NCES Quick Response Information System

NCES Quick Response Information System

Att_App B Calories In Calories Out

NCES Quick Response Information System

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U.S. Department of Education

NCES 2006–057






























Calories In, Calories Out: Food and Exercise in Public Elementary Schools, 2005




E.D. TAB

May 2006







Basmat Parsad

Laurie Lewis

Westat

Bernard Greene

Project Officer

National Center for Education Statistics










































U.S. Department of Education

Margaret Spellings

Secretary

Institute of Education Sciences

Grover J. Whitehurst

Director

National Center for Education Statistics

Mark Schneider

Commissioner


The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and review and report on education activities in foreign countries.

NCES activities are designed to address high priority education data needs; provide consistent, reliable, complete, and accurate indicators of education status and trends; and report timely, useful, and high quality data to the U.S. Department of Education, the Congress, the states, other education policymakers, practitioners, data users, and the general public.

We strive to make our products available in a variety of formats and in language that is appropriate to a variety of audiences. You, as our customer, are the best judge of our success in communicating information effectively. If you have any comments or suggestions about this or any other NCES product or report, we would like to hear from you. Please direct your comments to:

National Center for Education Statistics

Institute of Education Sciences

U.S. Department of Education

1990 K Street NW

Washington, DC 20006


May 2006


The NCES World Wide Web Home Page is http://nces.ed.gov.

The NCES World Wide Web Electronic Catalog is http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.


Suggested Citation

Parsad, B., and Lewis, L. (2006). Calories In, Calories Out: Food and Exercise in Public Elementary Schools, 2005 (NCES 2006–057). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.


For ordering information on this report, write to

U.S Department of Education

ED Pubs

P.O. Box 1398

Jessup, MD 20794-1398


or call toll free 1-877-4ED-PUBS or order online at http://www.edpubs.org.


Content Contact

Bernard Greene

(202) 502-7348

Bernard.Greene@ed.gov

Acknowledgments



The authors wish to thank the many individuals who contributed to the development of the survey and this report. Bernard Greene was the NCES Project Officer. Westat’s Project Director was Laurie Lewis, and the survey manager was Basmat Parsad. Debbie Alexander directed the data collection efforts, assisted by Ratna Basavaraju and Anjali Pandit. Robert Delfierro and Alla Belenky were the programmers, Carol Litman was the editor, and Sylvie Warren was responsible for formatting the report.


The NCES staff who reviewed the report and provided valuable suggestions include Bruce Taylor, Val Plisko, Kathryn Chandler, and Peter Tice. Reviewers outside of NCES were Joanne Guthrie of the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Monica Woods of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, U.S. Department of Education. This report was also reviewed by Monica Arntz, Kevin Bromer, Stephen Mistler, Pia Peltola, Mary Mclaughlin, Dan McGrath, Grace Boachie-Ansah, Juliet Diehl, and Greg Kienzl of the Education Statistics Services Institute, American Institutes for Research. In addition, the report was reviewed by Sheryl Lazarus of the Institute of Education Sciences.




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Executive Summary



The rate of obesity among school-age children has become a national concern, with the number of overweight children aged 6 to 11 more than tripling over the past three decades (U.S. Government Accountability Office 2005). One way to address this health issue in schools is to emphasize an “energy balance” approach—calories consumed versus calories expended—to support healthy eating and an active lifestyle. This report is based on a survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. It presents current national information for public elementary schools on the availability of foods outside of full school meals, the opportunities for students to engage in physical activity, and the physical assessment of students.


Availability of Foods Outside of Full School Meals


Most public elementary schools (94 percent) offered foods for sale outside of full school meals, and of these schools, 36 percent reported that foods were sold to generate funds to support food service operations at the school or district (figure 2 and table 2). Schools with any cafeteria or lunchroom food services indicated whether each of 15 foods was offered for sale outside of full school meals. Schools also reported the availability of nine of the listed foods (i.e., nondairy beverages and snack foods) at vending machines and school stores or snack bars, and the times when foods were available.


  • Most public elementary schools (88 percent) offered at least one of the listed foods for sale outside of full school meals at one or more locations in the school, and 84 percent offered at least one of the foods in the cafeteria or lunchroom (figure 3 and table 3). The schools offered both healthy and less nutritious foods for sale outside of full school meals, although a higher proportion of the schools offered nutritious than less nutritious items. For example, schools were more likely to offer 100% juice (53 percent), bottled water (46 percent), and green salad or fruit (40 percent) than less nutritious items such as soft drinks (12 percent), candy (15 percent), and french fried potatoes (17 percent).

  • Twenty-two percent of public elementary schools offered at least one of the nine nondairy beverages or snack foods at vending machines (tables 3 and 6), and 31 percent sold at least one of the foods at school stores or snack bars (tables 3 and 7).

  • Among the schools with vending machines, 33 percent had vending machine foods available during mealtimes, 46 percent had the foods available at other times during the school day, and 61 percent had the foods available to students outside of the school day (table 8). Among those with school stores or snack bars, 43 percent had foods available at this venue during mealtimes, 33 percent had the foods available at other times during the school day, and 41 percent had foods at school stores or snack bars available to students outside of the school day (table 9).

Opportunities for Students to Engage in Physical Activity

The study examined three indicators of physical activity—scheduled recess, scheduled physical education, and school activities or programs to encourage physical activity. Information on recess and physical education was collected separately for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6.


  • Most public elementary schools reported scheduled recess for students, with the proportion of schools ranging from 93 percent for first and second grades to 87 percent for sixth grades that were considered elementary at the school (table 12). Thus, the proportion of schools that had no scheduled recess ranged from 7 to 13 percent across elementary grades (figure 4 and tables 12 and 13).

  • Most public elementary schools reported daily recess, with the proportion of schools reporting this schedule ranging from 83 to 88 percent across elementary grades (figure 4 and tables 12 and 13). In addition, the average number of minutes per day of scheduled recess ranged from 27.8 for first grade to 23.8 for sixth grades that were considered elementary (table 15).1

  • While almost all public elementary schools (99 percent) reported that they scheduled physical education for elementary grades, the proportion of schools that provided daily physical education ranged from 17 to 22 percent across elementary grades (figure 6 and table 16). The average number of days per week of scheduled physical education was 2.4 times per week for first through fifth grades and 2.6 times per week for sixth grades that were considered elementary (table 17).2

  • Information on the length of physical education classes and the number of times per week of physical education was used to calculate the average number of minutes per week for each elementary grade (figure 7 and table 18). The average number of minutes per week of physical education ranged from 85.4 minutes for first grade to 98.0 minutes for sixth grades that were considered elementary. This included the schools with physical education classes that varied by number of days per week and class length.

  • When the number of minutes per week for physical education and recess were combined, the average number of minutes per week ranged from 208 to 222 minutes of scheduled recess and physical education across elementary grades (table 19).

  • Sixty-four percent of the schools used nontraditional physical education activities, such as dance or kick-boxing, to make physical education enjoyable (table 20) At least one-half of the schools used each of three other broad types of activities or programs to encourage physical activity among elementary grade students. These were opportunities during the school day for organized physical activities outside of physical education (58 percent), the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Award program (55 percent), and school-sponsored before- or after-school activities that emphasize physical activity (51 percent).

Physical Assessment of Students

  • Two-thirds of public elementary schools never calculated the students’ body mass index (BMI) in 2005 (table 21). In addition, 28 percent of the schools never measured students’ height, and 29 percent never measured students’ weight.

  • Of the public elementary schools that measured students’ height, 39 percent sent this information to parents (table 22). Similarly, 39 percent of the schools that measured students’ weight sent the information to parents, while 49 percent of the schools that calculated students’ BMI sent the information to parents.

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Contents

Page


Acknowledgments iii


Executive Summary v


List of Tables x


List of Figures xiv


Summary 1


Background 1


Methods and Data 2


Selected Findings 4


Food Services at the School 4


Types of Food Services 5

Availability of Foods Outside of Full School Meals 6


Types of Food Available in the School and in the Cafeteria or Lunchroom 7


Foods Sold at Vending Machines and School Stores or Snack Bars 10


Types of Food 11

Times When Foods Were Available 12


Food Service Operations 12


Scheduled Recess 14


Schools With Scheduled Recess 14

Days Per Week of Scheduled Recess 14

Times Per Day and Minutes Per Day 16


Scheduled Physical Education 17


Days Per Week of Scheduled Physical Education 17

Minutes Per Class and Average Minutes Per Week 18

Combined Minutes Per Week of Physical Education and Recess 19


Activities to Encourage Physical Activity 20


Physical Assessment of Students 21


References 23

Tables of Estimates and Standard Errors 25

Appendix A: Technical Notes A-1

Appendix B: Questionnaire B-1

List of Tables

Table Page


1 Percent of public elementary schools reporting the availability of foods at the school, by type of food services and selected school characteristics: 2005 26


1a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools reporting the availability of foods at the school, by type of food services and selected school characteristics: 2005 27


2 Percent of public elementary schools that offered any foods for sale outside of full school meals, and percentage distribution reporting whether the foods were sold to generate funds to support food service operations, by selected school characteristics: 2005 28


2a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools that offered any foods for sale outside of full school meals, and percentage distribution reporting whether the foods were sold to generate funds to support food service operations,
by selected school characteristics: 2005 29


3 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, and in the cafeteria or lunchroom, vending machine, and school store or snack bar, by type of food: 2005 30


3a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, and in the cafeteria or lunchroom, vending machine, and school store or snack bar, by type of food: 2005 31


4 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, by selected school characteristics: 2005 32


4a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school,
by selected school characteristics: 2005 34


5 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale in the school cafeteria or lunchroom, by selected school characteristics: 2005 36


5a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale in the school cafeteria or lunchroom,
by selected school characteristics: 2005 38


6 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at vending machines, by selected school characteristics: 2005 40


6a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at vending machines, by selected school characteristics: 2005 41


7 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at school stores or snack bars, by selected school characteristics: 2005 42


7a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at school stores or snack bars, by selected school characteristics: 2005 43


8 Percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when foods were available for sale at vending machines, and of the schools with vending machines, percent indicating the times when foods were available for sale, by selected school characteristics: 2005 44


8a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when foods were available for sale at vending machines, and of the schools with vending machines, percent indicating the times when foods were available for sale, by selected school characteristics: 2005 45


9 Percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when foods were available for sale at school stores or snack bars, and of the schools with school stores or snack bars, percent indicating the times when foods were available for sale, by selected school characteristics: 2005 46


9a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when foods were available for sale at school stores or snack bars, and of the schools with school stores or snack bars, percent indicating the times when foods were available for sale, by selected school characteristics: 2005 47


10 Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the entities that operated food services at the school, by selected school characteristics: 2005 48


10a Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the entities that operated food services at the school, by selected school characteristics: 2005 49


11 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that companies have contracts to sell drinks or snack foods at the school, and percentage distribution reporting various agreements with those companies, by selected school characteristics: 2005 50


11a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that companies have contracts to sell drinks or snack foods at the school, and percentage distribution reporting various agreements with those companies,
by selected school characteristics: 2005 51


12 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that recess was scheduled at the school, and percentage distribution reporting the number of days per week, times per day, and minutes per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005 52


12a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that recess was scheduled at the school, and percentage distribution reporting the number of days per week, times per day, and minutes per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005 53


13 Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 54


13a Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 56


14 Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of times per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 58


14a Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of times per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 60


15 Mean number of minutes per day of scheduled recess at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 62


15a Standard errors for the mean number of minutes per day of scheduled recess at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 63


16 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that physical education was scheduled at the school, and percentage distribution reporting the number of days per week and minutes per class of scheduled physical education, by elementary grade level: 2005 64


16a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that physical education was scheduled at the school, and percent reporting the number of days per week and minutes per class of scheduled physical education, by elementary grade level: 2005 65


17 Mean number of days per week of scheduled physical education at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 66


17a Standard errors for the mean number of days per week of scheduled physical education at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 67


18 Mean number of minutes per week of scheduled physical education at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 68


18a Standard errors for the mean number of minutes per week of scheduled physical education at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 69


19 Mean number of minutes per week of scheduled recess and physical education, combined, at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 70


19a Standard errors for the mean number of minutes per week of scheduled recess and physical education, combined, at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005 71


20 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that the school was involved in various activities or programs to encourage physical activity among students, by selected school characteristics: 2005 72


20a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that the school was involved in various activities or programs to encourage physical activity among students, by selected school characteristics: 2005 73


21 Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the frequency with which the school calculated the students’ body mass index and measured students’ height and weight, by selected school characteristics: 2005 74


21a Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the frequency with which the school calculated the students’ body mass index and measured students’ height and weight, by selected school characteristics: 2005 76


22 Percent of public elementary schools that calculated the students’ body mass index and measured students’ height and weight indicating whether the information was sent to parents, by selected school characteristics: 2005 78


22a Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools that calculated the students’ body mass index and measured students’ height and weight indicating whether the information was sent to parents, by selected school characteristics: 2005 79


A-1 Number and percent of responding public elementary schools in the study sample, and estimated number and percent of public schools the sample represents, by school characteristics: 2005 A-5


A-2 Number of cases with imputed data in the study sample, and the number of cases with imputed data the sample represents, by questionnaire item: 2005 A-6


List of Figures

Figure Page

1 Percent of public elementary schools reporting the availability of foods, by type of food services: 2005 5


2 Percent of public elementary schools that offered any foods for sale outside of full school meals, and percentage distribution reporting whether the foods were sold to generate funds to support food service operations: 2005 7


3 Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available at one or more locations in the school and at the school cafeteria or lunchroom: 2005 9


4 Percent of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005 15


5 Percent of public elementary schools reporting the number of minutes per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005 16


6 Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per week of scheduled physical education, by elementary grade level: 2005 17


7 Mean number of minutes per week of scheduled physical education,
by elementary grade level: 2005 19





Summary



Background

The rate of obesity among school-age children has become a national concern, with the number of overweight children aged 6 to 11 more than tripling over the past three decades (U.S. Government Accountability Office 2005). In 2001, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, and in 2002, Congress charged the Institute of Medicine (IOM) with developing an action plan to target this health issue. Among the core recommendations of the IOM’s 2004 report was a call for schools to create environments that support healthy eating and an active lifestyle. Federal, state, and local initiatives have also emphasized an “energy balance” approach—calories consumed versus calories expended—as critical to understanding and addressing the factors related to overweight and obesity (Institute of Medicine 2005). For example, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines report included a recommendation for at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily for children 6 to 11 years old, twice the minimum amount recommended for adults.


Research on school nutrition has focused primarily on the nutritional content of federally subsidized school meals and the extent to which foods are available for sale outside of those meals. Ongoing research from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), for example, suggests that while schools have made significant strides in offering healthy school meals that meet U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requirements, there is concern about the availability of foods that compete with those school meals. A recent GAO study concluded that foods sold outside of school meals have become more available to middle school students over the past 5 years (U.S. Government Accountability Office 2005). These foods, including both nutritious foods and foods of low nutritional value, are often sold during mealtimes in or around school cafeterias and in vending machines or school stores. In addition, while many schools have introduced healthier food choices for their students, a major constraint for some schools is their reliance on the funds generated through the sale of popular foods such as soda and sweet snacks.


While there is heightened attention on the role that schools can play in addressing concerns about nutrition and physical activity among young children and youth, the most recent national data on both school nutrition and physical activity opportunities for students come from the 2000 School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS), conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study findings concurred with ongoing findings from GAO reports about the availability of foods outside of school meals and the low nutritional value of some of those foods (Burgeson et al. 2001). The study also indicated that some schools may be cutting back on the time available for physical education and recess in order to fit as much classroom time as possible into the school day.



Methods and Data

The Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) questionnaire, Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005, was designed to obtain current national information on the availability of foods and opportunities for physical activity in public elementary schools. The survey covered the following topics:


  • food services at the school, including cafeteria services and the availability of foods at vending machines and school stores or snack bars;

  • types of food sold at one or more locations in the school and in the cafeteria or lunchroom;

  • types of food sold at vending machines and school stores or snack bars, and times when foods were available at these locations;

  • food service operations and contracts with companies to sell foods at the school;

  • scheduled recess, including the days per week, times per day, and minutes per day of recess;

  • scheduled physical education, including the days per week, class length, and average minutes per week of physical education;

  • activities to encourage physical activity among elementary students; and

  • physical assessment of students.

The study was conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) using the Fast Response Survey System. FRSS is designed to administer short, focused, issue-oriented surveys that place minimal burden on respondents and have a quick turnaround from data collection to reporting. Questionnaires for the survey were mailed in spring 2005 to a representative sample of 1,198 regular public elementary schools in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Regular public elementary schools were defined as schools with a high grade of 1 to 8 and a low grade of prekindergarten, kindergarten, or grades 1 to 3.


The sample was selected from the 2002–03 NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) Public School Universe file, which was the most current file available at the time of sample selection. The sampling frame includes approximately 51,000 regular public elementary schools. Data have been weighted to yield national estimates. The unweighted and weighted response rates were both 91 percent. Detailed information about the survey methodology is provided in appendix A, and the questionnaire can be found in appendix B.


The primary purpose of this E.D. TAB is to present national estimates of the availability of foods and opportunities for physical activity in public elementary schools. In addition, selected survey findings are presented by the following school characteristics, which are defined in more detail in appendix A:


  • school enrollment size (enrollment of less than 300, 300 to 499, 500 or more);

  • locale (city, urban fringe, town, rural);

  • region (Northeast, Southeast, Central, West);

  • percent minority enrollment (less than 6 percent, 6 to 20 percent, 21 to 49 percent, 50 percent or more); and

  • percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (less than 35 percent, 35 to 49 percent, 50 to 74 percent, 75 percent or more), which is used as a proxy measure of poverty concentration at the school.

Throughout this report, school enrollment size will be referred to as small, medium, or large schools. The percent of students eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch will be referred to as poverty concentration.


The focus on comparisons by school characteristics is primarily on significant differences by enrollment size and poverty concentration. Comparisons by other characteristics (e.g., region and locale) are reported only where significant differences were detected and followed meaningful patterns (e.g., when differences by school locale were consistent across the various types of foods available for sale). The E.D. TAB is purely descriptive in nature, and readers are cautioned not to draw causal inferences based solely on the bivariate results presented in this report. It is important to note that many of the variables examined in this report are related to one another, and complex interactions and relationships have not been explored here. The variables examined here also demonstrate the range of information that helped shape the design and now is available from the study. The selected findings are examples of comparisons that can be made using the data and are not designed to emphasize any particular issue. Release of the E.D. TAB is intended to encourage more in-depth analysis of the data, using more sophisticated statistical methods.


