Elementary School Physical Education Policy and High Stakes Testing: A Childhood Obesity Study

Abstract

This two-way methods-based study explored the connection between childhood obesity rates and state health and physical education (PE) policy. Elementary school educators and administrators from the state of Maryland participated in a virtual interview, written survey, and focus group, offering their perspectives on the PE curriculum, childhood obesity, and how education legislation frames their work. Findings from this study illustrate that respondents agree that the PE curriculum will assist children in achieving recommended physical activity levels. However, respondents express PE class time is often usurped due to the prioritization of subjects represented on standardized testing. A content analysis utilizing strata from the SHAPE 2016 Shape of the Nation, and the Council of State Governments’ 2017 reports on state health and PE policy determined that states with required PE without a mandated minimum time duration and recess have the lowest average childhood obesity rates in comparison to six other policy groups: recess recommendations, states with general activity requirements, PE with a time requirement, states without activity or physical education requirements, and states with multiple policies. Additionally, selected datapoints from the 2021 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) were used to examine the relationships between proxy school wellness variables and childhood obesity. A multiple regression revealed that participation in physical activity had the strongest predictive relationship with state childhood obesity outcomes over: Food Insufficiency, Frequency of Days a Family Shares a Meal, and Free or Reduce-Priced School Meals. Making interventions that focus on children’s physical activity levels a viable approach to reducing childhood obesity rates.