The Downside to No Child Left Behind
To help bolster scores in high-stakes accountability tests, schools have reduced time for physical education. The 2001 No Child Left Behind legislation has led to less than desirable outcomes according to Furman Health Sciences professor Dr. Julian Reed. He says NCLB, while well-intentioned, has contributed to South Carolina’s increasing obesity rate and sedentary lifestyles among youth in the state.
In his long-term research with Legacy Charter School, the only public school that requires daily P.E., Reed reveals significant findings on the cognitive front as well. “Cutting physical education to try to increase academic achievement is actually counterproductive … Students who are physically fit have improved cognitive ability,” he says. Read more in a Greenville Journal article by Cindy Landrum.