ABSTRACT
School-aged children in the United States are not performing well academically compared to children in other developed nations around the world (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, 2004, 2007). The No Child Left Behind Elementary and Secondary Education Act was enacted in 2002 to address the concerns with the education system in the United States through a focus on accountability in important subject areas (Hardman, 2004). However, because this act did not include physical education (PE) or health as “important subject areas” and because of increased pressure for schools to meet state standards for academic performance, time and resources devoted to PE have declined in most schools (Hardman, 2004; Keyes, 2004).
