A new study published in the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport in June 1999, shows that active children may be better learners. Researchers for the Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK) program, a health-related physical education program for elementary schools, wanted to determine the impact of the health-related SPARK program on children's academic achievement.

The study was conducted in seven elementary schools in San Diego County. The effect of the two-year health-related school physical education program on standardized academic achievement scores was assessed in 759 children in 4th and 5th grade. Schools were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: SPARK taught by physical education specialists; SPARK taught by trained classroom teachers; and the control group of students who continued their usual physical education program.

The students took a standardized test before and after participating in the SPARK program. Results of the study show that on three comparisons, students in the SPARK classes scored better on standardized tests than the control students. Students who were taught by a trained classroom teacher were the most likely to have improved test scores. This study shows that health-related physical education may have favorable effects on students' academic achievement.