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PERMIT NO. G-17
Calories In, Calories Out: 

Food and Exercise in 

Public Elementary 

Schools, 2005

U.S. Department of Education 

NCES 2006–057 E.D. TAB 

May 2006

Basmat Parsad 

Laurie Lewis 

Westat 

Bernard Greene 

Project Officer 

National Center for 

Education Statistics 
U.S. Department of Education 

Margaret Spellings 

Secretary

Institute of Education Sciences 

Grover J. Whitehurst 

Director

National Center for Education Statistics 

Mark Schneider 

Commissioner

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, 

and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional 

mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in 

the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance 

of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and 

review and report on education activities in foreign countries. 

NCES activities are designed to address high priority education data needs; provide consistent, reliable, 

complete, and accurate indicators of education status and trends; and report timely, useful, and high 

quality data to the U.S. Department of Education, the Congress, the states, other education policymakers, 

practitioners, data users, and the general public. 

We strive to make our products available in a variety of formats and in language that is appropriate to a 

variety of audiences. You, as our customer, are the best judge of our success in communicating 

information effectively. If you have any comments or suggestions about this or any other NCES product 

or report, we would like to hear from you. Please direct your comments to: 

National Center for Education Statistics 

Institute of Education Sciences 

U.S. Department of Education 

1990 K Street NW 

Washington, DC 20006 

May 2006 

The NCES World Wide Web Home Page is http://nces.ed.gov.

The NCES World Wide Web Electronic Catalog is http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.

Suggested Citation 

Parsad, B., and Lewis, L. (2006). Calories In, Calories Out: Food and Exercise in Public Elementary 

Schools, 2005 (NCES 2006–057). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for 

Education Statistics. 

For ordering information on this report, write to 

U.S Department of Education 

ED Pubs 

P.O. Box 1398 

Jessup, MD 20794-1398 

or call toll free 1-877-4ED-PUBS or order online at http://www.edpubs.org. 

Content Contact 

Bernard Greene 

(202) 502-7348 

Bernard.Greene@ed.gov
iii 

Acknowledgments 

The authors wish to thank the many individuals who contributed to the development of the 

survey and this report. Bernard Greene was the NCES Project Officer. Westat’s Project Director was 

Laurie Lewis, and the survey manager was Basmat Parsad. Debbie Alexander directed the data collection 

efforts, assisted by Ratna Basavaraju and Anjali Pandit. Robert Delfierro and Alla Belenky were the 

programmers, Carol Litman was the editor, and Sylvie Warren was responsible for formatting the report. 

The NCES staff who reviewed the report and provided valuable suggestions include Bruce 

Taylor, Val Plisko, Kathryn Chandler, and Peter Tice. Reviewers outside of NCES were Joanne Guthrie 

of the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Monica Woods of the Office of 

Safe and Drug-Free Schools, U.S. Department of Education. This report was also reviewed by Monica 

Arntz, Kevin Bromer, Stephen Mistler, Pia Peltola, Mary Mclaughlin, Dan McGrath, Grace BoachieAnsah, Juliet Diehl, and Greg Kienzl of the Education Statistics Services Institute, American Institutes for 

Research. In addition, the report was reviewed by Sheryl Lazarus of the Institute of Education Sciences. 
iv 

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v 

Executive Summary 

The rate of obesity among school-age children has become a national concern, with the 

number of overweight children aged 6 to 11 more than tripling over the past three decades (U.S. 

Government Accountability Office 2005). One way to address this health issue in schools is to emphasize 

an “energy balance” approach—calories consumed versus calories expended—to support healthy eating 

and an active lifestyle. This report is based on a survey conducted by the National Center for Education 

Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. It presents 

current national information for public elementary schools on the availability of foods outside of full 

school meals, the opportunities for students to engage in physical activity, and the physical assessment of 

students. 

Availability of Foods Outside of Full School Meals 

Most public elementary schools (94 percent) offered foods for sale outside of full school 

meals, and of these schools, 36 percent reported that foods were sold to generate funds to support food 

service operations at the school or district (figure 2 and table 2). Schools with any cafeteria or lunchroom 

food services indicated whether each of 15 foods was offered for sale outside of full school meals. 

Schools also reported the availability of nine of the listed foods (i.e., nondairy beverages and snack foods) 

at vending machines and school stores or snack bars, and the times when foods were available. 

• Most public elementary schools (88 percent) offered at least one of the listed foods for 

sale outside of full school meals at one or more locations in the school, and 84 percent 

offered at least one of the foods in the cafeteria or lunchroom (figure 3 and table 3). The 

schools offered both healthy and less nutritious foods for sale outside of full school 

meals, although a higher proportion of the schools offered nutritious than less nutritious 

items. For example, schools were more likely to offer 100% juice (53 percent), bottled 

water (46 percent), and green salad or fruit (40 percent) than less nutritious items such as 

soft drinks (12 percent), candy (15 percent), and french fried potatoes (17 percent). 

• Twenty-two percent of public elementary schools offered at least one of the nine 

nondairy beverages or snack foods at vending machines (tables 3 and 6), and 31 percent 

sold at least one of the foods at school stores or snack bars (tables 3 and 7). 

• Among the schools with vending machines, 33 percent had vending machine foods 

available during mealtimes, 46 percent had the foods available at other times during the 

school day, and 61 percent had the foods available to students outside of the school day 

(table 8). Among those with school stores or snack bars, 43 percent had foods available 

at this venue during mealtimes, 33 percent had the foods available at other times during 

the school day, and 41 percent had foods at school stores or snack bars available to 

students outside of the school day (table 9). 
vi 

Opportunities for Students to Engage in Physical Activity 

The study examined three indicators of physical activity—scheduled recess, scheduled 

physical education, and school activities or programs to encourage physical activity. Information on 

recess and physical education was collected separately for each grade that was considered elementary at 

the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6. 

• Most public elementary schools reported scheduled recess for students, with the 

proportion of schools ranging from 93 percent for first and second grades to 87 percent 

for sixth grades that were considered elementary at the school (table 12). Thus, the 

proportion of schools that had no scheduled recess ranged from 7 to 13 percent across 

elementary grades (figure 4 and tables 12 and 13). 

• Most public elementary schools reported daily recess, with the proportion of schools 

reporting this schedule ranging from 83 to 88 percent across elementary grades (figure 4 

and tables 12 and 13). In addition, the average number of minutes per day of scheduled 

recess ranged from 27.8 for first grade to 23.8 for sixth grades that were considered 

elementary (table 15).1

 

• While almost all public elementary schools (99 percent) reported that they scheduled 

physical education for elementary grades, the proportion of schools that provided daily 

physical education ranged from 17 to 22 percent across elementary grades (figure 6 and 

table 16). The average number of days per week of scheduled physical education was 2.4 

times per week for first through fifth grades and 2.6 times per week for sixth grades that 

were considered elementary (table 17).2

 

• Information on the length of physical education classes and the number of times per 

week of physical education was used to calculate the average number of minutes per 

week for each elementary grade (figure 7 and table 18). The average number of minutes 

per week of physical education ranged from 85.4 minutes for first grade to 98.0 minutes 

for sixth grades that were considered elementary. This included the schools with 

physical education classes that varied by number of days per week and class length. 

• When the number of minutes per week for physical education and recess were 

combined, the average number of minutes per week ranged from 208 to 222 minutes of 

scheduled recess and physical education across elementary grades (table 19). 

• Sixty-four percent of the schools used nontraditional physical education activities, such 

as dance or kick-boxing, to make physical education enjoyable (table 20) At least onehalf of the schools used each of three other broad types of activities or programs to 

encourage physical activity among elementary grade students. These were opportunities 

during the school day for organized physical activities outside of physical education 

(58 percent), the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Award program 

(55 percent), and school-sponsored before- or after-school activities that emphasize 

physical activity (51 percent). 

 

1

 Includes schools with no scheduled recess. 

2

 Includes schools with no scheduled physical education. 
vii 

Physical Assessment of Students 

• Two-thirds of public elementary schools never calculated the students’ body mass index 

(BMI) in 2005 (table 21). In addition, 28 percent of the schools never measured 

students’ height, and 29 percent never measured students’ weight. 

• Of the public elementary schools that measured students’ height, 39 percent sent this 

information to parents (table 22). Similarly, 39 percent of the schools that measured 

students’ weight sent the information to parents, while 49 percent of the schools that 

calculated students’ BMI sent the information to parents. 
viii 

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ix 

Contents 

 Page 

Acknowledgments.................................................................................................................... iii 

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. v 

List of Tables............................................................................................................................ x 

List of Figures........................................................................................................................... xiv

Summary................................................................................................................................... 1 

Background................................................................................................................... 1

Methods and Data ............................................................................................ 2 

Selected Findings.......................................................................................................... 4 

Food Services at the School............................................................................. 4 

Types of Food Services ............................................................................ 5 

Availability of Foods Outside of Full School Meals................................ 6 

Types of Food Available in the School and in the Cafeteria or 

Lunchroom ................................................................................................ 7 

Foods Sold at Vending Machines and School Stores or Snack Bars ............... 10 

Types of Food........................................................................................... 11 

Times When Foods Were Available......................................................... 12 

Food Service Operations.................................................................................. 12 

Scheduled Recess............................................................................................. 14 

Schools With Scheduled Recess............................................................... 14 

Days Per Week of Scheduled Recess ....................................................... 14 

Times Per Day and Minutes Per Day ....................................................... 16 

Scheduled Physical Education ......................................................................... 17 

Days Per Week of Scheduled Physical Education.................................... 17 

Minutes Per Class and Average Minutes Per Week ................................. 18 

Combined Minutes Per Week of Physical Education and Recess............ 19 

Activities to Encourage Physical Activity ....................................................... 20 

Physical Assessment of Students..................................................................... 21 

References................................................................................................................................. 23 

Tables of Estimates and Standard Errors ............................................................................. 25 

Appendix A: Technical Notes................................................................................................. A-1 

Appendix B: Questionnaire.................................................................................................... B-1 
x 

List of Tables 

Table Page 

1 Percent of public elementary schools reporting the availability of foods at the 

school, by type of food services and selected school characteristics: 2005.................. 26 

1a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools reporting the 

availability of foods at the school, by type of food services and selected school 

characteristics: 2005...................................................................................................... 27 

2 Percent of public elementary schools that offered any foods for sale outside of full 

school meals, and percentage distribution reporting whether the foods were sold to 

generate funds to support food service operations, by selected school 

characteristics: 2005...................................................................................................... 28 

2a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools that offered any foods 

for sale outside of full school meals, and percentage distribution reporting whether 

the foods were sold to generate funds to support food service operations, 

by selected school characteristics: 2005 ....................................................................... 29 

3 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available 

for sale at one or more locations in the school, and in the cafeteria or lunchroom, 

vending machine, and school store or snack bar, by type of food: 2005 ...................... 30 

3a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that 

various foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, and in 

the cafeteria or lunchroom, vending machine, and school store or snack bar, by 

type of food: 2005......................................................................................................... 31 

4 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available 

for sale at one or more locations in the school, by selected school characteristics: 

2005 .............................................................................................................................. 32 

4a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that 

various foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, 

by selected school characteristics: 2005 ....................................................................... 34 

5 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available 

for sale in the school cafeteria or lunchroom, by selected school characteristics: 

2005 .............................................................................................................................. 36 

5a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that 

various foods were available for sale in the school cafeteria or lunchroom, 

by selected school characteristics: 2005 ....................................................................... 38 

6 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available 

for sale at vending machines, by selected school characteristics: 2005........................ 40 

6a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that 

various foods were available for sale at vending machines, by selected school 

characteristics: 2005...................................................................................................... 41 
xi 

7 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available 

for sale at school stores or snack bars, by selected school characteristics: 2005.......... 42 

7a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that 

various foods were available for sale at school stores or snack bars, by selected 

school characteristics: 2005 .......................................................................................... 43 

8 Percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when foods were 

available for sale at vending machines, and of the schools with vending machines, 

percent indicating the times when foods were available for sale, by selected school 

characteristics: 2005...................................................................................................... 44 

8a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating the times 

when foods were available for sale at vending machines, and of the schools with 

vending machines, percent indicating the times when foods were available for 

sale, by selected school characteristics: 2005 ............................................................... 45 

9 Percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when foods were 

available for sale at school stores or snack bars, and of the schools with school 

stores or snack bars, percent indicating the times when foods were available for 

sale, by selected school characteristics: 2005 ............................................................... 46 

9a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating the times 

when foods were available for sale at school stores or snack bars, and of the 

schools with school stores or snack bars, percent indicating the times when foods 

were available for sale, by selected school characteristics: 2005 ................................. 47 

10 Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the entities that 

operated food services at the school, by selected school characteristics: 2005 ............ 48 

10a Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools 

reporting the entities that operated food services at the school, by selected school 

characteristics: 2005...................................................................................................... 49 

11 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that companies have contracts to 

sell drinks or snack foods at the school, and percentage distribution reporting 

various agreements with those companies, by selected school characteristics: 2005... 50 

11a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that 

companies have contracts to sell drinks or snack foods at the school, and 

percentage distribution reporting various agreements with those companies, 

by selected school characteristics: 2005 ....................................................................... 51 
xii 

12 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that recess was scheduled at the 

school, and percentage distribution reporting the number of days per week, times 

per day, and minutes per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005... 52 

12a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that recess 

was scheduled at the school, and percentage distribution reporting the number of 

days per week, times per day, and minutes per day of scheduled recess, by 

elementary grade level: 2005........................................................................................ 53 

13 Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of days 

per week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school 

characteristics: 2005...................................................................................................... 54 

13a Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools 

reporting the number of days per week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade 

level and selected school characteristics: 2005............................................................. 56 

14 Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of 

times per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school 

characteristics: 2005...................................................................................................... 58 

14a Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools 

reporting the number of times per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade 

level and selected school characteristics: 2005............................................................. 60 

15 Mean number of minutes per day of scheduled recess at public elementary 

schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 ............. 62 

15a Standard errors for the mean number of minutes per day of scheduled recess at 

public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school 

characteristics: 2005...................................................................................................... 63 

16 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that physical education was 

scheduled at the school, and percentage distribution reporting the number of days 

per week and minutes per class of scheduled physical education, by elementary 

grade level: 2005........................................................................................................... 64

16a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that 

physical education was scheduled at the school, and percent reporting the number 

of days per week and minutes per class of scheduled physical education, by 

elementary grade level: 2005........................................................................................ 65 

17 Mean number of days per week of scheduled physical education at public 

elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 

2005 .............................................................................................................................. 66 

17a Standard errors for the mean number of days per week of scheduled physical 

education at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected 

school characteristics: 2005 .......................................................................................... 67 

18 Mean number of minutes per week of scheduled physical education at public 

elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 

2005 .............................................................................................................................. 68 
xiii 

18a Standard errors for the mean number of minutes per week of scheduled physical 

education at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected 

school characteristics: 2005 .......................................................................................... 69 

19 Mean number of minutes per week of scheduled recess and physical education, 

combined, at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected 

school characteristics: 2005 .......................................................................................... 70 

19a Standard errors for the mean number of minutes per week of scheduled recess and 

physical education, combined, at public elementary schools, by elementary grade 

level and selected school characteristics: 2005............................................................. 71 

20 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that the school was involved in 

various activities or programs to encourage physical activity among students, by 

selected school characteristics: 2005 ............................................................................ 72 

20a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that the 

school was involved in various activities or programs to encourage physical 

activity among students, by selected school characteristics: 2005 ............................... 73 

21 Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the frequency with 

which the school calculated the students’ body mass index and measured students’ 

height and weight, by selected school characteristics: 2005......................................... 74 

21a Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools 

reporting the frequency with which the school calculated the students’ body mass 

index and measured students’ height and weight, by selected school 

characteristics: 2005...................................................................................................... 76 

22 Percent of public elementary schools that calculated the students’ body mass index 

and measured students’ height and weight indicating whether the information was 

sent to parents, by selected school characteristics: 2005 .............................................. 78 

22a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools that calculated the 

students’ body mass index and measured students’ height and weight indicating 

whether the information was sent to parents, by selected school characteristics: 

2005 .............................................................................................................................. 79 

A-1 Number and percent of responding public elementary schools in the study sample, 

and estimated number and percent of public schools the sample represents, by 

school characteristics: 2005 .......................................................................................... A-5 

A-2 Number of cases with imputed data in the study sample, and the number of cases 

with imputed data the sample represents, by questionnaire item: 2005........................ A-6 
xiv 

List of Figures 

Figure Page 

1 Percent of public elementary schools reporting the availability of foods, by type of 

food services: 2005 ....................................................................................................... 5 

2 Percent of public elementary schools that offered any foods for sale outside of full 

school meals, and percentage distribution reporting whether the foods were sold to 

generate funds to support food service operations: 2005.............................................. 7 

3 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available 

at one or more locations in the school and at the school cafeteria or lunchroom: 

2005 .............................................................................................................................. 9 

4 Percent of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per week of 

scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005 ...................................................... 15 

5 Percent of public elementary schools reporting the number of minutes per day of 

scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005 ...................................................... 16 

6 Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of days 

per week of scheduled physical education, by elementary grade level: 2005............... 17 

7 Mean number of minutes per week of scheduled physical education, 

by elementary grade level: 2005 ................................................................................... 19 
1 

Summary 

Background 

The rate of obesity among school-age children has become a national concern, with the 

number of overweight children aged 6 to 11 more than tripling over the past three decades (U.S. 

Government Accountability Office 2005). In 2001, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a Call to Action to 

Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, and in 2002, Congress charged the Institute of Medicine 

(IOM) with developing an action plan to target this health issue. Among the core recommendations of the 

IOM’s 2004 report was a call for schools to create environments that support healthy eating and an active 

lifestyle. Federal, state, and local initiatives have also emphasized an “energy balance” approach—

calories consumed versus calories expended—as critical to understanding and addressing the factors 

related to overweight and obesity (Institute of Medicine 2005). For example, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines 

report included a recommendation for at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily for children 6 to 11 

years old, twice the minimum amount recommended for adults. 

Research on school nutrition has focused primarily on the nutritional content of federally 

subsidized school meals and the extent to which foods are available for sale outside of those meals. 

Ongoing research from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), for example, suggests that 

while schools have made significant strides in offering healthy school meals that meet U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) requirements, there is concern about the availability of foods that compete with 

those school meals. A recent GAO study concluded that foods sold outside of school meals have become 

more available to middle school students over the past 5 years (U.S. Government Accountability Office 

2005). These foods, including both nutritious foods and foods of low nutritional value, are often sold 

during mealtimes in or around school cafeterias and in vending machines or school stores. In addition, 

while many schools have introduced healthier food choices for their students, a major constraint for some 

schools is their reliance on the funds generated through the sale of popular foods such as soda and sweet 

snacks. 

While there is heightened attention on the role that schools can play in addressing concerns 

about nutrition and physical activity among young children and youth, the most recent national data on 

both school nutrition and physical activity opportunities for students come from the 2000 School Health 

Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS), conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC). The study findings concurred with ongoing findings from GAO reports about the availability of 

foods outside of school meals and the low nutritional value of some of those foods (Burgeson et al. 2001). 
2 

The study also indicated that some schools may be cutting back on the time available for physical 

education and recess in order to fit as much classroom time as possible into the school day. 

Methods and Data 

The Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) questionnaire, Foods and Physical Activity in 

Public Elementary Schools: 2005, was designed to obtain current national information on the availability 

of foods and opportunities for physical activity in public elementary schools. The survey covered the 

following topics: 

• food services at the school, including cafeteria services and the availability of foods at 

vending machines and school stores or snack bars; 

• types of food sold at one or more locations in the school and in the cafeteria or 

lunchroom; 

• types of food sold at vending machines and school stores or snack bars, and times when 

foods were available at these locations; 

• food service operations and contracts with companies to sell foods at the school; 

• scheduled recess, including the days per week, times per day, and minutes per day of 

recess; 

• scheduled physical education, including the days per week, class length, and average 

minutes per week of physical education; 

• activities to encourage physical activity among elementary students; and 

• physical assessment of students. 

The study was conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) using the 

Fast Response Survey System. FRSS is designed to administer short, focused, issue-oriented surveys that 

place minimal burden on respondents and have a quick turnaround from data collection to reporting. 

Questionnaires for the survey were mailed in spring 2005 to a representative sample of 1,198 regular 

public elementary schools in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Regular public elementary 

schools were defined as schools with a high grade of 1 to 8 and a low grade of prekindergarten, 

kindergarten, or grades 1 to 3. 

The sample was selected from the 2002–03 NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) Public 

School Universe file, which was the most current file available at the time of sample selection. The 

sampling frame includes approximately 51,000 regular public elementary schools. Data have been 
3 

weighted to yield national estimates. The unweighted and weighted response rates were both 91 percent. 

Detailed information about the survey methodology is provided in appendix A, and the questionnaire can 

be found in appendix B. 

The primary purpose of this E.D. TAB is to present national estimates of the availability of 

foods and opportunities for physical activity in public elementary schools. In addition, selected survey 

findings are presented by the following school characteristics, which are defined in more detail in 

appendix A: 

• school enrollment size (enrollment of less than 300, 300 to 499, 500 or more); 

• locale (city, urban fringe, town, rural); 

• region (Northeast, Southeast, Central, West); 

• percent minority enrollment (less than 6 percent, 6 to 20 percent, 21 to 49 percent, 

50 percent or more); and 

• percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (less than 35 percent, 35 to 

49 percent, 50 to 74 percent, 75 percent or more), which is used as a proxy measure of 

poverty concentration at the school. 

Throughout this report, school enrollment size will be referred to as small, medium, or large schools. The 

percent of students eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch will be referred to as poverty concentration. 

The focus on comparisons by school characteristics is primarily on significant differences by 

enrollment size and poverty concentration. Comparisons by other characteristics (e.g., region and locale) 

are reported only where significant differences were detected and followed meaningful patterns (e.g., 

when differences by school locale were consistent across the various types of foods available for sale). 

The E.D. TAB is purely descriptive in nature, and readers are cautioned not to draw causal inferences 

based solely on the bivariate results presented in this report. It is important to note that many of the 

variables examined in this report are related to one another, and complex interactions and relationships 

have not been explored here. The variables examined here also demonstrate the range of information that 

helped shape the design and now is available from the study. The selected findings are examples of 

comparisons that can be made using the data and are not designed to emphasize any particular issue. 

Release of the E.D. TAB is intended to encourage more in-depth analysis of the data, using more 

sophisticated statistical methods. 

All specific statements of comparison presented in this report have been tested for statistical 

significance through t tests and are significant at the 95 percent confidence level. Throughout this report, 
4 

differences that may appear large (particularly those by school characteristics) may not be statistically 

significant. This may be due to the relatively large standard errors surrounding the estimates. A detailed 

description of the statistical tests supporting the survey findings can be found in appendix A. 

