Physical activity and GPA: Results from a national sample of Black students

ABSTRACT

Physical Activity is an important contributor to health, both physical and cognitive. The relationship between physical activity and educational outcomes has been explored in a variety of venues. Little research, however, has recently interrogated this subject longitudinally, and especially for a national sample of Black students. To address that gap, this paper employs data from the High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS), hierarchical regression modeling, and intersectionality theory to evaluate the relative impact of extracurricular activities, school attitudes, and the impact of demographics on the Personal Health and Physical Education Grade Point Average of over 1,000 Black high school students. The High School Longitudinal Study is a nationally representative, longitudinal study of ninth graders followed through their secondary and postsecondary years. Further, we examined the results separately for male and female students, in order to achieve a better understanding of physical activity and academic achievement from the female perspective. Our findings reinforce the importance of participating in sports and extracurricular activities in fostering positive educational outcomes for Black students, male and female, nationally. Finally, recommendations are offered to parents, community leaders, teachers, school administrators, and policy makers regarding implementation strategies to optimize the benefits of Physical Activity to Black adolescents.

KEYWORDS:

• Physical activity
• academic achievement
• gender disparities
• safety concerns
• socioeconomic status

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Mr. Jason Archimandritis for his assistance with data analysis and Ms. Cheryl L. Brown Weston for her support of this project.