All specific statements of comparison presented in this report have been tested for statistical significance through t tests and are significant at the 95 percent confidence level. Throughout this report, differences that may appear large (particularly those by school characteristics) may not be statistically significant. This may be due to the relatively large standard errors surrounding the estimates. A detailed description of the statistical tests supporting the survey findings can be found in appendix A.


Selected Findings

The findings in this report are organized as follows:


  • food services at the school (i.e., types of food services – cafeteria or lunchroom, vending machines, school stores or snack bars – and availability of foods outside of full school meals);

  • types of foods available in the school and in the cafeteria or lunchroom;

  • foods sold at vending machines and school stores or snack bars;

  • food service operations (i.e., the entity that operated food services at the school, and contracts with companies to sell foods at the school);

  • scheduled recess;

  • scheduled physical education;

  • activities to encourage physical activity (e.g., nontraditional physical education activities, such as dance or kick-boxing, to make physical education enjoyable); and

  • physical assessment of students (i.e., measurement of students’ height and weight and calculation of body mass index).


Food Services at the School

The survey collected information on whether public elementary schools offered any food services in a cafeteria or lunchroom in 2005, including full school meals, a la carte items (i.e., foods sold separate from school meals), and foods sold at vending machines in the cafeteria or lunchroom. Schools with cafeteria or lunchroom services also reported whether they offered full school meals, including free, reduced-price, and full-price meals under the School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch Program. In addition, all public schools indicated whether foods were available at vending machines and at school stores or snack bars. Information about the cafeteria food services was combined with information about the availability of foods at vending machines and school stores or snack bars to create a measure of whether there were any food services at the school.3

Types of Food Services


  • Almost all public elementary schools (99 percent) offered some type of food service at the school (figure 1 and table 1). This included foods that were available to students at one or more of the following locations in the school: school cafeteria or lunchroom, vending machine, and school store or snack bar.

  • Ninety-eight percent of public elementary schools offered cafeteria or lunchroom food services (figure 1 and table 1). This included school meals, a la carte items, and vending machine foods sold in the cafeteria or lunchroom.

  • Ninety-eight percent of public elementary schools provided full school meals to students, including free, reduced-price, and full-price meals under the School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch Program (figure 1 and table 1).4

  • Twenty-three percent of public elementary schools offered vending machine foods for sale, and 35 percent offered foods for sale at school stores or snack bars (figure 1 and table 1).5

Figure 1.  Percent of public elementary schools reporting the availability of foods, by type of food services: 2005

1Food services at the school include foods and beverages available to students in the school cafeteria or lunchroom (e.g., school meals, a la carte items, and vending machine foods) and foods and beverages sold at vending machines and school stores or snack bars.

2Cafeteria food services include school meals and foods sold outside of school meals as a la carte items or at vending machines in the cafeteria.

3Full school meals include free, reduced-price, and full-price school meals under the School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch Program.

4Vending machine foods include foods available at vending machines that may or may not be located in the school cafeteria.

5School store or snack bar foods include foods available at school stores or snack bars that may or may not be located in the school cafeteria.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


  • The proportion of public elementary schools that offered any food services at the school, and the proportion that offered three types of food services—cafeteria or lunchroom services, full school meals, and vending machine foods—differed by school characteristics (table 1). For example:

  • Large and medium-sized schools were more likely than small schools to offer any food services at the school (100 vs. 96 percent, respectively) (table 1). Differences were also observed for the proportion of schools that offered any food services in the cafeteria or lunchroom and the proportion that offered full school meals.

  • City schools were more likely than rural schools to offer cafeteria or lunchroom services and full school meals (table 1). However, a higher proportion of rural schools offered vending machine foods than did schools in other locales.

  • Schools with the lowest poverty concentration were less likely than schools with higher poverty concentrations to offer any food services at the school (97 percent vs. 99 and 100 percent, respectively) (table 1). Differences were also observed for the proportion of schools that offered cafeteria or lunchroom services and the percentage that offered full school meals.


Availability of Foods Outside of Full School Meals

The survey collected information on whether foods or beverages were sold separately from full school meals in 2005, and whether foods purchased outside of full school meals were sold to generate funds to support food service operations at the school or district. This variable was derived from question 10 of the survey (i.e., whether the foods that students can buy separately from full school meals were sold to generate funds to support food service operations at the school). A response of “not applicable; no foods or beverages sold separately from full school meals” was coded as “no” for whether students could buy any foods separately from full school meals at the school.6


  • Most public elementary schools (94 percent) offered foods for sale outside of full school meals (figure 2 and table 2). The proportion of public elementary schools that offered foods for sale outside of full school meals differed by school characteristics. For example, large and medium-sized schools were more likely than small schools to offer foods for sale outside of school meals (95 vs. 89 percent, respectively), and schools located in the Southeast were more likely than those in the West and Central regions to offer any foods for sale outside of school meals.

  • Of the 94 percent of public elementary schools that offered foods for sale outside of full school meals, 36 percent indicated that the foods were sold to generate funds to support food service operations at the school or district (figure 2 and table 2). Another 54 percent of the schools reported that the foods were not sold to generate funds, while 10 percent indicated that they did not know the answer to this question.



Figure 2.  Percent of public elementary schools that offered any foods for sale outside of full school meals, and percentage distribution reporting whether the foods were sold to generate funds to support food service operations: 2005

Percent of schools offering foods Of the schools that offered foods for sale

for sale outside of full school meals1 outside of full school meals, percent
distribution that sold foods to generate funds
2

1This variable was derived from the response to question 10 of the survey (i.e., whether the foods that students can buy separately from full school meals were sold to generate funds to support food service operations at the school). A response of “not applicable; no foods or beverages sold separately from full school meals” to this question was coded as “no” for whether students could buy any foods separately from full school meals at the school (6 percent). This 6 percent of schools included 10 schools that did not offer any of the listed foods for sale in questions 3, 5, and 7.

2Based on the 94 percent of public elementary schools that offered any of the selected foods for sale outside of full school meals.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


  • The proportion of public elementary schools that sold foods outside of full school meals to generate funds to support food service operations at the school or district differed by school characteristics (table 2). For example, a higher proportion of rural than city schools sold foods to generate funds to support food service operations at the school or district (41 vs. 31 percent).7 In addition, schools with the lowest poverty concentration were more likely to sell foods to generate funds than did schools with the two highest categories of poverty concentration (i.e., schools with 50 to 74 percent and 75 percent or more students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch) (table 2).8


Types of Food Available in the School and in the Cafeteria or Lunchroom

The survey collected information on selected types of food that were offered for sale at different locations in the school in 2005—the school cafeteria or lunchroom, and vending machines and school stores or snack bars (which may or may not be located in the school cafeteria or lunchroom). Schools with any cafeteria or lunchroom food services were asked whether students can purchase each of 15 foods separate from full school meals during mealtimes in the school cafeteria or lunchroom. The foods included four broad groups—nondairy beverages, dairy products, lunch sides, and snack foods—and ranged from nutritious items such as 100% juice and green salad or fruit to less nutritious items such as soft drinks and candy (figure 3 and table 3).


  • Nondairy beverages: 100% fruit or vegetable juice, sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice, soft drinks, and bottled water.

  • Dairy products: low-fat or skim milk, milk that is not low fat or skim, yogurt, and ice cream or frozen yogurt.

  • Lunch sides: french fried potatoes and green salad or fruit.

  • Snack foods: candy; low-fat salty snacks such as pretzels and baked or other low-fat chips; salty snacks that are not low in fat such as regular potato chips and cheese puffs; low-fat cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods; and cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods that are not low in fat.

Respondents also indicated whether the nine nondairy beverages and snack foods were available for sale at vending machines and school stores or snack bars.


Information about the types of food available in the cafeteria or lunchroom was combined with information about the types of food available at vending machines and school stores or snack bars to create an overall measure of whether each of the listed foods was available at one or more locations in the school in 2005.9 Eighty-eight percent of public elementary schools had at least 1 of the 15 foods for sale outside of full school meals at one or more locations in the school, and 84 percent had at least one of the foods for sale in the cafeteria or lunchroom (figure 3 and table 3).


  • Nondairy beverages. Public elementary schools were more likely to offer healthier nondairy beverages for sale, such as 100% juice, than less nutritious beverages such as soft drinks (figure 3 and table 3). For example, 53 percent of the schools offered 100% fruit or vegetable juice and 46 percent offered bottled water for sale at one or more locations in the school. In contrast, 31 percent of the schools offered sport drinks or fruit drinks that were not 100% juice and 12 percent offered soft drinks for sale. Differences in the availability of healthy beverages versus less nutritious beverages were also observed for nondairy beverages in the cafeteria or lunchroom. For example, 47 percent of the schools offered 100% fruit or vegetable juice in the cafeteria or lunchroom, while 22 percent offered sport drinks or fruit drinks that were not 100% juice at this location.

Figure 3.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available at one or more locations in the school and at the school cafeteria or lunchroom: 2005


Food

1Percentages are the same for foods sold at one or more locations in the school and foods sold at the cafeteria or lunchroom because the survey only asked whether dairy products and lunch sides were available in the cafeteria or lunchroom. Thus, no information was collected on the sale of these foods at other locations in the school.

2This category includes schools that sold at least one of the listed foods in one or more of the indicated locations—cafeteria or lunchroom, vending machine, school store or snack bar.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


  • Dairy products and lunch sides. Schools reported on the availability of dairy products and lunch sides in the cafeteria or lunchroom (figure 3 and table 3). About three in four public elementary schools offered low-fat or skim milk for sale, while 39 percent offered milk that was not low fat or skim, 34 percent offered ice cream or frozen yogurt, and 26 percent offered yogurt. Furthermore, public elementary schools were more likely to report the availability of green salad or fruit than french fried potatoes as lunch sides in the cafeteria or lunchroom.

  • Snack foods. Fifteen percent of public elementary schools offered candy for sale at one or more locations in the school, and 5 percent offered this snack in the cafeteria or lunchroom (figure 3 and table 3). Schools were more likely to offer low-fat salty snacks than those that were not low in fat (38 vs. 25 percent), but they were less likely to offer low-fat cookies or baked goods than those that were not low in fat (28 vs. 34 percent). Differences were also observed for the availability of salty snacks and cookies or baked goods in the cafeteria or lunchroom.

  • Differences by school characteristics for foods sold at the school. The proportion of public elementary schools that offered various types of food for sale at one or more locations in the school differed by school characteristics (table 4). For example:

  • Large and medium-sized schools were more likely than small schools to offer at least 1 of the 15 listed foods at one or more locations in the school (91 and 90 percent vs. 83 percent, respectively) (table 4). Differences also held for green salad or fruit and all of the dairy foods (except milk that was not low fat or skim). In addition, large schools were more likely than small schools to offer 100% fruit or vegetable juice, bottled water, and low-fat cookies or baked goods for sale. However, the reverse held true for some of the less nutritious items, with small schools being more likely than medium-sized and large schools to offer soft drinks and candy for sale.

  • Schools in the Southeast were more likely than those located in the West and Central regions to sell at least one of the listed foods at one or more locations in the school (table 4). Differences were also observed for the sale of 100% juice and bottled water. In addition, schools in the Northeast and Southeast were more likely than those located in the West and Central regions to offer other listed foods—green salad or fruit, all of the dairy products, and all of the snack foods, except candy—at one or more locations in the school.

  • Schools with the highest poverty concentration were less likely than those with the lowest poverty concentration to offer at least one of the listed foods at one or more locations in the school (84 vs. 90 percent) (table 4). Differences generally held for green salad or fruit, low-fat salty snacks, and all of the listed dairy products. Differences were also observed for the sale of sports or fruit drinks that were not 100% juice, and cookies or baked goods that were not low in fat.

  • Schools were more likely to report the availability of foods if foods were sold to generate funds to support food service operations than if the foods were not sold for this purpose (table 4). This difference was observed for the sale of all of the foods except soft drinks.

Foods Sold at Vending Machines and School Stores or Snack Bars

The survey collected information on the types of food available at vending machines and school stores or snack bars in 2005, and the times when those foods were available. Information on the availability of foods at vending machines and school stores or snack bars was restricted to the following nondairy beverages and snack foods:


  • Nondairy beverages: 100% fruit or vegetable juice, sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice, soft drinks, and bottled water; and

  • Snack foods: candy; low-fat salty snacks such as pretzels and baked or other low-fat chips; salty snacks that are not low in fat such as regular potato chips and cheese puffs; low-fat cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods; and cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods that are not low in fat.

Types of Food

All public elementary schools indicated whether each of the nine foods listed above was available to students at vending machines and at school stores or snack bars in 2005.


  • Twenty-two percent of public elementary schools offered at least one of the nine foods for sale at vending machines (tables 3 and 6), and 31 percent offered at least one of the listed foods at school stores or snack bars (tables 3 and 7).10

  • The percentage of public elementary schools that offered nondairy beverages at vending machines ranged from 9 percent for soft drinks to 18 percent for bottled water (tables 3 and 6). In addition, 4 to 6 percent of the schools offered snack foods for sale at vending machines.

  • The proportion of public elementary schools that offered the various foods for sale at vending machines differed by school characteristics (table 6). For example, small schools were more likely than medium-sized or large schools to offer each of the listed food items at vending machines, with the exception of 100% fruit or vegetable juice and bottled water (table 6). In addition, rural schools were more likely than schools in other locales to offer at least one of the listed foods and each of the nondairy beverages at vending machines. Rural schools were also more likely than those located in cities and urban fringes to offer each of the listed snack foods at vending machines (table 6).

  • The proportion of public elementary schools that offered nondairy beverages for sale at school stores or snack bars ranged from 6 percent for soft drinks to 17 percent for 100% fruit or vegetable juice and bottled water (tables 3 and 7). The proportion of schools that offered snack foods ranged from 11 percent for candy to 19 percent for low-fat salty snacks.

  • Schools were more likely to report the availability of foods in the school stores or snack bars if foods were sold to generate funds than if the foods were not sold for this purpose (table 7). This difference was observed for the sale of each of the listed foods except soft drinks and candy.

Times When Foods Were Available

Respondents were asked about the times at which vending machine foods and foods at school stores or snack bars were available to students in 2005—at mealtimes, other times during the school day, outside of the school day (e.g., during school-sponsored before- or after-school activities), and any other time (tables 8 and 9).11


  • Vending machine foods were available to students during mealtimes in 8 percent of all public elementary schools (table 8). In addition, 11 percent of all public elementary schools had foods available at vending machines at other times during the school day, and 14 percent had foods available outside of the school day. Among the 23 percent of public elementary schools with vending machines (table 1), 33 percent had vending machine foods available during mealtimes, 46 percent had the foods available at other times during the school day, and 61 percent had the foods available to students outside of the school day (table 8).12

  • Fifteen percent of public elementary schools had school store or snack bar foods available to students during mealtimes (table 9). In addition, 11 percent of all public elementary schools had foods available at school stores or snack bars at other times during the school day, and 14 percent of the schools had foods available at this location outside of the school day. Among the 35 percent of public elementary schools with school stores or snack bars (table 1), 43 percent had foods available at this location during mealtimes, 33 percent had the foods available at other times during the school day, and 41 percent had the foods available to students outside of the school day (table 9).13

  • The percentage of all public elementary schools that offered school store or snack bar foods during mealtimes differed by region and whether the foods were sold to generate funds (table 9). Schools in the Northeast were more likely than those in other regions to sell foods at school stores or snack bars at mealtimes. In addition, schools were more likely to report the availability of foods in the school stores or snack bars at mealtimes if foods were sold to generate funds than if the foods were not sold for this purpose.

Food Service Operations

Schools that offered any food services in 2005 indicated whether those services were operated by the school or school district, by a private entity under contract to the school or school district, or by some other entity. Schools that offered any foods for sale outside of full school meals indicated whether any companies had a contract to sell drinks or snack foods at the school. In addition, schools that had contracts with companies to sell drinks or snack foods at the school indicated whether there were various agreements with those companies for the school to receive a specific percentage of the sales receipts, sales incentives, or some other agreement.14


  • Food services were primarily operated by the school or school district (table 10). Of the 99 percent of public elementary schools that offered any food services, 81 percent indicated that their food services were operated by the school or school district, while 19 percent reported that their food services were operated by a private or other entity.

  • The proportion of schools indicating that their food services were operated by the school or school district differed by locale and region (table 10). Schools located in rural areas were more likely than those located in other locales to report that their food services were operated by the school or school district (90 vs. 77 to 81 percent, respectively). Public elementary schools in the Southeast were the most likely to report that their school or school district operated the food services at the school, while schools in the Northeast were the least likely to do so.

  • Twenty-three percent of public elementary schools indicated that one or more companies had a contract to sell drinks or snack foods at the school (table 11). The proportion of schools that had contracts with companies to sell drinks or snack foods at the school differed by locale, region, and minority enrollment. Rural schools were more likely than those in other locales to report that companies had a contract to sell drinks or snack foods at the school (31 percent vs. 18 to 21 percent, respectively), and schools in the Southeast were more likely than those in the West and Northeast to report such contracts. In addition, schools with the lowest percent of minority enrollment were more likely than those with the highest percent of minority enrollment to report that companies had a contract to sell drinks or snack foods at the school.

  • Among the 23 percent of public elementary schools that indicated that companies had contracts to sell drinks or snack foods at the school, a majority (69 percent) reported that the school or district was contracted to receive a specific percentage of the sales receipts, 24 percent indicated that the school or district was contracted to receive sales incentives for a specified amount of sales receipts, and 2 percent reported some other agreement or incentive (table 11).

  • Schools located in the Southeast were more likely than those in the Northeast to report that the school or district was contracted to receive a specific percentage of the sales receipts (78 vs. 55 percent) (table 11). Moreover, a higher proportion of rural than city schools reported that the school or district was contracted to receive sales incentives for a specified amount of sales receipts (32 vs. 12 percent), and schools located in the West and Central regions were more likely than those in the Northeast to report such a contract.


Scheduled Recess

The survey collected information on whether schools scheduled any recess for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6. Respondents reported the number of days per week of scheduled recess, the number of times per day, and the total minutes per day of scheduled recess for each elementary grade in 2005.


Schools With Scheduled Recess


  • The proportion of public elementary schools with any scheduled recess ranged from 87 to 93 percent across elementary grades (table 12). For example, 93 percent of the schools had scheduled recess for first and second grades, and 87 percent had scheduled recess for sixth grades that were considered elementary at the school.

  • The proportion of public elementary schools with no scheduled recess ranged from 7 to 13 percent across elementary grades (table 12). The proportion of public elementary schools with no scheduled recess for elementary grades differed by school locale, region, poverty concentration, and minority enrollment (table 13).

  • City schools were more likely than schools in other locales to have no scheduled recess for first through fifth grades (table 13). In addition, city schools were more likely than those located in urban fringes and rural areas to report no scheduled recess for sixth grades that were considered elementary at the school.