Selected Findings 

The findings in this report are organized as follows: 

• food services at the school (i.e., types of food services – cafeteria or lunchroom, vending 

machines, school stores or snack bars – and availability of foods outside of full school 

meals); 

• types of foods available in the school and in the cafeteria or lunchroom; 

• foods sold at vending machines and school stores or snack bars; 

• food service operations (i.e., the entity that operated food services at the school, and 

contracts with companies to sell foods at the school); 

• scheduled recess; 

• scheduled physical education; 

• activities to encourage physical activity (e.g., nontraditional physical education 

activities, such as dance or kick-boxing, to make physical education enjoyable); and 

• physical assessment of students (i.e., measurement of students’ height and weight and 

calculation of body mass index). 

Food Services at the School 

The survey collected information on whether public elementary schools offered any food 

services in a cafeteria or lunchroom in 2005, including full school meals, a la carte items (i.e., foods sold 

separate from school meals), and foods sold at vending machines in the cafeteria or lunchroom. Schools 

with cafeteria or lunchroom services also reported whether they offered full school meals, including free, 

reduced-price, and full-price meals under the School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch 

Program. In addition, all public schools indicated whether foods were available at vending machines and 

at school stores or snack bars. Information about the cafeteria food services was combined with 

information about the availability of foods at vending machines and school stores or snack bars to create a 

measure of whether there were any food services at the school.

3

 

 

3

 Thus, food service is used in a broad sense to include cafeteria services (i.e., school meals and a la carte items) and foods sold at vending 

machines and school stores. 
5 

Types of Food Services 

• Almost all public elementary schools (99 percent) offered some type of food service at 

the school (figure 1 and table 1). This included foods that were available to students at 

one or more of the following locations in the school: school cafeteria or lunchroom, 

vending machine, and school store or snack bar. 

• Ninety-eight percent of public elementary schools offered cafeteria or lunchroom food 

services (figure 1 and table 1). This included school meals, a la carte items, and vending 

machine foods sold in the cafeteria or lunchroom. 

• Ninety-eight percent of public elementary schools provided full school meals to 

students, including free, reduced-price, and full-price meals under the School Breakfast 

Program or the National School Lunch Program (figure 1 and table 1).4

 

• Twenty-three percent of public elementary schools offered vending machine foods for 

sale, and 35 percent offered foods for sale at school stores or snack bars (figure 1 and 

table 1).5

 

Figure 1. Percent of public elementary schools reporting the availability of foods, by type of food 

services: 2005 

35

23

98

98

99

0 20 40 60 80 100

School store or snack bar foods

Vending machine foods

Full school meals

Any food services in the cafeteria or lunchroom

Any food services at the school

Percent

2

 3

4

5

1

Type of food services

1

Food services at the school include foods and beverages available to students in the school cafeteria or lunchroom (e.g., school meals, a la carte 

items, and vending machine foods) and foods and beverages sold at vending machines and school stores or snack bars. 2

Cafeteria food services include school meals and foods sold outside of school meals as a la carte items or at vending machines in the cafeteria. 3

Full school meals include free, reduced-price, and full-price school meals under the School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch 

Program. 

4

Vending machine foods include foods available at vending machines that may or may not be located in the school cafeteria. 5

School store or snack bar foods include foods available at school stores or snack bars that may or may not be located in the school cafeteria. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 

 

4

 A small number of cases (six schools in the sample) offered cafeteria services but did not provide full school meals to students in 2005. 

5

 These measures were derived from question 4 and question 6, which asked about the times when vending machine foods were available to 

students and when school store or snack bar foods were available to students. Respondents could either choose “never” (and skip to the next 

question) or they could check one or more response options—at mealtimes, other times during the school day, outside of the school day, and 

other times. Thus, a response of “never” was coded as “no” for whether the school had foods available at these locations. 
6 

• The proportion of public elementary schools that offered any food services at the school, 

and the proportion that offered three types of food services—cafeteria or lunchroom 

services, full school meals, and vending machine foods—differed by school 

characteristics (table 1). For example: 

- Large and medium-sized schools were more likely than small schools to offer any 

food services at the school (100 vs. 96 percent, respectively) (table 1). 

Differences were also observed for the proportion of schools that offered any food 

services in the cafeteria or lunchroom and the proportion that offered full school 

meals. 

- City schools were more likely than rural schools to offer cafeteria or lunchroom 

services and full school meals (table 1). However, a higher proportion of rural 

schools offered vending machine foods than did schools in other locales. 

- Schools with the lowest poverty concentration were less likely than schools with 

higher poverty concentrations to offer any food services at the school (97 percent 

vs. 99 and 100 percent, respectively) (table 1). Differences were also observed for 

the proportion of schools that offered cafeteria or lunchroom services and the 

percentage that offered full school meals. 

Availability of Foods Outside of Full School Meals 

The survey collected information on whether foods or beverages were sold separately from 

full school meals in 2005, and whether foods purchased outside of full school meals were sold to generate 

funds to support food service operations at the school or district. This variable was derived from question 

10 of the survey (i.e., whether the foods that students can buy separately from full school meals were sold 

to generate funds to support food service operations at the school). A response of “not applicable; no 

foods or beverages sold separately from full school meals” was coded as “no” for whether students could 

buy any foods separately from full school meals at the school.6

• Most public elementary schools (94 percent) offered foods for sale outside of full school 

meals (figure 2 and table 2). The proportion of public elementary schools that offered 

foods for sale outside of full school meals differed by school characteristics. For 

example, large and medium-sized schools were more likely than small schools to offer 

foods for sale outside of school meals (95 vs. 89 percent, respectively), and schools 

located in the Southeast were more likely than those in the West and Central regions to 

offer any foods for sale outside of school meals. 

• Of the 94 percent of public elementary schools that offered foods for sale outside of full 

school meals, 36 percent indicated that the foods were sold to generate funds to support 

food service operations at the school or district (figure 2 and table 2). Another 

54 percent of the schools reported that the foods were not sold to generate funds, while 

10 percent indicated that they did not know the answer to this question. 

 

6

 See appendix B for a copy of the questionnaire. 
7 

Figure 2. Percent of public elementary schools that offered any foods for sale outside of full school 

meals, and percentage distribution reporting whether the foods were sold to generate 

funds to support food service operations: 2005 

No

Yes (6%)

(94%)

 Percent of schools offering foods Of the schools that offered foods for sale

for sale outside of full school meals1 outside of full school meals, percent 

 distribution that sold foods to generate funds2 

1

This variable was derived from the response to question 10 of the survey (i.e., whether the foods that students can buy separately from full 

school meals were sold to generate funds to support food service operations at the school). A response of “not applicable; no foods or beverages 

sold separately from full school meals” to this question was coded as “no” for whether students could buy any foods separately from full school 

meals at the school (6 percent). This 6 percent of schools included 10 schools that did not offer any of the listed foods for sale in questions 3, 5, 

and 7. 

2

Based on the 94 percent of public elementary schools that offered any of the selected foods for sale outside of full school meals. 

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 

• The proportion of public elementary schools that sold foods outside of full school meals 

to generate funds to support food service operations at the school or district differed by 

school characteristics (table 2). For example, a higher proportion of rural than city 

schools sold foods to generate funds to support food service operations at the school or 

district (41 vs. 31 percent).7

 In addition, schools with the lowest poverty concentration 

were more likely to sell foods to generate funds than did schools with the two highest 

categories of poverty concentration (i.e., schools with 50 to 74 percent and 75 percent or 

more students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch) (table 2).8

 

Types of Food Available in the School and in the Cafeteria or Lunchroom 

The survey collected information on selected types of food that were offered for sale at 

different locations in the school in 2005—the school cafeteria or lunchroom, and vending machines and 

school stores or snack bars (which may or may not be located in the school cafeteria or lunchroom). 

Schools with any cafeteria or lunchroom food services were asked whether students can purchase each of 

 

7

 Estimates for towns were based on small sample sizes and generally had large standard errors. Thus, throughout the report, differences that 

appear large for towns were often not statistically significant. 

8

 See description of poverty concentration on page 3. 

No 

Don't know (54%)

(10%)

Yes

(36%)
8 

15 foods separate from full school meals during mealtimes in the school cafeteria or lunchroom. The 

foods included four broad groups—nondairy beverages, dairy products, lunch sides, and snack foods—

and ranged from nutritious items such as 100% juice and green salad or fruit to less nutritious items such 

as soft drinks and candy (figure 3 and table 3). 

• Nondairy beverages: 100% fruit or vegetable juice, sports drinks or fruit drinks that are 

not 100% juice, soft drinks, and bottled water. 

• Dairy products: low-fat or skim milk, milk that is not low fat or skim, yogurt, and ice 

cream or frozen yogurt. 

• Lunch sides: french fried potatoes and green salad or fruit. 

• Snack foods: candy; low-fat salty snacks such as pretzels and baked or other low-fat 

chips; salty snacks that are not low in fat such as regular potato chips and cheese puffs; 

low-fat cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods; and cookies, cakes, pastries, and 

other baked goods that are not low in fat. 

Respondents also indicated whether the nine nondairy beverages and snack foods were 

available for sale at vending machines and school stores or snack bars. 

Information about the types of food available in the cafeteria or lunchroom was combined 

with information about the types of food available at vending machines and school stores or snack bars to 

create an overall measure of whether each of the listed foods was available at one or more locations in the 

school in 2005.9

 Eighty-eight percent of public elementary schools had at least 1 of the 15 foods for sale 

outside of full school meals at one or more locations in the school, and 84 percent had at least one of the 

foods for sale in the cafeteria or lunchroom (figure 3 and table 3). 

• Nondairy beverages. Public elementary schools were more likely to offer healthier 

nondairy beverages for sale, such as 100% juice, than less nutritious beverages such as 

soft drinks (figure 3 and table 3). For example, 53 percent of the schools offered 100% 

fruit or vegetable juice and 46 percent offered bottled water for sale at one or more 

locations in the school. In contrast, 31 percent of the schools offered sport drinks or fruit 

drinks that were not 100% juice and 12 percent offered soft drinks for sale. Differences 

in the availability of healthy beverages versus less nutritious beverages were also 

observed for nondairy beverages in the cafeteria or lunchroom. For example, 47 percent 

of the schools offered 100% fruit or vegetable juice in the cafeteria or lunchroom, while 

22 percent offered sport drinks or fruit drinks that were not 100% juice at this location. 

 

9

 For example, soft drinks was coded as being available for sale at one or more locations at the school if this item was available at any of the 

following locations: school cafeteria or lunchroom, vending machines, or school stores or snack bars. 
9 

Figure 3. Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available at one 

or more locations in the school and at the school cafeteria or lunchroom: 2005 

Food 

5

40

17

34

26

39

75

2

34

28

25

38

15

40

17

34

26

39

75

46

12

31

53

88

27

21

18

29

36

22

47

84

0 20 40 60 80 100

Percent

One or more locations in school

Cafeteria or lunchroom

At least one of the listed foods

Nondairy beverages

100% fruit or vegetable juice

Sports/fruit drinks/not 100% juice

Soft drinks

Bottled water

Dairy products1

Low-fat or skim milk

Milk that is not low in fat or skim

Yogurt

Ice cream or frozen yogurt

Lunch sides1

French fried potatoes

Green salad or fruit

Snack foods

Candy

Low-fat salty snacks

Salty snacks that are not low in fat

Low-fat cookies/baked goods

Cookies/baked goods not low in fat

2

1

Percentages are the same for foods sold at one or more locations in the school and foods sold at the cafeteria or lunchroom because the survey 

only asked whether dairy products and lunch sides were available in the cafeteria or lunchroom. Thus, no information was collected on the sale 

of these foods at other locations in the school. 

2

This category includes schools that sold at least one of the listed foods in one or more of the indicated locations—cafeteria or lunchroom, 

vending machine, school store or snack bar. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 

• Dairy products and lunch sides. Schools reported on the availability of dairy products 

and lunch sides in the cafeteria or lunchroom (figure 3 and table 3). About three in four 

public elementary schools offered low-fat or skim milk for sale, while 39 percent offered 

milk that was not low fat or skim, 34 percent offered ice cream or frozen yogurt, and 26 

percent offered yogurt. Furthermore, public elementary schools were more likely to 

report the availability of green salad or fruit than french fried potatoes as lunch sides in 

the cafeteria or lunchroom. 

• Snack foods. Fifteen percent of public elementary schools offered candy for sale at one 

or more locations in the school, and 5 percent offered this snack in the cafeteria or 

lunchroom (figure 3 and table 3). Schools were more likely to offer low-fat salty snacks 

than those that were not low in fat (38 vs. 25 percent), but they were less likely to offer 

low-fat cookies or baked goods than those that were not low in fat (28 vs. 34 percent). 
10 

Differences were also observed for the availability of salty snacks and cookies or baked 

goods in the cafeteria or lunchroom. 

• Differences by school characteristics for foods sold at the school. The proportion of 

public elementary schools that offered various types of food for sale at one or more 

locations in the school differed by school characteristics (table 4). For example: 

- Large and medium-sized schools were more likely than small schools to offer at 

least 1 of the 15 listed foods at one or more locations in the school (91 and 90 

percent vs. 83 percent, respectively) (table 4). Differences also held for green 

salad or fruit and all of the dairy foods (except milk that was not low fat or skim). 

In addition, large schools were more likely than small schools to offer 100% fruit 

or vegetable juice, bottled water, and low-fat cookies or baked goods for sale. 

However, the reverse held true for some of the less nutritious items, with small 

schools being more likely than medium-sized and large schools to offer soft 

drinks and candy for sale. 

- Schools in the Southeast were more likely than those located in the West and 

Central regions to sell at least one of the listed foods at one or more locations in 

the school (table 4). Differences were also observed for the sale of 100% juice 

and bottled water. In addition, schools in the Northeast and Southeast were more 

likely than those located in the West and Central regions to offer other listed 

foods—green salad or fruit, all of the dairy products, and all of the snack foods, 

except candy—at one or more locations in the school. 

- Schools with the highest poverty concentration were less likely than those with 

the lowest poverty concentration to offer at least one of the listed foods at one or 

more locations in the school (84 vs. 90 percent) (table 4). Differences generally 

held for green salad or fruit, low-fat salty snacks, and all of the listed dairy 

products. Differences were also observed for the sale of sports or fruit drinks that 

were not 100% juice, and cookies or baked goods that were not low in fat. 

- Schools were more likely to report the availability of foods if foods were sold to 

generate funds to support food service operations than if the foods were not sold 

for this purpose (table 4). This difference was observed for the sale of all of the 

foods except soft drinks. 

Foods Sold at Vending Machines and School Stores or Snack Bars 

The survey collected information on the types of food available at vending machines and 

school stores or snack bars in 2005, and the times when those foods were available. Information on the 

availability of foods at vending machines and school stores or snack bars was restricted to the following 

nondairy beverages and snack foods: 

• Nondairy beverages: 100% fruit or vegetable juice, sports drinks or fruit drinks that are 

not 100% juice, soft drinks, and bottled water; and 
11 

• Snack foods: candy; low-fat salty snacks such as pretzels and baked or other low-fat 

chips; salty snacks that are not low in fat such as regular potato chips and cheese puffs; 

low-fat cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods; and cookies, cakes, pastries, and 

other baked goods that are not low in fat. 

 Types of Food 

All public elementary schools indicated whether each of the nine foods listed above was 

available to students at vending machines and at school stores or snack bars in 2005. 

• Twenty-two percent of public elementary schools offered at least one of the nine foods 

for sale at vending machines (tables 3 and 6), and 31 percent offered at least one of the 

listed foods at school stores or snack bars (tables 3 and 7).10

• The percentage of public elementary schools that offered nondairy beverages at vending 

machines ranged from 9 percent for soft drinks to 18 percent for bottled water (tables 3 

and 6). In addition, 4 to 6 percent of the schools offered snack foods for sale at vending 

machines. 

• The proportion of public elementary schools that offered the various foods for sale at 

vending machines differed by school characteristics (table 6). For example, small 

schools were more likely than medium-sized or large schools to offer each of the listed 

food items at vending machines, with the exception of 100% fruit or vegetable juice and 

bottled water (table 6). In addition, rural schools were more likely than schools in other 

locales to offer at least one of the listed foods and each of the nondairy beverages at 

vending machines. Rural schools were also more likely than those located in cities and 

urban fringes to offer each of the listed snack foods at vending machines (table 6). 

• The proportion of public elementary schools that offered nondairy beverages for sale at 

school stores or snack bars ranged from 6 percent for soft drinks to 17 percent for 100% 

fruit or vegetable juice and bottled water (tables 3 and 7). The proportion of schools that 

offered snack foods ranged from 11 percent for candy to 19 percent for low-fat salty 

snacks. 

• Schools were more likely to report the availability of foods in the school stores or snack 

bars if foods were sold to generate funds than if the foods were not sold for this purpose 

(table 7). This difference was observed for the sale of each of the listed foods except 

soft drinks and candy. 

 

10 These measures are different from the two measures discussed in table 1, i.e., whether schools sold vending machine foods and school store or 

snack bar foods. As indicated in the section on types of food services, the measure of whether schools sold vending machine foods was derived 

from question 4 of the survey, which asked when vending machine foods were available to students. Schools that checked “never” were coded 

as not having vending machine foods for sale, while those that checked any of the other responses to the question were coded as having vending 

machine foods for sale. The measure of whether schools sold foods at school stores or snack bars was derived from question 6 in a similar way. 

However, the measure of whether schools sold at least one of the nine listed foods at vending machines was derived from question 5, which 

asked whether each vending machine food was available to students. Similarly, the measure of whether schools sold at least one of the nine 

listed foods at school stores or snack bars was derived from question 7, which asked whether each food was available to students at this 

location. See appendix B for a copy of the questionnaire. 
12 

Times When Foods Were Available 

Respondents were asked about the times at which vending machine foods and foods at 

school stores or snack bars were available to students in 2005—at mealtimes, other times during the 

school day, outside of the school day (e.g., during school-sponsored before- or after-school activities), 

and any other time (tables 8 and 9).11 

• Vending machine foods were available to students during mealtimes in 8 percent of all 

public elementary schools (table 8). In addition, 11 percent of all public elementary 

schools had foods available at vending machines at other times during the school day, 

and 14 percent had foods available outside of the school day. Among the 23 percent of 

public elementary schools with vending machines (table 1), 33 percent had vending 

machine foods available during mealtimes, 46 percent had the foods available at other 

times during the school day, and 61 percent had the foods available to students outside 

of the school day (table 8).12 

• Fifteen percent of public elementary schools had school store or snack bar foods 

available to students during mealtimes (table 9). In addition, 11 percent of all public 

elementary schools had foods available at school stores or snack bars at other times 

during the school day, and 14 percent of the schools had foods available at this location 

outside of the school day. Among the 35 percent of public elementary schools with 

school stores or snack bars (table 1), 43 percent had foods available at this location 

during mealtimes, 33 percent had the foods available at other times during the school 

day, and 41 percent had the foods available to students outside of the school day (table 

9).13 

• The percentage of all public elementary schools that offered school store or snack bar 

foods during mealtimes differed by region and whether the foods were sold to generate 

funds (table 9). Schools in the Northeast were more likely than those in other regions to 

sell foods at school stores or snack bars at mealtimes. In addition, schools were more 

likely to report the availability of foods in the school stores or snack bars at mealtimes if 

foods were sold to generate funds than if the foods were not sold for this purpose. 

Food Service Operations 

Schools that offered any food services in 2005 indicated whether those services were 

operated by the school or school district, by a private entity under contract to the school or school district, 

or by some other entity. Schools that offered any foods for sale outside of full school meals indicated 

whether any companies had a contract to sell drinks or snack foods at the school. In addition, schools that 

had contracts with companies to sell drinks or snack foods at the school indicated whether there were 

 

11 The percentage of schools that reported some other time when foods were available at vending machines and at school stores or snack bars is 

not shown in tables 8 and 9 because it represents only 2 percent for vending machines and 5 percent for school stores or snack bars. 

12 Respondents could report multiple times when vending machine foods were available. 

13 Respondents could report multiple times when school store or snack bar foods were available. 
13 

various agreements with those companies for the school to receive a specific percentage of the sales 

receipts, sales incentives, or some other agreement.14 

• Food services were primarily operated by the school or school district (table 10). Of the 

99 percent of public elementary schools that offered any food services, 81 percent 

indicated that their food services were operated by the school or school district, while 19 

percent reported that their food services were operated by a private or other entity. 

• The proportion of schools indicating that their food services were operated by the school 

or school district differed by locale and region (table 10). Schools located in rural areas 

were more likely than those located in other locales to report that their food services 

were operated by the school or school district (90 vs. 77 to 81 percent, respectively). 

Public elementary schools in the Southeast were the most likely to report that their 

school or school district operated the food services at the school, while schools in the 

Northeast were the least likely to do so. 

• Twenty-three percent of public elementary schools indicated that one or more companies 

had a contract to sell drinks or snack foods at the school (table 11). The proportion of 

schools that had contracts with companies to sell drinks or snack foods at the school 

differed by locale, region, and minority enrollment. Rural schools were more likely than 

those in other locales to report that companies had a contract to sell drinks or snack 

foods at the school (31 percent vs. 18 to 21 percent, respectively), and schools in the 

Southeast were more likely than those in the West and Northeast to report such 

contracts. In addition, schools with the lowest percent of minority enrollment were more 

likely than those with the highest percent of minority enrollment to report that 

companies had a contract to sell drinks or snack foods at the school. 

• Among the 23 percent of public elementary schools that indicated that companies had 

contracts to sell drinks or snack foods at the school, a majority (69 percent) reported that 

the school or district was contracted to receive a specific percentage of the sales receipts, 

24 percent indicated that the school or district was contracted to receive sales incentives 

for a specified amount of sales receipts, and 2 percent reported some other agreement or 

incentive (table 11). 

• Schools located in the Southeast were more likely than those in the Northeast to report 

that the school or district was contracted to receive a specific percentage of the sales 

receipts (78 vs. 55 percent) (table 11). Moreover, a higher proportion of rural than city 

schools reported that the school or district was contracted to receive sales incentives for 

a specified amount of sales receipts (32 vs. 12 percent), and schools located in the West 

and Central regions were more likely than those in the Northeast to report such a 

contract. 

 

14 These types of agreements were not defined for respondents on the questionnaire; see appendix B for a copy of the questionnaire. 
14 

Scheduled Recess 

The survey collected information on whether schools scheduled any recess for each grade 

that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6. Respondents reported the 

number of days per week of scheduled recess, the number of times per day, and the total minutes per day 

of scheduled recess for each elementary grade in 2005. 

Schools With Scheduled Recess 

• The proportion of public elementary schools with any scheduled recess ranged from 87 

to 93 percent across elementary grades (table 12). For example, 93 percent of the 

schools had scheduled recess for first and second grades, and 87 percent had scheduled 

recess for sixth grades that were considered elementary at the school. 

• The proportion of public elementary schools with no scheduled recess ranged from 7 to 

13 percent across elementary grades (table 12). The proportion of public elementary 

schools with no scheduled recess for elementary grades differed by school locale, region, 

poverty concentration, and minority enrollment (table 13). 

- City schools were more likely than schools in other locales to have no scheduled 

recess for first through fifth grades (table 13). In addition, city schools were more 

likely than those located in urban fringes and rural areas to report no scheduled 

recess for sixth grades that were considered elementary at the school. 

