Breaking News: High Schools Surpass Elusive Goal for Physical Education Minutes per Week!

Abstract

There are many excellent high school physical educators who continue to make a good-faith effort to provide their students with very good physical education experiences. But high school physical education programs in part have been hijacked by interscholastic athletics. For well over two decades now, experts have argued how school physical education should be a central player in improving the nation's public health (including strength development). This implies a focus on all students, not just the athletes. Moreover, the 2016 United States Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth gave schools a D+, in part because over 50 percent of the high school students reported participating in only one physical education class in the previous week — despite the national recommendations for daily physical education. Reducing the inequities because of athletic mission creep would be one way of improving this grade in the future. It is time for strength development and sport programs to return to their rightful “extracurricular” place in schools — that is, outside of regular school hours. It is time to eliminate the systemic athletic inequity that has crept into U.S. high schools.