Health = Performance

Efforts to increase student achievement also should address physical activity and a good diet
Ginny Ehrlich

ooking to improve student achievement? Consider this: How healthy

are your students?
Healthy children learn betterfew statements in education are as

unequivocal. We know this on a common-sense level, and the data backs it up.
Research suggests that students health and learning are inextricably linked.
Studies also have shown that school health programs can boost students academic performance and improve behavior and attendance.

So, efforts to increase student achievement should include a focus on health.

School health programs and board policies
can address physical activity and healthy
eatingtwo areas that are particularly im42 American School Board Journal/October 2008

portant in light of the obesity epidemic in

the U.S. One in three children and adolescents is already overweight or obese, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) reports. Extra weight can cause a

host of health problems in children, including asthma and Type 2 diabetes.

Perhaps the most established relationship of health and achievement is between
eating breakfast at school and academic
performance, no matter what the students
socioeconomic status. Studies have linked
eating breakfast at school with improved
performance on standardized tests and better math grades, as well as with improved
student attendance.
Though research suggests that school
breakfast has a positive impact on all students performance, impact is greatest for
students from food-insecure households.
Qualitative studies also cited the rela-

Reprinted with permission from American School Board Journal, October 2008
2008 National School Boards Association. All rights reserved.

Health & Wellness Special Report

tionship between healthy eating and better
student behavior. In a longitudinal child
health study, teachers consistently cited the
link between students eating habits and
their behaviors.
Some teachers said that students who
participated in the school meals programs
or who had consumed less sugar were less
likely to display aggressive behavior and
less likely to be referred out of the classroom. Both factors increase learning time
for students who arguably need it the most.
Studies also show that there are correlations between students physical activity
and academic performance. A statewide
study of students in California found a positive relationship between students physical
fitness levels and their standardized math
and reading scores.
Further, students who were physically
active every day were more likely to report
getting mostly As and Bs in school than
their more sedentary peers, according to a
2003 CDC study.
One obvious way to increase students
physical fitness is to offer quality physical
education programs. Though several districts around the country have cut physical
education programs to make room for more
reading, math, and science instruction, the
evidence suggests that spending more time
in physical education class did not have a
negative effect on students standardized
test scores, even though less time was available for other academic subjects.
TAKING THE LEAP
Most school leaders and educators acknowledge the importance of these links between health and achievement, but given
the stakes of meeting No Child Left Behind
measures, there is little action taken. However, some districts have taken the leap to
address the whole child, and they have
reaped the benefits.
In McComb, Miss., former Superintendent Pat Cooper made a commitment to
concentrate on the health needs of students.

McComb is a small district that serves a

2006 in nine of 11 systems.
vulnerable student population, most of
Additionally, competency rates in readwhom live in poverty. Cooper implemented
ing, writing, and language in kindergarten
a coordinated school health approach to adthrough eighth grade revealed that the madress the physical, social, and emotional
jority of pilot sites exceeded the state norm
barriers to learning.
for 2006. All of the school systems saw
McCombs program includes the eight
steady improvement from the baseline of
components of the coordinated school
2003. Competency in mathematics and
health approach: school employee wellness,
reading in kindergarten through eighth
physical education, health education, nutrigrade improved in all 11 school systems
tion services, parent and family involvefrom 2003 to 2006, and all systems had
ment, school health services, mental health
higher mean scores on writing assessments
counseling, and environmental health.
in 2006 than in 2002.
The district has seen improvement in its
students academic achievement. Between
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1996 and 2005, dropout rates decreased
The Alliance for a Healthier Generations
from 31 percent to 11 percent, and graduaHealthy Schools Program supports districts
tion rates increased to 95 percent. The disand schools in the implementation of a cotricts ranking rose from 59th to 14th in the
ordinated school health approach to prostate.
moting physical activity and healthy eating
Not only did students stay in school, but
among students and school staff.
they also performed better. Standardized
The Healthy Schools Program provides
test scores improved in reading, writing,
language arts, and math in every
grade (except eighth, which reMost school leaders and
mained the same). These scores
educators acknowledge
now exceed state averages in
the importance of these links
several areas and all McComb
between health and achievement.
schools qualify as successful
(Level 3), as measured by the
no-cost support to any school in the country
Mississippi state standards.
through training, online tools, and phone
Tennessee has made a statewide comconsultation focused on district-wide promitment to addressing physical, social, and
motion of physical activity and healthy eatemotional barriers to learning that also has
ing for students and staff. Within the
yielded positive returns. In 2002, Tennessee
Healthy Schools Program Best Practice
implemented a coordinated school health
Framework, there are specific policy recpilot program in 11 school districts throughommendations for supporting a healthier
out the state.
school environment. They include:
An independent evaluation conducted
Offering a healthy breakfast for every
between 2002 and 2006 found that this inistudent every day. Consider extending a
tiative helped raise student achievement
common practice, providing breakfast for
along with improving their health. Specifiall students during testing periods, to an
cally, there is a substantial difference in
everyday practice. The learning benefits can
dropout rates and graduation rates between
only increase gains in test scores. It is also
the pilot districts and the state norm.
important to ensure that the breakfast inDropout rates in pilot districts were lower
cludes a healthy balance of lean proteins,
than the state norm in 2006 in nine of 11
whole fruits, and whole grains to fuel stusystems and the high school graduation
dents for learning.
rates were higher than the state norm in

Reprinted with permission from American School Board Journal, October 2008
2008 National School Boards Association. All rights reserved.

American School Board Journal/October 2008 43

 Allocating adequate time for quality

physical education. Given that evidence
suggests that physical education time does
not detract from student performance, it
makes sense to maintain it within the curriculum. Quality physical education, based
on state and national standards, offers many
other benefits, such as keeping students active and building their skills to maintain
lifelong physical activity.
Providing access to healthier foods
and beverages before, during, and after the
school day. A consistent message about and
access to healthier options across the
school, in hallways, classrooms, cafeterias,
and canteens, helps students to see these options as the norm and to establish their
healthy eating patterns. Studies have shown
a 1 percent increase in students body mass

44 American School Board Journal/October 2008

index for every 10 percent increase in less

healthy foods available at school.
Dedicating time to quality health education. Health education not only contributes to building the knowledge and
skills students need to build healthy habits,
it also has been linked to improved reading
scores in elementary-age students.
Supporting school staff to be healthy
role models. Parents are the primary role
models for their kids, but given that the vast
majority of school-age youth spend at least
six hours a day in school, it is important that
school staff communicate consistent messages. School employee wellness programs
can help motivate staff to be more active
and make healthier food choices. Their enhanced awareness of the benefits of wellness often results in them modeling and

promoting healthier behaviors.

It is important to consider the program
and policy implications for establishing
school environments that promote healthy
eating and physical activity for all students
as a critical part of education reform. The
evidence clearly suggests a link between
students health behaviors and their educational performance.
Healthy school environments support a
better future for all of us by ensuring that
students who are academically prepared
are also healthy and live long enough to
contribute their talents to the nations future.
Ginny Ehrlich is the executive director of the
Alliance for a Healthier Generation in New York,
N.Y.

Reprinted with permission from American School Board Journal, October 2008
2008 National School Boards Association. All rights reserved.