons to limit physical education programs.
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Most existing studies found no significant gender difference in the positive effect of physical activity on academic achievement [13], or that girls' academic achievement income in physical activity is significantly higher than that of boys [12,46].
“Most of the existing studies found that there is no significant gender difference in the positive effect of physical activity on academic achievement [13], or that girls’ academic achievement income in physical activity is significantly higher than that of boys [12,46].”
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ResultA Longitudinal Examination of the Link Between Youth Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement
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“Using the same data but focusing on physical education rather than BMI, Carlson et al. (2008) showed that more physical education offered a small benefit to achievement, but also primarily for girls.”
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“Although some previous studies have reported sex differences in obesity (20), physical activity (32, 33), and fitness (34) in association with academic achievement, in this study the direction and magnitude of the associations were similar for boys and girls.”
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“First, a comprehensive review,(7) although supportive of PE in general, could only conclude that allocating time to PE did not hinder classroom-based learning, a finding supported by a subsequent study incorporating a very large sample size.(8) Second, researchers conducting a metaanalysis found little evidence to sup…”
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“…an important site for increased physical activity (Tomporowski et al. 2011); yet, despite substantial evidence to the contrary (Ahamed et al. 2007; Carlson et al. 2008; Murray et al. 2007; Rasberry et al. 2011; Sallis et al. 1999; Trudeau and Shephard 2008, 2010), the belief that increasing time…”
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VII. The history of physical activity and academic performance research: informing the future
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“This view is counterproductive, as recent evidence suggests that higher amounts of physical education may be associated with an academic benefit (Carlson et al., 2008).”
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“In addition, there are also numerous other benefits of physical activity on children’s psychological development [3-5], lifestyle development [6-8], social development [9,10] and cognitive development [11-13].”
BackgroundDonnelly, J. E., Greene, J. L., Gibson, C., Sullivan, D. K., Hansen, D. M., Hillman, C. H., Poggio, J. P., Mayo, M. S., SMITH, B. K., Lambourne, K., et al. (2013) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-307 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
“However, results from the few available prospective studies on this topic are mixed [3-6].”
BackgroundPellicer-Chenoll, M., García‐Massó, X., Morales, J., Serra‐Añó, P., Solana–Tramunt, M., González, L.-M., & Toca-Herrera, J. L. (2015) · Health Education Research · doi:10.1093/her/cyv016 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Influence of a physical education plan on psychomotor development profiles of preschool children
Costa, H. J. T., Abelairas‐Gómez, C., Arufe-Giráldez, V., Couto, J. M. P., & Barcala‐Furelos, R. (2015) · Journal of Human Sport and Exercise · doi:10.14198/jhse.2015.101.11 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
“The studies of Carlson et al. (2008), Dexter (1999) and Tremarche et al. (2007) examined relations between physical education and academic achievement and found positive outcomes.”
BackgroundHunt, P. C., Barrios, L. C., Telljohann, S. K., & Mazyck, D. (2015) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/josh.12305 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Frick, A., & Möhring, W. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02049 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
“Other research (Carlson et al., 2008) found that the number of hours of physical education per week was associated with higher mathematics performance in female (but not male) kindergarteners and first-graders.”
BackgroundReed, J. A., Maslow, A. L., Long, S., & Hughey, M. (2013) · Journal of Physical Activity and Health · doi:10.1123/jpah.10.2.185 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Linear/Nonlinear Relations of Activity and Fitness with Children’s Academic Achievement
Hansen, D. M., Herrmann, S. D., Lambourne, K., Lee, J., & Donnelly, J. E. (2014) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/mss.0000000000000362 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
“In general, published research indicates a positive, or at worst, a null association of PA and aerobic fitness with AA (1,5,9,10).”
BackgroundMcIsaac, J. D., Kirk, S., & Kuhle, S. (2015) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph121114857 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
“Research measuring physical fitness has also demonstrated a linkage with school performance [11,20,21] with aerobic exercises appearing to yield the largest impact on children’s cognitive outcomes [11,21].”
