Most schools still have recess
With so much pressure on schools to raise achievement in reading and math, there seems to be a widespread belief that elementary schools are eliminating or cutting back on recess.
A review by NSBA’s Center for Public Education, Time Out: Is Recess in Danger?, found recess is alive and well. (The center hosted a webinar on the topic Sept. 4. You can download the session at www.nsba. org/na; select “National Affiliate webinars.”)
Child health advocates point to the importance of recess in curbing childhood obesity, and there’s been at least one study suggesting a positive relationship between providing these opportunities and better student learning.
The report notes that two different surveys, one released in 2006 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and another released by the U.S. Department of Education in 2005, show that approximately nine in 10 elementary schools regularly schedule recess. The average time for recess is 24 to 30 minutes a day.
The Center on Education Policy, which has been tracking the effect of No Child Left Behind on various aspects of schooling, reported in 2007 that 44 percent of school districts had increased time for English/language arts and math in elementary schools in 2007 and 20 percent decreased time for recess. Those schools cut recess by an average of 144 minutes a week or 29 minutes a day.
While most children, regardless of location, continue to get recess on a regular basis, children who attend high-minority, high-poverty, or urban schools are far more likely than other children to get no recess at all. For example:
• Fourteen percent of elementary schools with a minority enrollment of at least 50 percent do not schedule any recess for first-graders, compared to just 4 percent of schools with minority enrollments of 21 to 49 percent.
• Eighteen percent of elementary schools with a poverty rate over 75 percent do not provide first-graders with recess, compared to 3 percent of schools with poverty rates of 50 to 74 percent.
• Fourteen percent of urban elementary schools do not offer recess to first-graders compared to 6 percent of schools on the urban fringe, 6 percent of schools in towns, and 3 percent of rural schools.
“Recess is not disappearing, at least not on a grand scale,” says Patte Barth, director of the Center for Public Education. “But we know anecdotally that school boards here and there are having to make decisions about recess policies.”
“The pressure to find more instructional time for language arts and math is just one reason the issue comes up,” Barth says. “Others often cited are lack of facilities, concern for children’s safety, discipline problems, and fear of litigation.”
Barth says school boards considering reducing or eliminating recess should keep two things to keep in mind: “It’s probably going to be unpopular with your parents, teachers, and students, and having children plug away at schoolwork with no reprieve will likely produce diminishing returns.”
The center suggests that boards consider recess alongside physical education requirements. “One is not a replacement for the other,” the report notes. Schools should provide at least 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity a day, which should include recess and physical education.
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