  • Schools in the Southeast were more likely than those located in other regions to have no scheduled recess for first through fifth grades (table 13).

  • Public elementary schools with the highest poverty concentration were more likely than those with lower concentrations of poverty to have no scheduled recess for elementary grades (table 13). Differences were also observed for differences by minority enrollment, with schools with the highest proportion of minority enrollment being more likely than those with lower minority enrollments to have no scheduled recess.

Days Per Week of Scheduled Recess

  • Most public elementary schools reported daily recess for elementary grades (figure 4 and tables 12). The proportion of schools that reported this schedule ranged from 83 to 88 percent across elementary grades, while 4 to 7 percent scheduled recess 1 to 4 days per week (table 13).

Figure 4.  Percent of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades one through five or six. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


  • The percentage of public elementary schools with daily recess for elementary grades differed by school characteristics (table 13).

  • Large schools were generally less likely than small and medium-sized schools to report daily recess for first through third grades (table 13). For example, daily recess was scheduled for first grade in 84 percent of large schools, 90 percent of small schools, and 91 percent of medium-sized schools.

  • City schools were less likely than schools in other locales to report daily recess for first grade (table 13). City schools were also less likely than schools in urban fringes and rural areas to schedule daily recess for second through fifth grades.

  • Schools in the Southeast were less likely than those located in other regions to have daily recess for first through fifth grades (table 13). Schools in the Southeast were also less likely than those in the Northeast and West to provide daily recess for sixth grades that were considered elementary at the school.

  • Schools with the highest poverty concentration were less likely than those with lower concentrations of poverty to report daily recess for elementary grades (table 13). Differences were also observed by minority enrollment, with schools with the highest proportion of minority enrollment being less likely than those with lower minority enrollments to provide daily recess.

Times Per Day and Minutes Per Day


  • A majority of public elementary schools scheduled recess once a day, and the percentage of schools reporting this schedule ranged from 55 to 66 percent across elementary grades (tables 12 and 14). Fewer schools (21 to 28 percent) provided recess twice a day, while 4 to 10 percent indicated they had recess more than twice a day (table 12).

  • The percentage of public elementary schools that had more than 30 minutes per day of recess ranged from 19 to 27 percent across elementary grades (figure 5 and table 12).

Figure 5.  Percent of public elementary schools reporting the number of minutes per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005


NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6. Details may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


  • Information on the total minutes spent per day on scheduled recess at each school was used to calculate the mean number of minutes of scheduled recess for each grade across all public elementary schools (table 15). The average number of minutes per day of scheduled recess ranged from 27.8 for first grade to 23.8 for sixth grades that were considered elementary.15

  • The average number of minutes per day of scheduled recess for elementary grades differed by school characteristics (table 15). For example, large schools reported a lower number of average minutes per day of recess than did small and medium-sized schools, and schools with the highest poverty concentration reported fewer minutes per day of scheduled recess than did schools with lower concentrations of poverty (table 15). This was true for all elementary grades at the schools.


Scheduled Physical Education

Schools reported the number of days per week of scheduled physical education in 2005, and the minutes per class. If the number of days of scheduled physical education varied by week, respondents specified the schedule in the space provided.


Days Per Week of Scheduled Physical Education


  • Almost all public elementary schools (99 percent) reported that they scheduled physical education for elementary grades (table 16).

  • The percentage of public elementary schools that provided daily physical education ranged from 17 to 22 percent across elementary grades at the school (figure 6 and table 16). In addition, 11 to 14 percent scheduled physical education 3 or 4 days a week, 28 to 33 percent scheduled physical education 2 days a week, and 22 percent of the schools scheduled physical education 1 day a week across elementary grades. Furthermore, 14 to 16 percent of the schools reported that their physical education schedules varied by week. For example, schools that rotated physical education with other subjects might schedule physical education twice for one week and once for the subsequent week.

Figure 6.  Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per week of scheduled physical education, by elementary grade level: 2005


NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6. One percent of public elementary schools did not have scheduled physical education at the school (not shown in figure). Thus, detail may not sum to totals because of rounding and the exclusion of the 1 percent of schools with no scheduled physical education.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

  • Information on the number of days of scheduled physical education at each school was used to calculate the average number of days of physical education for each elementary grade across all public elementary schools (table 17). Public elementary schools reported averages of 2.4 to 2.6 days per week of physical education across elementary grades. This included the average number of days for schools with physical education schedules that varied by week.16

Minutes Per Class and Average Minutes Per Week


  • The percentage of schools with physical education classes of 30 minutes or less ranged from 43 percent for first grade to 34 percent for fifth and sixth grades (table 16). However, the percentage of schools with physical education classes of more than 40 minutes ranged from 31 percent for first grade to 40 percent for sixth grade.

  • Information on the length of physical education classes and the number of days per week of physical education was used to calculate the total minutes per week for each elementary grade at the school, and the average number of minutes per week for each elementary grade across all public elementary schools (figure 7 and table 18).17 The average number of minutes per week of physical education ranged from 85.4 for first grade to 98.0 minutes for sixth grades that were considered elementary. This included the schools with physical education classes that varied by number of days per week and class length.18

  • The average minutes per week of scheduled physical education for elementary grades differed by school characteristics (table 18). For example:

  • Small schools had a higher number of average minutes per week of scheduled physical education than did medium-sized and large schools, and rural schools had higher averages than did schools located in other locales (table 18). This was true for all elementary grades in the school.

  • Schools in the West had a higher number of average minutes per week of scheduled physical education for first through fifth grades than did schools located in other regions (table 18). Schools in the Northeast had the lowest averages for third through fifth grades, compared with schools in other regions (table 18).

  • Schools with the lowest poverty concentration had a lower number of average minutes per week of scheduled physical education than did schools with the two highest categories of poverty concentration (table 18). This difference held for first through fifth grades.


Figure 7.  Mean number of minutes per week of scheduled physical education, by elementary grade level: 2005

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.



Combined Minutes Per Week of Physical Education and Recess

Information on the total minutes per day and the number of days per week was used to calculate the total minutes per week of scheduled recess in 2005. The total minutes per week of physical education were added to the total minutes per week of recess to create an overall measure of combined minutes per week for recess and physical education. This measure reflects the total time per week when students may be provided with opportunities for physical activity.


  • When the number of minutes for physical education and recess were combined, the average number of minutes per week for these activities ranged from 208 to 222 minutes across elementary grades (table 19). The schools also had a lower average for grades 4 and 5 than they did for grades 1 through 3.

  • The combined minutes per week for physical education and recess differed by some school characteristics (table 19). For example, large and medium-sized schools reported fewer minutes of combined physical education and recess per week for elementary grades than did small schools. In addition, schools with the highest poverty concentration reported lower averages in combined physical education and recess per week for elementary grades than did schools with lower levels of poverty concentration. Thus, in high poverty schools, having more hours per week of physical education (table 18) did not compensate for having no scheduled recess (table 13).

Activities to Encourage Physical Activity

Respondents were asked whether their schools used each of four sets of activities or programs to encourage physical activity among elementary grade students in 2005. These were nontraditional physical education activities (e.g., dance or kick-boxing) to make physical education enjoyable, opportunities during the school day for organized physical activities (e.g., walking or running laps at recess), excluding physical education, school-sponsored before- or after-school activities that emphasize physical activity (e.g., walking or running, sports, dance, or group games), and participation in the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Award program. Respondents also specified any other activity or program that may be used to encourage physical activity among elementary grade students at the school.


  • Sixty-four percent of public elementary schools used nontraditional physical education activities, such as dance or kick-boxing, to make physical education enjoyable (table 20). A higher proportion of large than small schools reported the use of nontraditional physical education activities, and schools in the Northeast were more likely than those in other regions to report the use of these activities. In addition, schools with the highest poverty concentration were less likely than schools with the two lowest categories of poverty concentration to use nontraditional physical education activities to make physical education enjoyable.

  • Fifty-eight percent of public elementary schools provided opportunities during the school day for organized physical activities outside of physical education, including walking or running laps at recess (table 20). Schools in the Central region were less likely than those in other regions to provide these opportunities for organized physical activities.

  • Fifty-one percent of public elementary schools offered school-sponsored before- or after-school activities that emphasize physical activity, such as walking or running, sports, dance, or group games (table 20). Schools in the Northeast were more likely than those in the Southeast to offer these school-sponsored before- or after-school activities, and schools with the highest minority enrollment were more likely than those with the lowest minority enrollment to offer these activities.

  • Fifty-five percent of public elementary schools participated in the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Award program (table 20). Schools in the West were less likely than those in other regions to participate in this program, and schools with the highest poverty concentration were less likely than those with the two lowest categories of poverty concentration to participate in the program.

  • Thirty percent of schools had some other activity, such as Jump Rope for Heart, fun Friday, family fun night, walking with parents, field day, and little Olympics.

Physical Assessment of Students

The survey collected information on how often schools calculated students’ body mass index (BMI) and measured students’ height and weight in 2005. Schools that conducted any of these physical assessments were also asked whether this information was sent to parents.


  • Two-thirds (66 percent) of public elementary schools reported that they never calculated students’ body mass index (BMI) (table 21). In addition, 16 percent calculated the students’ BMI in selected grades only, another 16 percent calculated all students’ BMI yearly, and 3 percent used some other approach to calculate students’ BMI.

  • Twenty-eight percent of public elementary schools reported that they never measured students’ height (table 21). Another 30 percent measured students’ height in selected grades only, 38 percent measured students’ height yearly for all students, and 3 percent used some other approach to measuring students’ height.

  • Twenty-nine percent of public elementary schools reported that they never measured students’ weight. Another 29 percent measured students’ weight in selected grades only, 38 percent measured students’ weight yearly for all students, and 3 percent used some other approach to measuring students’ weight (table 21).

  • Of the public elementary schools that measured students’ height, 39 percent sent this information to parents (table 22). Similarly, 39 percent of the schools that measured students’ weight sent the information to parents, while 49 percent of the schools that calculated students’ BMI sent the information to parents.

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References





Burgeson C., Wechsler H., Brener, N., Young, J., and Spain, C. (2001). Physical Education and Activity: Results from the School Health Policies and Programs Study 2000. Journal of School Health, 71(7): 279–293.

Institute of Medicine, Committee on Prevention of Obesity in Children and Youth. (2005). Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2005). Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2005). School Meal Programs: Competitive Foods Are Widely Available and Generate Substantial Revenues for Schools (GAO–05–563). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office.

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Tables of Estimates and Standard Errors





Table 1.  Percent of public elementary schools reporting the availability of foods at the school,
by type of food services and selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Availability of foods

Any food services at the school1

Any food services in the cafeteria or lunchroom2

Full school meals3

Vending machine foods4

School store or snack bar foods5







All public elementary schools

99

98

98

23

35







Enrollment size












Less than 300

96

95

94

28

36

300 to 499

100

99

99

20

37

500 or more

100

100

99

23

31







School locale












City

100

99

99

18

34

Urban fringe

98

98

97

16

35

Town

99

99

99

22

32

Rural

98

97

96

38

36







Region












Northeast

98

97

96

16

35

Southeast

100

100

99

22

38

Central

99

97

97

26

30

West

99

99

98

24

36







Percent minority enrollment












Less than 6 percent

98

97

96

30

29

6 to 20 percent

98

97

97

19

33

21 to 49 percent

99

99

97

19

36

50 percent or more

100

100

99

22

35







Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch












Less than 35 percent

97

96

95

21

32

35 to 49 percent

100

100

99

22

32

50 to 74 percent

100

99

99

28

37

75 percent or more

99

99

99

22

37

1Food services at the school include foods and beverages available to students in the school cafeteria or lunchroom (e.g., school meals, a la carte items, and vending machine foods) and foods and beverages sold at vending machines and school stores or snack bars.

2Cafeteria food services include school meals and foods sold outside of school meals as a la carte items or at vending machines in the cafeteria.

3Full school meals include free, reduced-price, and full-price school meals under the School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch Program.

4Vending machine food includes foods available at vending machines that may or may not be located in the school cafeteria.

5School stores or snack bar foods include foods available at school stores or snack bars that may or may not be located in the school cafeteria.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 1a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools reporting the availability of foods at the school, by type of food services and selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Availability of foods

Any food services at the school

Any food services in the cafeteria or lunchroom

Full school meals

Vending machine foods

School store or

snack bar foods







All public elementary schools

0.3

0.4

0.5

1.2

1.6







Enrollment size












Less than 300

1.0

1.3

1.4

2.4

2.2

300 to 499

0.5

0.6

2.2

2.6

500 or more

0.5

2.4

2.3







School locale












City

0.5

0.6

2.2

3.2

Urban fringe

0.7

0.8

0.8

1.5

2.5

Town

1.0

1.0

1.0

4.7

5.4

Rural

0.7

1.0

1.1

3.1

2.5







Region












Northeast

1.3

1.4

1.7

2.8

3.5

Southeast

0.6

2.5

2.9

Central

0.6

1.0

1.0

2.7

2.8

West

0.5

0.6

0.7

2.4

3.3







Percent minority enrollment












Less than 6 percent

0.9

1.1

1.2

2.7

3.0

6 to 20 percent

1.0

1.2

1.2

2.9

3.5

21 to 49 percent

0.5

0.7

1.0

2.4

3.2

50 percent or more

0.4

1.9

2.5







Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch












Less than 35 percent

0.9

1.0

1.1

2.2

2.8

35 to 49 percent

0.6

3.7

4.3

50 to 74 percent

0.5

0.5

2.9

2.7

75 percent or more

0.5

0.5

0.5

2.1

2.8

Not applicable. Estimate of standard error is not derived because it is based on a statistic estimated at 100 percent.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 2.  Percent of public elementary schools that offered any foods for sale outside of full school meals, and percentage distribution reporting whether the foods were sold to generate funds to support food service operations, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Offered any foods for sale outside of full school meals1

Foods sold to generate funds2

Yes

No

Don’t
know






All public elementary schools

94

36

54

10






Enrollment size










Less than 300

89

36

57

7

300 to 499

95

34

54

12

500 or more

95

38

52

9






School locale










City

92

31

59

10

Urban fringe

95

36

51

13

Town

92

41

55

4

Rural

94

41

53

7






Region










Northeast

94

45

39

15

Southeast

97

46

45

9

Central

93

31

65

5

West

92

30

59

12






Percent minority enrollment










Less than 6 percent

93

43

52

5

6 to 20 percent

93

40

50

10

21 to 49 percent

95

36

55

9

50 percent or more

93

28

58

13






Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch










Less than 35 percent

94

43

48

9

35 to 49 percent

90

38

52

11

50 to 74 percent

98

35

55

10

75 percent or more

92

27

63

10

1This variable was derived from the response to question 10 of the survey (i.e., whether the foods that students can buy separately from full school meals were sold to generate funds to support food service operations at the school). A response of “not applicable; no foods or beverages sold separately from full school meals” was coded as “no” for whether students could buy any foods separately from full school meals at the school. See appendix B for a copy of the questionnaire.

2Based on the 94 percent of public elementary schools that offered any of the selected foods for sale outside of full school meals.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 2a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools that offered any foods for sale outside of full school meals, and percentage distribution reporting whether the foods were sold to generate funds to support food service operations, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Offered any foods for sale outside of full school meals

Foods sold to generate funds

Yes

No

Don’t
know






All public elementary schools

0.6

1.5

1.6

0.9






Enrollment size










Less than 300

1.8

3.1

3.2

1.9

300 to 499

1.1

2.7

2.8

1.7

500 or more

1.1

2.4

2.4

1.3






School locale










City

1.4

2.1

2.7

1.9

Urban fringe

1.0

2.3

2.3

2.0

Town

2.6

4.9

5.6

2.2

Rural

1.3

3.4

3.2

1.7






Region










Northeast

1.7

4.2

4.2

2.7

Southeast

1.1

3.1

3.4

2.2

Central

1.5

2.7

2.7

1.3

West

1.4

2.3

2.4

1.7






Percent minority enrollment










Less than 6 percent

1.5

4.0

3.8

1.6

6 to 20 percent

1.6

3.4

3.5

2.0

21 to 49 percent

1.4

3.5

3.2

1.8

50 percent or more

1.3

2.1

2.8

1.7






Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch










Less than 35 percent

1.0

2.6

2.7

1.8

35 to 49 percent

2.2

4.6

4.5

2.6

50 to 74 percent

0.8

3.2

3.5

1.9

75 percent or more

1.6

2.2

2.8

1.7

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 3.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, and in the cafeteria or lunchroom, vending machine, and school store or snack bar, by type of food: 2005


Type of food

Locations where food was available for sale

One or more locations in the school1

Cafeteria or lunchroom

Vending machine

School store or snack bar






At least one of the listed foods

88

84

22

31






Nondairy beverages










100% fruit or vegetable juice

53

47

12

17

Sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice

31

22

13

12

Soft drinks

12

2

9

6

Bottled water

46

36

18

17






Dairy products










Low-fat or skim milk

75

75

Milk that is not low fat or skim

39

39

Yogurt

26

26

Ice cream or frozen yogurt

34

34






Lunch sides










French fried potatoes

17

17

Green salad or fruit

40

40






Snack foods










Candy

15

5

6

11

Low-fat salty snacks

38

29

6

19

Salty snacks that are not low in fat

25

18

6

14

Low-fat cookies/baked goods

28

21

4

13

Cookies/baked goods not low in fat

34

27

5

15

1This category includes schools that sold at least one of the listed foods in one or more of the indicated locations—cafeteria or lunchroom, vending machine, school store or snack bar. Vending machine foods may include foods available for sale at vending machines in the cafeteria or lunchroom.