BackgroundOkano, L., Jeon, L., Crandall, A., Powell, T. W., & Riley, A. G. (2019) · Prevention Science · doi:10.1007/s11121-019-01055-9 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL FITNESS AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SOUTH AFRICAN CHILDREN
Toit, D. D., Pienaar, A. E., & Truter, L. (2011) · Boloka Institutional Repository (North-west University) · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Morningness‐eveningness and physical activity in adolescents
Schaal, S., Peter, M., & Randler, C. (2010) · International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1080/1612197x.2010.9671939 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
“Also, cognitive performance and development is associated with regular physical activity (Bjorklund & Brown, 1998; Carlson et al., 2008; Diamond, 2000; Draganski & Glaser, 2004; Graf et al., 2003; Kidd, 1999; Minton, 2003; Olds, 1994; Sallis, 1997; Sallis et al., 1999, Van Boxtel et al., 1997) and there is ample evide…”
BackgroundAmis, J., Wright, P. M., Dyson, B. P., Vardaman, J. M., & Ferry, H. (2012) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2011.300414 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Pagani, L. S., & Fitzpatrick, C. (2013) · Health Education & Behavior · doi:10.1177/1090198113478818 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
“Parents reported the frequency with which children consumed the following during a regular week (Carlson et al., 2008; Nelson, 2007): soft drinks; sweet snacks (with high sugar content); fruits and vegetables; and dairy products.”
BackgroundAn international systematic literature review of test anxiety interventions 2011–2018
Soares, D., & Woods, K. (2020) · Pastoral Care in Education · doi:10.1080/02643944.2020.1725909 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Garcia, D., Jimmefors, A., Mousavi, F., Adrianson, L., Rosenberg, P., & Archer, T. (2015) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.847 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
The effect of stand-biased desks on academic engagement: an exploratory study
Dornhecker, M., Blake, J. J., Benden, M. E., Zhao, H., & Wendel, M. L. (2015) · International Journal of Health Promotion and Education · doi:10.1080/14635240.2015.1029641 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
“…academic time as a result of greater involvement in PE classes and activities, numerous studies have investigated the positive effects of physical activity involvement on academic achievement and classroom behavior (Carlson et al. 2008; Coe et al. 2006; Nicholson et al. 2011; Sallis et al. 1999).”
BackgroundExercise Improves Academic Performance
Cappelen, A. W., Charness, G., Ekström, M., Uri Gneezy, B., & Tungodden, B. (2025) · Journal of Political Economy · doi:10.1086/738251 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Fletcher, T., & Mandigo, J. (2012) · Irish Educational Studies · doi:10.1080/03323315.2012.710063 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
“For example, when children engage in physical activity it can actually increase their academic achievement (Carlson et al., 2008).”
BackgroundRecess, physical education, and elementary school student outcomes
Dills, A. K., Morgan, H. N., & Rotthoff, K. W. (2011) · Economics of Education Review · doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2011.04.011 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Aerobic Fitness Thresholds Associated with Fifth Grade Academic Achievement
Wittberg, R. A., Cottrell, L., Davis, C. L., & Northrup, K. L. (2010) · American Journal of Health Education · doi:10.1080/19325037.2010.10599155 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Physically Active Play and Cognition An Academic Matter
Sattelmair, J. R., & Ratey, J. J. (2009) · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Lai, H., Wu, D., Lee, P., & Jhang, Y. (2018) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/josh.12615 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Stand der Forschung zum Zusammenhang von Gesundheit und Bildung
Dadaczynski, K. (2012) · Zeitschrift für Gesundheitspsychologie · doi:10.1026/0943-8149/a000072 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Fredriksen, P. M., Hjelle, O. P., Mamen, A., Meza, T. J., & Westerberg, A. C. (2017) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4282-z · Cited by 49 · see citing works
“[8] had a cross-sectional design [56–65], few were interventional studies [18, 66–68], and a only two had a longitudinal design [18, 59].”
BackgroundThe Effects of Maximal Intensity Exercise on Cognitive Performance in Children
Samuel, R. D., Zavdy, O., Levav, M., Reuveny, R., Katz, U., & Dubnov‐Raz, G. (2017) · Journal of Human Kinetics · doi:10.1515/hukin-2017-0050 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
“A number of observational studies in children have shown a positive correlation between PA, or physical fitness, and academic achievements (Carlson et al., 2008; Singh et al., 2012; Tomporowski, 2003; Tomporowski et al., 2008).”
BackgroundPhysical Activity and Cognition: Inseparable in the Classroom
Doherty, A., & Miravalles, A. F. I. (2019) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2019.00105 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Fenesi, B., Lucibello, K., Kim, J. A., & Heisz, J. J. (2018) · Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2018.01.012 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Zhang, J., Seo, D., Kolbe, L. J., Middlestadt, S. E., & Zhao, W. (2011) · International Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12529-011-9177-2 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
“emerging body of evidence which suggests that physical activity does not appear to negatively affect academic performance and that evidence also indicates associations between physical activity and reduced incidence of depression, anxiety, and fatigue [36, 37].”
