A longitudinal study of the association between physical fitness and academic achievement in school-age children

Abstract

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the association between physical fitness and academic achievement in elementary school students of grades 3 to 6, and to further examine the changes in the association over time. [Participants and Methods] The participants were 138 healthy elementary school students. The scores of muscular strength, flexibility, instantaneous power, and endurance were calculated from the results of physical fitness tests conducted at school. In addition, the deviation value of each subject was calculated from the results of an academic achievement test, and the relationship between each deviation value and physical assessment score was examined using Spearman’s correlation coefficient (ρ). [Results] There was a significant correlation between each physical assessment score and academic achievement; however, the correlation coefficient was low (ρ<0.4). [Conclusion] The results of the examination using longitudinal data show there wasn’t a high correlation between physical strength and academic achievement in school-age children, suggesting that many factors influence the development of physical fitness and academic achievement.