Examining the Relationship Between Fitness Scores and Academic Achievement in Middle School Students

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2016-12

Department

Program

Masters of Education

Citation of Original Publication

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine a relationship between fitness scores in Physical Education class and academic achievement on statewide testing. The measurement tools were the Fitnessgram healthy fitness zone standards and the PARCC Language Arts and Mathematics assessment. The study used a casual comparative design to compare students PARCC scores based on their achievement of healthy fitness zones during fitness testing. Students in the higher achieving fitness group also scored higher on the PARCC assessments than those in the lower fitness group. Research in the area of physical activity and fitness levels in relation to academic achievement should continue to occur as schools around the country continue to cut Physical Education (PE) programs and cut back on the amount of time students are active in PE class.