BackgroundPadulo, J., Bragazzi, N. L., Giorgio, A. D., Grgantov, Z., Prato, S., & Ardigò, L. P. (2019) · Frontiers in Physiology · doi:10.3389/fphys.2019.00202 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Girls on the Run: A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of a Developmentally Focused Youth Sport Program
Gabriel, K. K. P., DeBate, R. D., High, R., & Racine, E. F. (2011) · Journal of Physical Activity and Health · doi:10.1123/jpah.8.s2.s285 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Kirk, S. M., & Kirk, E. P. (2016) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/josh.12363 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Costa, H. J. T., Barcala‐Furelos, R., Abelairas‐Gómez, C., & Arufe-Giráldez, V. (2015) · Australasian Journal of Early Childhood · doi:10.1177/183693911504000209 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
“The studies of Carlson et al. (2008), Dexter (1999) and Tremarche, Robinson and Graham (2007) examined associations between physical education and academic achievement and found positive results.”
BackgroundAlghadir, A., Gabr, S., & Iqbal, Z. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17114143 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
“Some of them show positive effects in girls [78] while others in boys [79].”
BackgroundPreparing Educators to Promote and Provide Physical Activity in Schools
Castelli, D. M., Centeio, E. E., & Nicksic, H. M. (2013) · American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine · doi:10.1177/1559827613490488 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
“However, some have argued that student achievement is not simply associated with increased teacher quality but also associated with health status,(11) physical fitness,(12-14) physical activity,(15-17) and healthy body weight.(18) A robust body of literature has causally linked these behaviors and traits to cognitive…”
BackgroundShoval, E., Sharir, T., Arnon, M., & Tenenbaum, G. (2017) · Early Childhood Education Journal · doi:10.1007/s10643-017-0870-x · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Correlates of Children and Parents Being Physically Active Together
Lee, S. M., Nihiser, A. J., Strouse, D. L., Das, B., Michael, S., & Huhman, M. E. (2010) · Journal of Physical Activity and Health · doi:10.1123/jpah.7.6.776 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Self-citationPhysical activity levels during Dutch primary and secondary school physical education
Singerland, M., Oomen, J., & Borghouts, L. B. (2011) · European Journal of Sport Science · doi:10.1080/17461391.2010.506661 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
“Increased PE time has even been found to yield higher academic achievement (Carlson et al, 2008 , Sibley & Etnier, 2003 ).”
BackgroundDudley, D., & Burden, R. (2020) · European Physical Education Review · doi:10.1177/1356336x19830113 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
“Of the six studies whose quality was assessed by using the methodological quality assessment items adapted from van Slujis et al (2007), only three of the six papers met five or more of the assessment criteria (Ardoy et al., 2014; Carlson et al., 2008; Reed et al., 2013).”
BackgroundMethodPhysically active Chilean school kids perform better in language and mathematics
Correa‐Burrows, P., Burrows, R. A., Ibaceta, C. V., Orellana, Y. Z., & Ivanovic, D. M. (2014) · Health Promotion International · doi:10.1093/heapro/dau010 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“Differentials among males were insignificant (Carlson et al., 2008).”
BackgroundChildhood Markers of Health Behavior Relate to Hippocampal Health, Memory, and Academic Performance
Hassevoort, K. M., Khan, N. A., Hillman, C. H., & Cohen, N. J. (2016) · Mind Brain and Education · doi:10.1111/mbe.12108 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Nauzeer, S., & Jaunky, V. C. (2021) · Pedagogical Research · doi:10.29333/pr/10963 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Travlos, A. K. (2010) · International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1080/1612197x.2010.9671955 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
“While the results of early studies were equivocal, recent studies indicated that increased physical activity during the daily school program does not detract from classroom behaviors and may actually be associated with better academic performance (Carlson et al., 2008; Coe, Pivarnik, Womack, Reeves, & Malina, 2006; Sh…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialPhysical education and academic achievement—literature review 1997–2015
Zach, S., Shoval, E., & Lidor, R. (2017) · Journal of Curriculum Studies · doi:10.1080/00220272.2016.1234649 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“Carlson et al. (2008) carried out a longitudinal investigation in which the participants were selected as a representative sample of the national school population in the US.”