Not applicable; the survey only asked whether these foods were available during mealtimes in the cafeteria or lunchroom.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 3a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, and in the cafeteria or lunchroom, vending machine, and school store or snack bar, by type of food: 2005


Type of food

Locations where food was available for sale

One or more locations in the school

Cafeteria or lunchroom

Vending machine

School store or snack bar






At least one of the listed foods

0.6

1.0

1.3

1.6






Nondairy beverages










100% fruit or vegetable juice

1.6

1.6

1.0

1.3

Sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice

1.4

1.2

1.2

1.0

Soft drinks

1.0

0.5

0.8

0.7

Bottled water

1.6

1.5

1.2

1.3






Dairy products










Low-fat or skim milk

1.5

1.5

Milk that is not low fat or skim

1.5

1.5

Yogurt

1.5

1.5

Ice cream or frozen yogurt

1.4

1.4






Lunch sides










French fried potatoes

1.1

1.1

Green salad or fruit

1.7

1.7






Snack foods










Candy

1.2

0.7

0.7

0.9

Low-fat salty snacks

1.6

1.4

0.6

1.3

Salty snacks that are not low in fat

1.3

1.1

0.7

0.9

Low-fat cookies/baked goods

1.5

1.2

0.7

1.0

Cookies/baked goods not low in fat

1.5

1.4

0.6

1.1

Not applicable; estimate of standard error is not derived because the survey only asked whether these foods were available during mealtimes in the cafeteria or lunchroom.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 4.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Type of food available at one or more locations in the school

At least one of the listed foods

Nondairy beverage

Dairy products

100% fruit or vegetable juice

Sports/ fruit drinks that are not 100% juice

Soft drinks

Bottled water

Low-fat or skim milk

Milk that is not low fat or skim

Yogurt

Ice cream or frozen yogurt











All public elementary schools

88

53

31

12

46

75

39

26

34











Enrollment size




















Less than 300

83

46

32

24

40

66

39

19

22

300 to 499

90

54

29

8

45

75

41

31

36

500 or more

91

57

33

9

50

81

38

26

40











School locale




















City

85

53

23

7

41

70

32

24

28

Urban fringe

91

53

32

6

45

80

44

30

38

Town

86

45

28

10

34

70

38

21

30

Rural

90

56

40

27

54

74

40

23

34











Region




















Northeast

87

58

30

5

52

81

61

41

50

Southeast

93

65

43

14

60

83

54

32

55

Central

87

42

24

17

33

70

34

16

15

West

88

52

31

11

44

70

23

22

27











Percent minority enrollment




















Less than 6 percent

90

53

33

18

44

79

49

29

33

6 to 20 percent

89

53

33

10

50

78

45

27

38

21 to 49 percent

89

48

30

9

40

74

32

20

30

50 percent or more

86

54

26

11

44

69

31

23

30











Percent of students eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch




















Less than 35 percent

90

55

33

10

49

80

43

32

40

35 to 49 percent

86

51

32

13

38

72

40

25

35

50 to 74 percent

94

53

34

14

46

79

45

21

33

75 percent or more

84

52

26

13

44

65

29

21

25











Foods sold to generate funds




















Yes

100

75

44

14

64

91

45

45

60

No

80

37

22

12

33

63

34

13

16

Don’t know

99

71

41

8

55

90

49

35

46

See notes at end of table.


Table 4.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, by selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued


School characteristic

Type of food available at one or more locations in the school

Lunch sides

Snack foods

French fried potatoes

Green salad or fruit

Candy

Low-fat salty snacks

Salty snacks that are not low in fat

Low-fat cookies/
baked goods

Cookies/
baked goods not low
in fat









All public elementary schools

17

40

15

38

25

28

34









Enrollment size
















Less than 300

14

30

22

36

29

24

30

300 to 499

18

42

14

39

25

26

38

500 or more

18

45

12

40

23

31

33









School locale
















City

17

38

13

32

17

28

29

Urban fringe

17

46

11

42

25

29

39

Town

17

29

12

35

25

18

23

Rural

16

37

25

41

34

29

36









Region
















Northeast

18

57

13

54

36

33

49

Southeast

29

52

18

45

31

38

42

Central

13

29

16

30

23

20

29

West

12

32

14

34

18

25

25









Percent minority enrollment
















Less than 6 percent

16

39

15

41

28

25

35

6 to 20 percent

19

45

13

46

27

33

38

21 to 49 percent

15

33

15

33

20

26

32

50 percent or more

15

38

16

34

23

25

30









Percent of students eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch
















Less than 35 percent

17

44

11

47

28

32

39

35 to 49 percent

14

36

15

35

24

24

37

50 to 74 percent

19

41

21

35

26

26

32

75 percent or more

16

36

16

32

22

25

28









Foods sold to generate funds
















Yes

27

63

19

59

39

44

55

No

10

24

13

24

15

16

20

Don’t know

20

54

12

50

33

37

44

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 4a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Type of food available at one or more locations in the school

At least one of the listed foods

Nondairy beverage

Dairy products

100% fruit or vegetable juice

Sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice

Soft drinks

Bottled water

Low-fat or skim milk

Milk that is not low fat or skim

Yogurt

Ice cream or frozen yogurt











All public elementary schools

0.9

1.6

1.3

0.9

1.5

1.5

1.5

1.4

1.4











Enrollment size




















Less than 300

1.9

2.6

2.1

1.9

2.5

2.3

2.5

2.1

2.3

300 to 499

1.8

2.8

2.9

1.5

2.9

2.7

2.1

2.7

2.6

500 or more

1.5

2.7

2.5

1.5

2.6

2.1

1.9

2.4

2.7











School locale




















City

2.2

2.9

2.8

1.7

2.6

2.8

2.8

2.6

2.6

Urban fringe

1.2

2.5

2.0

1.4

2.3

2.0

2.4

2.7

2.4

Town

3.2

4.8

4.7

3.1

4.5

4.4

4.6

4.3

5.1

Rural

1.6

2.8

2.7

2.0

2.8

2.5

2.7

2.1

2.6











Region




















Northeast

2.6

3.7

3.5

1.9

3.4

2.8

3.8

3.5

3.7

Southeast

1.9

2.9

3.6

2.4

3.5

2.7

3.5

3.5

3.0

Central

2.1

3.2

2.7

1.9

3.1

3.1

2.7

2.3

1.7

West

1.7

2.7

2.5

1.5

2.7

2.3

2.4

2.2

2.3











Percent minority enrollment




















Less than 6 percent

2.0

3.2

2.9

2.1

3.0

3.1

3.8

3.3

3.3

6 to 20 percent

1.7

2.7

2.7

2.1

3.6

2.5

2.9

2.9

2.7

21 to 49 percent

1.7

3.5

2.8

1.9

3.6

2.3

2.9

2.6

2.4

50 percent or more

1.9

2.4

2.1

1.7

2.7

2.7

2.8

2.6

2.6











Percent of students eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch




















Less than 35 percent

1.5

2.3

2.0

1.5

2.7

2.2

2.7

2.2

2.6

35 to 49 percent

2.9

3.6

3.9

2.8

3.6

3.4

4.5

3.2

3.9

50 to 74 percent

1.7

3.0

3.3

2.0

3.3

2.7

2.9

2.5

2.5

75 percent or more

2.3

3.1

2.7

1.9

3.0

3.2

3.3

2.5

2.7











Foods sold to generate funds




















Yes

2.6

2.6

1.7

2.3

1.4

2.5

2.9

2.9

No

1.6

1.9

1.6

1.4

2.2

2.3

1.9

1.3

1.3

Don’t know

1.2

4.8

4.9

2.5

5.6

2.9

5.0

5.5

5.1

See notes at end of table.


Table 4a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at one or more locations in the school, by selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued


School characteristic

Type of food available at one or more locations in the school

Lunch sides

Snack foods

French fried potatoes

Green salad or fruit

Candy

Low-fat salty snacks

Salty snacks that are not low in fat

Low-fat cookies/
baked goods

Cookies/
baked goods not low
in fat









All public elementary schools

1.1

1.7

1.1

1.6

1.2

1.4

1.5









Enrollment size
















Less than 300

1.8

2.1

2.1

2.8

2.8

2.6

2.4

300 to 499

2.3

3.1

2.0

2.2

2.3

2.5

3.0

500 or more

2.1

2.5

1.7

2.4

2.1

2.1

2.2









School locale
















City

1.9

3.4

2.0

2.8

2.3

2.6

3.2

Urban fringe

1.8

2.7

1.8

2.4

2.0

1.9

2.4

Town

3.9

5.0

3.4

5.5

5.2

4.1

5.4

Rural

2.2

2.9

2.4

2.9

2.6

2.8

2.7









Region
















Northeast

2.7

3.4

2.7

3.1

3.4

3.0

4.0

Southeast

3.3

3.8

2.9

3.8

2.7

3.6

3.2

Central

1.9

2.4

1.9

2.6

2.4

2.3

2.9

West

1.7

2.6

2.1

2.4

2.4

2.1

2.1









Percent minority enrollment
















Less than 6 percent

2.5

3.5

2.1

3.2

2.9

2.5

3.2

6 to 20 percent

2.5

3.4

2.5

2.6

2.9

2.6

2.7

21 to 49 percent

1.9

2.9

2.8

3.6

2.6

3.1

3.5

50 percent or more

1.8

2.8

2.1

2.5

2.0

2.7

2.8









Percent of students eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch
















Less than 35 percent

2.0

2.5

1.9

2.6

2.2

2.4

2.3

35 to 49 percent

2.7

3.4

3.2

3.5

3.5

3.3

4.2

50 to 74 percent

2.5

3.1

2.3

2.5

2.4

2.8

2.8

75 percent or more

2.5

3.1

2.0

2.8

2.5

3.0

2.7









Foods sold to generate funds
















Yes

2.3

2.7

2.2

2.9

2.7

2.7

3.0

No

1.3

1.6

1.5

1.7

1.5

1.5

1.5

Don’t know

4.3

5.2

3.5

5.6

4.5

5.5

4.8

Not applicable. Estimate of standard error is not derived because it is based on a statistic estimated at 100 percent.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 5.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale in the school cafeteria or lunchroom, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Type of food available in cafeteria/lunchroom

At least one of the listed foods

Nondairy beverage

Dairy products

100% fruit or vegetable juice

Sports/ fruit drinks that are not 100% juice

Soft drinks

Bottled water

Low-fat or skim milk

Milk that is not low fat or skim

Yogurt

Ice cream or frozen yogurt












All public elementary schools

84

47

22

2


36

75

39

26

34












Enrollment size






















Less than 300

78

38

18

5


25

66

39

19

22

300 to 499

85

48

21

1

!

36

75

41

31

36

500 or more

88

53

26

2


43

81

38

26

40












School locale






















City

82

49

18

2


34

70

32

24

28

Urban fringe

87

50

25

1


38

80

44

30

38

Town

82

37

20

#


27

70

38

21

30

Rural

83

46

23

5


37

74

40

23

34












Region






















Northeast

86

56

25

2

!

47

81

61

41

50

Southeast

90

58

31

2

!

50

83

54

32

55

Central

82

36

15

3


23

70

34

16

15

West

81

46

20

2


32

70

23

22

27












Percent minority enrollment






















Less than 6 percent

86

46

23

2


33

79

49

29

33

6 to 20 percent

85

48

25

2


41

78

45

27

38

21 to 49 percent

84

42

21

2


30

74

32

20

30

50 percent or more

81

48

17

3


35

69

31

23

30












Percent of students eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch






















Less than 35 percent

86

51

25

1


41

80

43

32

40

35 to 49 percent

83

46

24

2

!

32

72

40

25

35

50 to 74 percent

89

44

21

3


33

79

45

21

33

75 percent or more

78

46

16

3


33

65

29

21

25












Foods sold to generate funds






















Yes

98

69

36

2


56

91

45

45

60

No

73

32

12

2


21

63

34

13

16

Don’t know

99

66

31

3

!

49

90

49

35

46

See notes at end of table.


Table 5.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale in the school cafeteria or lunchroom, by selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued


School characteristic

Type of food available in cafeteria/lunchroom

Lunch sides

Snack foods

French fried potatoes

Green salad or fruit

Candy

Low-fat salty snacks

Salty snacks that are not low in fat

Low-fat cookies/
baked goods

Cookies/
baked goods not low
in fat










All public elementary schools

17

40

5


29

18

21

27










Enrollment size


















Less than 300

14

30

6


23

17

16

20

300 to 499

18

42

4


29

19

23

31

500 or more

18

45

4


32

16

24

29










School locale


















City

17

38

3


20

10

21

22

Urban fringe

17

46

4


37

21

24

35

Town

17

29

4

!

17

14

8

13

Rural

16

37

7


31

22

21

26










Region


















Northeast

18

57

7


51

32

30

45

Southeast

29

52

3


32

19

27

33

Central

13

29

5


20

15

14

23

West

12

32

4


22

11

20

18










Percent minority enrollment


















Less than 6 percent

16

39

4


34

22

18

28

6 to 20 percent

19

45

6


38

22

26

34

21 to 49 percent

15

33

5


22

13

21

25

50 percent or more

15

38

4


23

14

18

21










Percent of students eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch


















Less than 35 percent

17

44

4


40

23

26

35

35 to 49 percent

14

36

6


27

17

19

30

50 to 74 percent

19

41

5


24

16

20

23

75 percent or more

16

36

4


18

12

17

18










Foods sold to generate funds


















Yes

27

63

8


53

33

37

49

No

10

24

3


12

7

11

12

Don’t know

20

54

2

!

42

26

31

37

# Rounds to zero.

!Interpret data with caution; the coefficient of variation is greater than 50 percent.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 5a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale in the school cafeteria or lunchroom, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Type of food available in cafeteria/lunchroom

At least one of the listed foods

Nondairy beverage

Dairy products

100% fruit or vegetable juice

Sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice

Soft drinks

Bottled water

Low-fat or skim milk

Milk that is not low fat or skim

Yogurt

Ice cream or frozen yogurt











All public elementary schools

1.1

1.6

1.1

0.5

1.5

1.5

1.5

1.4

1.4











Enrollment size




















Less than 300

2.0

2.7

1.9

1.0

2.0

2.3

2.5

2.1

2.3

300 to 499

2.0

2.6

2.3

0.6

2.7

2.7

2.1

2.7

2.6

500 or more

1.5

2.5

2.1

0.7

2.6

2.1

1.9

2.4

2.7











School locale




















City

2.3

2.9

2.5

0.8

2.7

2.8

2.8

2.6

2.6

Urban fringe

1.4

2.5

1.8

0.5

2.2

2.0

2.4

2.7

2.4

Town

3.8

5.1

4.2

4.3

4.4

4.6

4.3

5.1

Rural

2.0

3.0

2.2

1.2

2.5

2.5

2.7

2.1

2.6











Region




















Northeast

2.6

3.9

3.7

0.9

3.6

2.8

3.8

3.5

3.7

Southeast

2.1

3.3

2.9

1.5

4.0

2.7

3.5

3.5

3.0

Central

2.3

3.1

2.1

0.9

2.3

3.1

2.7

2.3

1.7

West

2.1

2.7

2.2

0.7

2.4

2.3

2.4

2.2

2.3











Percent minority enrollment




















Less than 6 percent

2.5

3.5

2.9

0.9

3.1

3.1

3.8

3.3

3.3

6 to 20 percent

2.0

2.8

2.2

0.8

3.0

2.5

2.9

2.9

2.7

21 to 49 percent

1.9

3.3

2.5

1.1

3.0

2.3

2.9

2.6

2.4

50 percent or more

2.0

2.3

1.8

0.9

2.8

2.7

2.8

2.6

2.6











Percent of students eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch




















Less than 35 percent

1.9

2.3

1.8

0.6

2.6

2.2

2.7

2.2

2.6

35 to 49 percent

3.3

4.0

3.4

0.9

3.1

3.4

4.5

3.2

3.9

50 to 74 percent

2.1

3.0

2.5

1.3

3.4

2.7

2.9

2.5

2.5

75 percent or more

2.6

3.2

2.2

0.9

2.8

3.2

3.3

2.5

2.7











Foods sold to generate funds




















Yes

0.7

2.8

2.9

0.7

2.5

1.4

2.5

2.9

2.9

No

1.8

1.9

1.0

0.6

1.8

2.3

1.9

1.3

1.3

Don’t know

1.2

4.8

4.9

1.6

5.6

2.9

5.0

5.5

5.1

See notes at end of table.


Table 5a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale in the school cafeteria or lunchroom, by selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued


School characteristic

Type of food available in cafeteria/lunch room

Lunch sides

Snack foods

French fried potatoes

Green salad or fruit

Candy

Low-fat salty snacks

Salty snacks that are not low in fat

Low-fat cookies/
baked goods

Cookies/
baked goods not low
in fat









All public elementary schools

1.1

1.7

0.7

1.3

1.0

1.2

1.3









Enrollment size
















Less than 300

1.8

2.1

1.5

2.4

2.4

1.8

2.1

300 to 499

2.3

3.1

1.3

1.9

2.0

2.1

2.7

500 or more

2.1

2.5

0.9

2.2

1.7

1.8

2.1









School locale
















City

1.9

3.4

1.0

2.1

1.8

2.3

2.8

Urban fringe

1.8

2.7

1.0

2.3

1.9

1.9

2.4

Town

3.9

5.0

2.1

4.7

4.1

3.3

4.2

Rural

2.2

2.9

1.6

2.6

2.6

2.4

2.7









Region
















Northeast

2.7

3.4

2.1

3.1

3.3

3.0

4.3

Southeast

3.3

3.8

1.2

3.3

2.2

3.0

2.6

Central

1.9

2.4

1.2

2.3

2.1

1.8

2.4

West

1.7

2.6

1.1

1.9

1.9

1.8

1.8









Percent minority enrollment
















Less than 6 percent

2.5

3.5

1.4

3.2

2.7

2.1

2.4

6 to 20 percent

2.5

3.4

1.8

2.4

2.4

2.8

2.6

21 to 49 percent

1.9

2.9

1.5

2.8

2.0

2.5

2.7

50 percent or more

1.8

2.8

0.9

2.1

1.7

2.2

2.3









Percent of students eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch
















Less than 35 percent

2.0

2.5

1.1

2.5

1.9

2.0

2.0

35 to 49 percent

2.7

3.4

2.0

3.3

2.8

3.2

4.1

50 to 74 percent

2.5

3.1

1.5

2.5

2.2

2.5

2.7

75 percent or more

2.5

3.1

1.1

2.1

1.8

2.5

2.3









Foods sold to generate funds
















Yes

2.3

2.7

1.9

3.0

2.6

2.3

2.7

No

1.3

1.6

0.7

1.2

0.9

1.2

1.2

Don’t know

4.3

5.2

1.3

5.9

4.4

5.4

4.8

Not applicable; estimate of standard error is not derived because it is based on an estimate of 0 percent.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 6.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at vending machines, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Type of food available at vending machines


At least one of the listed foods

Nondairy beverage

Snack foods


100% fruit or vegetable juice

Sports/ fruit drinks that are not 100% juice

Soft drinks

Bottled water

Candy

Low-fat salty snacks

Salty snacks that are not low in fat

Low-fat cookies/
baked goods

Cookies/
baked goods not low in fat














All public elementary
schools

22

12

13

9

18

6

6

6

4

5














Enrollment size
























Less than 300

26

13

19

18

21

11

11

11

8

9


300 to 499

19

10

10

5

16

3

4

4

3

3


500 or more

22

11

13

6

18

4

5

5

4

4














School locale
























City

17

11

8

4

14

3

4

3

3

3


Urban fringe

15

6

9

4

12

2

2

2

2

1


Town

22

7

13

10

16

7

9

8

5

7


Rural

36

20

24

21

31

13

13

13

9

11














Region
























Northeast

16

8

9

4

12

3

3

4

3


Southeast

22

10

14

11

19

8

10

8

7

7


Central

25

14

15

14

20

6

7

7

5

6


West

23

12

13

7

19

5

5

5

4

4














Percent minority enrollment
























Less than 6 percent

30

15

19

16

24

9

11

8

8

8


6 to 20 percent

18

9

12

7

14

4

4

5

3

3


21 to 49 percent

17

9

11

7

15

5

5

5

3

4


50 percent or more

21

12

10

7

17

5

5

5

4

4














Percent of students eligible
for free or reduced-price
lunch
























Less than 35 percent

20

9

12

8

16

4

6

5

4

4


35 to 49 percent

22

11

13

12

18

7

6

7

5

6


50 to 74 percent

26

13

18

11

22

7

9

8

6

6


75 percent or more

21

13

11

9

17

6

5

5

4

4














Foods sold to generate funds
























Yes

25

14

17

12

22

7

8

8

6

7


No

20

9

11

8

16

5

6

5

4

4


Don’t know

22

16

13

5

18

5

3

4

2

!

