Despite the importance of establishing patterns of physical activity during childhood, half of U.S. children and youth are not active on a regular basis. Levels of moderate to vigorous activity decline dramatically during adolescence. These are important questions that every school district and every school needs to ask. Although many programs are using the standards to create innovative, coherent, learning-focused programs, the field of physical education, like any other field, is driven as much by tradition as by innovation. Such practices lead many students to loathe physical education and physical activity.
Students are often minimally active during physical education class time.
A variety of practices create this problem. Many physical education programs limit physical activity, for example, through waiting turns or using too much time for roll call. Far too many middle and high school physical education classes focus heavily on team sports, which, if taught in a large-group format, do not necessarily allow all students to achieve moderate levels of physical activity during class time. Continuing to provide a smorgasbord curriculum while expecting meaningful learning outcomes is foolhardy. Teachers must carefully select and sequence content, align instructional methods with learning goals, and create meaningful assessments of physical activity.