- Schools in the Southeast were more likely than those located in other regions to 

have no scheduled recess for first through fifth grades (table 13). 

- Public elementary schools with the highest poverty concentration were more 

likely than those with lower concentrations of poverty to have no scheduled recess 

for elementary grades (table 13). Differences were also observed for differences 

by minority enrollment, with schools with the highest proportion of minority 

enrollment being more likely than those with lower minority enrollments to have 

no scheduled recess. 

 Days Per Week of Scheduled Recess 

• Most public elementary schools reported daily recess for elementary grades (figure 4 and 

tables 12). The proportion of schools that reported this schedule ranged from 83 to 88 

percent across elementary grades, while 4 to 7 percent scheduled recess 1 to 4 days per 

week (table 13). 
15 

Figure 4. Percent of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per week of 

scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005 

13

9

9

8

7

7

4

7

6

5

5

5

83

83

85

87

88

88

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Grade 6

Grade 5

Grade 4

Grade 3

Grade 2

Grade 1

None 1 to 4 days 5 days

0 20 40 60 80 100

Percent

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades one 

through five or six. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 

• The percentage of public elementary schools with daily recess for elementary grades 

differed by school characteristics (table 13). 

- Large schools were generally less likely than small and medium-sized schools to 

report daily recess for first through third grades (table 13). For example, daily 

recess was scheduled for first grade in 84 percent of large schools, 90 percent of 

small schools, and 91 percent of medium-sized schools. 

- City schools were less likely than schools in other locales to report daily recess for 

first grade (table 13). City schools were also less likely than schools in urban 

fringes and rural areas to schedule daily recess for second through fifth grades. 

- Schools in the Southeast were less likely than those located in other regions to 

have daily recess for first through fifth grades (table 13). Schools in the Southeast 

were also less likely than those in the Northeast and West to provide daily recess 

for sixth grades that were considered elementary at the school. 

- Schools with the highest poverty concentration were less likely than those with 

lower concentrations of poverty to report daily recess for elementary grades (table 

13). Differences were also observed by minority enrollment, with schools with 

the highest proportion of minority enrollment being less likely than those with 

lower minority enrollments to provide daily recess. 
16 

Times Per Day and Minutes Per Day 

• A majority of public elementary schools scheduled recess once a day, and the percentage 

of schools reporting this schedule ranged from 55 to 66 percent across elementary grades 

(tables 12 and 14). Fewer schools (21 to 28 percent) provided recess twice a day, while 

4 to 10 percent indicated they had recess more than twice a day (table 12). 

• The percentage of public elementary schools that had more than 30 minutes per day of 

recess ranged from 19 to 27 percent across elementary grades (figure 5 and table 12). 

Figure 5. Percent of public elementary schools reporting the number of minutes per day of 

scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005 

13

9

9

8

7

7

17

18

17

15

14

14

21

23

22

20

18

18

28

32

33

33

34

33

21

19

20

25

26

27

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Grade 6

Grade 5

Grade 4

Grade 3

Grade 2

Grade 1

None 1 to 15 16 to 20 21 to 30 More than 30 minutes

Percent

0 20 40 60 80 100

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 

or 6. Details may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 

• Information on the total minutes spent per day on scheduled recess at each school was 

used to calculate the mean number of minutes of scheduled recess for each grade across 

all public elementary schools (table 15). The average number of minutes per day of 

scheduled recess ranged from 27.8 for first grade to 23.8 for sixth grades that were 

considered elementary.15 

• The average number of minutes per day of scheduled recess for elementary grades 

differed by school characteristics (table 15). For example, large schools reported a 

lower number of average minutes per day of recess than did small and medium-sized 

schools, and schools with the highest poverty concentration reported fewer minutes per 

day of scheduled recess than did schools with lower concentrations of poverty (table 15). 

This was true for all elementary grades at the schools. 

 

15 Includes schools with no scheduled recess. 
17 

Scheduled Physical Education 

Schools reported the number of days per week of scheduled physical education in 2005, and 

the minutes per class. If the number of days of scheduled physical education varied by week, respondents 

specified the schedule in the space provided. 

Days Per Week of Scheduled Physical Education 

• Almost all public elementary schools (99 percent) reported that they scheduled physical 

education for elementary grades (table 16). 

• The percentage of public elementary schools that provided daily physical education 

ranged from 17 to 22 percent across elementary grades at the school (figure 6 and table 

16). In addition, 11 to 14 percent scheduled physical education 3 or 4 days a week, 28 to 

33 percent scheduled physical education 2 days a week, and 22 percent of the schools 

scheduled physical education 1 day a week across elementary grades. Furthermore, 14 

to 16 percent of the schools reported that their physical education schedules varied by 

week. For example, schools that rotated physical education with other subjects might 

schedule physical education twice for one week and once for the subsequent week. 

Figure 6. Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per 

week of scheduled physical education, by elementary grade level: 2005 

22

22

22

22

22

22

28

32

33

33

33

33

14

12

11

11

12

11

22

17

17

17

17

18

14

16

16

16

15

15

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Grade 6

Grade 5

Grade 4

Grade 3

Grade 2

Grade 1

1 day 2 days 3 to 4 days 5 days Varies by week

Percent

0 20 40 60 80 100

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 

or 6. One percent of public elementary schools did not have scheduled physical education at the school (not shown in figure). Thus, detail may 

not sum to totals because of rounding and the exclusion of the 1 percent of schools with no scheduled physical education. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
18 

• Information on the number of days of scheduled physical education at each school was 

used to calculate the average number of days of physical education for each elementary 

grade across all public elementary schools (table 17). Public elementary schools 

reported averages of 2.4 to 2.6 days per week of physical education across elementary 

grades. This included the average number of days for schools with physical education 

schedules that varied by week.16

Minutes Per Class and Average Minutes Per Week 

• The percentage of schools with physical education classes of 30 minutes or less ranged 

from 43 percent for first grade to 34 percent for fifth and sixth grades (table 16). 

However, the percentage of schools with physical education classes of more than 40 

minutes ranged from 31 percent for first grade to 40 percent for sixth grade. 

• Information on the length of physical education classes and the number of days per week 

of physical education was used to calculate the total minutes per week for each 

elementary grade at the school, and the average number of minutes per week for each 

elementary grade across all public elementary schools (figure 7 and table 18).17 The 

average number of minutes per week of physical education ranged from 85.4 for first 

grade to 98.0 minutes for sixth grades that were considered elementary. This included 

the schools with physical education classes that varied by number of days per week and 

class length.18

• The average minutes per week of scheduled physical education for elementary grades 

differed by school characteristics (table 18). For example: 

- Small schools had a higher number of average minutes per week of scheduled 

physical education than did medium-sized and large schools, and rural schools 

had higher averages than did schools located in other locales (table 18). This was 

true for all elementary grades in the school. 

- Schools in the West had a higher number of average minutes per week of 

scheduled physical education for first through fifth grades than did schools 

located in other regions (table 18). Schools in the Northeast had the lowest 

averages for third through fifth grades, compared with schools in other regions 

(table 18). 

 

16 Information provided by schools with physical education schedules that vary in the number of days from one week to the next was used to 

calculate an average number days per week of scheduled physical education for each of those schools. For example, if a school reported 3 days 

of physical education in one week and 2 days in the next week, the average number of days per week was calculated as 2.5. 

17 For each grade at the school, the number of minutes per physical education class was multiplied by the number of days per week of scheduled 

physical education to provide a total number of minutes of physical education per week. For each grade, this total in minutes per week was 

summed across all schools and divided by the number of schools to obtain the average minutes per week of physical education across public 

elementary schools. 

18 Information provided by schools with physical education classes that varied in length was used to calculate the average length per class. For 

example, if a school reported three physical education classes of 20 minutes and one class of 40 minutes, the average class length was 

calculated as 25 minutes. 
19 

- Schools with the lowest poverty concentration had a lower number of average 

minutes per week of scheduled physical education than did schools with the two 

highest categories of poverty concentration (table 18). This difference held for 

first through fifth grades. 

Figure 7. Mean number of minutes per week of scheduled physical education, by elementary 

grade level: 2005 

98.0

90.5

88.5

86.4

85.5

85.4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Grade 6

Grade 5

Grade 4

Grade 3

Grade 2

Grade 1

Mean number of minutes per week of physical education

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 

 Combined Minutes Per Week of Physical Education and Recess 

Information on the total minutes per day and the number of days per week was used to 

calculate the total minutes per week of scheduled recess in 2005. The total minutes per week of physical 

education were added to the total minutes per week of recess to create an overall measure of combined 

minutes per week for recess and physical education. This measure reflects the total time per week when 

students may be provided with opportunities for physical activity. 

• When the number of minutes for physical education and recess were combined, the 

average number of minutes per week for these activities ranged from 208 to 222 minutes 

across elementary grades (table 19). The schools also had a lower average for grades 4 

and 5 than they did for grades 1 through 3. 

• The combined minutes per week for physical education and recess differed by some 

school characteristics (table 19). For example, large and medium-sized schools reported 

fewer minutes of combined physical education and recess per week for elementary 

grades than did small schools. In addition, schools with the highest poverty 

concentration reported lower averages in combined physical education and recess per 
20 

week for elementary grades than did schools with lower levels of poverty concentration. 

Thus, in high poverty schools, having more hours per week of physical education (table 

18) did not compensate for having no scheduled recess (table 13). 

Activities to Encourage Physical Activity 

Respondents were asked whether their schools used each of four sets of activities or 

programs to encourage physical activity among elementary grade students in 2005. These were 

nontraditional physical education activities (e.g., dance or kick-boxing) to make physical education 

enjoyable, opportunities during the school day for organized physical activities (e.g., walking or running 

laps at recess), excluding physical education, school-sponsored before- or after-school activities that 

emphasize physical activity (e.g., walking or running, sports, dance, or group games), and participation in 

the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Award program. Respondents also specified any 

other activity or program that may be used to encourage physical activity among elementary grade 

students at the school. 

• Sixty-four percent of public elementary schools used nontraditional physical education 

activities, such as dance or kick-boxing, to make physical education enjoyable (table 

20). A higher proportion of large than small schools reported the use of nontraditional 

physical education activities, and schools in the Northeast were more likely than those in 

other regions to report the use of these activities. In addition, schools with the highest 

poverty concentration were less likely than schools with the two lowest categories of 

poverty concentration to use nontraditional physical education activities to make 

physical education enjoyable. 

• Fifty-eight percent of public elementary schools provided opportunities during the 

school day for organized physical activities outside of physical education, including 

walking or running laps at recess (table 20). Schools in the Central region were less 

likely than those in other regions to provide these opportunities for organized physical 

activities. 

• Fifty-one percent of public elementary schools offered school-sponsored before- or 

after-school activities that emphasize physical activity, such as walking or running, 

sports, dance, or group games (table 20). Schools in the Northeast were more likely than 

those in the Southeast to offer these school-sponsored before- or after-school activities, 

and schools with the highest minority enrollment were more likely than those with the 

lowest minority enrollment to offer these activities. 

• Fifty-five percent of public elementary schools participated in the President’s Challenge 

Physical Activity and Fitness Award program (table 20). Schools in the West were less 

likely than those in other regions to participate in this program, and schools with the 

highest poverty concentration were less likely than those with the two lowest categories 

of poverty concentration to participate in the program. 

• Thirty percent of schools had some other activity, such as Jump Rope for Heart, fun 

Friday, family fun night, walking with parents, field day, and little Olympics. 
21 

Physical Assessment of Students 

The survey collected information on how often schools calculated students’ body mass index 

(BMI) and measured students’ height and weight in 2005. Schools that conducted any of these physical 

assessments were also asked whether this information was sent to parents. 

• Two-thirds (66 percent) of public elementary schools reported that they never calculated 

students’ body mass index (BMI) (table 21). In addition, 16 percent calculated the 

students’ BMI in selected grades only, another 16 percent calculated all students’ BMI 

yearly, and 3 percent used some other approach to calculate students’ BMI. 

• Twenty-eight percent of public elementary schools reported that they never measured 

students’ height (table 21). Another 30 percent measured students’ height in selected 

grades only, 38 percent measured students’ height yearly for all students, and 3 percent 

used some other approach to measuring students’ height. 

• Twenty-nine percent of public elementary schools reported that they never measured 

students’ weight. Another 29 percent measured students’ weight in selected grades only, 

38 percent measured students’ weight yearly for all students, and 3 percent used some 

other approach to measuring students’ weight (table 21). 

• Of the public elementary schools that measured students’ height, 39 percent sent this 

information to parents (table 22). Similarly, 39 percent of the schools that measured 

students’ weight sent the information to parents, while 49 percent of the schools that 

calculated students’ BMI sent the information to parents. 
22 

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23 

References 

Burgeson C., Wechsler H., Brener, N., Young, J., and Spain, C. (2001). Physical Education and Activity: 

Results from the School Health Policies and Programs Study 2000. Journal of School Health,

71(7): 279–293. 

Institute of Medicine, Committee on Prevention of Obesity in Children and Youth. (2005). Preventing 

Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2005). Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. 

Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 

U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2005). School Meal Programs: Competitive Foods Are Widely 

Available and Generate Substantial Revenues for Schools (GAO–05–563). Washington, DC: U.S. 

Government Accountability Office. 
24 

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25 

Tables of Estimates and Standard Errors 
26 

Table 1. Percent of public elementary schools reporting the availability of foods at the school, 

by type of food services and selected school characteristics: 2005 

Availability of foods 

School characteristic 

Any food 

services at the 

school1

Any food 

services in the 

cafeteria or 

lunchroom2

Full school 

meals3

Vending 

machine 

foods4

School store or 

snack bar 

foods5

 

All public elementary schools .............................. 99 98 98 23 35 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300.......................................................... 96 95 94 28 36

300 to 499............................................................... 100 99 99 20 37

500 or more ............................................................ 100 100 99 23 31 

School locale 

City......................................................................... 100 99 99 18 34

Urban fringe ........................................................... 98 98 97 16 35

Town ...................................................................... 99 99 99 22 32

Rural....................................................................... 98 97 96 38 36 

Region 

Northeast ................................................................ 98 97 96 16 35

Southeast ................................................................ 100 100 99 22 38

Central.................................................................... 99 97 97 26 30

West ....................................................................... 99 99 98 24 36 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................................. 98 97 96 30 29

6 to 20 percent........................................................ 98 97 97 19 33

21 to 49 percent ...................................................... 99 99 97 19 36

50 percent or more.................................................. 100 100 99 22 35 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ............................................... 97 96 95 21 32

35 to 49 percent ...................................................... 100 100 99 22 32

50 to 74 percent ...................................................... 100 99 99 28 37

75 percent or more.................................................. 99 99 99 22 37

1

Food services at the school include foods and beverages available to students in the school cafeteria or lunchroom (e.g., school meals, a la carte 

items, and vending machine foods) and foods and beverages sold at vending machines and school stores or snack bars. 

2

Cafeteria food services include school meals and foods sold outside of school meals as a la carte items or at vending machines in the cafeteria. 

3

Full school meals include free, reduced-price, and full-price school meals under the School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch 

Program. 

4

Vending machine food includes foods available at vending machines that may or may not be located in the school cafeteria. 

5

School stores or snack bar foods include foods available at school stores or snack bars that may or may not be located in the school cafeteria. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
27 

Table 1a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools reporting the availability 

of foods at the school, by type of food services and selected school characteristics: 2005 

Availability of foods 

School characteristic 

Any food 

services at the 

school

Any food 

services in the 

cafeteria or 

lunchroom

Full school 

meals

Vending 

machine 

foods 

School store or 

snack bar 

foods

 

All public elementary schools .............................. 0.3 0.4 0.5 1.2 1.6

 

Enrollment size 

 

Less than 300.......................................................... 1.0 1.3 1.4 2.4 2.2

300 to 499............................................................... † 0.5 0.6 2.2 2.6

500 or more ............................................................ † † 0.5 2.4 2.3

 

School locale 

City......................................................................... † 0.5 0.6 2.2 3.2

Urban fringe ........................................................... 0.7 0.8 0.8 1.5 2.5

Town ...................................................................... 1.0 1.0 1.0 4.7 5.4

Rural....................................................................... 0.7 1.0 1.1 3.1 2.5

 

Region 

Northeast ................................................................ 1.3 1.4 1.7 2.8 3.5

Southeast ................................................................ † † 0.6 2.5 2.9

Central.................................................................... 0.6 1.0 1.0 2.7 2.8

West ....................................................................... 0.5 0.6 0.7 2.4 3.3

 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................................. 0.9 1.1 1.2 2.7 3.0

6 to 20 percent........................................................ 1.0 1.2 1.2 2.9 3.5

21 to 49 percent ...................................................... 0.5 0.7 1.0 2.4 3.2

50 percent or more.................................................. † † 0.4 1.9 2.5

 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ............................................... 0.9 1.0 1.1 2.2 2.8

35 to 49 percent ...................................................... † † 0.6 3.7 4.3

50 to 74 percent ...................................................... † 0.5 0.5 2.9 2.7

75 percent or more.................................................. 0.5 0.5 0.5 2.1 2.8

†Not applicable. Estimate of standard error is not derived because it is based on a statistic estimated at 100 percent. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
28 

Table 2. Percent of public elementary schools that offered any foods for sale outside of full school 

meals, and percentage distribution reporting whether the foods were sold to generate 

funds to support food service operations, by selected school characteristics: 2005 

Foods sold to generate funds2 

School characteristic 

Offered any foods 

for sale outside of 

full school meals1 Yes No 

Don’t 

know 

 

All public elementary schools ............. 94 36 54 10 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 89 36 57 7 

300 to 499.............................................. 95 34 54 12 

500 or more ........................................... 95 38 52 9 

School locale 

City........................................................ 92 31 59 10 

Urban fringe .......................................... 95 36 51 13 

Town ..................................................... 92 41 55 4 

Rural...................................................... 94 41 53 7 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 94 45 39 15 

Southeast ............................................... 97 46 45 9 

Central................................................... 93 31 65 5 

West ...................................................... 92 30 59 12 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 93 43 52 5 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 93 40 50 10 

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 95 36 55 9 

50 percent or more................................. 93 28 58 13 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 94 43 48 9 

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 90 38 52 11 

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 98 35 55 10 

75 percent or more................................. 92 27 63 10 

1

This variable was derived from the response to question 10 of the survey (i.e., whether the foods that students can buy separately from full 

school meals were sold to generate funds to support food service operations at the school). A response of “not applicable; no foods or beverages 

sold separately from full school meals” was coded as “no” for whether students could buy any foods separately from full school meals at the 

school. See appendix B for a copy of the questionnaire. 

2

Based on the 94 percent of public elementary schools that offered any of the selected foods for sale outside of full school meals. 

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
29 

Table 2a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools that offered any foods for 

sale outside of full school meals, and percentage distribution reporting whether the 

foods were sold to generate funds to support food service operations, by selected school 

characteristics: 2005 

Foods sold to generate funds

School characteristic 

Offered any foods 

for sale outside of 

full school meals Yes No 

Don’t 

know 

 

All public elementary schools ............. 0.6 1.5 1.6 0.9 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 1.8 3.1 3.2 1.9 

300 to 499.............................................. 1.1 2.7 2.8 1.7 

500 or more ........................................... 1.1 2.4 2.4 1.3 

School locale 

City........................................................ 1.4 2.1 2.7 1.9 

Urban fringe .......................................... 1.0 2.3 2.3 2.0 

Town ..................................................... 2.6 4.9 5.6 2.2 

Rural...................................................... 1.3 3.4 3.2 1.7 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 1.7 4.2 4.2 2.7 

Southeast ............................................... 1.1 3.1 3.4 2.2 

Central................................................... 1.5 2.7 2.7 1.3 

West ...................................................... 1.4 2.3 2.4 1.7 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent................................ 1.5 4.0 3.8 1.6 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 1.6 3.4 3.5 2.0 

21 to 49 percent..................................... 1.4 3.5 3.2 1.8 

50 percent or more................................. 1.3 2.1 2.8 1.7 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 1.0 2.6 2.7 1.8 

35 to 49 percent..................................... 2.2 4.6 4.5 2.6 

50 to 74 percent..................................... 0.8 3.2 3.5 1.9 

75 percent or more................................. 1.6 2.2 2.8 1.7 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
30 

Table 3. Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale 

at one or more locations in the school, and in the cafeteria or lunchroom, vending 

machine, and school store or snack bar, by type of food: 2005 

Locations where food was available for sale 

Type of food 

One or more 

locations in the 

school1

Cafeteria or 

lunchroom 

Vending 

machine 

School store or 

snack bar 

 

At least one of the listed foods ....................................... 88 84 22 31 

Nondairy beverages 

100% fruit or vegetable juice.......................................... 53 47 12 17 

Sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice ...... 31 22 13 12 

Soft drinks...................................................................... 12 2 9 6 

Bottled water.................................................................. 46 36 18 17 

Dairy products 

Low-fat or skim milk...................................................... 75 75 † † 

Milk that is not low fat or skim ...................................... 39 39 † † 

Yogurt ............................................................................ 26 26 † † 

Ice cream or frozen yogurt.............................................. 34 34 † † 

Lunch sides 

French fried potatoes ...................................................... 17 17 † † 

Green salad or fruit......................................................... 40 40 † † 

Snack foods 

Candy ............................................................................. 15 5 6 11 

Low-fat salty snacks....................................................... 38 29 6 19 

Salty snacks that are not low in fat ................................. 25 18 6 14 

Low-fat cookies/baked goods......................................... 28 21 4 13 

Cookies/baked goods not low in fat................................ 34 27 5 15 

1

This category includes schools that sold at least one of the listed foods in one or more of the indicated locations—cafeteria or lunchroom, 

vending machine, school store or snack bar. Vending machine foods may include foods available for sale at vending machines in the cafeteria or 

lunchroom. 