!Interpret data with caution; the coefficient of variations is greater than 50 percent.

Reporting standards not met.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 6a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at vending machines, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Type of food available at vending machines

At least one of the listed foods

Nondairy beverage

Snack foods

100% fruit or vegetable juice

Sports/
fruit drinks not 100% juice

Soft drinks

Bottled water

Candy

Low-fat salty snacks

Salty snacks that are not low in fat

Low-fat cookies/
baked goods

Cookies/baked goods not low in fat












All public elementary
schools

1.3

1.0

1.2

0.8

1.2

0.7

0.6

0.7

0.7

0.6












Enrollment size






















Less than 300

2.3

1.8

2.2

2.0

2.2

1.8

1.8

1.8

1.5

1.5

300 to 499

2.2

1.3

1.8

1.3

2.0

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.0

0.9

500 or more

2.3

1.7

2.1

1.3

2.0

1.0

1.1

1.2

1.1

1.2












School locale






















City

2.1

1.9

1.7

1.2

1.9

1.0

1.1

1.1

1.1

1.0

Urban fringe

1.4

1.1

1.4

1.0

1.4

0.6

0.8

0.8

0.6

0.6

Town

4.7

2.8

3.6

3.1

3.8

2.8

3.2

2.9

2.3

2.8

Rural

3.0

2.3

2.7

2.1

3.0

2.0

2.0

2.1

1.9

1.8












Region






















Northeast

2.7

2.1

2.3

1.3

2.5

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.2

Southeast

2.4

1.8

2.6

2.0

2.1

1.8

2.0

1.8

1.8

1.8

Central

2.8

2.1

2.2

2.0

2.4

1.1

1.5

1.5

1.3

1.4

West

2.3

1.6

1.9

1.3

1.9

1.1

1.0

1.5

0.9

0.9












Percent minority enrollment






















Less than 6 percent

2.7

2.2

2.5

2.1

2.6

1.7

1.9

1.7

1.6

1.6

6 to 20 percent

3.0

1.9

2.2

1.8

2.5

1.4

1.4

2.0

1.1

1.3

21 to 49 percent

2.3

2.0

2.1

1.6

2.4

1.2

1.2

1.3

1.2

1.3

50 percent or more

1.9

1.6

1.7

1.2

1.7

1.2

1.0

1.1

0.9

1.1












Percent of students eligible
for free or reduced-price
lunch






















Less than 35 percent

2.2

1.8

2.0

1.3

2.2

1.0

1.3

1.2

1.1

0.9

35 to 49 percent

3.6

2.2

2.7

2.4

3.4

2.1

1.8

2.1

1.8

2.0

50 to 74 percent

2.9

2.1

2.8

2.0

2.8

1.8

1.8

1.8

1.5

1.6

75 percent or more

2.1

1.9

1.7

1.5

1.8

1.5

1.2

1.2

1.1

1.2












Foods sold to generate funds






















Yes

2.1

1.9

1.9

1.6

2.0

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.2

1.4

No

1.7

1.2

1.4

1.2

1.6

0.8

0.9

1.0

0.7

0.7

Don’t know

4.9

4.5

3.8

2.1

3.9

2.0

1.5

1.9

1.4

Not applicable.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 7.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at school stores or snack bars, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Type of food available at school stores or snack bars

At least one of the listed foods

Nondairy beverage

Snack foods

100% fruit or vegetable juice

Sports/ fruit drinks that are not 100% juice

Soft drinks

Bottled water

Candy

Low-fat salty snacks

Salty snacks that are not low in fat

Low-fat cookies/
baked goods

Cookies/
baked goods not low in fat












All public elementary
schools

31

17

12

6

17

11

19

14

13

15












Enrollment size






















Less than 300

32

16

13

12

18

15

21

17

13

15

300 to 499

34

20

12

5

17

11

22

15

13

19

500 or more

28

16

11

3

16

7

16

10

13

12












School locale






















City

31

15

9

4

15

10

18

10

13

14

Urban fringe

32

17

13

3

18

8

20

14

13

18

Town

29

16

10

5

11

8

21

15

12

12

Rural

32

21

16

12

20

16

19

17

13

15


31

15

9

4

15

10

18

10

13

14

Region






















Northeast

33

19

12

3!

21

9

26

20

16

23

Southeast

36

23

16

6

21

12

20

16

16

18

Central

27

15

9

6

12

10

16

12

9

13

West

31

15

12

7

18

11

18

10

12

12












Percent minority enrollment






















Less than 6 percent

26

15

10

7

15

8

17

12

11

14

6 to 20 percent

31

20

14

4

19

8

22

14

15

16

21 to 49 percent

30

13

9

5

12

10

17

11

11

16

50 percent or more

33

18

12

6

18

13

19

14

12

15












Percent of students eligible
for free or reduced-price
lunch






















Less than 35 percent

29

16

11

4

18

6

19

12

13

15

35 to 49 percent

27

14

11

5

8

7

15

13

11

18

50 to 74 percent

34

18

14

8

18

17

21

16

13

15

75 percent or more

35

20

12

8

20

13

21

14

14

15












Foods sold to generate funds






















Yes

41

27

17

5

25

12

26

19

20

23

No

24

11

8

6

12

10

14

10

8

10

Don’t know

42

24

17

5

22

10

27

16

17

19

!Interpret data with caution; the coefficient of variations is greater than 50 percent.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 7a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that various foods were available for sale at school stores or snack bars, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Type of food available at school stores or snack bars

At least one of the listed foods

Nondairy beverage

Snack foods

100% fruit or vegetable juice

Sports/
fruit drinks not 100% juice

Soft drinks

Bottled water

Candy

Low-fat salty snacks

Salty snacks that are not low in fat

Low-fat cookies/
baked goods

Cookies/baked goods not low in fat












All public elementary
schools

1.5

1.2

0.9

0.7

1.3

0.9

1.3

0.9

1.0

1.1












Enrollment size






















Less than 300

2.2

1.9

1.6

1.7

2.3

1.8

2.1

2.1

1.8

1.6

300 to 499

2.5

2.0

2.0

1.1

2.2

1.7

2.3

2.0

2.0

2.4

500 or more

2.3

1.8

1.8

0.9

1.9

1.2

2.0

1.4

1.7

1.6












School locale






















City

3.0

2.3

1.6

1.4

2.1

1.9

2.6

1.7

2.0

2.1

Urban fringe

2.5

2.2

1.7

1.0

2.4

1.3

1.9

1.6

1.8

1.9

Town

5.2

3.6

3.1

2.3

3.1

2.8

4.8

4.5

3.5

4.4

Rural

2.6

2.3

1.9

1.9

2.3

2.1

2.4

2.2

2.0

2.1












Region






















Northeast

3.3

2.9

2.2

1.7

3.0

2.3

3.1

2.5

2.8

3.2

Southeast

3.0

2.9

2.3

1.6

2.4

2.3

2.6

1.9

2.4

2.5

Central

2.7

2.3

1.7

1.6

2.1

1.7

2.3

1.9

1.5

2.2

West

3.0

2.1

2.0

1.4

2.6

1.9

2.5

1.7

1.7

1.7












Percent minority enrollment






















Less than 6 percent

2.6

2.5

1.8

1.7

2.5

1.7

2.4

2.0

2.2

2.2

6 to 20 percent

3.2

2.6

2.0

1.4

2.7

1.6

2.4

2.3

2.4

2.2

21 to 49 percent

3.3

2.3

2.1

1.6

2.3

2.0

3.0

2.0

2.0

2.5

50 percent or more

2.4

2.1

1.7

1.3

2.0

2.0

2.1

1.6

1.9

2.0












Percent of students eligible
for free or reduced-price
lunch






















Less than 35 percent

2.7

2.0

1.6

1.2

2.4

1.4

2.1

1.5

1.9

1.8

35 to 49 percent

4.2

2.8

2.3

1.6

2.1

2.0

3.1

3.1

2.6

3.7

50 to 74 percent

2.4

2.3

2.4

1.5

2.5

2.0

2.1

1.8

1.8

1.8

75 percent or more

2.9

2.5

2.0

1.6

2.5

1.8

2.8

1.8

2.1

2.3












Foods sold to generate funds






















Yes

2.7

2.7

2.1

1.4

2.5

1.4

2.2

2.0

2.3

1.9

No

1.8

1.2

1.1

1.0

1.4

1.2

1.6

1.3

1.1

1.3

Don’t know

5.7

4.0

3.3

2.2

4.7

3.5

4.8

3.4

4.4

4.5

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.




Table 8.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when foods were available for sale at vending machines, and of the schools with vending machines, percent indicating the times when foods were available for sale, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

All schools1

Schools with vending machines 2

At mealtimes

At other times during the school day

Outside of the school day

At mealtimes

At other times during the school day

Outside of the school day








All public elementary schools

8

11

14

33

46

61








Enrollment size














Less than 300

7

16

18

24

59

63

300 to 499

7

9

10

33

48

52

500 or more

9

8

15

41

33

66








School locale














City

10

4

11

53

23

63

Urban fringe

6

8

10

39

51

66

Town

Rural

9

21

21

25

55

56








Region














Northeast

7

6

10

45

35

64

Southeast

5

14

10

20

63

45

Central

8

7

19

33

29

73

West

9

13

14

37

55

58








Percent minority enrollment














Less than 6 percent

8

12

22

28

40

72

6 to 20 percent

5

9

10

25

50

56

21 to 49 percent

7

10

10

37

53

50

50 percent or more

9

9

14

42

39

64








Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch














Less than 35 percent

7

8

13

34

40

62

35 to 49 percent

8

10

14

37

46

62

50 to 74 percent

7

17

14

24

62

51

75 percent or more

9

8

15

41

35

69








Foods sold to generate funds














Yes

8

13

16

32

48

61

No

7

9

13

32

45

61

Don’t know

11

10

15

Reporting standards not met.

1Based on all public elementary schools.

2Based on the 23 percent of public elementary schools that offered vending machine foods (table 1).

NOTE: Respondents could report multiple times when vending machines foods were available.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 8a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when foods were available for sale at vending machines, and of the schools with vending machines, percent indicating the times when foods were available for sale, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

All schools

Schools with vending machines

At mealtimes

At other times during the school day

Outside of the school day

At mealtimes

At other times during the school day

Outside of the school day








All public elementary schools

0.9

1.0

1.0

3.4

3.6

2.8








Enrollment size














Less than 300

1.4

1.8

2.0

4.5

4.9

5.1

300 to 499

1.1

1.6

1.9

5.1

6.3

6.8

500 or more

1.5

1.3

1.9

6.2

5.2

5.7








School locale














City

1.9

1.1

1.8

8.2

5.5

7.1

Urban fringe

1.1

1.2

1.3

6.0

6.2

5.9

Town

Rural

2.0

2.5

2.4

4.7

4.5

4.2








Region














Northeast

1.8

2.2

2.1

9.3

11.3

7.4

Southeast

1.3

2.5

1.7

5.4

7.6

6.1

Central

1.7

1.3

2.4

6.3

4.5

5.3

West

1.3

2.0

1.8

4.4

5.4

5.0








Percent minority enrollment














Less than 6 percent

1.9

1.9

2.3

5.8

5.2

5.3

6 to 20 percent

1.3

2.1

2.1

6.3

7.8

7.0

21 to 49 percent

1.6

1.9

2.0

7.1

8.7

8.2

50 percent or more

1.5

1.5

1.7

5.8

6.0

5.5








Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch














Less than 35 percent

1.3

1.7

1.9

5.2

6.3

5.7

35 to 49 percent

2.2

2.5

2.9

9.0

8.6

8.6

50 to 74 percent

1.6

2.5

2.4

5.2

6.7

5.5

75 percent or more

1.6

1.7

1.9

6.6

6.9

5.8








Foods sold to generate funds














Yes

1.8

1.8

2.0

5.8

6.2

5.2

No

1.1

1.1

1.4

4.7

4.7

3.9

Don’t know

3.3

2.9

4.1

Not applicable.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.




Table 9.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when foods were available for sale at school stores or snack bars, and of the schools with stores or snack bars, percent indicating the times when foods were available for sale, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

All schools1

Schools with stores or snack bars2

At mealtimes

At other times during the school day

Outside of the school day

At mealtimes

At other times during the school day

Outside of the school day








All public elementary schools

15

11

14

43

33

41








Enrollment size














Less than 300

12

16

15

33

45

42

300 to 499

19

11

14

50

29

39

500 or more

13

8

14

42

27

44








School locale














City

13

11

19

37

32

55

Urban fringe

18

8

12

53

24

34

Town

10

10

14

Rural

14

16

13

39

45

36








Region














Northeast

24

9

6

70

26

17

Southeast

12

18

17

31

47

45

Central

13

7

14

44

22

48

West

13

12

17

36

34

47








Percent minority enrollment














Less than 6 percent

14

13

7

47

44

24

6 to 20 percent

20

6

12

59

19

35

21 to 49 percent

12

13

14

33

36

39

50 percent or more

13

11

19

38

32

53








Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch














Less than 35 percent

18

8

8

55

26

25

35 to 49 percent

14

8

17

44

24

52

50 to 74 percent

13

16

16

35

44

43

75 percent or more

13

13

20

35

34

54








Foods sold to generate funds














Yes

25

12

16

57

27

36

No

7

11

14

25

40

49

Don’t know

26

12

14

58

26

31

Reporting standards not met.

1Based on all public elementary schools.

2Based on the 35 percent of public elementary schools that offered food services at school stores or snack bars (table 1).

NOTE: Respondents could report multiple times when school store or snack bar foods were available.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 9a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating the times when foods were available for sale at school stores or snack bars, and of the schools with stores or snack bars, percent indicating the times when foods were available for sale, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

All schools

School with stores or snack bars

At mealtimes

At other times during the school day

Outside of the school day

At mealtimes

At other times during the school day

Outside of the school day








All public elementary schools

1.1

0.9

1.0

2.5

2.3

2.2








Enrollment size














Less than 300

2.2

1.9

1.9

5.1

4.9

5.0

300 to 499

1.9

1.6

1.9

4.5

3.7

4.0

500 or more

1.9

1.4

1.6

4.8

4.2

4.8








School locale














City

2.1

1.9

2.6

5.0

5.2

5.1

Urban fringe

2.0

1.5

1.4

4.5

3.5

3.9

Town

3.1

3.5

5.1

Rural

2.2

2.3

1.7

5.3

5.3

4.3








Region














Northeast

3.0

2.0

1.7

6.4

4.9

4.5

Southeast

2.1

2.6

2.4

5.2

5.4

4.8

Central

1.9

1.6

1.8

4.8

4.5

4.2

West

1.8

1.9

1.8

3.8

4.2

3.8








Percent minority enrollment














Less than 6 percent

2.2

2.1

1.6

6.3

5.5

5.1

6 to 20 percent

2.9

1.6

2.2

5.5

4.3

5.2

21 to 49 percent

2.2

2.2

2.2

5.6

5.4

6.0

50 percent or more

2.0

1.5

2.2

4.8

4.0

5.0








Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch














Less than 35 percent

2.0

1.4

1.6

5.0

3.6

4.0

35 to 49 percent

3.1

2.3

3.0

8.3

6.3

7.4

50 to 74 percent

2.1

2.1

1.9

4.9

5.2

4.6

75 percent or more

2.0

1.8

2.8

4.9

5.0

5.1








Foods sold to generate funds














Yes

2.2

1.6

2.1

3.7

3.4

4.2

No

1.1

1.3

1.4

3.2

3.8

3.5

Don’t know

4.9

3.4

4.0

7.8

7.5

7.7

Not applicable.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 10.  Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the entities that operated food services at the school, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

School or
district

Private/other

entity




All public elementary schools

81

19




Enrollment size






Less than 300

83

17

300 to 499

79

21

500 or more

83

17




School locale






City

80

20

Urban fringe

77

23

Town

81

19

Rural

90

10




Region






Northeast

66

34

Southeast

94

6

Central

76

24

West

85

15




Percent minority enrollment






Less than 6 percent

87

13

6 to 20 percent

75

25

21 to 49 percent

80

20

50 percent or more

82

18




Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch






Less than 35 percent

77

23

35 to 49 percent

86

14

50 to 74 percent

86

14

75 percent or more

80

20

NOTE: Data in this table are based on the 99 percent of public elementary schools that offered any food services in the school (table 1). Food services at the school include foods and beverages available to students in the school cafeteria or lunchroom (e.g., school meals, a la carte items, and vending machine foods) and foods and beverages sold at vending machines and school stores or snack bars. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 10a.  Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the entities that operated food services at the school, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

School or
district

Private/other

entity




All public elementary schools

1.0

1.0




Enrollment size






Less than 300

2.2

2.2

300 to 499

2.3

2.3

500 or more

1.7

1.7




School locale






City

2.3

2.3

Urban fringe

2.2

2.2

Town

3.7

3.7

Rural

1.9

1.9




Region






Northeast

4.0

4.0

Southeast

1.5

1.5

Central

2.4

2.4

West

1.8

1.8




Percent minority enrollment






Less than 6 percent

2.3

2.3

6 to 20 percent

2.5

2.5

21 to 49 percent

2.9

2.9

50 percent or more

2.3

2.3




Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch






Less than 35 percent

2.2

2.2

35 to 49 percent

2.5

2.5

50 to 74 percent

1.9

1.9

75 percent or more

2.4

2.4

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 11.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating that companies have contracts to sell drinks or snack foods at the school, and percentage distribution reporting various agreements with those companies, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Has contract with companies

Agreement with companies1

School/district receives a specific
percentage of
the sales receipts

School/district receives sales incentives for
a specified amount
of sales receipts

Other agreement
or incentive






All public elementary schools

23

69

24

2






Enrollment size










Less than 300

25

64

33

4

300 to 499

21

70

18

#

500 or more

23

72

21






School locale










City

18

72

12

Urban fringe

21

59

23

Town

19

Rural

31

74

32






Region










Northeast

20

55

10

Southeast

29

78

19

Central

25

69

29

West

19

68

29






Percent minority enrollment










Less than 6 percent

26

64

33

6 to 20 percent

24

73

17

21 to 49 percent

20

62

25

50 percent or more

20

69

18






Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch










Less than 35 percent

23

66

15

35 to 49 percent

22

69

45

50 to 74 percent

25

70

26

75 percent or more

21

72

21

#Rounds to zero.

