School students in the best physical shape outscore their classmates on standardised tests, says a new study

Fit kids score better grades

School students in the best physical shape outscore their classmates on standardised tests, says a new study

    This is the first study linking children’s fitness to both improved scores on objective tests and better grades, which rely on subjective decisions by teachers. The study by Michigan State University, US, is also among the first to examine how academic performance relates to all aspects of physical fitness — including body fat, muscular strength, flexibility and endurance.
    Said lead researcher Dawn Coe, “We looked at the full range of what’s called health-related fitness. Kids aren’t really fit if they’re doing well in just one of those categories.” Coe and colleagues gathered their data from 312 students in sixth through eighth grade at a West Michigan school. They gauged the kids’ fitness with an established programme of push-ups, shuttle runs and other exercises. Then they compared those scores to students’ letter grades throughout the school year in four core classes and their performance on a standardised test.
    The results showed the fittest children got the highest test scores and the best grades, regardless of gender or whether they’d yet gone through puberty. The findings suggest schools that cut physical education and recess to focus on core subjects may undermine students’ success on the standardised tests that affect school funding and prestige, co-author James Pivarnik, who advised Coe on the project, said.
ANI

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