†Not applicable; the survey only asked whether these foods were available during mealtimes in the cafeteria or lunchroom. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
31 

Table 3a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various 

foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, and in the cafeteria 

or lunchroom, vending machine, and school store or snack bar, by type of food: 2005 

Locations where food was available for sale 

Type of food 

One or more 

locations in the 

school

Cafeteria or 

lunchroom 

Vending 

machine 

School store or 

snack bar 

 

At least one of the listed foods ....................................... 0.6 1.0 1.3 1.6 

Nondairy beverages 

100% fruit or vegetable juice.......................................... 1.6 1.6 1.0 1.3 

Sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice ...... 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.0 

Soft drinks...................................................................... 1.0 0.5 0.8 0.7 

Bottled water.................................................................. 1.6 1.5 1.2 1.3 

Dairy products 

Low-fat or skim milk...................................................... 1.5 1.5 † † 

Milk that is not low fat or skim ...................................... 1.5 1.5 † † 

Yogurt ............................................................................ 1.5 1.5 † † 

Ice cream or frozen yogurt.............................................. 1.4 1.4 † † 

Lunch sides 

French fried potatoes ...................................................... 1.1 1.1 † † 

Green salad or fruit......................................................... 1.7 1.7 † † 

Snack foods 

Candy ............................................................................. 1.2 0.7 0.7 0.9 

Low-fat salty snacks....................................................... 1.6 1.4 0.6 1.3 

Salty snacks that are not low in fat ................................. 1.3 1.1 0.7 0.9 

Low-fat cookies/baked goods......................................... 1.5 1.2 0.7 1.0 

Cookies/baked goods not low in fat................................ 1.5 1.4 0.6 1.1 

†Not applicable; estimate of standard error is not derived because the survey only asked whether these foods were available during mealtimes in 

the cafeteria or lunchroom. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
32 

Table 4. Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale 

at one or more locations in the school, by selected school characteristics: 2005 

Type of food available at one or more locations in the school 

Nondairy beverage Dairy products 

School characteristic 

At least 

one of 

the listed 

foods

100% 

fruit or 

vegetable 

juice

Sports/ 

fruit 

drinks 

that are 

not 100% 

juice

Soft 

drinks

Bottled 

water

Low-fat 

or skim 

milk 

Milk that 

is not 

low fat or 

skim Yogurt

Ice 

cream or 

frozen

yogurt

 

All public elementary schools ............. 88 53 31 12 46 75 39 26 34 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 83 46 32 24 40 66 39 19 22

300 to 499.............................................. 90 54 29 8 45 75 41 31 36

500 or more ........................................... 91 57 33 9 50 81 38 26 40 

School locale 

City........................................................ 85 53 23 7 41 70 32 24 28

Urban fringe .......................................... 91 53 32 6 45 80 44 30 38

Town ..................................................... 86 45 28 10 34 70 38 21 30

Rural...................................................... 90 56 40 27 54 74 40 23 34 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 87 58 30 5 52 81 61 41 50

Southeast ............................................... 93 65 43 14 60 83 54 32 55

Central................................................... 87 42 24 17 33 70 34 16 15

West ...................................................... 88 52 31 11 44 70 23 22 27 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent................................ 90 53 33 18 44 79 49 29 33

6 to 20 percent....................................... 89 53 33 10 50 78 45 27 38

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 89 48 30 9 40 74 32 20 30

50 percent or more................................. 86 54 26 11 44 69 31 23 30 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent.............................. 90 55 33 10 49 80 43 32 40

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 86 51 32 13 38 72 40 25 35

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 94 53 34 14 46 79 45 21 33

75 percent or more................................. 84 52 26 13 44 65 29 21 25 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ........................................................ 100 75 44 14 64 91 45 45 60

No.......................................................... 80 37 22 12 33 63 34 13 16

Don’t know............................................ 99 71 41 8 55 90 49 35 46

See notes at end of table. 
33 

Table 4. Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale 

at one or more locations in the school, by selected school characteristics: 2005—

Continued 

Type of food available at one or more locations in the school 

Lunch sides Snack foods 

School characteristic 

French fried 

potatoes

Green salad 

or fruit Candy

Low-fat 

salty snacks

Salty snacks 

that are not 

low in fat 

Low-fat 

cookies/

baked goods

Cookies/

baked goods 

not low 

in fat

All public elementary schools ............. 17 40 15 38 25 28 34 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 14 30 22 36 29 24 30

300 to 499.............................................. 18 42 14 39 25 26 38

500 or more ........................................... 18 45 12 40 23 31 33 

School locale 

City........................................................ 17 38 13 32 17 28 29

Urban fringe .......................................... 17 46 11 42 25 29 39

Town ..................................................... 17 29 12 35 25 18 23

Rural...................................................... 16 37 25 41 34 29 36 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 18 57 13 54 36 33 49

Southeast ............................................... 29 52 18 45 31 38 42

Central................................................... 13 29 16 30 23 20 29

West ...................................................... 12 32 14 34 18 25 25 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 16 39 15 41 28 25 35

6 to 20 percent....................................... 19 45 13 46 27 33 38

21 to 49 percent..................................... 15 33 15 33 20 26 32

50 percent or more................................. 15 38 16 34 23 25 30 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 17 44 11 47 28 32 39

35 to 49 percent..................................... 14 36 15 35 24 24 37

50 to 74 percent..................................... 19 41 21 35 26 26 32

75 percent or more................................. 16 36 16 32 22 25 28 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ........................................................ 27 63 19 59 39 44 55

No.......................................................... 10 24 13 24 15 16 20

Don’t know............................................ 20 54 12 50 33 37 44

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
34 

Table 4a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various 

foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, by selected school 

characteristics: 2005 

Type of food available at one or more locations in the school 

Nondairy beverage Dairy products 

School characteristic 

At least 

one of 

the listed 

foods

100% 

fruit or 

vegetable 

juice

Sports 

drinks or 

fruit 

drinks 

that are 

not 100% 

juice

Soft 

drinks

Bottled 

water

Low-fat 

or skim 

milk 

Milk that 

is not 

low fat or 

skim Yogurt

Ice 

cream or 

frozen 

yogurt

 

All public elementary schools ............. 0.9 1.6 1.3 0.9 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 1.9 2.6 2.1 1.9 2.5 2.3 2.5 2.1 2.3

300 to 499.............................................. 1.8 2.8 2.9 1.5 2.9 2.7 2.1 2.7 2.6

500 or more ........................................... 1.5 2.7 2.5 1.5 2.6 2.1 1.9 2.4 2.7 

School locale 

City........................................................ 2.2 2.9 2.8 1.7 2.6 2.8 2.8 2.6 2.6

Urban fringe .......................................... 1.2 2.5 2.0 1.4 2.3 2.0 2.4 2.7 2.4

Town ..................................................... 3.2 4.8 4.7 3.1 4.5 4.4 4.6 4.3 5.1

Rural...................................................... 1.6 2.8 2.7 2.0 2.8 2.5 2.7 2.1 2.6 

Region 

 

Northeast ............................................... 2.6 3.7 3.5 1.9 3.4 2.8 3.8 3.5 3.7

Southeast ............................................... 1.9 2.9 3.6 2.4 3.5 2.7 3.5 3.5 3.0

Central................................................... 2.1 3.2 2.7 1.9 3.1 3.1 2.7 2.3 1.7

West ...................................................... 1.7 2.7 2.5 1.5 2.7 2.3 2.4 2.2 2.3 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 2.0 3.2 2.9 2.1 3.0 3.1 3.8 3.3 3.3

6 to 20 percent....................................... 1.7 2.7 2.7 2.1 3.6 2.5 2.9 2.9 2.7

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 1.7 3.5 2.8 1.9 3.6 2.3 2.9 2.6 2.4

50 percent or more................................. 1.9 2.4 2.1 1.7 2.7 2.7 2.8 2.6 2.6 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 1.5 2.3 2.0 1.5 2.7 2.2 2.7 2.2 2.6

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 2.9 3.6 3.9 2.8 3.6 3.4 4.5 3.2 3.9

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 1.7 3.0 3.3 2.0 3.3 2.7 2.9 2.5 2.5

75 percent or more................................. 2.3 3.1 2.7 1.9 3.0 3.2 3.3 2.5 2.7 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ........................................................ † 2.6 2.6 1.7 2.3 1.4 2.5 2.9 2.9

No.......................................................... 1.6 1.9 1.6 1.4 2.2 2.3 1.9 1.3 1.3

Don’t know............................................ 1.2 4.8 4.9 2.5 5.6 2.9 5.0 5.5 5.1

See notes at end of table. 
35 

Table 4a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various 

foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, by selected school 

characteristics: 2005—Continued 

Type of food available at one or more locations in the school 

Lunch sides Snack foods 

School characteristic 

French fried 

potatoes

Green salad 

or fruit Candy

Low-fat 

salty snacks

Salty snacks 

that are not 

low in fat 

Low-fat 

cookies/

baked goods

Cookies/

baked goods 

not low 

in fat

All public elementary schools ............. 1.1 1.7 1.1 1.6 1.2 1.4 1.5 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 1.8 2.1 2.1 2.8 2.8 2.6 2.4

300 to 499.............................................. 2.3 3.1 2.0 2.2 2.3 2.5 3.0

500 or more ........................................... 2.1 2.5 1.7 2.4 2.1 2.1 2.2 

School locale 

City........................................................ 1.9 3.4 2.0 2.8 2.3 2.6 3.2

Urban fringe .......................................... 1.8 2.7 1.8 2.4 2.0 1.9 2.4

Town ..................................................... 3.9 5.0 3.4 5.5 5.2 4.1 5.4

Rural...................................................... 2.2 2.9 2.4 2.9 2.6 2.8 2.7 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 2.7 3.4 2.7 3.1 3.4 3.0 4.0

Southeast ............................................... 3.3 3.8 2.9 3.8 2.7 3.6 3.2

Central................................................... 1.9 2.4 1.9 2.6 2.4 2.3 2.9

West ...................................................... 1.7 2.6 2.1 2.4 2.4 2.1 2.1 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 2.5 3.5 2.1 3.2 2.9 2.5 3.2

6 to 20 percent....................................... 2.5 3.4 2.5 2.6 2.9 2.6 2.7

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 1.9 2.9 2.8 3.6 2.6 3.1 3.5

50 percent or more................................. 1.8 2.8 2.1 2.5 2.0 2.7 2.8 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 2.0 2.5 1.9 2.6 2.2 2.4 2.3

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 2.7 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.5 3.3 4.2

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 2.5 3.1 2.3 2.5 2.4 2.8 2.8

75 percent or more................................. 2.5 3.1 2.0 2.8 2.5 3.0 2.7 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ........................................................ 2.3 2.7 2.2 2.9 2.7 2.7 3.0

No.......................................................... 1.3 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.5

Don’t know............................................ 4.3 5.2 3.5 5.6 4.5 5.5 4.8

†Not applicable. Estimate of standard error is not derived because it is based on a statistic estimated at 100 percent. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
36 

Table 5. Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale 

in the school cafeteria or lunchroom, by selected school characteristics: 2005 

Type of food available in cafeteria/lunchroom 

Nondairy beverage Dairy products 

School characteristic 

At least 

one of 

the listed 

foods

100% 

fruit or 

vegetable 

juice

Sports/ 

fruit 

drinks 

that are 

not 100% 

juice

Soft 

drinks

Bottled 

water

Low-fat 

or skim 

milk 

Milk that 

is not 

low fat or 

skim Yogurt

Ice 

cream or 

frozen 

yogurt

 

All public elementary schools ............. 84 47 22 2 36 75 39 26 34 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 78 38 18 5 25 66 39 19 22

300 to 499.............................................. 85 48 21 1! 36 75 41 31 36

500 or more ........................................... 88 53 26 2 43 81 38 26 40 

School locale 

City........................................................ 82 49 18 2 34 70 32 24 28

Urban fringe .......................................... 87 50 25 1 38 80 44 30 38

Town ..................................................... 82 37 20 # 27 70 38 21 30

Rural...................................................... 83 46 23 5 37 74 40 23 34 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 86 56 25 2! 47 81 61 41 50

Southeast ............................................... 90 58 31 2! 50 83 54 32 55

Central................................................... 82 36 15 3 23 70 34 16 15

West ...................................................... 81 46 20 2 32 70 23 22 27 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent................................ 86 46 23 2 33 79 49 29 33

6 to 20 percent....................................... 85 48 25 2 41 78 45 27 38

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 84 42 21 2 30 74 32 20 30

50 percent or more................................. 81 48 17 3 35 69 31 23 30 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent.............................. 86 51 25 1 41 80 43 32 40

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 83 46 24 2! 32 72 40 25 35

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 89 44 21 3 33 79 45 21 33

75 percent or more................................. 78 46 16 3 33 65 29 21 25 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ........................................................ 98 69 36 2 56 91 45 45 60

No.......................................................... 73 32 12 2 21 63 34 13 16

Don’t know............................................ 99 66 31 3! 49 90 49 35 46

See notes at end of table. 
37 

Table 5. Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale 

in the school cafeteria or lunchroom, by selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued 

Type of food available in cafeteria/lunchroom 

Lunch sides Snack foods 

School characteristic 

French fried 

potatoes

Green salad 

or fruit Candy

Low-fat 

salty snacks

Salty snacks 

that are not 

low in fat 

Low-fat 

cookies/

baked goods

Cookies/

baked goods 

not low 

in fat

 

All public elementary schools ............. 17 40 5 29 18 21 27 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 14 30 6 23 17 16 20

300 to 499.............................................. 18 42 4 29 19 23 31

500 or more ........................................... 18 45 4 32 16 24 29 

School locale 

City........................................................ 17 38 3 20 10 21 22

Urban fringe .......................................... 17 46 4 37 21 24 35

Town ..................................................... 17 29 4! 17 14 8 13

Rural...................................................... 16 37 7 31 22 21 26 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 18 57 7 51 32 30 45

Southeast ............................................... 29 52 3 32 19 27 33

Central................................................... 13 29 5 20 15 14 23

West ...................................................... 12 32 4 22 11 20 18 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 16 39 4 34 22 18 28

6 to 20 percent....................................... 19 45 6 38 22 26 34

21 to 49 percent..................................... 15 33 5 22 13 21 25

50 percent or more................................. 15 38 4 23 14 18 21 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 17 44 4 40 23 26 35

35 to 49 percent..................................... 14 36 6 27 17 19 30

50 to 74 percent..................................... 19 41 5 24 16 20 23

75 percent or more................................. 16 36 4 18 12 17 18 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ........................................................ 27 63 8 53 33 37 49

No.......................................................... 10 24 3 12 7 11 12

Don’t know............................................ 20 54 2! 42 26 31 37

# Rounds to zero. 

!Interpret data with caution; the coefficient of variation is greater than 50 percent. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
38 

Table 5a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various 

foods were available for sale in the school cafeteria or lunchroom, by selected school 

characteristics: 2005 

Type of food available in cafeteria/lunchroom 

Nondairy beverage Dairy products 

School characteristic 

At least 

one of 

the listed 

foods

100% 

fruit or 

vegetable 

juice

Sports 

drinks or 

fruit 

drinks 

that are 

not 100% 

juice

Soft 

drinks

Bottled 

water

Low-fat 

or skim 

milk 

Milk that 

is not 

low fat or 

skim Yogurt

Ice 

cream or 

frozen 

yogurt

 

All public elementary schools ............. 1.1 1.6 1.1 0.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 2.0 2.7 1.9 1.0 2.0 2.3 2.5 2.1 2.3

300 to 499.............................................. 2.0 2.6 2.3 0.6 2.7 2.7 2.1 2.7 2.6

500 or more ........................................... 1.5 2.5 2.1 0.7 2.6 2.1 1.9 2.4 2.7 

School locale 

City........................................................ 2.3 2.9 2.5 0.8 2.7 2.8 2.8 2.6 2.6

Urban fringe .......................................... 1.4 2.5 1.8 0.5 2.2 2.0 2.4 2.7 2.4

Town ..................................................... 3.8 5.1 4.2 † 4.3 4.4 4.6 4.3 5.1

Rural...................................................... 2.0 3.0 2.2 1.2 2.5 2.5 2.7 2.1 2.6 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 2.6 3.9 3.7 0.9 3.6 2.8 3.8 3.5 3.7

Southeast ............................................... 2.1 3.3 2.9 1.5 4.0 2.7 3.5 3.5 3.0

Central................................................... 2.3 3.1 2.1 0.9 2.3 3.1 2.7 2.3 1.7

West ...................................................... 2.1 2.7 2.2 0.7 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.2 2.3 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 2.5 3.5 2.9 0.9 3.1 3.1 3.8 3.3 3.3

6 to 20 percent....................................... 2.0 2.8 2.2 0.8 3.0 2.5 2.9 2.9 2.7

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 1.9 3.3 2.5 1.1 3.0 2.3 2.9 2.6 2.4

50 percent or more................................. 2.0 2.3 1.8 0.9 2.8 2.7 2.8 2.6 2.6 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 1.9 2.3 1.8 0.6 2.6 2.2 2.7 2.2 2.6

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 3.3 4.0 3.4 0.9 3.1 3.4 4.5 3.2 3.9

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 2.1 3.0 2.5 1.3 3.4 2.7 2.9 2.5 2.5

75 percent or more................................. 2.6 3.2 2.2 0.9 2.8 3.2 3.3 2.5 2.7

 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ........................................................ 0.7 2.8 2.9 0.7 2.5 1.4 2.5 2.9 2.9

No.......................................................... 1.8 1.9 1.0 0.6 1.8 2.3 1.9 1.3 1.3

Don’t know............................................ 1.2 4.8 4.9 1.6 5.6 2.9 5.0 5.5 5.1

See notes at end of table. 
39 

Table 5a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various 

foods were available for sale in the school cafeteria or lunchroom, by selected school 

characteristics: 2005—Continued 

Type of food available in cafeteria/lunch room 

Lunch sides Snack foods 

School characteristic 

French fried 

potatoes

Green salad 

or fruit Candy

Low-fat 

salty snacks

Salty snacks 

that are not 

low in fat 

Low-fat 

cookies/

baked goods

Cookies/

baked goods 

not low 

in fat

All public elementary schools ............. 1.1 1.7 0.7 1.3 1.0 1.2 1.3 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 1.8 2.1 1.5 2.4 2.4 1.8 2.1

300 to 499.............................................. 2.3 3.1 1.3 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.7

500 or more ........................................... 2.1 2.5 0.9 2.2 1.7 1.8 2.1 

School locale 

City........................................................ 1.9 3.4 1.0 2.1 1.8 2.3 2.8

Urban fringe .......................................... 1.8 2.7 1.0 2.3 1.9 1.9 2.4

Town ..................................................... 3.9 5.0 2.1 4.7 4.1 3.3 4.2

Rural...................................................... 2.2 2.9 1.6 2.6 2.6 2.4 2.7 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 2.7 3.4 2.1 3.1 3.3 3.0 4.3

Southeast ............................................... 3.3 3.8 1.2 3.3 2.2 3.0 2.6

Central................................................... 1.9 2.4 1.2 2.3 2.1 1.8 2.4

West ...................................................... 1.7 2.6 1.1 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.8 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 2.5 3.5 1.4 3.2 2.7 2.1 2.4

6 to 20 percent....................................... 2.5 3.4 1.8 2.4 2.4 2.8 2.6

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 1.9 2.9 1.5 2.8 2.0 2.5 2.7

50 percent or more................................. 1.8 2.8 0.9 2.1 1.7 2.2 2.3 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 2.0 2.5 1.1 2.5 1.9 2.0 2.0

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 2.7 3.4 2.0 3.3 2.8 3.2 4.1

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 2.5 3.1 1.5 2.5 2.2 2.5 2.7

75 percent or more................................. 2.5 3.1 1.1 2.1 1.8 2.5 2.3 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ........................................................ 2.3 2.7 1.9 3.0 2.6 2.3 2.7

No.......................................................... 1.3 1.6 0.7 1.2 0.9 1.2 1.2

Don’t know............................................ 4.3 5.2 1.3 5.9 4.4 5.4 4.8

†Not applicable; estimate of standard error is not derived because it is based on an estimate of 0 percent. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
40 

Table 6. Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale 

at vending machines, by selected school characteristics: 2005 

Type of food available at vending machines 

Nondairy beverage Snack foods 

School characteristic 

At least 

one of 

the listed 

foods 

100% 

fruit or 

vegetable 

juice

Sports/ 

fruit 

drinks 

that are 

not 100% 

juice

Soft 

drinks

Bottled 

water Candy

Low-fat 

salty 

snacks 

Salty 

snacks 

that are 

not low 

in fat 

Low-fat 

cookies/

baked 

goods

Cookies/

baked 

goods 

not low

in fat

 

All public elementary 

 schools .............................. 22 12 13 9 18 6 6 6 4 5 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................... 26 13 19 18 21 11 11 11 8 9 

300 to 499.............................. 19 10 10 5 16 3 4 4 3 3 

500 or more ........................... 22 11 13 6 18 4 5 5 4 4 

School locale 

City........................................ 17 11 8 4 14 3 4 3 3 3 

Urban fringe .......................... 15 6 9 4 12 2 2 2 2 1 

Town ..................................... 22 7 13 10 16 7 9 8 5 7 

Rural...................................... 36 20 24 21 31 13 13 13 9 11 

Region 

Northeast ............................... 16 8 9 4 12 3 3 4 ‡ 3 

Southeast ............................... 22 10 14 11 19 8 10 8 7 7 

Central................................... 25 14 15 14 20 6 7 7 5 6 

West ...................................... 23 12 13 7 19 5 5 5 4 4 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................ 30 15 19 16 24 9 11 8 8 8 

6 to 20 percent....................... 18 9 12 7 14 4 4 5 3 3 

21 to 49 percent ..................... 17 9 11 7 15 5 5 5 3 4 

50 percent or more................. 21 12 10 7 17 5 5 5 4 4 

Percent of students eligible 

 for free or reduced-price 

 lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............. 20 9 12 8 16 4 6 5 4 4 

35 to 49 percent ..................... 22 11 13 12 18 7 6 7 5 6 

50 to 74 percent ..................... 26 13 18 11 22 7 9 8 6 6 

75 percent or more................. 21 13 11 9 17 6 5 5 4 4 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ........................................ 25 14 17 12 22 7 8 8 6 7 

No.......................................... 20 9 11 8 16 5 6 5 4 4 

Don’t know............................ 22 16 13 5 18 5 3 4 ‡ 2! 

!Interpret data with caution; the coefficient of variations is greater than 50 percent. 