Reporting standards not met.

1Based on the 23 percent of public elementary schools that had a contract with companies to sell drinks or snack foods at the school. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 11a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that companies have contracts to sell drinks or snack foods at the school, and percentage distribution reporting various agreements with those companies, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Has contract with companies

Agreement with companies

School/district receives a specific
percentage of
the sales receipts

School/district receives sales incentives for
a specified amount
of sales receipts

Other agreement
or incentive






All public elementary schools

1.2

2.9

2.7

0.9






Enrollment size










Less than 300

2.1

5.3

5.0

2.1

300 to 499

2.3

5.8

4.6

500 or more

2.2

5.0

4.4






School locale










City

2.3

7.6

4.3

Urban fringe

2.0

5.9

4.4

Town

4.5

Rural

2.2

4.3

4.5






Region










Northeast

3.2

9.8

4.7

Southeast

2.7

5.0

4.5

Central

2.4

4.4

5.3

West

2.0

6.7

6.3






Percent minority enrollment










Less than 6 percent

2.3

5.9

5.7

6 to 20 percent

2.9

6.8

5.2

21 to 49 percent

2.7

7.4

5.5

50 percent or more

2.1

6.3

4.6






Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch










Less than 35 percent

1.9

5.7

3.8

35 to 49 percent

3.5

7.4

8.5

50 to 74 percent

2.9

5.5

5.1

75 percent or more

2.3

6.5

5.2

Not applicable.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 12.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating that recess was scheduled at the school, and percentage distribution reporting the number of days per week, times per day, and minutes per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005


Recess schedule

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6








Any scheduled recess

93

93

92

91

91

87








Days per week














None

7

7

8

9

9

13

1 to 4 days

5

5

5

6

7

4

5 days

88

88

87

85

83

83








Times per day














None

7

7

8

9

9

13

Once

55

56

59

64

66

58

Twice

28

27

25

22

21

24

Three or more times

10

10

8

5

4

5








Minutes per day














None

7

7

8

9

9

13

1 to 15 minutes

14

14

15

17

18

17

16 to 20 minutes

18

18

20

22

23

21

21 to 30 minutes

33

34

33

33

32

28

More than 30 minutes

27

26

25

20

19

21

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 12a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that recess was scheduled at the school, and percentage distribution reporting the number of days per week, times per day, and minutes per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level: 2005


Recess schedule

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6








Any scheduled recess

0.8

0.8

0.8

0.9

1.0

1.9








Days per week














None

0.8

0.8

0.8

0.9

1.0

1.9

1 to 4 days

0.7

0.8

0.8

0.9

0.9

1.0

5 days

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.1

1.2

2.1








Times per day














None

0.8

0.8

0.8

0.9

1.0

1.9

Once

1.6

1.6

1.6

1.5

1.6

2.6

Twice

1.4

1.3

1.4

1.3

1.3

2.2

Three or more times

1.0

1.0

1.0

0.7

0.7

1.2








Minutes per day














None

0.8

0.8

0.8

0.9

1.0

1.9

1 to 15 minutes

0.9

0.9

1.0

1.0

1.1

2.1

16 to 20 minutes

1.1

1.1

1.1

1.3

1.5

2.3

21 to 30 minutes

1.7

1.7

1.6

1.5

1.6

2.5

More than 30 minutes

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.3

2.3

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 13.  Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

None

1 to
4 days

5 days

None

1 to
4 days

5 days

None

1 to
4 days

5 days











All public elementary schools

7

5

88

7

5

88

8

5

87











Enrollment size




















Less than 300

6

4

90

6

5

90

5

5

89

300 to 499

7

3

91

7

3

89

8

3

89

500 or more

9

7

84

9

7

84

10

8

83











School locale




















City

14

7

80

13

7

80

14

7

79

Urban fringe

6

3

91

6

4

90

7

5

88

Town

6

5

89

6

6

88

6

6

87

Rural

3

4

93

3

4

92

3

5

92











Region




















Northeast

5

3

91

5

3

92

6

3

91

Southeast

16

11

73

17

11

72

18

13

69

Central

7

2

92

7

2

91

6

3

91

West

4

4

93

4

4

92

4

4

92











Percent minority enrollment




















Less than 6 percent

2!

5

93

2

5

93

2

6

92

6 to 20 percent

5

2

93

5

2

92

6

2

92

21 to 49 percent

4

4

92

4

5

91

4

6

90

50 percent or more

14

5

80

14

5

80

15

6

79











Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch




















Less than 35 percent

4

3

94

4

3

94

4

3

93

35 to 49 percent

4

3

93

4

3

93

4

4

92

50 to 74 percent

3

6

91

4

6

90

4

7

88

75 percent or more

18

6

75

18

8

74

19

8

73

See notes at end of table.

Table 13.  Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued


School characteristic

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6

None

1 to
4 days

5 days

None

1 to
4 days

5 days

None

1 to
4 days

5 days











All public elementary schools

9

6

85

9

7

83

13

4

83











Enrollment size




















Less than 300

6

7

87

8

8

85

12

7

82

300 to 499

9

4

87

9

5

86

9

88

500 or more

10

8

82

11

9

81

18

3

80











School locale




















City

15

7

79

15

7

78

24

#

76

Urban fringe

7

6

87

7

6

86

7

5

87

Town

5

10

85

7

12

81

81

Rural

5

6

90

6

7

86

11

5

84











Region




















Northeast

6

3

91

7

4

89

12

86

Southeast

18

16

65

20

16

64

62

Central

7

3

90

8

4

88

15

4

82

West

5

5

91

6

6

89

9

4

87











Percent minority enrollment




















Less than 6 percent

2

6

92

4

8

89

8

5

88

6 to 20 percent

7

3

89

7

5

88

8

5

88

21 to 49 percent

5

6

89

5

7

88

6

93

50 percent or more

16

7

77

17

8

76

24

4

72











Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch




















Less than 35 percent

4

3

93

5

4

91

5

3

91

35 to 49 percent

4

5

90

5

6

90

7

91

50 to 74 percent

5

10

85

6

11

82

10

4

86

75 percent or more

20

8

72

21

9

71

28

6

66

#Rounds to zero.

!Interpret data with caution; the coefficient of variation is greater than 50 percent.

Reporting standards not met.

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 13a.  Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

None

1 to
4 days

5 days

None

1 to
4 days

5 days

None

1 to
4 days

5 days











All public elementary schools

0.8

0.7

1.0

0.8

0.8

1.0

0.8

0.8

1.0











Enrollment size




















Less than 300

1.2

1.2

1.6

1.2

1.3

1.7

1.2

1.4

1.7

300 to 499

1.6

0.8

1.6

1.6

0.9

1.6

1.7

0.9

1.7

500 or more

1.3

1.3

1.9

1.3

1.3

1.9

1.3

1.4

2.0











School locale




















City

2.0

1.7

2.5

2.0

1.6

2.6

2.0

1.7

2.6

Urban fringe

1.2

1.0

1.6

1.3

1.0

1.5

1.3

1.2

1.7

Town

2.8

2.3

3.5

2.8

2.6

3.6

2.8

2.7

3.6

Rural

1.0

1.2

1.4

1.1

1.2

1.5

1.2

1.3

1.6











Region




















Northeast

1.9

1.2

2.3

1.8

1.2

2.3

2.0

1.2

2.5

Southeast

2.7

2.3

3.4

2.7

2.3

3.3

2.6

2.6

3.3

Central

1.5

0.8

1.7

1.5

0.9

1.7

1.4

0.9

1.6

West

0.9

1.2

1.3

0.9

1.6

1.6

1.0

1.6

1.6











Percent minority enrollment




















Less than 6 percent

1.1

1.6

1.7

1.1

1.5

1.7

1.1

1.6

1.7

6 to 20 percent

1.5

0.9

1.8

1.6

0.9

1.9

1.7

1.0

2.0

21 to 49 percent

1.1

1.4

2.1

1.1

1.6

2.3

1.2

1.7

2.3

50 percent or more

1.8

1.2

1.9

1.8

1.2

1.9

1.7

1.4

1.9











Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch




















Less than 35 percent

1.0

0.7

1.2

1.0

0.7

1.2

1.1

0.8

1.3

35 to 49 percent

1.7

1.3

2.2

1.7

1.3

2.2

1.7

1.4

2.3

50 to 74 percent

1.1

1.6

2.1

1.2

1.5

2.0

1.3

1.7

2.1

75 percent or more

2.6

1.6

2.5

2.7

1.7

2.6

2.6

2.0

2.6

See notes at end of table.

Table 13a.  Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of days per week of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued


School characteristic

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6

None

1 to
4 days

5 days

None

1 to
4 days

5 days

None

1 to
4 days

5 days











All public elementary schools

0.9

0.9

1.1

1.0

0.9

1.2

1.9

1.0

2.1











Enrollment size




















Less than 300

1.3

1.5

1.9

1.6

1.7

2.1

2.6

2.1

3.5

300 to 499

1.8

1.1

2.1

1.9

1.3

2.2

3.3

3.6

500 or more

1.4

1.3

2.1

1.7

1.4

2.2

3.6

1.5

3.5











School locale




















City

2.2

1.6

2.7

2.3

1.7

2.9

4.9

4.9

Urban fringe

1.3

1.3

1.8

1.4

1.4

1.9

2.8

2.4

3.8

Town

2.6

3.3

4.3

3.0

3.9

4.9

10.7

Rural

1.4

1.6

1.8

1.9

1.8

2.3

3.5

1.9

3.6











Region




















Northeast

2.1

1.3

2.6

2.2

1.6

2.8

5.0

5.3

Southeast

2.9

2.7

3.6

3.1

2.9

3.7

9.9

Central

1.5

1.1

1.8

1.5

1.3

2.1

3.7

1.8

4.1

West

1.1

1.3

1.8

1.4

1.4

2.0

2.4

1.4

2.5











Percent minority enrollment




















Less than 6 percent

1.0

1.7

1.8

1.5

1.9

2.1

3.1

2.3

3.6

6 to 20 percent

1.9

1.2

2.2

1.9

1.4

2.3

3.5

2.5

3.9

21 to 49 percent

1.4

1.6

2.3

1.6

1.8

2.5

3.0

3.3

50 percent or more

1.7

1.4

2.1

2.1

1.4

2.4

4.0

1.7

4.2











Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch




















Less than 35 percent

1.1

0.9

1.4

1.3

1.1

1.5

2.3

1.7

2.8

35 to 49 percent

1.8

1.6

2.5

1.9

1.8

2.5

4.0

4.3

50 to 74 percent

1.3

2.0

2.4

1.6

2.1

2.7

3.8

2.5

4.2

75 percent or more

2.7

2.0

2.6

2.8

2.1

2.8

4.3

2.3

4.5

Not applicable.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 14.  Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of times per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

None

Once

More than once

None

Once

More than once

None

Once

More than once











All public elementary schools

7

55

38

7

56

37

8

59

33











Enrollment size




















Less than 300

6

48

46

6

49

45

5

54

41

300 to 499

7

53

40

7

54

38

8

57

35

500 or more

9

61

30

9

61

30

10

63

27











School locale




















City

14

55

32

13

57

30

14

59

27

Urban fringe

6

60

34

6

60

34

7

62

31

Town

6

39

55

6

41

53

6

51

43

Rural

3

52

45

3

53

44

3

57

40











Region




















Northeast

5

79

16

5

80

15

6

80

14

Southeast

16

77

7

17

76

7

18

77

5

Central

7

44

49

7

46

47

6

52

42

West

4

38

59

4

38

58

4

42

54











Percent minority enrollment




















Less than 6 percent

2

50

48

2

51

47

2

55

43

6 to 20 percent

5

52

43

5

53

41

6

56

38

21 to 49 percent

4

55

42

4

55

41

4

60

36

50 percent or more

14

58

27

14

59

27

15

60

25











Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch




















Less than 35 percent

4

51

45

4

51

45

4

54

42

35 to 49 percent

4

49

46

4

51

45

4

56

40

50 to 74 percent

3

60

37

4

60

36

4

65

30

75 percent or more

18

58

23

18

60

22

19

61

20

See notes at end of table.

Table 14.  Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of times per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued


School characteristic

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6

None

Once

More than once

None

Once

More than once

None

Once

More than once











All public elementary schools

9

64

27

9

66

25

13

58

29











Enrollment size




















Less than 300

6

61

32

8

63

29

12

62

26

300 to 499

9

63

28

9

65

26

9

61

30

500 or more

10

68

23

11

68

21

18

51

31











School locale




















City

15

62

23

15

62

23

24

46

30

Urban fringe

7

68

25

7

68

24

7

63

30

Town

5

62

33

7

66

27

50

43

Rural

5

62

33

6

66

28

11

64

25











Region




















Northeast

6

81

13

7

85

9

12

80

8

Southeast

18

78

4

20

78

3

25

72

Central

7

62

31

8

67

26

15

66

19

West

5

50

45

6

49

46

9

41

49











Percent minority enrollment




















Less than 6 percent

2!

63

35

4

68

29

8

65

27

6 to 20 percent

7

59

34

7

60

33

8

53

39

21 to 49 percent

5

69

26

5

70

25

6

59

35

50 percent or more

16

64

20

17

64

19

24

54

22











Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch




















Less than 35 percent

4

61

35

5

63

33

5

54

41

35 to 49 percent

4

63

33

5

66

29

7!

62

31

50 to 74 percent

5

72

23

6

74

20

10

70

20

75 percent or more

20

62

17

21

62

17

28

52

20

!Interpret data with caution; the coefficient of variation is greater than 50 percent.

Reporting standards not met.

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 14a.  Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of times per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

None

Once

More than once

None

Once

More than once

None

Once

More than once











All public elementary schools

0.8

1.6

1.5

0.8

1.6

1.5

0.8

1.6

1.5











Enrollment size




















Less than 300

1.2

3.0

3.1

1.2

2.8

2.9

1.2

2.9

2.9

300 to 499

1.6

2.5

2.4

1.6

2.4

2.4

1.7

2.5

2.5

500 or more

1.3

2.5

2.3

1.3

2.5

2.1

1.3

2.4

2.1











School locale




















City

2.0

3.4

3.0

2.0

3.2

3.0

2.0

3.1

2.9

Urban fringe

1.2

2.6

2.5

1.3

2.6

2.6

1.3

2.4

2.5

Town

2.8

6.1

6.1

2.8

5.9

5.9

2.8

5.8

6.0

Rural

1.0

3.1

3.1

1.1

2.9

3.0

1.2

3.1

3.2











Region




















Northeast

1.9

3.2

2.8

1.8

3.2

2.8

2.0

3.4

2.8

Southeast

2.7

3.1

1.9

2.7

3.2

1.9

2.6

3.0

1.5

Central

1.5

3.6

3.3

1.5

3.7

3.4

1.4

3.4

3.3

West

0.9

2.8

2.7

0.9

2.7

2.6

1.0

2.5

2.4











Percent minority enrollment




















Less than 6 percent

1.1

3.9

3.9

1.1

3.8

3.8

1.1

3.7

3.7

6 to 20 percent

1.5

2.9

3.0

1.6

2.8

3.0

1.7

2.8

3.0

21 to 49 percent

1.1

3.4

3.4

1.1

3.6

3.6

1.2

3.7

3.7

50 percent or more

1.8

2.9

2.6

1.8

2.8

2.5

1.7

3.1

2.8











Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch




















Less than 35 percent

1.0

2.8

2.9

1.0

2.7

2.9

1.1

2.8

2.9

35 to 49 percent

1.7

4.3

3.9

1.7

4.4

3.9

1.7

4.5

4.1

50 to 74 percent

1.1

3.0

2.9

1.2

2.9

2.8

1.3

3.0

2.8

75 percent or more

2.6

3.4

3.0

2.7

3.2

2.9

2.6

3.3

2.8

See notes at end of table.