BackgroundFamily trip and academic achievement in early childhood
Park, S. Y., Pan, B., & Ahn, J. B. (2019) · Annals of Tourism Research · doi:10.1016/j.annals.2019.102795 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
The effects of physical education on student fitness, achievement, and behavior
Packham, A., & Street, B. (2019) · Economics of Education Review · doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.04.003 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
“2 Moreover, studies evaluating increases school PE time appear to offer some affirmation that such programs can improve student outcomes (Carlson et al., 2008; Tremarche, Robinson, & Graham, 2007).(3) That being said, one concern is that increasing PE requirements takes away important instructional time, which could l…”
BackgroundInfluentialSahrakhiz, S., Harring, M., & Witte, M. D. (2017) · Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning · doi:10.1080/14729679.2017.1413404 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
“Additionally, physical movement in the school context is believed to have positive effects on the children’s concentration, ability and academic performance (Carlson et al., 2008; Shephard, 1997).”
BackgroundAn exploration of life skill development through sport in three international high schools
Hayden, L. A., Whitley, M. A., Cook, A. L., Dumais, A., Silva, M., & Scherer, A. (2015) · Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health · doi:10.1080/2159676x.2015.1011217 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
“Positive correlations have been reported between youth engaging in school-based physical activity and academic achievement (e.g. Castelli et al. 2007, Carlson et al. 2008, Santiago et al. 2013).”
BackgroundMarques, A., Gómez, F., Martins, J., Catunda, R., & Sarmento, H. (2017) · Retos · doi:10.47197/retos.v0i31.53509 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
“These results of cross-sectional studies are reinforced by the results of the longitudinal (Carlson et al., 2008) and intervention (Ardoy et al., 2014) studies, in which the increasing number and intensity of physical education sessions per week had a positive effect on academic performance.”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialLGBTQ Youths' School Athletic Experiences: A 40-Year Content Analysis in Nine Flagship Journals
Greenspan, S. B., Griffith, C., & Murtagh, E. F. (2017) · Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling · doi:10.1080/15538605.2017.1346492 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“Secondly, students that engage in physical activity generally demonstrate greater social skills, academic scores, and mental health (Carlson et al., 2008; Craft, 2012; Harrison & Narayan, 2003; Penedo&Dahn, 2005).However, based onGLSEN’s (2013) andGuasp’s (2012) reports, students identifying as LGBTQ may not receive s…”
BackgroundLiao, P., Chang, H., Wang, J., & Wu, M. (2013) · Health Education Research · doi:10.1093/her/cyt041 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“The stronger relationship between physical fitness and academic performance for female students is consistent with some previous studies [12, 18, 33].”
ResultOliveira, T., Pizarro, A. I. N., Costa, M., Fernandes, L. M., Silva, G., Mota, J. A. P. S., & Ribeiro, J. C. (2017) · Annals of Human Biology · doi:10.1080/03014460.2017.1308010 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“However, some associations are not yet clearly established in children and due to the methodology used, mostly questionnaires, the research results are inconsistent (Ahamed et al., 2007; Carlson et al., 2008; Coe et al., 2006; Howie & Pate, 2012; Sibley & Etnier, 2003).”
Result
- Authors
- Carlson, S. A., Fulton, J. E., Lee, S. M., Maynard, L. M., Brown, D. R., Kohl, H. W., & Dietz, W. H.
- Affiliations
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)
- Venue
- American Journal of Public Health
- Publisher
- American Public Health Association
- Published
- 2008-04
- Volume
- 98
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 721-727
- ISSN
- 0090-0036 (ISSN-L)
- 1541-0048
- PMC
- PMC2377002
- OpenAlex
- W2157033737
- Cited by
- 368
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 29 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 33 · 2014: 36 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 23
- FWCI
- 59.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- American Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Physical Education and Pedagogy
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Speech and Hearing › School Health and Nursing Education
- Keywords
- physical education, academic performance, elementary school students, mathematics achievement, reading achievement, sex differences, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study
- MeSH terms
- Child, Child Welfare, Child, Preschool, Educational Measurement, Female, Humans, Learning, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Mathematics, Motor Activity, Physical Education and Training, Reading, Schools, Sex Factors, Time Factors, Health Behavior, Exercise, Confidence Intervals, Linear Models
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