‡Reporting standards not met. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
41 

Table 6a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various 

foods were available for sale at vending machines, by selected school characteristics: 

2005 

Type of food available at vending machines 

Nondairy beverage Snack foods 

School characteristic 

At least 

one of 

the listed 

foods 

100% 

fruit or 

vegetable 

juice

Sports/

fruit 

drinks 

not 100% 

juice

Soft 

drinks

Bottled 

water Candy

Low-fat 

salty 

snacks 

Salty 

snacks 

that are 

not low 

in fat 

Low-fat 

cookies/

baked 

goods

Cookies/

baked 

goods 

not low 

in fat

 

All public elementary 

 schools .............................. 1.3 1.0 1.2 0.8 1.2 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................... 2.3 1.8 2.2 2.0 2.2 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.5 1.5

300 to 499.............................. 2.2 1.3 1.8 1.3 2.0 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.0 0.9

500 or more ........................... 2.3 1.7 2.1 1.3 2.0 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.2 

School locale 

City........................................ 2.1 1.9 1.7 1.2 1.9 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0

Urban fringe .......................... 1.4 1.1 1.4 1.0 1.4 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6

Town ..................................... 4.7 2.8 3.6 3.1 3.8 2.8 3.2 2.9 2.3 2.8

Rural...................................... 3.0 2.3 2.7 2.1 3.0 2.0 2.0 2.1 1.9 1.8 

Region 

Northeast ............................... 2.7 2.1 2.3 1.3 2.5 1.3 1.3 1.3 † 1.2

Southeast ............................... 2.4 1.8 2.6 2.0 2.1 1.8 2.0 1.8 1.8 1.8

Central................................... 2.8 2.1 2.2 2.0 2.4 1.1 1.5 1.5 1.3 1.4

West ...................................... 2.3 1.6 1.9 1.3 1.9 1.1 1.0 1.5 0.9 0.9 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................ 2.7 2.2 2.5 2.1 2.6 1.7 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.6

6 to 20 percent....................... 3.0 1.9 2.2 1.8 2.5 1.4 1.4 2.0 1.1 1.3

21 to 49 percent ..................... 2.3 2.0 2.1 1.6 2.4 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.3

50 percent or more................. 1.9 1.6 1.7 1.2 1.7 1.2 1.0 1.1 0.9 1.1 

Percent of students eligible 

 for free or reduced-price 

 lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............. 2.2 1.8 2.0 1.3 2.2 1.0 1.3 1.2 1.1 0.9

35 to 49 percent ..................... 3.6 2.2 2.7 2.4 3.4 2.1 1.8 2.1 1.8 2.0

50 to 74 percent ..................... 2.9 2.1 2.8 2.0 2.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.5 1.6

75 percent or more................. 2.1 1.9 1.7 1.5 1.8 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.2 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ........................................ 2.1 1.9 1.9 1.6 2.0 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.4

No.......................................... 1.7 1.2 1.4 1.2 1.6 0.8 0.9 1.0 0.7 0.7

Don’t know............................ 4.9 4.5 3.8 2.1 3.9 2.0 1.5 1.9 ‡ 1.4

†Not applicable. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
42 

Table 7. Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale 

at school stores or snack bars, by selected school characteristics: 2005 

Type of food available at school stores or snack bars 

Nondairy beverage Snack foods 

School characteristic 

At least 

one of 

the listed 

foods 

100% 

fruit or 

vegetable 

juice

Sports/ 

fruit 

drinks 

that are 

not 100% 

juice

Soft 

drinks

Bottled 

water Candy

Low-fat 

salty 

snacks 

Salty 

snacks 

that are 

not low 

in fat 

Low-fat 

cookies/

baked 

goods

Cookies/

baked 

goods 

not low 

in fat

 

All public elementary 

 schools .............................. 31 17 12 6 17 11 19 14 13 15 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................... 32 16 13 12 18 15 21 17 13 15

300 to 499.............................. 34 20 12 5 17 11 22 15 13 19

500 or more ........................... 28 16 11 3 16 7 16 10 13 12 

School locale 

City........................................ 31 15 9 4 15 10 18 10 13 14

Urban fringe .......................... 32 17 13 3 18 8 20 14 13 18

Town ..................................... 29 16 10 5 11 8 21 15 12 12

Rural...................................... 32 21 16 12 20 16 19 17 13 15

31 15 9 4 15 10 18 10 13 14

Region 

Northeast ............................... 33 19 12 3! 21 9 26 20 16 23

Southeast ............................... 36 23 16 6 21 12 20 16 16 18

Central................................... 27 15 9 6 12 10 16 12 9 13

West ...................................... 31 15 12 7 18 11 18 10 12 12 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................ 26 15 10 7 15 8 17 12 11 14

6 to 20 percent....................... 31 20 14 4 19 8 22 14 15 16

21 to 49 percent ..................... 30 13 9 5 12 10 17 11 11 16

50 percent or more................. 33 18 12 6 18 13 19 14 12 15 

Percent of students eligible 

 for free or reduced-price 

 lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............. 29 16 11 4 18 6 19 12 13 15

35 to 49 percent ..................... 27 14 11 5 8 7 15 13 11 18

50 to 74 percent ..................... 34 18 14 8 18 17 21 16 13 15

75 percent or more................. 35 20 12 8 20 13 21 14 14 15 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ........................................ 41 27 17 5 25 12 26 19 20 23

No.......................................... 24 11 8 6 12 10 14 10 8 10

Don’t know............................ 42 24 17 5 22 10 27 16 17 19

!Interpret data with caution; the coefficient of variations is greater than 50 percent. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
43 

Table 7a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various 

foods were available for sale at school stores or snack bars, by selected school 

characteristics: 2005 

Type of food available at school stores or snack bars 

Nondairy beverage Snack foods 

School characteristic 

At least 

one of 

the listed 

foods 

100% 

fruit or 

vegetable 

juice

Sports/

fruit 

drinks 

not 100% 

juice

Soft 

drinks

Bottled 

water Candy

Low-fat 

salty 

snacks 

Salty 

snacks 

that are 

not low 

in fat 

Low-fat 

cookies/

baked 

goods

Cookies/

baked 

goods 

not low 

in fat

 

All public elementary 

 schools .............................. 1.5 1.2 0.9 0.7 1.3 0.9 1.3 0.9 1.0 1.1 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................... 2.2 1.9 1.6 1.7 2.3 1.8 2.1 2.1 1.8 1.6

300 to 499.............................. 2.5 2.0 2.0 1.1 2.2 1.7 2.3 2.0 2.0 2.4

500 or more ........................... 2.3 1.8 1.8 0.9 1.9 1.2 2.0 1.4 1.7 1.6 

School locale 

City........................................ 3.0 2.3 1.6 1.4 2.1 1.9 2.6 1.7 2.0 2.1

Urban fringe .......................... 2.5 2.2 1.7 1.0 2.4 1.3 1.9 1.6 1.8 1.9

Town ..................................... 5.2 3.6 3.1 2.3 3.1 2.8 4.8 4.5 3.5 4.4

Rural...................................... 2.6 2.3 1.9 1.9 2.3 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.0 2.1 

Region 

Northeast ............................... 3.3 2.9 2.2 1.7 3.0 2.3 3.1 2.5 2.8 3.2

Southeast ............................... 3.0 2.9 2.3 1.6 2.4 2.3 2.6 1.9 2.4 2.5

Central................................... 2.7 2.3 1.7 1.6 2.1 1.7 2.3 1.9 1.5 2.2

West ...................................... 3.0 2.1 2.0 1.4 2.6 1.9 2.5 1.7 1.7 1.7 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................ 2.6 2.5 1.8 1.7 2.5 1.7 2.4 2.0 2.2 2.2

6 to 20 percent....................... 3.2 2.6 2.0 1.4 2.7 1.6 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.2

21 to 49 percent ..................... 3.3 2.3 2.1 1.6 2.3 2.0 3.0 2.0 2.0 2.5

50 percent or more................. 2.4 2.1 1.7 1.3 2.0 2.0 2.1 1.6 1.9 2.0 

Percent of students eligible 

 for free or reduced-price 

 lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............. 2.7 2.0 1.6 1.2 2.4 1.4 2.1 1.5 1.9 1.8

35 to 49 percent ..................... 4.2 2.8 2.3 1.6 2.1 2.0 3.1 3.1 2.6 3.7

50 to 74 percent ..................... 2.4 2.3 2.4 1.5 2.5 2.0 2.1 1.8 1.8 1.8

75 percent or more................. 2.9 2.5 2.0 1.6 2.5 1.8 2.8 1.8 2.1 2.3 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ........................................ 2.7 2.7 2.1 1.4 2.5 1.4 2.2 2.0 2.3 1.9

No.......................................... 1.8 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.3 1.1 1.3

Don’t know............................ 5.7 4.0 3.3 2.2 4.7 3.5 4.8 3.4 4.4 4.5

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
44 

Table 8. Percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when foods were available for 

sale at vending machines, and of the schools with vending machines, percent indicating 

the times when foods were available for sale, by selected school characteristics: 2005 

All schools1 Schools with vending machines 2

School characteristic 

At 

mealtimes

At other 

times 

during the 

school day

Outside of 

the school 

day 

At 

mealtimes 

At other 

times 

during the 

school day 

Outside of 

the school 

day 

 

All public elementary schools .............................. 8 11 14 33 46 61 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300.......................................................... 7 16 18 24 59 63 

300 to 499............................................................... 7 9 10 33 48 52 

500 or more ............................................................ 9 8 15 41 33 66 

School locale 

City......................................................................... 10 4 11 53 23 63 

Urban fringe ........................................................... 6 8 10 39 51 66 

Town ...................................................................... ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ 

Rural....................................................................... 9 21 21 25 55 56 

Region 

Northeast ................................................................ 7 6 10 45 35 64 

Southeast ................................................................ 5 14 10 20 63 45 

Central.................................................................... 8 7 19 33 29 73 

West ....................................................................... 9 13 14 37 55 58 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................................. 8 12 22 28 40 72 

6 to 20 percent........................................................ 5 9 10 25 50 56 

21 to 49 percent ...................................................... 7 10 10 37 53 50 

50 percent or more.................................................. 9 9 14 42 39 64 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ............................................... 7 8 13 34 40 62 

35 to 49 percent ...................................................... 8 10 14 37 46 62 

50 to 74 percent ...................................................... 7 17 14 24 62 51 

75 percent or more.................................................. 9 8 15 41 35 69 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ......................................................................... 8 13 16 32 48 61 

No........................................................................... 7 9 13 32 45 61 

Don’t know............................................................. 11 10 15 ‡ ‡ ‡ 

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Based on all public elementary schools. 

2

Based on the 23 percent of public elementary schools that offered vending machine foods (table 1). 

NOTE: Respondents could report multiple times when vending machines foods were available. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 

 
45 

Table 8a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when 

foods were available for sale at vending machines, and of the schools with vending 

machines, percent indicating the times when foods were available for sale, by selected 

school characteristics: 2005 

All schools Schools with vending machines 

School characteristic 

At 

mealtimes

At other 

times 

during the 

school day

Outside of 

the school 

day 

At 

mealtimes 

At other 

times 

during the 

school day 

Outside of 

the school 

day 

 

All public elementary schools .............................. 0.9 1.0 1.0 3.4 3.6 2.8 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300.......................................................... 1.4 1.8 2.0 4.5 4.9 5.1 

300 to 499............................................................... 1.1 1.6 1.9 5.1 6.3 6.8 

500 or more ............................................................ 1.5 1.3 1.9 6.2 5.2 5.7 

School locale 

City......................................................................... 1.9 1.1 1.8 8.2 5.5 7.1 

Urban fringe ........................................................... 1.1 1.2 1.3 6.0 6.2 5.9 

Town ...................................................................... † † † † † † 

Rural....................................................................... 2.0 2.5 2.4 4.7 4.5 4.2 

Region 

Northeast ................................................................ 1.8 2.2 2.1 9.3 11.3 7.4 

Southeast ................................................................ 1.3 2.5 1.7 5.4 7.6 6.1 

Central.................................................................... 1.7 1.3 2.4 6.3 4.5 5.3 

West ....................................................................... 1.3 2.0 1.8 4.4 5.4 5.0 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................................. 1.9 1.9 2.3 5.8 5.2 5.3 

6 to 20 percent........................................................ 1.3 2.1 2.1 6.3 7.8 7.0 

21 to 49 percent ...................................................... 1.6 1.9 2.0 7.1 8.7 8.2 

50 percent or more.................................................. 1.5 1.5 1.7 5.8 6.0 5.5 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ............................................... 1.3 1.7 1.9 5.2 6.3 5.7 

35 to 49 percent ...................................................... 2.2 2.5 2.9 9.0 8.6 8.6 

50 to 74 percent ...................................................... 1.6 2.5 2.4 5.2 6.7 5.5 

75 percent or more.................................................. 1.6 1.7 1.9 6.6 6.9 5.8 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ......................................................................... 1.8 1.8 2.0 5.8 6.2 5.2 

No........................................................................... 1.1 1.1 1.4 4.7 4.7 3.9 

Don’t know............................................................. 3.3 2.9 4.1 † † † 

†Not applicable. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
46 

Table 9. Percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when foods were available for 

sale at school stores or snack bars, and of the schools with stores or snack bars, percent 

indicating the times when foods were available for sale, by selected school 

characteristics: 2005 

All schools1 Schools with stores or snack bars2 

School characteristic 

At 

mealtimes

At other 

times 

during the 

school day

Outside of 

the school 

day 

At 

mealtimes 

At other 

times 

during the 

school day 

Outside of 

the school 

day 

 

All public elementary schools .............................. 15 11 14 43 33 41 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300.......................................................... 12 16 15 33 45 42 

300 to 499............................................................... 19 11 14 50 29 39 

500 or more ............................................................ 13 8 14 42 27 44 

School locale 

City......................................................................... 13 11 19 37 32 55 

Urban fringe ........................................................... 18 8 12 53 24 34 

Town ...................................................................... 10 10 14 ‡ ‡ ‡ 

Rural....................................................................... 14 16 13 39 45 36 

Region 

Northeast ................................................................ 24 9 6 70 26 17 

Southeast ................................................................ 12 18 17 31 47 45 

Central.................................................................... 13 7 14 44 22 48 

West ....................................................................... 13 12 17 36 34 47 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................................. 14 13 7 47 44 24 

6 to 20 percent........................................................ 20 6 12 59 19 35 

21 to 49 percent ...................................................... 12 13 14 33 36 39 

50 percent or more.................................................. 13 11 19 38 32 53 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ............................................... 18 8 8 55 26 25 

35 to 49 percent ...................................................... 14 8 17 44 24 52 

50 to 74 percent ...................................................... 13 16 16 35 44 43 

75 percent or more.................................................. 13 13 20 35 34 54 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ......................................................................... 25 12 16 57 27 36 

No........................................................................... 7 11 14 25 40 49 

Don’t know............................................................. 26 12 14 58 26 31 

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Based on all public elementary schools. 

2

Based on the 35 percent of public elementary schools that offered food services at school stores or snack bars (table 1). 

NOTE: Respondents could report multiple times when school store or snack bar foods were available. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
47 

Table 9a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when 

foods were available for sale at school stores or snack bars, and of the schools with 

stores or snack bars, percent indicating the times when foods were available for sale, by 

selected school characteristics: 2005 

All schools School with stores or snack bars

School characteristic 

At 

mealtimes

At other 

times 

during the 

school day

Outside of 

the school 

day 

At 

mealtimes 

At other 

times 

during the 

school day 

Outside of 

the school 

day 

 

All public elementary schools .............................. 1.1 0.9 1.0 2.5 2.3 2.2 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300.......................................................... 2.2 1.9 1.9 5.1 4.9 5.0 

300 to 499............................................................... 1.9 1.6 1.9 4.5 3.7 4.0 

500 or more ............................................................ 1.9 1.4 1.6 4.8 4.2 4.8 

School locale 

City......................................................................... 2.1 1.9 2.6 5.0 5.2 5.1 

Urban fringe ........................................................... 2.0 1.5 1.4 4.5 3.5 3.9 

Town ...................................................................... 3.1 3.5 5.1 † † † 

Rural....................................................................... 2.2 2.3 1.7 5.3 5.3 4.3 

Region 

Northeast ................................................................ 3.0 2.0 1.7 6.4 4.9 4.5 

Southeast ................................................................ 2.1 2.6 2.4 5.2 5.4 4.8 

Central.................................................................... 1.9 1.6 1.8 4.8 4.5 4.2 

West ....................................................................... 1.8 1.9 1.8 3.8 4.2 3.8 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................................. 2.2 2.1 1.6 6.3 5.5 5.1 

6 to 20 percent........................................................ 2.9 1.6 2.2 5.5 4.3 5.2 

21 to 49 percent ...................................................... 2.2 2.2 2.2 5.6 5.4 6.0 

50 percent or more.................................................. 2.0 1.5 2.2 4.8 4.0 5.0 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ............................................... 2.0 1.4 1.6 5.0 3.6 4.0 

35 to 49 percent ...................................................... 3.1 2.3 3.0 8.3 6.3 7.4 

50 to 74 percent ...................................................... 2.1 2.1 1.9 4.9 5.2 4.6 

75 percent or more.................................................. 2.0 1.8 2.8 4.9 5.0 5.1 

Foods sold to generate funds 

Yes ......................................................................... 2.2 1.6 2.1 3.7 3.4 4.2 

No........................................................................... 1.1 1.3 1.4 3.2 3.8 3.5 

Don’t know............................................................. 4.9 3.4 4.0 7.8 7.5 7.7 

†Not applicable. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
48 

Table 10. Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the entities that operated 

food services at the school, by selected school characteristics: 2005 

School characteristic 

School or 

district

Private/other 

entity 

 

All public elementary schools............................................... 81 19 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300........................................................................... 83 17 

300 to 499................................................................................ 79 21 

500 or more ............................................................................. 83 17 

School locale 

City.......................................................................................... 80 20 

Urban fringe ............................................................................ 77 23 

Town ....................................................................................... 81 19 

Rural........................................................................................ 90 10 

Region 

Northeast ................................................................................. 66 34 

Southeast ................................................................................. 94 6 

Central..................................................................................... 76 24 

West ........................................................................................ 85 15 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent .................................................................. 87 13 

6 to 20 percent......................................................................... 75 25 

21 to 49 percent ....................................................................... 80 20 

50 percent or more................................................................... 82 18 

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ................................................................ 77 23 

35 to 49 percent ....................................................................... 86 14 

50 to 74 percent ....................................................................... 86 14 

75 percent or more................................................................... 80 20 

NOTE: Data in this table are based on the 99 percent of public elementary schools that offered any food services in the school (table 1). Food 

services at the school include foods and beverages available to students in the school cafeteria or lunchroom (e.g., school meals, a la carte items, 

and vending machine foods) and foods and beverages sold at vending machines and school stores or snack bars. Detail may not sum to totals 

because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
49 

Table 10a. Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting 

the entities that operated food services at the school, by selected school characteristics: 

2005 

School characteristic 

School or 

district

Private/other 

entity 

 

All public elementary schools............................................... 1.0 1.0 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300........................................................................... 2.2 2.2 

300 to 499................................................................................ 2.3 2.3 

500 or more ............................................................................. 1.7 1.7 

School locale 

City.......................................................................................... 2.3 2.3 

Urban fringe ............................................................................ 2.2 2.2 

Town ....................................................................................... 3.7 3.7 

Rural........................................................................................ 1.9 1.9 

Region 

Northeast ................................................................................. 4.0 4.0 

Southeast ................................................................................. 1.5 1.5 

Central..................................................................................... 2.4 2.4 

West ........................................................................................ 1.8 1.8 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent .................................................................. 2.3 2.3 

6 to 20 percent......................................................................... 2.5 2.5 

21 to 49 percent ....................................................................... 2.9 2.9 

50 percent or more................................................................... 2.3 2.3 

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ................................................................ 2.2 2.2 

35 to 49 percent ....................................................................... 2.5 2.5 

50 to 74 percent ....................................................................... 1.9 1.9 

75 percent or more................................................................... 2.4 2.4 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
50 

Table 11. Percent of public elementary schools indicating that companies have contracts to sell 

drinks or snack foods at the school, and percentage distribution reporting various 

agreements with those companies, by selected school characteristics: 2005 

Agreement with companies1 

School characteristic 

Has contract with 

companies

School/district 

receives a specific 

percentage of 

the sales receipts

School/district 

receives sales 

incentives for 

a specified amount 

of sales receipts 

Other agreement 

or incentive

 

All public elementary schools ............. 23 69 24 2 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 25 64 33 4 

300 to 499.............................................. 21 70 18 # 

500 or more ........................................... 23 72 21 ‡ 

School locale 

City........................................................ 18 72 12 ‡ 

Urban fringe .......................................... 21 59 23 ‡ 

Town ..................................................... 19 ‡ ‡ ‡ 

Rural...................................................... 31 74 32 ‡ 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 20 55 10 ‡ 

Southeast ............................................... 29 78 19 ‡ 

Central................................................... 25 69 29 ‡ 

West ...................................................... 19 68 29 ‡ 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 26 64 33 ‡ 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 24 73 17 ‡ 

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 20 62 25 ‡ 

50 percent or more................................. 20 69 18 ‡ 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 23 66 15 ‡ 

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 22 69 45 ‡ 

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 25 70 26 ‡ 

75 percent or more................................. 21 72 21 ‡ 

#Rounds to zero. 

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Based on the 23 percent of public elementary schools that had a contract with companies to sell drinks or snack foods at the school. Detail may 

not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
51 

Table 11a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that companies 

have contracts to sell drinks or snack foods at the school, and percentage distribution 

reporting various agreements with those companies, by selected school characteristics: 

2005 

Agreement with companies

School characteristic 

Has contract with 

companies

School/district 

receives a specific 

percentage of 

the sales receipts

School/district 

receives sales 

incentives for 

a specified amount 

of sales receipts 

Other agreement 

or incentive

 

All public elementary schools ............. 1.2 2.9 2.7 0.9 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 2.1 5.3 5.0 2.1 

300 to 499.............................................. 2.3 5.8 4.6 † 

500 or more ........................................... 2.2 5.0 4.4 † 

School locale 

City........................................................ 2.3 7.6 4.3 †

Urban fringe .......................................... 2.0 5.9 4.4 † 

Town ..................................................... 4.5 † † † 

Rural...................................................... 2.2 4.3 4.5 † 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 3.2 9.8 4.7 † 

Southeast ............................................... 2.7 5.0 4.5 † 

Central................................................... 2.4 4.4 5.3 † 

West ...................................................... 2.0 6.7 6.3 † 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 2.3 5.9 5.7 † 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 2.9 6.8 5.2 † 

21 to 49 percent..................................... 2.7 7.4 5.5 † 

50 percent or more................................. 2.1 6.3 4.6 † 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 1.9 5.7 3.8 † 

35 to 49 percent..................................... 3.5 7.4 8.5 † 

50 to 74 percent..................................... 2.9 5.5 5.1 † 

75 percent or more................................. 2.3 6.5 5.2 † 

†Not applicable. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
52 

Table 12. Percent of public elementary schools indicating that recess was scheduled at the school, 

and percentage distribution reporting the number of days per week, times per day, and 

minutes per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005 

Recess schedule Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

 

Any scheduled recess .......................... 93 93 92 91 91 87 

Days per week 

None...................................................... 7 7 8 9 9 13 

1 to 4 days ............................................. 5 5 5 6 7 4 

5 days .................................................... 88 88 87 85 83 83 

Times per day 

None...................................................... 7 7 8 9 9 13 

Once ...................................................... 55 56 59 64 66 58 

Twice..................................................... 28 27 25 22 21 24 

Three or more times............................... 10 10 8 5 4 5 

Minutes per day 

None...................................................... 7 7 8 9 9 13 

1 to 15 minutes...................................... 14 14 15 17 18 17 

16 to 20 minutes.................................... 18 18 20 22 23 21 

21 to 30 minutes.................................... 33 34 33 33 32 28 

More than 30 minutes............................ 27 26 25 20 19 21 

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 

or 6. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
53 

Table 12a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that recess was 

scheduled at the school, and percentage distribution reporting the number of days per 

week, times per day, and minutes per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade 

level: 2005 

Recess schedule Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

 

Any scheduled recess .......................... 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.9 

Days per week 

None...................................................... 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.9 

1 to 4 days ............................................. 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0 

5 days .................................................... 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.2 2.1 

Times per day 

None...................................................... 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.9 

Once ...................................................... 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.6 2.6 

Twice..................................................... 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.3 2.2 

Three or more times............................... 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.7 0.7 1.2 

Minutes per day 

None...................................................... 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.9 

1 to 15 minutes ...................................... 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.1 2.1 

16 to 20 minutes .................................... 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.3 1.5 2.3 

21 to 30 minutes .................................... 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.6 2.5 

More than 30 minutes............................ 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 2.3 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
54 

Table 13. Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per 

week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 

2005 

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 

School characteristic None 

1 to 

4 days 5 days None 

1 to 

4 days 5 days None 

1 to 

4 days 5 days 

All public elementary schools .......................... 7 5 88 7 5 88 8 5 87 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300...................................................... 6 4 90 6 5 90 5 5 89 

300 to 499........................................................... 7 3 91 7 3 89 8 3 89 

500 or more ........................................................ 9 7 84 9 7 84 10 8 83 

School locale 

City..................................................................... 14 7 80 13 7 80 14 7 79 

Urban fringe ....................................................... 6 3 91 6 4 90 7 5 88 

Town .................................................................. 6 5 89 6 6 88 6 6 87 

Rural................................................................... 3 4 93 3 4 92 3 5 92 

Region 

Northeast ............................................................ 5 3 91 5 3 92 6 3 91 

Southeast ............................................................ 16 11 73 17 11 72 18 13 69 

Central................................................................ 7 2 92 7 2 91 6 3 91 

West ................................................................... 4 4 93 4 4 92 4 4 92 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ............................................. 2! 5 93 2 5 93 2 6 92 

6 to 20 percent.................................................... 5 2 93 5 2 92 6 2 92 

21 to 49 percent .................................................. 4 4 92 4 5 91 4 6 90 

50 percent or more.............................................. 14 5 80 14 5 80 15 6 79 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ........................................... 4 3 94 4 3 94 4 3 93 

35 to 49 percent .................................................. 4 3 93 4 3 93 4 4 92 

50 to 74 percent .................................................. 3 6 91 4 6 90 4 7 88 

75 percent or more.............................................. 18 6 75 18 8 74 19 8 73 

See notes at end of table. 
55 

Table 13. Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per 

week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 

2005—Continued 

Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

School characteristic None 

1 to 

4 days 5 days None 

1 to 

4 days 5 days None 

1 to 

4 days 5 days 

All public elementary schools .......................... 9 6 85 9 7 83 13 4 83 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300...................................................... 6 7 87 8 8 85 12 7 82 

300 to 499........................................................... 9 4 87 9 5 86 9 ‡ 88 

500 or more ........................................................ 10 8 82 11 9 81 18 3 80 

School locale 

City..................................................................... 15 7 79 15 7 78 24 # 76 

Urban fringe ....................................................... 7 6 87 7 6 86 7 5 87 

Town .................................................................. 5 10 85 7 12 81 ‡ ‡ 81 

Rural................................................................... 5 6 90 6 7 86 11 5 84 

Region 

Northeast ............................................................ 6 3 91 7 4 89 12 ‡ 86 

Southeast ............................................................ 18 16 65 20 16 64 ‡ ‡ 62 

Central................................................................ 7 3 90 8 4 88 15 4 82 

West ................................................................... 5 5 91 6 6 89 9 4 87 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ............................................. 2 6 92 4 8 89 8 5 88 

6 to 20 percent.................................................... 7 3 89 7 5 88 8 5 88 

21 to 49 percent .................................................. 5 6 89 5 7 88 6 ‡ 93 

50 percent or more.............................................. 16 7 77 17 8 76 24 4 72 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ........................................... 4 3 93 5 4 91 5 3 91 

35 to 49 percent .................................................. 4 5 90 5 6 90 7 ‡ 91 

50 to 74 percent .................................................. 5 10 85 6 11 82 10 4 86 

75 percent or more.............................................. 20 8 72 21 9 71 28 6 66 

#Rounds to zero. 