Table 14a.  Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the number of times per day of scheduled recess, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued


School characteristic

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6

None

Once

More than once

None

Once

More than once

None

Once

More than once











All public elementary schools

0.9

1.5

1.4

1.0

1.6

1.4

1.9

2.6

2.5











Enrollment size




















Less than 300

1.3

2.8

2.8

1.6

2.9

2.8

2.6

3.8

3.5

300 to 499

1.8

2.6

2.5

1.9

2.6

2.4

3.3

5.3

5.2

500 or more

1.4

2.4

2.2

1.7

2.7

2.3

3.6

5.2

4.5











School locale




















City

2.2

2.8

2.5

2.3

2.9

2.5

4.9

5.3

5.3

Urban fringe

1.3

2.7

2.6

1.4

2.7

2.7

2.8

4.2

4.1

Town

2.6

6.2

6.1

3.0

5.5

5.3

11.8

11.7

Rural

1.4

3.1

2.9

1.9

3.2

2.8

3.5

4.1

3.3











Region




















Northeast

2.1

3.3

2.8

2.2

3.4

2.7

5.0

6.0

3.6

Southeast

2.9

3.0

1.3

3.1

3.2

1.1

7.9

8.2

Central

1.5

2.9

2.8

1.5

3.1

2.9

3.7

5.2

3.9

West

1.1

2.6

2.5

1.4

2.7

2.7

2.4

3.9

3.9











Percent minority enrollment




















Less than 6 percent

1.0

3.6

3.6

1.5

3.9

3.7

3.1

5.5

4.6

6 to 20 percent

1.9

2.8

3.0

1.9

3.5

3.5

3.5

6.7

6.3

21 to 49 percent

1.4

3.7

3.5

1.6

3.7

3.6

3.0

6.6

6.9

50 percent or more

1.7

2.9

2.5

2.1

3.0

2.5

4.0

4.4

3.5











Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch




















Less than 35 percent

1.1

2.8

2.9

1.3

2.8

3.0

2.3

5.1

5.0

35 to 49 percent

1.8

4.7

4.2

1.9

4.7

4.1

4.0

7.2

7.5

50 to 74 percent

1.3

3.3

3.0

1.6

2.9

2.7

3.8

5.5

4.7

75 percent or more

2.7

3.1

2.2

2.8

3.4

2.3

4.3

4.7

3.9

Not applicable.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 15.  Mean number of minutes per day of scheduled recess at public elementary schools,
by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6








All public elementary schools

27.8

27.5

26.7

25.1

24.4

23.8








Enrollment size














Less than 300

29.8

29.6

28.7

26.5

25.3

24.5

300 to 499

28.4

27.8

27.2

25.8

25.2

24.9

500 or more

25.8

25.6

24.9

23.6

23.1

22.1








School locale














City

23.9

23.6

23.2

21.8

21.9

20.6

Urban fringe

28.2

28.0

27.4

26.3

25.7

25.9

Town

29.4

29.0

28.3

26.2

24.9

26.0

Rural

30.9

30.4

29.0

27.0

25.5

24.1








Region














Northeast

25.1

24.9

24.6

24.3

23.3

22.2

Southeast

20.3

20.1

19.4

18.8

18.5

18.1

Central

30.2

29.6

28.4

26.1

24.7

21.5

West

31.8

31.6

31.0

28.7

28.3

27.3








Percent minority enrollment














Less than 6 percent

32.6

32.0

30.9

29.1

27.3

25.8

6 to 20 percent

29.5

29.2

28.2

26.9

26.7

27.5

21 to 49 percent

28.4

28.1

27.6

25.5

24.9

25.0

50 percent or more

23.4

23.2

22.7

21.4

21.0

19.3








Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch














Less than 35 percent

31.8

31.5

30.6

28.8

28.1

28.6

35 to 49 percent

30.2

30.0

29.0

27.6

26.7

26.4

50 to 74 percent

27.6

26.8

26.1

24.4

23.6

23.0

75 percent or more

21.0

21.0

20.6

19.5

19.2

17.2

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 15a.  Standard errors for the mean number of minutes per day of scheduled recess at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6








All public elementary schools

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.8








Enrollment size














Less than 300

0.7

0.7

0.8

0.8

0.9

1.2

300 to 499

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.8

0.8

1.6

500 or more

0.7

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.6

1.1








School locale














City

0.9

0.9

0.9

0.8

0.8

1.8

Urban fringe

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.7

1.2

Town

1.7

1.6

1.8

1.7

1.9

3.7

Rural

0.8

0.8

0.8

0.8

0.9

1.4








Region














Northeast

0.9

0.8

0.9

0.9

0.8

1.7

Southeast

0.8

0.9

0.8

0.8

0.8

2.5

Central

0.9

0.8

0.8

0.8

0.7

1.3

West

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.3








Percent minority enrollment














Less than 6 percent

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.7

0.8

1.2

6 to 20 percent

0.9

0.9

1.0

1.1

1.2

2.1

21 to 49 percent

0.9

0.9

0.9

0.9

0.9

1.5

50 percent or more

0.8

0.7

0.8

0.7

0.8

1.3








Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch














Less than 35 percent

0.8

0.8

0.8

0.7

0.8

1.3

35 to 49 percent

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.1

1.1

2.1

50 to 74 percent

0.7

0.6

0.7

0.7

0.8

1.7

75 percent or more

1.0

1.0

0.9

0.8

0.9

1.4

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 16.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating that physical education was scheduled at the school, and percentage distribution reporting the number of days per week and minutes per class of scheduled physical education, by elementary grade level: 2005


Days per week and minutes per class

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6








Any scheduled physical education

99

99

99

99

99

99








Days per week














None

1

1

1

1

1

1

1 day

22

22

22

22

22

22

2 days

33

33

33

33

32

28

3 days

8

9

8

8

8

10

4 days

3

3

3

3

4

4

5 days

18

17

17

17

17

22

Varies by week

15

15

16

16

16

14








Minutes per class














None

1

1

1

1

1

1

1 to 30 minutes

43

42

39

35

34

34

31 to 40 minutes

24

24

25

26

25

24

More than 40 minutes

31

32

34

37

39

40

Varies by class

1

1

1

1

1

2

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 16a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that physical education was scheduled at the school, and percent reporting the number of days per week and minutes per class of scheduled physical education, by elementary grade level: 2005


Days per week and minutes per class

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6








Any scheduled physical education

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.3

0.3

0.6








Days per week














None

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.3

0.3

0.6

1 day

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.4

2.6

2 days

1.8

1.7

1.7

1.8

1.9

2.6

3 days

0.8

0.9

0.9

0.8

0.9

1.7

4 days

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.6

1.1

5 days

1.1

1.1

1.1

1.2

1.3

2.5

Varies by week

1.1

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.3

2.0








Minutes per class














None

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.3

0.3

0.6

1 to 30 minutes

1.6

1.7

1.7

1.7

1.8

2.9

31 to 40 minutes

1.5

1.5

1.5

1.6

1.7

2.6

More than 40 minutes

1.5

1.6

1.8

1.9

2.1

2.4

Varies by class

0.3

0.3

0.3

0.3

0.4

0.6

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 17.  Mean number of days per week of scheduled physical education at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6








All public elementary schools

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.6








Enrollment size














Less than 300

2.7

2.7

2.7

2.8

2.8

3.1

300 to 499

2.1

2.1

2.1

2.1

2.1

2.1

500 or more

2.5

2.5

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.5








School locale














City

2.3

2.3

2.3

2.3

2.3

2.2

Urban fringe

2.3

2.3

2.3

2.3

2.3

2.4

Town

2.6

2.6

2.5

2.5

2.4

1.8

Rural

2.6

2.6

2.6

2.6

2.7

3.2








Region














Northeast

1.8

1.8

1.7

1.7

1.8

1.9

Southeast

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.9

Central

2.3

2.3

2.3

2.3

2.2

2.3

West

2.9

2.8

2.9

2.9

2.9

3.1








Percent minority enrollment














Less than 6 percent

2.2

2.2

2.2

2.2

2.3

2.4

6 to 20 percent

2.5

2.5

2.5

2.5

2.6

3.0

21 to 49 percent

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.7

50 percent or more

2.5

2.5

2.5

2.4

2.5

2.5








Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch














Less than 35 percent

2.3

2.3

2.2

2.3

2.3

2.5

35 to 49 percent

2.5

2.5

2.4

2.4

2.5

2.7

50 to 74 percent

2.6

2.6

2.6

2.6

2.6

3.1

75 percent or more

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.5

2.4

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 17a.  Standard errors for the mean number of days per week of scheduled physical education at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6








All public elementary schools

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.1








Enrollment size














Less than 300

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

300 to 499

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

500 or more

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.2








School locale














City

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.2

Urban fringe

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.2

Town

0.2

0.2

0.2

0.2

0.2

0.4

Rural

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1








Region














Northeast

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Southeast

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.3

Central

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

West

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1








Percent minority enrollment














Less than 6 percent

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

6 to 20 percent

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.2

21 to 49 percent

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.2

50 percent or more

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.2








Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch














Less than 35 percent

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

35 to 49 percent

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.2

50 to 74 percent

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.2

75 percent or more

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.2

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 18.  Mean number of minutes per week of scheduled physical education at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6








All public elementary schools

85.4

85.5

86.4

88.5

90.5

98.0








Enrollment size














Less than 300

95.5

94.8

98.1

102.0

108.2

122.8

300 to 499

76.5

77.1

77.3

78.6

78.3

76.9

500 or more

86.5

86.8

87.1

88.8

89.7

87.5








School locale














City

84.9

83.9

85.7

86.9

87.1

83.4

Urban fringe

80.8

81.2

81.9

84.4

85.2

86.4

Town

86.0

85.3

84.3

86.7

85.1

54.4

Rural

91.8

92.9

93.6

96.2

102.9

123.3








Region














Northeast

69.6

70.3

69.4

68.8

70.7

74.5

Southeast

89.0

89.3

89.3

90.8

92.0

116.2

Central

75.5

75.8

77.4

79.4

79.1

80.5

West

99.6

99.1

100.6

104.4

107.5

116.2








Percent minority enrollment














Less than 6 percent

75.8

76.9

77.9

82.3

86.1

93.4

6 to 20 percent

86.4

86.7

86.7

89.4

91.6

104.0

21 to 49 percent

87.9

87.4

88.8

91.0

90.9

105.2

50 percent or more

89.6

89.2

90.5

91.0

92.9

95.2








Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch














Less than 35 percent

78.0

79.0

80.0

82.7

83.4

86.1

35 to 49 percent

82.6

82.4

81.6

84.9

86.5

99.6

50 to 74 percent

94.8

94.6

94.4

96.3

98.1

117.5

75 percent or more

88.6

88.0

90.5

91.4

94.9

96.1

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 18a.  Standard errors for the mean number of minutes per week of scheduled physical education at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6








All public elementary schools

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.4

1.6

3.9








Enrollment size














Less than 300

3.0

3.0

3.2

3.3

3.8

7.6

300 to 499

2.2

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.4

4.6

500 or more

2.1

2.1

2.2

2.2

2.2

5.4








School locale














City

2.9

2.6

2.8

2.7

2.9

6.8

Urban fringe

2.1

2.2

2.2

2.3

2.4

5.8

Town

5.5

5.4

5.5

6.0

6.1

8.3

Rural

2.8

2.9

3.0

3.1

3.8

6.8








Region














Northeast

3.0

3.1

3.1

2.6

2.8

4.6

Southeast

3.5

3.5

3.4

3.3

3.3

11.0

Central

2.3

2.3

2.5

2.5

2.9

6.0

West

2.7

2.5

2.6

2.7

3.0

6.0








Percent minority enrollment














Less than 6 percent

2.5

2.5

2.6

2.9

3.5

8.1

6 to 20 percent

2.6

2.7

2.9

2.9

2.9

7.5

21 to 49 percent

2.8

2.8

2.8

3.1

3.6

8.5

50 percent or more

3.2

3.2

3.3

3.3

3.2

7.5








Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch














Less than 35 percent

1.5

1.5

1.7

1.9

2.0

4.6

35 to 49 percent

3.2

3.2

3.4

3.2

3.4

7.9

50 to 74 percent

4.0

3.9

3.9

3.6

3.9

8.8

75 percent or more

3.6

3.5

3.4

3.3

3.8

9.5

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 19.  Mean number of minutes per week of scheduled recess and physical education, combined, at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected
school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6








All public elementary schools

221.7

220.1

216.9

210.7

208.4

214.1








Enrollment size














Less than 300

242.1

240.2

238.5

230.4

230.3

240.5

300 to 499

217.2

214.7

211.9

205.5

201.6

199.7

500 or more

211.4

210.9

207.0

202.3

200.1

196.8








School locale














City

200.9

198.3

198.4

193.0

193.2

186.3

Urban fringe

219.3

218.8

216.0

212.0

209.7

212.8

Town

230.5

227.3

223.1

212.2

202.9

179.1

Rural

244.4

242.8

236.3

228.0

226.1

240.0








Region














Northeast

192.7

192.8

190.7

188.2

184.3

184.4

Southeast

184.7

183.8

179.4

175.9

175.5

201.2

Central

225.6

222.5

218.1

208.4

200.8

186.4

West

256.5

254.6

253.2

245.3

245.6

249.3








Percent minority enrollment














Less than 6 percent

235.0

233.2

228.7

223.7

217.7

218.9

6 to 20 percent

233.1

231.5

226.4

222.3

222.2

237.4

21 to 49 percent

227.8

225.7

224.1

215.7

212.2

230.0

50 percent or more

203.8

202.3

200.7

193.9

193.7

190.1








Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch














Less than 35 percent

234.8

234.5

230.9

224.5

221.1

227.2

35 to 49 percent

232.2

230.7

224.7

220.2

217.2

229.4

50 to 74 percent

229.1

225.1

220.9

212.7

209.1

228.9

75 percent or more

190.8

189.3

189.4

184.8

186.9

179.4

NOTE: Respondents were asked to provide information for each grade that was considered elementary at the school, typically grades 1 through 5 or 6.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 19a.  Standard errors for the mean number of minutes per week of scheduled recess and physical education, combined, at public elementary schools, by elementary grade level and selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6








All public elementary schools

2.1

2.0

2.0

2.2

2.2

5.4








Enrollment size














Less than 300

4.1

4.1

4.5

4.1

4.9

7.6

300 to 499

4.2

4.2

4.1

4.6

4.4

8.5

500 or more

3.9

3.6

3.8

3.9

3.9

8.0








School locale














City

5.5

5.0

5.2

4.6

4.8

11.9

Urban fringe

4.1

4.2

4.2

4.3

4.1

8.8

Town

9.0

8.1

8.9

10.1

10.5

20.1

Rural

4.0

4.1

4.0

4.3

5.1

7.9








Region














Northeast

5.6

5.5

5.6

5.4

5.1

9.4

Southeast

5.1

5.2

5.1

4.8

4.9

17.0

Central

4.6

4.7

4.8

4.8

4.7

8.4

West

4.0

3.7

3.8

3.8

4.3

6.4








Percent minority enrollment














Less than 6 percent

4.2

4.3

4.1

4.0

4.8

8.5

6 to 20 percent

5.4

5.6

5.6

5.9

6.0

10.4

21 to 49 percent

4.2

4.3

4.8

5.0

5.3

9.3

50 percent or more

5.4

5.0

5.3

4.8

4.6

10.0








Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch














Less than 35 percent

3.9

3.9

3.6

3.6

3.6

7.4

35 to 49 percent

5.5

5.6

6.0

6.6

6.2

10.7

50 to 74 percent

4.7

4.2

4.2

4.7

4.8

9.2

75 percent or more

5.5

5.3

5.2

4.8

5.2

12.8

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 20.  Percent of public elementary schools indicating that the school was involved in various activities or programs to encourage physical activity among students, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Use nontraditional physical education activities to make physical education enjoyable

Provide opportunities during the school day for organized physical activities excluding physical education

Offer school-sponsored before- or after-school activities that emphasize physical activity

Participate in the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Award program

Other activity/
program







All public elementary schools

64

58

51

55

30







Enrollment size












Less than 300

59

54

46

55

25

300 to 499

65

57

54

55

32

500 or more

68

62

52

55

31







School locale












City

67

62

59

53

30

Urban fringe

67

59

50

55

33

Town

61

50

48

55

27

Rural

60

56

45

56

25







Region












Northeast

78

60

58

59

33

Southeast

64

64

46

57

36

Central

62

49

48

58

28

West

60

62

53

49

25







Percent minority enrollment












Less than 6 percent

61

53

43

63

27

6 to 20 percent

73

58

53

58

28

21 to 49 percent

72

60

44

54

31

50 percent or more

55

61

59

50

30







Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch












Less than 35 percent

71

56

51

59

27

35 to 49 percent

69

60

46

60

40

50 to 74 percent

63

59

46

54

27

75 percent or more

54

60

58

47

29

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 20a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools indicating that the school was involved in various activities or programs to encourage physical activity among students, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Use nontraditional physical education activities to make physical education enjoyable

Provide opportunities during the school day for organized physical activities excluding physical education

Offer school-sponsored before- or after-school activities that emphasize physical activity

Participate in the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Award program

Other activity/
program







All public elementary schools

1.6

1.8

1.5

1.4

1.4







Enrollment size












Less than 300

2.6

3.1

2.3

2.9

2.5

300 to 499

2.6

3.1

2.9

2.3

2.9

500 or more

2.5

2.7

2.0

2.5

2.0







School locale












City

2.8

3.5

3.0

2.8

2.8

Urban fringe

2.9

2.7

2.6

2.7

2.2

Town

5.4

4.6

5.5

4.7

5.2

Rural

2.9

2.6

2.3

3.3

2.3







Region












Northeast

3.0

3.9

4.4

3.5

3.5

Southeast

3.1

3.7

3.3

3.2

3.1

Central

2.8

3.3

2.9

2.6

2.7

West

2.9

3.3

2.7

2.8

2.1







Percent minority enrollment












Less than 6 percent

4.0

3.2

3.3

3.2

3.2

6 to 20 percent

2.6

3.9

3.0

3.1

3.3

21 to 49 percent

2.3

3.6

2.9

3.1

2.9

50 percent or more

2.8

3.4

2.8

2.5

2.5







Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch












Less than 35 percent

2.6

2.8

2.9

2.4

2.2

35 to 49 percent

3.8

3.8

3.5

4.2

4.1

50 to 74 percent

3.1

3.3

2.9

3.5

2.9

75 percent or more

3.2

3.5

2.7

3.0

3.1

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Table 21.  Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the frequency with which the school calculated the students’ body mass index and measured students’ height and weight, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Body mass index

Never calculated

Calculated

in selected

grades only

Calculated yearly for all students

Other approach to calculate body mass index






All public elementary schools

66

16

16

3






Enrollment size










Less than 300

68

13

16

3

300 to 499

68

11

19

2

500 or more

62

23

12

3






School locale










City

62

20

15

2

Urban fringe

64

18

15

3

Town

77

6

15

Rural

68

12

17

4






Region










Northeast

60

9

26

6

Southeast

57

20

22

Central

79

9

10

2

West

63

23

11

3






Percent minority enrollment










Less than 6 percent

69

11

17

3!

6 to 20 percent

68

16

13

2

21 to 49 percent

63

16

18

4

50 percent or more

63

20

14

2






Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch










Less than 35 percent

65

17

15

3

35 to 49 percent

67

15

15

3

50 to 74 percent

68

14

16

2

75 percent or more

64

17

16

3

See notes at end of table.

Table 21.  Percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the frequency with which the school calculated the students’ body mass index and measured students’ height and weight, by selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued


School characteristic

Height

Weight

Never measured

Measured in selected grades only

Measured yearly

for all students

Other approach to measure height

Never measured

Measured in selected grades only

Measured yearly

for all students

Other approach to measure weight










All public elementary schools

28

30

38

3

29

29

38

3










Enrollment size


















Less than 300

29

25

43

3

30

24

43

3

300 to 499

29

25

42

3

30

25

42

3

500 or more

26

39

31

4

29

37

30

4










School locale


















City

31

34

32

4

34

32

31

3

Urban fringe

27

32

37

3

28

32

37

3

Town

24

25

47

3!

25

24

47

3!

Rural

26

26

44

3

28

25

44

3










Region


















Northeast

15

17

66

2!

16

17

66

2!

Southeast

29

31

37

3

30

31

37

3

Central

39

25

32

4

42

22

32

4

West

25

42

30

3

26

41

29

3










Percent minority enrollment


















Less than 6 percent

27

24

45

4

28

24

45

4

6 to 20 percent

28

27

42

2

29

26

42

2

21 to 49 percent

28

29

39

4

30

28

38

4

50 percent or more

26

38

33

4

29

36

32

3










Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch


















Less than 35 percent

25

29

43

3

27

28

42

3

35 to 49 percent

32

28

37

4

33

28

36

4

50 to 74 percent

30

30

37

3

30

29

37

3

75 percent or more

27

35

34

4

30

33

34

3

!Interpret data with caution; the coefficient of variation is greater than 50 percent.