!Interpret data with caution; the coefficient of variation is greater than 50 percent. 

‡Reporting standards not met. 

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 

or 6. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
56 

Table 13a. Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting 

the number of days per week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and 

selected school characteristics: 2005 

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 

School characteristic None 

1 to 

4 days 5 days None 

1 to 

4 days 5 days None 

1 to 

4 days 5 days 

All public elementary schools .......................... 0.8 0.7 1.0 0.8 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 1.0 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300...................................................... 1.2 1.2 1.6 1.2 1.3 1.7 1.2 1.4 1.7 

300 to 499........................................................... 1.6 0.8 1.6 1.6 0.9 1.6 1.7 0.9 1.7 

500 or more ........................................................ 1.3 1.3 1.9 1.3 1.3 1.9 1.3 1.4 2.0 

School locale 

City..................................................................... 2.0 1.7 2.5 2.0 1.6 2.6 2.0 1.7 2.6 

Urban fringe ....................................................... 1.2 1.0 1.6 1.3 1.0 1.5 1.3 1.2 1.7 

Town .................................................................. 2.8 2.3 3.5 2.8 2.6 3.6 2.8 2.7 3.6 

Rural................................................................... 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.1 1.2 1.5 1.2 1.3 1.6 

Region 

Northeast ............................................................ 1.9 1.2 2.3 1.8 1.2 2.3 2.0 1.2 2.5 

Southeast ............................................................ 2.7 2.3 3.4 2.7 2.3 3.3 2.6 2.6 3.3 

Central................................................................ 1.5 0.8 1.7 1.5 0.9 1.7 1.4 0.9 1.6 

West ................................................................... 0.9 1.2 1.3 0.9 1.6 1.6 1.0 1.6 1.6 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ............................................. 1.1 1.6 1.7 1.1 1.5 1.7 1.1 1.6 1.7 

6 to 20 percent.................................................... 1.5 0.9 1.8 1.6 0.9 1.9 1.7 1.0 2.0 

21 to 49 percent .................................................. 1.1 1.4 2.1 1.1 1.6 2.3 1.2 1.7 2.3 

50 percent or more.............................................. 1.8 1.2 1.9 1.8 1.2 1.9 1.7 1.4 1.9 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ........................................... 1.0 0.7 1.2 1.0 0.7 1.2 1.1 0.8 1.3 

35 to 49 percent .................................................. 1.7 1.3 2.2 1.7 1.3 2.2 1.7 1.4 2.3 

50 to 74 percent .................................................. 1.1 1.6 2.1 1.2 1.5 2.0 1.3 1.7 2.1 

75 percent or more.............................................. 2.6 1.6 2.5 2.7 1.7 2.6 2.6 2.0 2.6 

See notes at end of table. 
57 

Table 13a. Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting 

the number of days per week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and 

selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued 

Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

School characteristic None 

1 to 

4 days 5 days None 

1 to 

4 days 5 days None 

1 to 

4 days 5 days 

All public elementary schools .......................... 0.9 0.9 1.1 1.0 0.9 1.2 1.9 1.0 2.1 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300...................................................... 1.3 1.5 1.9 1.6 1.7 2.1 2.6 2.1 3.5 

300 to 499........................................................... 1.8 1.1 2.1 1.9 1.3 2.2 3.3 † 3.6 

500 or more ........................................................ 1.4 1.3 2.1 1.7 1.4 2.2 3.6 1.5 3.5 

School locale 

City..................................................................... 2.2 1.6 2.7 2.3 1.7 2.9 4.9 † 4.9 

Urban fringe ....................................................... 1.3 1.3 1.8 1.4 1.4 1.9 2.8 2.4 3.8 

Town .................................................................. 2.6 3.3 4.3 3.0 3.9 4.9 † † 10.7 

Rural................................................................... 1.4 1.6 1.8 1.9 1.8 2.3 3.5 1.9 3.6 

Region 

Northeast ............................................................ 2.1 1.3 2.6 2.2 1.6 2.8 5.0 † 5.3 

Southeast ............................................................ 2.9 2.7 3.6 3.1 2.9 3.7 † † 9.9 

Central................................................................ 1.5 1.1 1.8 1.5 1.3 2.1 3.7 1.8 4.1 

West ................................................................... 1.1 1.3 1.8 1.4 1.4 2.0 2.4 1.4 2.5 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ............................................. 1.0 1.7 1.8 1.5 1.9 2.1 3.1 2.3 3.6 

6 to 20 percent.................................................... 1.9 1.2 2.2 1.9 1.4 2.3 3.5 2.5 3.9 

21 to 49 percent .................................................. 1.4 1.6 2.3 1.6 1.8 2.5 3.0 † 3.3 

50 percent or more.............................................. 1.7 1.4 2.1 2.1 1.4 2.4 4.0 1.7 4.2 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ........................................... 1.1 0.9 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.5 2.3 1.7 2.8 

35 to 49 percent .................................................. 1.8 1.6 2.5 1.9 1.8 2.5 4.0 † 4.3 

50 to 74 percent .................................................. 1.3 2.0 2.4 1.6 2.1 2.7 3.8 2.5 4.2 

75 percent or more.............................................. 2.7 2.0 2.6 2.8 2.1 2.8 4.3 2.3 4.5 

†Not applicable. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
58 

Table 14. Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of times per 

day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 

2005 

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 

School characteristic None Once 

More 

than 

once None Once 

More 

than 

once None Once 

More 

than 

once 

All public elementary schools .......................... 7 55 38 7 56 37 8 59 33 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300...................................................... 6 48 46 6 49 45 5 54 41 

300 to 499........................................................... 7 53 40 7 54 38 8 57 35 

500 or more ........................................................ 9 61 30 9 61 30 10 63 27 

School locale 

City..................................................................... 14 55 32 13 57 30 14 59 27 

Urban fringe ....................................................... 6 60 34 6 60 34 7 62 31 

Town .................................................................. 6 39 55 6 41 53 6 51 43 

Rural................................................................... 3 52 45 3 53 44 3 57 40 

Region 

Northeast ............................................................ 5 79 16 5 80 15 6 80 14 

Southeast ............................................................ 16 77 7 17 76 7 18 77 5 

Central................................................................ 7 44 49 7 46 47 6 52 42 

West ................................................................... 4 38 59 4 38 58 4 42 54 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ............................................. 2 50 48 2 51 47 2 55 43 

6 to 20 percent.................................................... 5 52 43 5 53 41 6 56 38 

21 to 49 percent .................................................. 4 55 42 4 55 41 4 60 36 

50 percent or more.............................................. 14 58 27 14 59 27 15 60 25 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ........................................... 4 51 45 4 51 45 4 54 42 

35 to 49 percent .................................................. 4 49 46 4 51 45 4 56 40 

50 to 74 percent .................................................. 3 60 37 4 60 36 4 65 30 

75 percent or more.............................................. 18 58 23 18 60 22 19 61 20 

See notes at end of table. 
59 

Table 14. Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of times per 

day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 

2005—Continued 

Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

School characteristic None Once 

More 

than 

once None Once 

More 

than 

once None Once 

More 

than 

once 

All public elementary schools .......................... 9 64 27 9 66 25 13 58 29 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300...................................................... 6 61 32 8 63 29 12 62 26 

300 to 499........................................................... 9 63 28 9 65 26 9 61 30 

500 or more ........................................................ 10 68 23 11 68 21 18 51 31 

School locale 

City..................................................................... 15 62 23 15 62 23 24 46 30 

Urban fringe ....................................................... 7 68 25 7 68 24 7 63 30 

Town .................................................................. 5 62 33 7 66 27 ‡ 50 43 

Rural................................................................... 5 62 33 6 66 28 11 64 25 

Region 

Northeast ............................................................ 6 81 13 7 85 9 12 80 8 

Southeast ............................................................ 18 78 4 20 78 3 25 72 ‡ 

Central................................................................ 7 62 31 8 67 26 15 66 19 

West ................................................................... 5 50 45 6 49 46 9 41 49 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ............................................. 2! 63 35 4 68 29 8 65 27 

6 to 20 percent.................................................... 7 59 34 7 60 33 8 53 39 

21 to 49 percent .................................................. 5 69 26 5 70 25 6 59 35 

50 percent or more.............................................. 16 64 20 17 64 19 24 54 22 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ........................................... 4 61 35 5 63 33 5 54 41 

35 to 49 percent .................................................. 4 63 33 5 66 29 7! 62 31 

50 to 74 percent .................................................. 5 72 23 6 74 20 10 70 20 

75 percent or more.............................................. 20 62 17 21 62 17 28 52 20 

!Interpret data with caution; the coefficient of variation is greater than 50 percent. 

‡Reporting standards not met. 

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 

or 6. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
60 

Table 14a. Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting 

the number of times per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and 

selected school characteristics: 2005 

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 

School characteristic None Once 

More 

than 

once None Once 

More 

than 

once None Once 

More 

than 

once 

All public elementary schools .......................... 0.8 1.6 1.5 0.8 1.6 1.5 0.8 1.6 1.5 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300...................................................... 1.2 3.0 3.1 1.2 2.8 2.9 1.2 2.9 2.9 

300 to 499........................................................... 1.6 2.5 2.4 1.6 2.4 2.4 1.7 2.5 2.5 

500 or more ........................................................ 1.3 2.5 2.3 1.3 2.5 2.1 1.3 2.4 2.1 

School locale 

City..................................................................... 2.0 3.4 3.0 2.0 3.2 3.0 2.0 3.1 2.9 

Urban fringe ....................................................... 1.2 2.6 2.5 1.3 2.6 2.6 1.3 2.4 2.5 

Town .................................................................. 2.8 6.1 6.1 2.8 5.9 5.9 2.8 5.8 6.0 

Rural................................................................... 1.0 3.1 3.1 1.1 2.9 3.0 1.2 3.1 3.2 

Region 

Northeast ............................................................ 1.9 3.2 2.8 1.8 3.2 2.8 2.0 3.4 2.8 

Southeast ............................................................ 2.7 3.1 1.9 2.7 3.2 1.9 2.6 3.0 1.5 

Central................................................................ 1.5 3.6 3.3 1.5 3.7 3.4 1.4 3.4 3.3 

West ................................................................... 0.9 2.8 2.7 0.9 2.7 2.6 1.0 2.5 2.4 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ............................................. 1.1 3.9 3.9 1.1 3.8 3.8 1.1 3.7 3.7 

6 to 20 percent.................................................... 1.5 2.9 3.0 1.6 2.8 3.0 1.7 2.8 3.0 

21 to 49 percent .................................................. 1.1 3.4 3.4 1.1 3.6 3.6 1.2 3.7 3.7 

50 percent or more.............................................. 1.8 2.9 2.6 1.8 2.8 2.5 1.7 3.1 2.8 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ........................................... 1.0 2.8 2.9 1.0 2.7 2.9 1.1 2.8 2.9 

35 to 49 percent .................................................. 1.7 4.3 3.9 1.7 4.4 3.9 1.7 4.5 4.1 

50 to 74 percent .................................................. 1.1 3.0 2.9 1.2 2.9 2.8 1.3 3.0 2.8 

75 percent or more.............................................. 2.6 3.4 3.0 2.7 3.2 2.9 2.6 3.3 2.8 

See notes at end of table. 
61 

Table 14a. Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting 

the number of times per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and 

selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued 

Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

School characteristic None Once 

More 

than 

once None Once 

More 

than 

once None Once 

More 

than 

once 

All public elementary schools .......................... 0.9 1.5 1.4 1.0 1.6 1.4 1.9 2.6 2.5 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300...................................................... 1.3 2.8 2.8 1.6 2.9 2.8 2.6 3.8 3.5 

300 to 499........................................................... 1.8 2.6 2.5 1.9 2.6 2.4 3.3 5.3 5.2 

500 or more ........................................................ 1.4 2.4 2.2 1.7 2.7 2.3 3.6 5.2 4.5 

School locale 

City..................................................................... 2.2 2.8 2.5 2.3 2.9 2.5 4.9 5.3 5.3 

Urban fringe ....................................................... 1.3 2.7 2.6 1.4 2.7 2.7 2.8 4.2 4.1 

Town .................................................................. 2.6 6.2 6.1 3.0 5.5 5.3 † 11.8 11.7 

Rural................................................................... 1.4 3.1 2.9 1.9 3.2 2.8 3.5 4.1 3.3 

Region 

Northeast ............................................................ 2.1 3.3 2.8 2.2 3.4 2.7 5.0 6.0 3.6 

Southeast ............................................................ 2.9 3.0 1.3 3.1 3.2 1.1 7.9 8.2 † 

Central................................................................ 1.5 2.9 2.8 1.5 3.1 2.9 3.7 5.2 3.9 

West ................................................................... 1.1 2.6 2.5 1.4 2.7 2.7 2.4 3.9 3.9 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ............................................. 1.0 3.6 3.6 1.5 3.9 3.7 3.1 5.5 4.6 

6 to 20 percent.................................................... 1.9 2.8 3.0 1.9 3.5 3.5 3.5 6.7 6.3 

21 to 49 percent .................................................. 1.4 3.7 3.5 1.6 3.7 3.6 3.0 6.6 6.9 

50 percent or more.............................................. 1.7 2.9 2.5 2.1 3.0 2.5 4.0 4.4 3.5 Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ........................................... 1.1 2.8 2.9 1.3 2.8 3.0 2.3 5.1 5.0 

35 to 49 percent .................................................. 1.8 4.7 4.2 1.9 4.7 4.1 4.0 7.2 7.5 

50 to 74 percent .................................................. 1.3 3.3 3.0 1.6 2.9 2.7 3.8 5.5 4.7 

75 percent or more.............................................. 2.7 3.1 2.2 2.8 3.4 2.3 4.3 4.7 3.9 

†Not applicable. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
62 

Table 15. Mean number of minutes per day of scheduled recess at public elementary schools, 

by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 

School characteristic Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

All public elementary schools............. 27.8 27.5 26.7 25.1 24.4 23.8 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 29.8 29.6 28.7 26.5 25.3 24.5 

300 to 499.............................................. 28.4 27.8 27.2 25.8 25.2 24.9 

500 or more ........................................... 25.8 25.6 24.9 23.6 23.1 22.1 

School locale 

City........................................................ 23.9 23.6 23.2 21.8 21.9 20.6 

Urban fringe .......................................... 28.2 28.0 27.4 26.3 25.7 25.9 

Town ..................................................... 29.4 29.0 28.3 26.2 24.9 26.0 

Rural...................................................... 30.9 30.4 29.0 27.0 25.5 24.1 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 25.1 24.9 24.6 24.3 23.3 22.2 

Southeast ............................................... 20.3 20.1 19.4 18.8 18.5 18.1 

Central................................................... 30.2 29.6 28.4 26.1 24.7 21.5 

West ...................................................... 31.8 31.6 31.0 28.7 28.3 27.3 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 32.6 32.0 30.9 29.1 27.3 25.8 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 29.5 29.2 28.2 26.9 26.7 27.5 

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 28.4 28.1 27.6 25.5 24.9 25.0 

50 percent or more................................. 23.4 23.2 22.7 21.4 21.0 19.3 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 31.8 31.5 30.6 28.8 28.1 28.6 

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 30.2 30.0 29.0 27.6 26.7 26.4 

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 27.6 26.8 26.1 24.4 23.6 23.0 

75 percent or more................................. 21.0 21.0 20.6 19.5 19.2 17.2 

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 

or 6. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
63 

Table 15a. Standard errors for the mean number of minutes per day of scheduled recess at public 

elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 

School characteristic Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

All public elementary schools............. 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.8 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.2 

300 to 499.............................................. 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 1.6 

500 or more ........................................... 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 1.1 

School locale 

City........................................................ 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 1.8 

Urban fringe .......................................... 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 1.2 

Town ..................................................... 1.7 1.6 1.8 1.7 1.9 3.7 

Rural...................................................... 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.4 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 1.7 

Southeast ............................................... 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 2.5 

Central................................................... 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 1.3 

West ...................................................... 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.3 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 1.2 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 2.1 

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.5 

50 percent or more................................. 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.8 1.3 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8 1.3 

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.1 2.1 

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 1.7 

75 percent or more................................. 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.4 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
64 

Table 16. Percent of public elementary schools indicating that physical education was scheduled 

at the school, and percentage distribution reporting the number of days per week and 

minutes per class of scheduled physical education, by elementary grade level: 2005 

Days per week and minutes per class Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

 

Any scheduled physical education ...... 99 99 99 99 99 99 

Days per week 

None...................................................... 1 1 1 1 1 1 

1 day...................................................... 22 22 22 22 22 22 

2 days.................................................... 33 33 33 33 32 28 

3 days.................................................... 8 9 8 8 8 10 

4 days .................................................... 3 3 3 3 4 4 

5 days .................................................... 18 17 17 17 17 22 

Varies by week ...................................... 15 15 16 16 16 14 

Minutes per class 

None...................................................... 1 1 1 1 1 1 

1 to 30 minutes...................................... 43 42 39 35 34 34 

31 to 40 minutes.................................... 24 24 25 26 25 24 

More than 40 minutes............................ 31 32 34 37 39 40 

Varies by class....................................... 1 1 1 1 1 2 

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 

or 6. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
65 

Table 16a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that physical 

education was scheduled at the school, and percent reporting the number of days per 

week and minutes per class of scheduled physical education, by elementary grade 

level: 2005 

Days per week and minutes per class Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

 

Any scheduled physical education ...... 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.6 

Days per week 

None...................................................... 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.6 

1 day...................................................... 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4 2.6 

2 days.................................................... 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.6 

3 days.................................................... 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.7 

4 days .................................................... 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 1.1 

5 days .................................................... 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.3 2.5 

Varies by week...................................... 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.3 2.0 

Minutes per class 

None...................................................... 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.6 

1 to 30 minutes ...................................... 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.8 2.9 

31 to 40 minutes .................................... 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.7 2.6 

More than 40 minutes............................ 1.5 1.6 1.8 1.9 2.1 2.4 

Varies by class....................................... 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.6 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
66 

Table 17. Mean number of days per week of scheduled physical education at public elementary 

schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 

School characteristic Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

All public elementary schools............. 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.6 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.8 2.8 3.1 

300 to 499.............................................. 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 

500 or more ........................................... 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.5 

School locale 

City........................................................ 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.2 

Urban fringe .......................................... 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 

Town ..................................................... 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.4 1.8 

Rural...................................................... 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.7 3.2 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.9 

Southeast ............................................... 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.9 

Central................................................... 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.3 

West ...................................................... 2.9 2.8 2.9 2.9 2.9 3.1 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.4 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.6 3.0 

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.7 

50 percent or more................................. 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.5 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.5 

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.7 

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 3.1 

75 percent or more................................. 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.4 

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 

or 6. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
67 

Table 17a. Standard errors for the mean number of days per week of scheduled physical 

education at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school 

characteristics: 2005 

School characteristic Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

All public elementary schools............. 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 

300 to 499.............................................. 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 

500 or more ........................................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 

School locale 

City........................................................ 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 

Urban fringe .......................................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 

Town ..................................................... 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 

Rural...................................................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 

Southeast ............................................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 

Central................................................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 

West ...................................................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 

50 percent or more................................. 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 

75 percent or more................................. 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
68 

Table 18. Mean number of minutes per week of scheduled physical education at public 

elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 

School characteristic Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

All public elementary schools............. 85.4 85.5 86.4 88.5 90.5 98.0 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 95.5 94.8 98.1 102.0 108.2 122.8 

300 to 499.............................................. 76.5 77.1 77.3 78.6 78.3 76.9 

500 or more ........................................... 86.5 86.8 87.1 88.8 89.7 87.5 

School locale 

City........................................................ 84.9 83.9 85.7 86.9 87.1 83.4 

Urban fringe .......................................... 80.8 81.2 81.9 84.4 85.2 86.4 

Town ..................................................... 86.0 85.3 84.3 86.7 85.1 54.4 

Rural...................................................... 91.8 92.9 93.6 96.2 102.9 123.3 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 69.6 70.3 69.4 68.8 70.7 74.5 

Southeast ............................................... 89.0 89.3 89.3 90.8 92.0 116.2 

Central................................................... 75.5 75.8 77.4 79.4 79.1 80.5 

West ...................................................... 99.6 99.1 100.6 104.4 107.5 116.2 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 75.8 76.9 77.9 82.3 86.1 93.4 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 86.4 86.7 86.7 89.4 91.6 104.0 

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 87.9 87.4 88.8 91.0 90.9 105.2 

50 percent or more................................. 89.6 89.2 90.5 91.0 92.9 95.2 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 78.0 79.0 80.0 82.7 83.4 86.1 

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 82.6 82.4 81.6 84.9 86.5 99.6 

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 94.8 94.6 94.4 96.3 98.1 117.5 

75 percent or more................................. 88.6 88.0 90.5 91.4 94.9 96.1 

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 

or 6. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
69 

Table 18a. Standard errors for the mean number of minutes per week of scheduled physical 

education at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school 

characteristics: 2005 

School characteristic Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

All public elementary schools............. 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.6 3.9 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 3.0 3.0 3.2 3.3 3.8 7.6 

300 to 499.............................................. 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.4 4.6 

500 or more ........................................... 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.2 5.4 

School locale 

City........................................................ 2.9 2.6 2.8 2.7 2.9 6.8 

Urban fringe .......................................... 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.4 5.8 

Town ..................................................... 5.5 5.4 5.5 6.0 6.1 8.3 

Rural...................................................... 2.8 2.9 3.0 3.1 3.8 6.8 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 3.0 3.1 3.1 2.6 2.8 4.6 

Southeast ............................................... 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.3 11.0 

Central................................................... 2.3 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.9 6.0 

West ...................................................... 2.7 2.5 2.6 2.7 3.0 6.0 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 2.5 2.5 2.6 2.9 3.5 8.1 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 2.6 2.7 2.9 2.9 2.9 7.5 

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 2.8 2.8 2.8 3.1 3.6 8.5 

50 percent or more................................. 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.2 7.5 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 1.5 1.5 1.7 1.9 2.0 4.6 

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 3.2 3.2 3.4 3.2 3.4 7.9 

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 4.0 3.9 3.9 3.6 3.9 8.8 

75 percent or more................................. 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.8 9.5 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
70 

Table 19. Mean number of minutes per week of scheduled recess and physical education, 

combined, at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected 

school characteristics: 2005 

School characteristic Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

All public elementary schools............. 221.7 220.1 216.9 210.7 208.4 214.1 

 

Enrollment size 

 

Less than 300......................................... 242.1 240.2 238.5 230.4 230.3 240.5 

300 to 499.............................................. 217.2 214.7 211.9 205.5 201.6 199.7 

500 or more ........................................... 211.4 210.9 207.0 202.3 200.1 196.8 

School locale 

City........................................................ 200.9 198.3 198.4 193.0 193.2 186.3 

Urban fringe .......................................... 219.3 218.8 216.0 212.0 209.7 212.8 

Town ..................................................... 230.5 227.3 223.1 212.2 202.9 179.1 

Rural...................................................... 244.4 242.8 236.3 228.0 226.1 240.0 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 192.7 192.8 190.7 188.2 184.3 184.4 

Southeast ............................................... 184.7 183.8 179.4 175.9 175.5 201.2 

Central................................................... 225.6 222.5 218.1 208.4 200.8 186.4 

West ...................................................... 256.5 254.6 253.2 245.3 245.6 249.3 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 235.0 233.2 228.7 223.7 217.7 218.9 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 233.1 231.5 226.4 222.3 222.2 237.4 

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 227.8 225.7 224.1 215.7 212.2 230.0 

50 percent or more................................. 203.8 202.3 200.7 193.9 193.7 190.1 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 234.8 234.5 230.9 224.5 221.1 227.2 

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 232.2 230.7 224.7 220.2 217.2 229.4 

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 229.1 225.1 220.9 212.7 209.1 228.9 

75 percent or more................................. 190.8 189.3 189.4 184.8 186.9 179.4 

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 

or 6. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
71 

Table 19a. Standard errors for the mean number of minutes per week of scheduled recess and 

physical education, combined, at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level 

and selected school characteristics: 2005 

School characteristic Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 

All public elementary schools............. 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.2 2.2 5.4 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 4.1 4.1 4.5 4.1 4.9 7.6 

300 to 499.............................................. 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.6 4.4 8.5 

500 or more ........................................... 3.9 3.6 3.8 3.9 3.9 8.0 

School locale 

City........................................................ 5.5 5.0 5.2 4.6 4.8 11.9 

Urban fringe .......................................... 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.1 8.8 

Town ..................................................... 9.0 8.1 8.9 10.1 10.5 20.1 

Rural...................................................... 4.0 4.1 4.0 4.3 5.1 7.9 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.4 5.1 9.4 

Southeast ............................................... 5.1 5.2 5.1 4.8 4.9 17.0 

Central................................................... 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.8 4.7 8.4 

West ...................................................... 4.0 3.7 3.8 3.8 4.3 6.4 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 4.2 4.3 4.1 4.0 4.8 8.5 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.9 6.0 10.4 

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 4.2 4.3 4.8 5.0 5.3 9.3 

50 percent or more................................. 5.4 5.0 5.3 4.8 4.6 10.0 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 3.9 3.9 3.6 3.6 3.6 7.4 

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 5.5 5.6 6.0 6.6 6.2 10.7 

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 4.7 4.2 4.2 4.7 4.8 9.2 

75 percent or more................................. 5.5 5.3 5.2 4.8 5.2 12.8 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
72 

Table 20. Percent of public elementary schools indicating that the school was involved in various 

activities or programs to encourage physical activity among students, by selected school 

characteristics: 2005 

School characteristic 

Use 

nontraditional 

physical 

education 

activities to 

make physical 

education 

enjoyable 

Provide 

opportunities 

during the 

school day for 

organized 

physical 

activities 

excluding 

physical 

education 

Offer schoolsponsored 

before- or 

after-school 

activities that 

emphasize 

physical 

activity 

Participate in 

the President’s 

Challenge 

Physical 

Activity and 

Fitness Award 

program 

Other activity/

program 

All public elementary schools ............. 64 58 51 55 30 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 59 54 46 55 25 

300 to 499.............................................. 65 57 54 55 32 

500 or more ........................................... 68 62 52 55 31 

School locale 

City........................................................ 67 62 59 53 30 

Urban fringe .......................................... 67 59 50 55 33 

Town ..................................................... 61 50 48 55 27 

Rural...................................................... 60 56 45 56 25 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 78 60 58 59 33 

Southeast ............................................... 64 64 46 57 36 

Central................................................... 62 49 48 58 28 

West ...................................................... 60 62 53 49 25 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 61 53 43 63 27 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 73 58 53 58 28 

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 72 60 44 54 31 

50 percent or more................................. 55 61 59 50 30 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .............................. 71 56 51 59 27 

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 69 60 46 60 40 

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 63 59 46 54 27 

75 percent or more................................. 54 60 58 47 29 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
73 

Table 20a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that the school 

was involved in various activities or programs to encourage physical activity among 

students, by selected school characteristics: 2005 

School characteristic 

Use 

nontraditional 

physical 

education 

activities to 

make physical 

education 

enjoyable 

Provide 

opportunities 

during the 

school day for 

organized 

physical 

activities 

excluding 

physical 

education 

Offer schoolsponsored 

before- or 

after-school 

activities that 

emphasize 

physical 

activity 

Participate in 

the President’s 

Challenge 

Physical 

Activity and 

Fitness Award 

program 

Other activity/

program 

All public elementary schools ............. 1.6 1.8 1.5 1.4 1.4 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300......................................... 2.6 3.1 2.3 2.9 2.5 

300 to 499.............................................. 2.6 3.1 2.9 2.3 2.9 

500 or more ........................................... 2.5 2.7 2.0 2.5 2.0 

School locale 

City........................................................ 2.8 3.5 3.0 2.8 2.8 

Urban fringe .......................................... 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.2 

Town ..................................................... 5.4 4.6 5.5 4.7 5.2 

Rural...................................................... 2.9 2.6 2.3 3.3 2.3 

Region 

Northeast ............................................... 3.0 3.9 4.4 3.5 3.5 

Southeast ............................................... 3.1 3.7 3.3 3.2 3.1 

Central................................................... 2.8 3.3 2.9 2.6 2.7 

West ...................................................... 2.9 3.3 2.7 2.8 2.1 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................ 4.0 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.2 

6 to 20 percent....................................... 2.6 3.9 3.0 3.1 3.3 

21 to 49 percent ..................................... 2.3 3.6 2.9 3.1 2.9 

50 percent or more................................. 2.8 3.4 2.8 2.5 2.5 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent.............................. 2.6 2.8 2.9 2.4 2.2 

35 to 49 percent ..................................... 3.8 3.8 3.5 4.2 4.1 

50 to 74 percent ..................................... 3.1 3.3 2.9 3.5 2.9 

75 percent or more................................. 3.2 3.5 2.7 3.0 3.1 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
74 

Table 21. Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the frequency with 

which the school calculated the students’ body mass index and measured students’ 

height and weight, by selected school characteristics: 2005 

Body mass index 

School characteristic 

Never 

calculated

Calculated 

in selected 

grades only

Calculated 

yearly for 

all students 

Other approach to 

calculate body 

mass index 

All public elementary schools .............................. 66 16 16 3 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300.......................................................... 68 13 16 3 

300 to 499............................................................... 68 11 19 2 

500 or more ............................................................ 62 23 12 3 

School locale 

City......................................................................... 62 20 15 2 

Urban fringe ........................................................... 64 18 15 3 

Town ...................................................................... 77 6 15 ‡ 

Rural....................................................................... 68 12 17 4 

Region 

Northeast ................................................................ 60 9 26 6 

Southeast ................................................................ 57 20 22 ‡ 

Central.................................................................... 79 9 10 2 

West ....................................................................... 63 23 11 3 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................................. 69 11 17 3!

6 to 20 percent........................................................ 68 16 13 2 

21 to 49 percent ...................................................... 63 16 18 4 

50 percent or more.................................................. 63 20 14 2 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ............................................... 65 17 15 3 

35 to 49 percent ...................................................... 67 15 15 3 

50 to 74 percent ...................................................... 68 14 16 2 

75 percent or more.................................................. 64 17 16 3 

See notes at end of table. 
75 

Table 21. Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the frequency with 

which the school calculated the students’ body mass index and measured students’ 

height and weight, by selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued 

Height Weight 

School characteristic 

Never 

measured

Measured 

in 

selected 

grades 

only

Measured 

yearly 

for all 

students

Other 

approach 

to 

measure 

height

Never 

measured

Measured 

in 

selected 

grades 

only 

Measured 

yearly 

for all 

students

Other 

approach 

to 

measure 

weight 

All public elementary schools ................. 28 30 38 3 29 29 38 3 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300............................................. 29 25 43 3 30 24 43 3 

300 to 499.................................................. 29 25 42 3 30 25 42 3 

500 or more ............................................... 26 39 31 4 29 37 30 4 

School locale 

City............................................................ 31 34 32 4 34 32 31 3 

Urban fringe .............................................. 27 32 37 3 28 32 37 3 

Town ......................................................... 24 25 47 3! 25 24 47 3!

Rural.......................................................... 26 26 44 3 28 25 44 3 

Region 

Northeast ................................................... 15 17 66 2! 16 17 66 2!

Southeast ................................................... 29 31 37 3 30 31 37 3 

Central....................................................... 39 25 32 4 42 22 32 4 

West .......................................................... 25 42 30 3 26 41 29 3 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent.................................... 27 24 45 4 28 24 45 4 

6 to 20 percent........................................... 28 27 42 2 29 26 42 2 

21 to 49 percent......................................... 28 29 39 4 30 28 38 4 

50 percent or more..................................... 26 38 33 4 29 36 32 3 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .................................. 25 29 43 3 27 28 42 3 

35 to 49 percent......................................... 32 28 37 4 33 28 36 4 

50 to 74 percent......................................... 30 30 37 3 30 29 37 3 

75 percent or more..................................... 27 35 34 4 30 33 34 3 

!Interpret data with caution; the coefficient of variation is greater than 50 percent. 

‡Reporting standards not met. 

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
76 

Table 21a. Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting 

the frequency with which the school calculated the students’ body mass index and 

measured students’ height and weight, by selected school characteristics: 2005 

Body mass index 

School characteristic 

Never 

calculated

Calculated 

in selected 

grades only

Calculated 

yearly for 

all students 

Other approach to 

calculate body 

mass index 

All public elementary schools .............................. 1.6 1.2 1.1 0.6 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300.......................................................... 2.7 1.9 2.1 1.2

300 to 499............................................................... 2.8 2.0 2.1 0.9

500 or more ............................................................ 2.5 2.0 1.4 1.0 

School locale 

City......................................................................... 3.0 2.3 2.3 0.9

Urban fringe ........................................................... 3.0 2.1 1.8 0.9

Town ...................................................................... 4.5 2.5 4.0 †

Rural....................................................................... 2.8 1.8 2.5 1.1 

Region 

Northeast ................................................................ 3.7 2.2 2.9 1.9

Southeast ................................................................ 3.6 3.0 3.0 †

Central.................................................................... 2.7 1.8 1.8 1.1

West ....................................................................... 2.2 1.8 1.4 0.9 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ................................................. 2.9 2.3 2.6 1.1

6 to 20 percent........................................................ 2.9 2.7 2.2 1.4

21 to 49 percent ...................................................... 3.7 3.0 2.8 1.1

50 percent or more.................................................. 2.6 2.0 2.1 0.9 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent ............................................... 2.7 2.0 1.8 0.9

35 to 49 percent ...................................................... 3.3 2.8 2.2 1.3

50 to 74 percent ...................................................... 3.3 2.4 2.1 0.8

75 percent or more.................................................. 3.1 2.3 2.5 1.0

See notes at end of table. 
77 

Table 21a. Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting 

the frequency with which the school calculated the students’ body mass index and 

measured students’ height and weight, by selected school characteristics: 2005—

Continued 

Height Weight 

School characteristic 

Never 

measured

Measured 

in 

selected 

grades 

only

Measured 

yearly 

for all 

students

Other 

approach 

to 

measure 

height

Never 

measured

Measured 

in 

selected 

grades 

only 

Measured 

yearly 

for all 

students

Other 

approach 

to 

measure 

weight 

All public elementary schools................. 1.6 1.5 1.5 0.7 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300............................................. 2.7 2.4 2.9 1.1 2.7 2.4 3.0 3.0

300 to 499.................................................. 2.5 2.6 2.7 1.0 2.3 2.3 2.7 2.7

500 or more ............................................... 2.4 2.3 1.9 0.9 2.4 2.5 1.8 1.8 

School locale 

City............................................................ 3.3 2.6 2.9 1.1 3.4 2.7 2.9 2.9

Urban fringe .............................................. 2.6 2.3 2.2 1.0 2.6 2.2 2.1 2.1

Town ......................................................... 4.8 5.0 5.5 1.9 4.7 5.0 5.5 5.5

Rural.......................................................... 3.0 2.5 3.1 1.1 3.0 2.5 3.2 3.2 

Region 

Northeast ................................................... 2.2 2.7 3.1 0.9 2.2 2.7 3.1 3.1

Southeast ................................................... 3.6 3.6 3.5 1.2 3.6 3.6 3.3 3.3

Central....................................................... 3.6 3.0 3.2 1.4 3.3 2.8 3.1 3.1

West .......................................................... 2.2 2.4 2.6 1.0 2.2 2.3 2.5 2.5 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent .................................... 2.9 3.1 3.3 1.4 2.8 3.0 3.3 3.3

6 to 20 percent........................................... 3.0 2.6 2.8 1.0 3.1 2.7 2.9 2.9

21 to 49 percent ......................................... 3.4 3.3 3.1 1.3 3.2 3.0 3.0 3.0

50 percent or more..................................... 2.4 2.5 2.7 1.2 2.5 2.7 2.7 2.7 

Percent of students eligible for free or 

 reduced-price lunch 

Less than 35 percent .................................. 2.4 2.4 2.4 0.9 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3

35 to 49 percent ......................................... 4.3 3.3 4.0 1.7 4.3 3.3 4.0 4.0

50 to 74 percent ......................................... 3.3 2.9 3.1 1.3 3.3 2.9 3.1 3.1

75 percent or more..................................... 3.3 2.9 3.0 1.1 3.3 2.9 2.9 2.9

†Not applicable. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
78 

Table 22. Percent of public elementary schools that calculated the students’ body mass index and 

measured students’ height and weight indicating whether the information was sent to 

parents, by selected school characteristics: 2005 

School characteristic 

Body mass index 

information 

Height 

information 

Weight 

information 

 

All public elementary schools.................................. 49 39 39 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300.............................................................. 54 42 42 

300 to 499................................................................... 54 39 40 

500 or more ................................................................ 43 36 37 

School locale 

City............................................................................. 45 39 39 

Urban fringe ............................................................... 52 37 38 

Town .......................................................................... ‡ 43 45 

Rural........................................................................... 47 39 39 

Region 

Northeast .................................................................... 48 28 29 

Southeast .................................................................... 62 43 43 

Central........................................................................ 51 42 43 

West ........................................................................... 41 40 41 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ..................................................... 56 39 39 

6 to 20 percent............................................................ 54 40 39 

21 to 49 percent .......................................................... 49 39 40 

50 percent or more...................................................... 45 38 40 

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price 

 lunch 

Less than 35 percent ................................................... 50 37 37 

35 to 49 percent .......................................................... 54 43 43 

50 to 74 percent .......................................................... 47 41 41 

75 percent or more...................................................... 48 37 39 

‡Reporting standards not met. 

NOTE: Data in this table are based on the number of schools that calculated the students’ body mass index and measured the students’ height or 

weight (table 21). 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
79 

Table 22a. Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools that calculated the 

students’ body mass index and measured students’ height and weight indicating 

whether the information was sent to parents, by selected school characteristics: 2005 

School characteristic 

Body mass index 

information 

Height 

information 

Weight 

information

 

All public elementary schools.................................. 2.4 1.5 1.5 

Enrollment size 

Less than 300.............................................................. 5.4 3.1 3.2

300 to 499................................................................... 5.2 3.2 3.2

500 or more ................................................................ 3.8 3.0 3.1 

School locale 

City............................................................................. 4.2 3.2 3.2

Urban fringe ............................................................... 4.6 3.0 3.1

Town .......................................................................... † 5.9 6.2

Rural........................................................................... 4.8 2.9 2.7 

Region 

Northeast .................................................................... 6.2 3.4 3.4

Southeast .................................................................... 5.0 4.3 4.3

Central........................................................................ 6.7 3.9 4.0

West ........................................................................... 4.1 2.9 3.0 

Percent minority enrollment 

Less than 6 percent ..................................................... 5.5 3.4 3.4

6 to 20 percent............................................................ 5.7 3.8 4.0

21 to 49 percent .......................................................... 5.4 3.6 3.8

50 percent or more...................................................... 4.0 2.9 2.9 

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price 

 lunch 

Less than 35 percent ................................................... 4.8 2.6 2.8

35 to 49 percent .......................................................... 6.9 4.5 4.4

50 to 74 percent .......................................................... 4.8 3.1 3.1

75 percent or more...................................................... 4.6 3.5 3.6

†Not applicable. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 

 
80 

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A-1 

Appendix A 

Technical Notes 
A-2 

This page intentionally left blank.
A-3 

Technical Notes 

Fast Response Survey System 

The Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) was established in 1975 by the National Center 

for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education. FRSS is designed to collect issueoriented data within a relatively short time frame. FRSS collects data from state education agencies, local 

education agencies, public and private elementary and secondary schools, public school teachers, and 

public libraries. To ensure minimal burden on respondents, the surveys are generally limited to three 

pages of questions, with a response burden of about 30 minutes per respondent. Sample sizes are 

relatively small (usually about 1,000 to 1,500 respondents per survey) so that data collection can be 

completed quickly. Data are weighted to produce national estimates of the sampled education sector. 

The sample size permits limited breakouts by classification variables. However, as the number of 

categories within the classification variables increases, the sample size within categories decreases, which 

results in larger sampling errors for the breakouts by classification variables. 

Sample Design 

The sample for the FRSS survey on foods and physical activity consisted of 1,198 regular 

public elementary schools in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. It was selected from the 2002–03 

NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) Public School Universe file, which was the most current file 

available at the time of selection. The sampling frame included 50,980 regular elementary schools. For 

the purposes of the study, an elementary school was defined as a school with a high grade of 1 to 8 and a 

low grade of prekindergarten, kindergarten, or grades 1 to 3. Excluded from the sampling frame were 

schools with a high grade of prekindergarten or kindergarten and ungraded schools, along with special 

education, vocational, and alternative/other schools, schools outside the 50 states and the District of 

Columbia, and schools with zero or missing enrollment. 

The public school sampling frame was stratified by enrollment size (less than 300, 300 to 

499, 500 to 599, 600 to 749, and 750 or more) and percent eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (less 

than 35 percent, 36 to 49 percent, 50 to 74 percent, and 75 percent or more). Schools in the frame were 

then sorted by type of locale (city, urban fringe, town, and rural) and region (Northeast, Southeast, 
A-4 

Central, and West) to induce additional implicit stratification. These variables are defined in more detail 

in the “Definitions of Analysis Variables” section of these Technical Notes. 

Data Collection and Response Rates 

Questionnaires and cover letters for the study were mailed to the principal of each sampled 

school in early March 2005. The letter introduced the study and requested that the questionnaire be 

completed by the person most knowledgeable about the availability of foods and opportunities for physical 

activity at the school. Respondents were encouraged to consult with the school’s food service personnel 

and physical education staff to complete relevant sections of the questionnaire, as necessary. 

Respondents were also offered the option of completing the survey via the Web. The cover letter for the 

study included information on how to access the survey on the Web, including the survey Uniform 

Resource Location (URL) and the user login and password. Telephone follow-up for survey nonresponse 

and data clarification was initiated in late March 2005 and completed in late June 2005. 

Of the 1,198 schools in the sample, 37 were found to be ineligible for the survey because 

they were closed or did not meet the grade requirements for inclusion as an elementary school. This left a 

total of 1,161 eligible schools in the sample. Completed questionnaires were received from 1,055 

schools, or 91 percent of the eligible schools (table A-1). Of the schools that completed the survey, 19 

percent completed it by Web, 53 percent completed it by mail, 27 percent completed it by fax, and 1 

percent completed it by telephone. 

The weighted response rate was 91 percent. The weighted number of eligible institutions in 

the survey represents the estimated universe of regular elementary schools in the 50 states and the District 

of Columbia. The estimated number of schools in the survey universe decreased from the 50,980 schools 

in the CCD sampling frame to an estimated 49,393 because some of the schools were determined to be 

ineligible for the FRSS survey during data collection. 
A-5 

Table A-1. Number and percent of responding public elementary schools in the study sample, and 

estimated number and percent of public schools the sample represents, by school 

characteristics: 2005 

Respondent sample (unweighted) National estimate (weighted) 

School characteristic Number Percent Number Percent 

 

 All public elementary schools................................................ 1,055 100 49,390 100 

 

Enrollment size

 Less than 300............................................................................ 310 29 13,170 27 

 300 to 499 ................................................................................. 312 30 17,670 36 

 500 or more............................................................................... 433 41 18,560 38 

 

Locale

 City ........................................................................................... 286 27 13,810 28 

 Urban fringe.............................................................................. 378 36 17,940 36 

 Town......................................................................................... 92 9 4,220 9 

 Rural ......................................................................................... 299 28 13,420 27 

 

Region

 Northeast................................................................................... 178 17 8,620 17 

 Southeast................................................................................... 224 21 10,260 21 

 Central ...................................................................................... 295 28 14,030 28 

 West .......................................................................................... 358 34 16,500 33 

 

Percent minority enrollment

 Less than 6 percent ................................................................... 222 21 10,140 21 

 6 to 20 percent .......................................................................... 234 23 10,970 23 

 21 to 49 percent ........................................................................ 230 22 10,980 23 

 50 percent or more.................................................................... 348 34 16,260 34 

 

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch

 Less than 35 percent ................................................................. 372 35 17,540 36 

 35 to 49 percent ........................................................................ 164 16 7,570 15 

 50 to 74 percent ........................................................................ 253 24 11,690 24 

 75 percent or more.................................................................... 266 25 12,600 26 

NOTE: Percent minority enrollment was not available for 21 schools. Those schools were included in the totals and in the analyses by other 

school characteristics. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding or missing data. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System, “Foods and Physical Activity 

in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 

Imputation for Item Nonresponse 

Although item nonresponse for key items was very low, missing data were imputed for the 

32 items with a response rate of less than 100 percent (table A-2).1

 The missing items included both 

numerical data such as total minutes per day of scheduled recess, as well as categorical data such as 

whether soft drinks were available at vending machines. The missing data were imputed using a “hotdeck” approach to obtain a “donor” school from which the imputed values were derived. Under the hotdeck approach, a donor school that matched selected characteristics of the school with missing data (the 

 

1

 Per NCES standards, all missing questionnaire data are imputed. 
A-6 

recipient school) was identified. The matching characteristics included enrollment size, percent of 

students in the school eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, and type of locale. In addition, relevant 

questionnaire items were used to form appropriate imputation groupings. Once a donor was found, it was 

used to obtain the imputed values for the school with missing data. For both categorical and numerical 

items, the imputed value was simply the corresponding value from the donor school. All missing items 

for a given school were imputed from the same donor. 

Table A-2. Number of cases with imputed data in the study sample, and number of cases with 

imputed data the sample represents, by questionnaire item: 2005

Questionnaire item 

Respondent 

sample

(unweighted)

National 

estimate

(weighted)

q3a 100% fruit or vegetable juice in cafeteria/lunchroom................................................. 3 134

q3b Sports or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice in cafeteria/lunchroom........................ 1 38

q3c Soft drinks in cafeteria/lunchroom ............................................................................. 1 45

q3d Bottled water in cafeteria/lunchroom ......................................................................... 2 85

q3e Low-fat or skim milk in cafeteria/lunchroom............................................................. 1 38

q3f Milk that is not low fat or skim in cafeteria/lunchroom ............................................. 1 41

q3g Yogurt in cafeteria/lunchroom.................................................................................... 3 137

q3i French fried potatoes in cafeteria/lunchroom ............................................................. 3 137

q3j Green salad or fruit in cafeteria/lunchroom................................................................ 2 83

q3k Candy in cafeteria/lunchroom .................................................................................... 1 51

q3m Salty snacks that are not low in fat in cafeteria/lunchroom ........................................ 6 292

q3n Low-fat cookies/baked goods in cafeteria/lunchroom................................................ 1 59

q3o Cookies/baked goods not low in fat in cafeteria/lunchroom....................................... 1 43

q5a 100% fruit or vegetable juice in vending machines.................................................... 1 51

q5e Candy in vending machines........................................................................................ 1 41

q7e Candy in school store/snack bar ................................................................................. 1 43

q7h Low-fat cookies/baked goods in school store/snack bar............................................. 1 34

q12ddays Number of days per week of recess scheduled for grade 4......................................... 1 46

q12edays Number of days per week of recess scheduled for grade 5......................................... 1 46

q12dtime Number of times per day of recess scheduled for grade 4.......................................... 1 46

q12etime Number of times per day of recess scheduled for grade 5.......................................... 1 46

q12amin Total minutes per day for recess for grade 1 .............................................................. 1 41

q12bmin Total minutes per day for recess for grade 2 .............................................................. 1 41

q12cmin Total minutes per day for recess for grade 3 .............................................................. 1 41

q12dmin Total minutes per day for recess for grade 4 .............................................................. 2 86

q12emin Total minutes per day for recess for grade 5 .............................................................. 2 86

q12fmin Total minutes per day for recess for grade 6 .............................................................. 1 41

q14d Participate in President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Award program.. 4 210

q15ccol1 How often students’ body mass index is calculated in elementary grades ................. 1 51

q15acol2 Height information is sent to parents.......................................................................... 5 209

q15bcol2 Weight information is sent to parents......................................................................... 5 204

q15ccol2 Body mass index information is sent to parents ......................................................... 2 89

NOTE: Data were imputed using hot-deck imputation procedures. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical 

Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005. 
A-7 

Data Reliability 

While the Foods and Physical Activity survey was designed to account for sampling error 

and to minimize nonsampling error, estimates produced from the data collected are subject to both types 

of error. Sampling error occurs because the data are collected from a sample rather than a census of the 

population, and nonsampling errors are errors made during the collection and processing of the data. 

 Sampling Errors 

The responses were weighted to produce national estimates (table A-1). The weights were 

designed to adjust for the variable probabilities of selection and differential nonresponse. The findings in 

this report are estimates based on the sample selected and, consequently, are subject to sampling 

variability. General sampling theory was used to estimate the sampling variability of the estimates and to 

test for statistically significant differences between estimates. 

The standard error is a measure of the variability of an estimate due to sampling. It indicates 

the variability of a sample estimate that would be obtained from all possible samples of a given design 

and size. Standard errors are used as a measure of the precision expected from a particular sample. If all 

possible samples were surveyed under similar conditions, intervals of 1.96 standard errors below to 1.96 

standard errors above a particular statistic would include the true population parameter being estimated in 

about 95 percent of the samples. This is a 95 percent confidence interval. For example, the estimated 

percentage of public elementary schools that sold foods to generate funds is 36.3 percent, and the standard 

error is 1.5 percent (tables 2 and 2a). The 95 percent confidence interval for the statistic extends from 

[36.3 – (1.5 x 1.96)] to [36.3 + (1.5 x 1.96)], or from 33.4 to 39.2 percent. The 1.96 is the critical value

for a statistical test at the 0.05 significance level (where 0.05 indicates the 5 percent of all possible 

samples that would be outside the range of the confidence interval). 

Because the data from the FRSS foods and physical activity survey were collected using a 

complex sampling design, the variances of the estimates from this survey (e.g., estimates of proportions) 

are typically different from what would be expected from data collected with a simple random sample. 

Not taking the complex sample design into account can lead to an underestimation of the standard errors 

associated with such estimates. To generate accurate standard errors for the estimates in this report, 

standard errors were computed using a technique known as jackknife replication. As with any replication 

method, jackknife replication involves constructing a number of subsamples (replicates) from the full 

sample and computing the statistic of interest for each replicate. The mean square error of the replicate 

estimates around the full sample estimate provides an estimate of the variance of the statistic. To 
A-8 

construct the replications, 50 stratified subsamples of the full sample were created and then dropped 1 at a 

time to define 50 jackknife replicates. A computer program (WesVar) was used to calculate the estimates 

of standard errors. WesVar is a stand-alone Windows application that computes sampling errors from 

complex samples for a wide variety of statistics (totals, percents, ratios, log-odds ratios, general functions 

of estimates in tables, linear regression parameters, and logistic regression parameters). 

 Nonsampling Errors 

Nonsampling error is the term used to describe variations in the estimates that may be caused 

by population coverage limitations and data collection, processing, and reporting procedures. The sources 

of nonsampling errors are typically problems like unit and item nonresponse, differences in respondents’ 

interpretations of the meaning of questions, response differences related to the particular time the survey 

was conducted, and mistakes made during data preparation. It is difficult to identify and estimate either 

the amount of nonsampling error or the bias caused by this error. To minimize the potential for 

nonsampling error, this study used a variety of procedures, including a pretest of the questionnaire with 

principals of elementary schools. The pretest provided the opportunity to check for consistency of 

interpretation of questions and definitions and to eliminate ambiguous items. The questionnaire and 

instructions were also extensively reviewed by NCES. In addition, manual and machine editing of the 

questionnaire responses were conducted to check the data for accuracy and consistency. Cases with 

missing or inconsistent items were recontacted by telephone to resolve problems. Data were keyed with 

100 percent verification for surveys received by mail, fax, or telephone. 

Definitions of Analysis Variables 

Many of the school characteristics, described below, may be related to each other. For 

example, school enrollment size and locale are related, with city schools typically being larger than rural 

schools. Other relationships between these analysis variables may exist. However, this E.D. TAB report 

focuses on bivariate relationships between the analysis variables and questionnaire variables rather than 

more complex analyses. 

Enrollment Size – This variable indicates the total number of students enrolled in the school based on 

data from the 2002–03 CCD. The variable was collapsed into the following three categories: 

Less than 300 students (small)

300 to 499 students (medium)

500 or more students (large) 
A-9 

School Locale – This variable indicates the type of community in which the school is located, as defined 

in the 2002–03 CCD (which uses definitions based on U.S. Census Bureau classifications). This variable 

was based on the eight-category locale variable from CCD, recoded into a four-category analysis variable 

for this report. Large and midsize cities were coded as city, the urban fringes of large and midsize cities 

were coded as urban fringe, large and small towns were coded as town, and rural areas outside and inside 

Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) were coded as rural. The categories are described in more detail 

below. 

City – A large or midsize central city of a Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) or 

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). 

Urban fringe – Any incorporated place, Census-designated place, or non-place territory within a 

CSMA or MSA of a large or midsize city, and defined as urban by the Census Bureau. 

Town – Any incorporated place or Census-designated place with a population greater than or equal 

to 2,500 and located outside a CMSA or MSA. 

Rural – Any incorporated place, Census-designated place, or non-place territory defined as rural by 

the Census Bureau. 

Region – This variable classifies schools into one of the four geographic regions used by the Bureau of 

Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Assessment of Educational 

Progress, and the National Education Association. Data were obtained from the 2002–03 CCD School 

Universe file. The geographic regions are: 

Northeast – Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont 

Southeast – Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North 

Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia 

Central – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North 

Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin 

 

West – Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, 

Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming 

Percent Minority Enrollment – This variable indicates the percentage of students enrolled in the school 

whose race or ethnicity is classified as one of the following: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or 

Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic Black, or Hispanic, based on data in the 2002–03 CCD School Universe 

file. Data on this variable were missing for 21 schools; schools with missing data were excluded from all 

analyses by percent minority enrollment. The percent minority enrollment variable was collapsed into the 

following four categories: 

Less than 6 percent minority 

6 to 20 percent minority 

21 to 49 percent minority

50 percent or more minority 
A-10 

Percent of Students Eligible for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch—This variable was based on responses 

to question 16 on the survey questionnaire; if it was missing from the questionnaire (3.9 percent of all 

cases), it was obtained from the 2002–03 CCD School Universe File. This item served as a measurement 

of the concentration of poverty at the school. The categories are: 

Less than 35 percent

35 to 49 percent

50 to 74 percent

75 percent or more

Contact Information 

For more information about the survey, contact Bernie Greene, Early Childhood, International, and 

Crosscutting Studies Division, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, 

U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, e-mail: 

Bernard.Greene@ed.gov; telephone (202) 502-7348. 
B-1 

Appendix B 

Questionnaire 
B-2 

This page intentionally left blank. 
B-3 

 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FORM APPROVED 

 NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS O.M.B. No.: 1850–0733 

 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006-5651 EXPIRATION DATE: 09/2006 

Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005

 FAST RESPONSE SURVEY SYSTEM 

This survey is authorized by law (P.L. 103-382). While you are not required to respond, your cooperation is needed to make the results of 

this survey comprehensive, accurate, and timely.

Focus of Survey 

This survey focuses on two topics: availability of foods, and opportunities for physical activity for students at your school. 

Please note that in this survey: 

• The term “foods” is used broadly to include both foods and beverages. 

• Before- and after-school activities refer only to school-sponsored activities. 

• Questions 12 through 15 ask for information only for elementary grades above kindergarten (typically 

grades 1 through 5 or 6), even though your school may have higher or lower grades. 

• Physical education refers to class time that is spent teaching a physical education curriculum, excluding

regularly scheduled recess and instruction on physical activity topics that are part of health education or any 

other subject. 

LABEL 

IF ABOVE INFORMATION IS INCORRECT, PLEASE MAKE CORRECTIONS DIRECTLY ON LABEL. 

Name of person completing form:______________________________________ Telephone: _______________________________ 

Title/position:______________________________________________________ E-mail: __________________________________ 

Best days and times to reach you (in case of questions): ______________________________________________________________ 

THANK YOU. PLEASE KEEP A COPY OF THE COMPLETED SURVEY FOR YOUR FILES. 

 PLEASE RETURN COMPLETED FORM TO: IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, CONTACT: 

 WESTAT Basmat Parsad 

 Attention: Parsad 8096.03.03 800-937-8281, ext. 8222 

 1650 Research Boulevard Fax: 800-254-0984 

 Rockville, Maryland 20850 E-mail: basmatparsad@westat.com 

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB 

control number. The valid OMB control number for this information is 1850–0733. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated 

to average 30 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and 

review the information collected. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, 

please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202–4651. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your 

individual submission of this form, write directly to: National Center for Education Statistics, 1990 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006 

FRSS Form No. 87, 03/2005 
B-4 

Questions 1 through 11 ask about the availability of food services or foods at your school. Please note: 

(a) the term “foods” is used broadly to include both foods and beverages; and 

(b) before- and after-school activities refer only to school-sponsored activities. 

1. Does your school offer any food service (e.g., school meals, a la carte items, or vending machine foods) in a 

cafeteria or lunchroom? Please include the service of both foods and beverages in the cafeteria or lunchroom. 

Yes................... 1 (Continued with question 2.) No .................... 2 (Skip to question 4.) 

2. Does your school offer full school meals (i.e., School Breakfast Program or National School Lunch Program) to 

any students? Include free, reduced-price, and full-price school meals. 

Yes................... 1 No .................... 2 

3. Indicate whether students can purchase the following foods separate from full school meals (e.g., as a la carte 

foods or from vending machines) during mealtimes in the school cafeteria/lunchroom. (Circle one on each line.)

Yes No 

a. 100% fruit or vegetable juice .................................................................................... 1 2 

b. Sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice ................................................ 1 2 

c. Soft drinks................................................................................................................. 1 2 

d. Bottled water............................................................................................................. 1 2 

e. Low-fat or skim milk .................................................................................................. 1 2 

f. Milk that is not low fat or skim .................................................................................. 1 2 

g. Yogurt ....................................................................................................................... 1 2 

h. Ice cream or frozen yogurt........................................................................................ 1 2 

i. French fried potatoes................................................................................................ 1 2 

j. Green salad or fruit................................................................................................... 1 2 

k. Candy........................................................................................................................ 1 2 

l. Low-fat salty snacks (e.g., pretzels and baked or other low-fat chips).................... 1 2 

m. Salty snacks that are not low in fat (e.g., regular potato chips and cheese puffs)... 1 2 

n. Low-fat cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods........................................ 1 2 

o. Cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods that are not low in fat ............... 1 2 

4. When are vending machine foods available to students in the school? Consider foods that are available before, 

during, or after school (including before- and after-school activities and programs). (Circle all that apply.)

 Never.................................................................................................................................... 1 (Skip to question 6.)

 At mealtimes ........................................................................................................................ 2 

 Other times during the school day ....................................................................................... 3 

 Outside of the school day (e.g., school-sponsored before- or after-school activities)......... 4 

 Other times (Please specify.)_______________________________________________ 5 

5. Are the following vending machine foods available to students? Consider foods that are available before, during, 

or after school (including before- and after-school activities and programs). (Circle one on each line.) 

Yes No 

a. 100% fruit or vegetable juice ................................................................................... 1 2 

b. Sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice ............................................... 1 2 

c. Soft drinks................................................................................................................ 1 2 

d. Bottled water............................................................................................................ 1 2 

e. Candy....................................................................................................................... 1 2 

f. Low-fat salty snacks (e.g., pretzels and baked or other low-fat chips)................... 1 2 

g. Salty snacks that are not low in fat (e.g., regular potato chips and cheese puffs).. 1 2 

h. Low-fat cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods....................................... 1 2 

i. Cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods that are not low in fat ............... 1 2 

6. When are school store or snack bar foods available to students in the school? Consider foods that are available 

before, during, or after school (including before- and after-school activities and programs). (Circle all that apply.)

 Never.................................................................................................................................... 1 (Skip to question 8.) 

 At mealtimes ........................................................................................................................ 2 

 Other times during the school day ....................................................................................... 3 

 Outside of the school day (e.g., school-sponsored before- or after-school activities)......... 4 

 Other times (Please specify.)_______________________________________________ 5 
B-5 

7. Are the following school store or snack bar foods available to students? Consider foods that are available before, 

during, or after school (including before- and after-school activities and programs). (Circle one on each line.) 

Yes No 

a. 100% fruit or vegetable juice ................................................................................... 1 2 

b. Sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice ............................................... 1 2 

c. Soft drinks................................................................................................................ 1 2 

d. Bottled water............................................................................................................ 1 2 

e. Candy....................................................................................................................... 1 2 

f. Low-fat salty snacks (e.g., pretzels and baked or other low-fat chips)................... 1 2 

g. Salty snacks that are not low in fat (e.g., regular potato chips and cheese puffs).. 1 2 

h. Low-fat cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods....................................... 1 2 

i. Cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods that are not low in fat ............... 1 2 

8. Do any companies have a contract to sell drinks or snack foods at your school? Consider foods that are available 

to students before, during, or after school, including before- and after-school activities and programs. 

 Yes ......................................................................................................................... 1 (Continue with question 9.) 

 No........................................................................................................................... 2 (Skip to question 10.) 

 Don’t know ............................................................................................................. 3 (Skip to question 10.)

9. Are there agreements with those companies for your school or district to receive the following? (Circle one on each 

line.) 

Yes No Don’t 

know 

a. A specific percentage of the sales receipts .............................................................. 1 2 3 

b. Sales incentives such as cash awards or donations of equipment or supplies for 

a specified amount of sales receipts ........................................................................ 1 2 3 

c. Other agreement (Please specify.)_____________________________________ 1 2 3 

10. Consider the foods and beverages that students can buy separately from full school meals (e.g., foods sold a la 

carte in the cafeteria/lunchroom and foods sold at vending machines, school stores, and snack bars). Are any of 

these foods sold to generate funds to support food service operations at your school or district? (Circle one.) 

 Yes ....................................................................................................................................... 1 

 No......................................................................................................................................... 2 

 Don’t know ........................................................................................................................... 3 

 Not applicable; no foods or beverages sold separately from full school meals................... 4 

11. Which of the following operates the food service operations at your school? (Circle one.) 

 Not applicable; no food service operations at this school.................................................... 1 

 Your school or school district............................................................................................... 2 

 A private entity under contract to your school or school district .......................................... 3 

 Other entity (Please specify.)_______________________________________________ 4 

For questions 12 through 15, please report only for elementary grades above kindergarten (typically grades 

1 through 5 or 6), even though your school may have higher or lower grades. 

12. Please provide the following information about scheduled recess during a typical week for elementary grades 

above kindergarten. If your school does not have any of the listed grades or does not consider a particular grade 

as elementary, leave that row blank. (See definition of elementary grades in box above.) 

Grade 

How many days per week is 

recess scheduled? 

(If none, enter “0.”)

How many times per day is 

recess scheduled? 

(If none, enter “0.”)

What is the total number of 

minutes per day for recess? 

(If none, enter “0.”)

a. Grade 1 

b. Grade 2 

c. Grade 3 

d. Grade 4 

e. Grade 5 

f. Grade 6 
B-6 

13. Please provide the following information about scheduled physical education during a typical week for elementary 

grades above kindergarten. If your school does not have any of the listed grades or does not consider a particular 

grade as elementary, leave that row blank. (See definition of elementary grades in box above question 12.) 

Grade 

How many days per week is physical education scheduled? 

If the schedule is the same every week, enter the number of days. 

 (If none, enter “0” days.) 

If the schedule varies by week, specify the schedule. 

How long (in minutes) 

is each physical 

education class? 

(If none, enter “0.”)

a. Grade 1 

Enter number of days 

_______ OR Specify schedule if it varies by week __________________________________________ 

Enter minutes per class 

_______

b. Grade 2 

Enter number of days 

_______ OR Specify schedule if it varies by week __________________________________________ 

Enter minutes per class 

_______

c. Grade 3 

Enter number of days 

_______ OR Specify schedule if it varies by week __________________________________________ 

Enter minutes per class 

_______

d. Grade 4 

Enter number of days 

_______ OR Specify schedule if it varies by week __________________________________________ 

Enter minutes per class 

_______

e. Grade 5 

Enter number of days 

_______ OR Specify schedule if it varies by week __________________________________________ 

Enter minutes per class 

_______

f. Grade 6 

Enter number of days 

_______ OR Specify schedule if it varies by week __________________________________________ 

Enter minutes per class 

_______

14. Does your school do the following to encourage physical activity among students in elementary grades? (See 

definition of elementary grades in box above question 12.) (Circle one on each line.) 

Yes No 

a. Use nontraditional physical education activities (e.g., dance or kick-boxing) to make 

physical education enjoyable ................................................................................................... 1 2 

b. Provide opportunities during the school day for organized physical activities (e.g., 

walking or running laps at recess), excluding physical education............................................ 1 2 

c. Offer school-sponsored before- or after-school activities that emphasize physical activity 

(e.g., walking or running, sports, dance, or group games)....................................................... 1 2 

d. Participate in the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Award program .......... 1 2 

e. Other activity/program (Please specify.)_________________________________________ 1 2 

15. How often are height, weight, and body mass index measured for students in elementary grades at your school? If 

measured, please indicate whether this information is sent to parents. (See definition of elementary grades in box 

above question 12.) 

How often measured? 

If measured, is 

information sent 

Height, weight, body mass index to parents? 

Never In selected 

grades only

Yearly for 

all students

Other 

approach Yes No 

a. Measure students’ height..................... 1 2 3 4 1 2 

b. Measure students’ weight.................... 1 2 3 4 1 2 

c. Calculate students’ body mass index .. 1 2 3 4 1 2 

16. What percent of the students in your school are eligible for the federally funded free or reduced-price lunch 

program? (If none, enter “0.”) _________% 

17a. Which of the following grades are taught at your school? (Circle all that apply.)

PK K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Ungraded 

17b. Of the grades taught at your school, which grades are considered elementary? (Circle all that apply.)

PK K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Ungraded