Reporting standards not met.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 21a.  Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the frequency with which the school calculated the students’ body mass index and measured students’ height and weight, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Body mass index

Never calculated

Calculated

in selected

grades only

Calculated yearly for all students

Other approach to calculate body mass index






All public elementary schools

1.6

1.2

1.1

0.6






Enrollment size










Less than 300

2.7

1.9

2.1

1.2

300 to 499

2.8

2.0

2.1

0.9

500 or more

2.5

2.0

1.4

1.0






School locale










City

3.0

2.3

2.3

0.9

Urban fringe

3.0

2.1

1.8

0.9

Town

4.5

2.5

4.0

Rural

2.8

1.8

2.5

1.1






Region










Northeast

3.7

2.2

2.9

1.9

Southeast

3.6

3.0

3.0

Central

2.7

1.8

1.8

1.1

West

2.2

1.8

1.4

0.9






Percent minority enrollment










Less than 6 percent

2.9

2.3

2.6

1.1

6 to 20 percent

2.9

2.7

2.2

1.4

21 to 49 percent

3.7

3.0

2.8

1.1

50 percent or more

2.6

2.0

2.1

0.9






Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch










Less than 35 percent

2.7

2.0

1.8

0.9

35 to 49 percent

3.3

2.8

2.2

1.3

50 to 74 percent

3.3

2.4

2.1

0.8

75 percent or more

3.1

2.3

2.5

1.0

See notes at end of table.

Table 21a.  Standard errors for the percentage distribution of public elementary schools reporting the frequency with which the school calculated the students’ body mass index and measured students’ height and weight, by selected school characteristics: 2005—Continued


School characteristic

Height

Weight

Never measured

Measured in selected grades only

Measured yearly

for all students

Other approach to measure height

Never measured

Measured in selected grades only

Measured yearly

for all students

Other approach to measure weight










All public elementary schools

1.6

1.5

1.5

0.7

1.5

1.5

1.5

1.5










Enrollment size


















Less than 300

2.7

2.4

2.9

1.1

2.7

2.4

3.0

3.0

300 to 499

2.5

2.6

2.7

1.0

2.3

2.3

2.7

2.7

500 or more

2.4

2.3

1.9

0.9

2.4

2.5

1.8

1.8










School locale


















City

3.3

2.6

2.9

1.1

3.4

2.7

2.9

2.9

Urban fringe

2.6

2.3

2.2

1.0

2.6

2.2

2.1

2.1

Town

4.8

5.0

5.5

1.9

4.7

5.0

5.5

5.5

Rural

3.0

2.5

3.1

1.1

3.0

2.5

3.2

3.2










Region


















Northeast

2.2

2.7

3.1

0.9

2.2

2.7

3.1

3.1

Southeast

3.6

3.6

3.5

1.2

3.6

3.6

3.3

3.3

Central

3.6

3.0

3.2

1.4

3.3

2.8

3.1

3.1

West

2.2

2.4

2.6

1.0

2.2

2.3

2.5

2.5










Percent minority enrollment


















Less than 6 percent

2.9

3.1

3.3

1.4

2.8

3.0

3.3

3.3

6 to 20 percent

3.0

2.6

2.8

1.0

3.1

2.7

2.9

2.9

21 to 49 percent

3.4

3.3

3.1

1.3

3.2

3.0

3.0

3.0

50 percent or more

2.4

2.5

2.7

1.2

2.5

2.7

2.7

2.7










Percent of students eligible for free or
  reduced-price lunch


















Less than 35 percent

2.4

2.4

2.4

0.9

2.4

2.3

2.3

2.3

35 to 49 percent

4.3

3.3

4.0

1.7

4.3

3.3

4.0

4.0

50 to 74 percent

3.3

2.9

3.1

1.3

3.3

2.9

3.1

3.1

75 percent or more

3.3

2.9

3.0

1.1

3.3

2.9

2.9

2.9

Not applicable.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Table 22.  Percent of public elementary schools that calculated the students’ body mass index and measured students’ height and weight indicating whether the information was sent to parents, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Body mass index information

Height

information

Weight

information





All public elementary schools

49

39

39





Enrollment size








Less than 300

54

42

42

300 to 499

54

39

40

500 or more

43

36

37





School locale








City

45

39

39

Urban fringe

52

37

38

Town

43

45

Rural

47

39

39





Region








Northeast

48

28

29

Southeast

62

43

43

Central

51

42

43

West

41

40

41





Percent minority enrollment








Less than 6 percent

56

39

39

6 to 20 percent

54

40

39

21 to 49 percent

49

39

40

50 percent or more

45

38

40





Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price
  lunch








Less than 35 percent

50

37

37

35 to 49 percent

54

43

43

50 to 74 percent

47

41

41

75 percent or more

48

37

39

Reporting standards not met.

NOTE: Data in this table are based on the number of schools that calculated the students’ body mass index and measured the students’ height or weight (table 21).

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.



Table 22a.  Standard errors for the percent of public elementary schools that calculated the students’ body mass index and measured students’ height and weight indicating whether the information was sent to parents, by selected school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic

Body mass index information

Height

information

Weight

information





All public elementary schools

2.4

1.5

1.5





Enrollment size








Less than 300

5.4

3.1

3.2

300 to 499

5.2

3.2

3.2

500 or more

3.8

3.0

3.1





School locale








City

4.2

3.2

3.2

Urban fringe

4.6

3.0

3.1

Town

5.9

6.2

Rural

4.8

2.9

2.7





Region








Northeast

6.2

3.4

3.4

Southeast

5.0

4.3

4.3

Central

6.7

3.9

4.0

West

4.1

2.9

3.0





Percent minority enrollment








Less than 6 percent

5.5

3.4

3.4

6 to 20 percent

5.7

3.8

4.0

21 to 49 percent

5.4

3.6

3.8

50 percent or more

4.0

2.9

2.9





Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price
  lunch








Less than 35 percent

4.8

2.6

2.8

35 to 49 percent

6.9

4.5

4.4

50 to 74 percent

4.8

3.1

3.1

75 percent or more

4.6

3.5

3.6

Not applicable.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

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Appendix A


Technical Notes


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Technical Notes



Fast Response Survey System

The Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) was established in 1975 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education. FRSS is designed to collect issue-oriented data within a relatively short time frame. FRSS collects data from state education agencies, local education agencies, public and private elementary and secondary schools, public school teachers, and public libraries. To ensure minimal burden on respondents, the surveys are generally limited to three pages of questions, with a response burden of about 30 minutes per respondent. Sample sizes are relatively small (usually about 1,000 to 1,500 respondents per survey) so that data collection can be completed quickly. Data are weighted to produce national estimates of the sampled education sector. The sample size permits limited breakouts by classification variables. However, as the number of categories within the classification variables increases, the sample size within categories decreases, which results in larger sampling errors for the breakouts by classification variables.



Sample Design

The sample for the FRSS survey on foods and physical activity consisted of 1,198 regular public elementary schools in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. It was selected from the 2002–03 NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) Public School Universe file, which was the most current file available at the time of selection. The sampling frame included 50,980 regular elementary schools. For the purposes of the study, an elementary school was defined as a school with a high grade of 1 to 8 and a low grade of prekindergarten, kindergarten, or grades 1 to 3. Excluded from the sampling frame were schools with a high grade of prekindergarten or kindergarten and ungraded schools, along with special education, vocational, and alternative/other schools, schools outside the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and schools with zero or missing enrollment.


The public school sampling frame was stratified by enrollment size (less than 300, 300 to 499, 500 to 599, 600 to 749, and 750 or more) and percent eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (less than 35 percent, 36 to 49 percent, 50 to 74 percent, and 75 percent or more). Schools in the frame were then sorted by type of locale (city, urban fringe, town, and rural) and region (Northeast, Southeast, Central, and West) to induce additional implicit stratification. These variables are defined in more detail in the “Definitions of Analysis Variables” section of these Technical Notes.


Data Collection and Response Rates

Questionnaires and cover letters for the study were mailed to the principal of each sampled school in early March 2005. The letter introduced the study and requested that the questionnaire be completed by the person most knowledgeable about the availability of foods and opportunities for physical activity at the school. Respondents were encouraged to consult with the school’s food service personnel and physical education staff to complete relevant sections of the questionnaire, as necessary. Respondents were also offered the option of completing the survey via the Web. The cover letter for the study included information on how to access the survey on the Web, including the survey Uniform Resource Location (URL) and the user login and password. Telephone follow-up for survey nonresponse and data clarification was initiated in late March 2005 and completed in late June 2005.


Of the 1,198 schools in the sample, 37 were found to be ineligible for the survey because they were closed or did not meet the grade requirements for inclusion as an elementary school. This left a total of 1,161 eligible schools in the sample. Completed questionnaires were received from 1,055 schools, or 91 percent of the eligible schools (table A-1). Of the schools that completed the survey, 19 percent completed it by Web, 53 percent completed it by mail, 27 percent completed it by fax, and 1 percent completed it by telephone.


The weighted response rate was 91 percent. The weighted number of eligible institutions in the survey represents the estimated universe of regular elementary schools in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The estimated number of schools in the survey universe decreased from the 50,980 schools in the CCD sampling frame to an estimated 49,393 because some of the schools were determined to be ineligible for the FRSS survey during data collection.



Table A-1. Number and percent of responding public elementary schools in the study sample, and estimated number and percent of public schools the sample represents, by school characteristics: 2005


School characteristic
Respondent sample (unweighted)
National estimate (weighted)
Number
Percent
Number
Percent






   All public elementary schools

1,055

100

49,390

100






Enrollment size





  Less than 300

310

29

13,170

27

  300 to 499

312

30

17,670

36

  500 or more

433

41

18,560

38






Locale





  City

286

27

13,810

28

  Urban fringe

378

36

17,940

36

  Town

92

9

4,220

9

  Rural

299

28

13,420

27






Region





  Northeast

178

17

8,620

17

  Southeast

224

21

10,260

21

  Central

295

28

14,030

28

  West

358

34

16,500

33






Percent minority enrollment





  Less than 6 percent

222

21

10,140

21

  6 to 20 percent

234

23

10,970

23

  21 to 49 percent

230

22

10,980

23

  50 percent or more

348

34

16,260

34






Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch





  Less than 35 percent

372

35

17,540

36

  35 to 49 percent

164

16

7,570

15

  50 to 74 percent

253

24

11,690

24

  75 percent or more

266

25

12,600

26

NOTE: Percent minority enrollment was not available for 21 schools. Those schools were included in the totals and in the analyses by other school characteristics. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding or missing data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System, “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.


Imputation for Item Nonresponse

Although item nonresponse for key items was very low, missing data were imputed for the 32 items with a response rate of less than 100 percent (table A-2).19 The missing items included both numerical data such as total minutes per day of scheduled recess, as well as categorical data such as whether soft drinks were available at vending machines. The missing data were imputed using a “hot-deck” approach to obtain a “donor” school from which the imputed values were derived. Under the hot-deck approach, a donor school that matched selected characteristics of the school with missing data (the recipient school) was identified. The matching characteristics included enrollment size, percent of students in the school eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, and type of locale. In addition, relevant questionnaire items were used to form appropriate imputation groupings. Once a donor was found, it was used to obtain the imputed values for the school with missing data. For both categorical and numerical items, the imputed value was simply the corresponding value from the donor school. All missing items for a given school were imputed from the same donor.


Table A-2. Number of cases with imputed data in the study sample, and number of cases with imputed data the sample represents, by questionnaire item: 2005


Questionnaire item

Respondent sample

(unweighted)

National estimate

(weighted)


q3a

100% fruit or vegetable juice in cafeteria/lunchroom

3

134

q3b

Sports or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice in cafeteria/lunchroom

1

38

q3c

Soft drinks in cafeteria/lunchroom

1

45

q3d

Bottled water in cafeteria/lunchroom

2

85

q3e

Low-fat or skim milk in cafeteria/lunchroom

1

38

q3f

Milk that is not low fat or skim in cafeteria/lunchroom

1

41

q3g

Yogurt in cafeteria/lunchroom

3

137

q3i

French fried potatoes in cafeteria/lunchroom

3

137

q3j

Green salad or fruit in cafeteria/lunchroom

2

83

q3k

Candy in cafeteria/lunchroom

1

51

q3m

Salty snacks that are not low in fat in cafeteria/lunchroom

6

292

q3n

Low-fat cookies/baked goods in cafeteria/lunchroom

1

59

q3o

Cookies/baked goods not low in fat in cafeteria/lunchroom

1

43

q5a

100% fruit or vegetable juice in vending machines

1

51

q5e

Candy in vending machines

1

41

q7e

Candy in school store/snack bar

1

43

q7h

Low-fat cookies/baked goods in school store/snack bar

1

34

q12ddays

Number of days per week of recess scheduled for grade 4

1

46

q12edays

Number of days per week of recess scheduled for grade 5

1

46

q12dtime

Number of times per day of recess scheduled for grade 4

1

46

q12etime

Number of times per day of recess scheduled for grade 5

1

46

q12amin

Total minutes per day for recess for grade 1

1

41

q12bmin

Total minutes per day for recess for grade 2

1

41

q12cmin

Total minutes per day for recess for grade 3

1

41

q12dmin

Total minutes per day for recess for grade 4

2

86

q12emin

Total minutes per day for recess for grade 5

2

86

q12fmin

Total minutes per day for recess for grade 6

1

41

q14d

Participate in President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Award program

4

210

q15ccol1

How often students’ body mass index is calculated in elementary grades

1

51

q15acol2

Height information is sent to parents

5

209

q15bcol2

Weight information is sent to parents

5

204

q15ccol2

Body mass index information is sent to parents

2

89

NOTE: Data were imputed using hot-deck imputation procedures.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), “Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005,” FRSS 87, 2005.

Data Reliability

While the Foods and Physical Activity survey was designed to account for sampling error and to minimize nonsampling error, estimates produced from the data collected are subject to both types of error. Sampling error occurs because the data are collected from a sample rather than a census of the population, and nonsampling errors are errors made during the collection and processing of the data.


Sampling Errors

The responses were weighted to produce national estimates (table A-1). The weights were designed to adjust for the variable probabilities of selection and differential nonresponse. The findings in this report are estimates based on the sample selected and, consequently, are subject to sampling variability. General sampling theory was used to estimate the sampling variability of the estimates and to test for statistically significant differences between estimates.


The standard error is a measure of the variability of an estimate due to sampling. It indicates the variability of a sample estimate that would be obtained from all possible samples of a given design and size. Standard errors are used as a measure of the precision expected from a particular sample. If all possible samples were surveyed under similar conditions, intervals of 1.96 standard errors below to 1.96 standard errors above a particular statistic would include the true population parameter being estimated in about 95 percent of the samples. This is a 95 percent confidence interval. For example, the estimated percentage of public elementary schools that sold foods to generate funds is 36.3 percent, and the standard error is 1.5 percent (tables 2 and 2a). The 95 percent confidence interval for the statistic extends from [36.3 – (1.5 x 1.96)] to [36.3 + (1.5 x 1.96)], or from 33.4 to 39.2 percent. The 1.96 is the critical value for a statistical test at the 0.05 significance level (where 0.05 indicates the 5 percent of all possible samples that would be outside the range of the confidence interval).


Because the data from the FRSS foods and physical activity survey were collected using a complex sampling design, the variances of the estimates from this survey (e.g., estimates of proportions) are typically different from what would be expected from data collected with a simple random sample. Not taking the complex sample design into account can lead to an underestimation of the standard errors associated with such estimates. To generate accurate standard errors for the estimates in this report, standard errors were computed using a technique known as jackknife replication. As with any replication method, jackknife replication involves constructing a number of subsamples (replicates) from the full sample and computing the statistic of interest for each replicate. The mean square error of the replicate estimates around the full sample estimate provides an estimate of the variance of the statistic. To construct the replications, 50 stratified subsamples of the full sample were created and then dropped 1 at a time to define 50 jackknife replicates. A computer program (WesVar) was used to calculate the estimates of standard errors. WesVar is a stand-alone Windows application that computes sampling errors from complex samples for a wide variety of statistics (totals, percents, ratios, log-odds ratios, general functions of estimates in tables, linear regression parameters, and logistic regression parameters).


Nonsampling Errors

Nonsampling error is the term used to describe variations in the estimates that may be caused by population coverage limitations and data collection, processing, and reporting procedures. The sources of nonsampling errors are typically problems like unit and item nonresponse, differences in respondents’ interpretations of the meaning of questions, response differences related to the particular time the survey was conducted, and mistakes made during data preparation. It is difficult to identify and estimate either the amount of nonsampling error or the bias caused by this error. To minimize the potential for nonsampling error, this study used a variety of procedures, including a pretest of the questionnaire with principals of elementary schools. The pretest provided the opportunity to check for consistency of interpretation of questions and definitions and to eliminate ambiguous items. The questionnaire and instructions were also extensively reviewed by NCES. In addition, manual and machine editing of the questionnaire responses were conducted to check the data for accuracy and consistency. Cases with missing or inconsistent items were recontacted by telephone to resolve problems. Data were keyed with 100 percent verification for surveys received by mail, fax, or telephone.



Definitions of Analysis Variables

Many of the school characteristics, described below, may be related to each other. For example, school enrollment size and locale are related, with city schools typically being larger than rural schools. Other relationships between these analysis variables may exist. However, this E.D. TAB report focuses on bivariate relationships between the analysis variables and questionnaire variables rather than more complex analyses.


Enrollment Size – This variable indicates the total number of students enrolled in the school based on data from the 2002–03 CCD. The variable was collapsed into the following three categories:


Less than 300 students (small)

300 to 499 students (medium)

500 or more students (large)


School Locale – This variable indicates the type of community in which the school is located, as defined in the 2002–03 CCD (which uses definitions based on U.S. Census Bureau classifications). This variable was based on the eight-category locale variable from CCD, recoded into a four-category analysis variable for this report. Large and midsize cities were coded as city, the urban fringes of large and midsize cities were coded as urban fringe, large and small towns were coded as town, and rural areas outside and inside Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) were coded as rural. The categories are described in more detail below.


City – A large or midsize central city of a Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) or Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).


Urban fringe – Any incorporated place, Census-designated place, or non-place territory within a CSMA or MSA of a large or midsize city, and defined as urban by the Census Bureau.


Town – Any incorporated place or Census-designated place with a population greater than or equal to 2,500 and located outside a CMSA or MSA.


Rural – Any incorporated place, Census-designated place, or non-place territory defined as rural by the Census Bureau.


Region – This variable classifies schools into one of the four geographic regions used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and the National Education Association. Data were obtained from the 2002–03 CCD School Universe file. The geographic regions are:


Northeast – Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont


Southeast – Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia


Central – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin

West – Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming


Percent Minority Enrollment – This variable indicates the percentage of students enrolled in the school whose race or ethnicity is classified as one of the following: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic Black, or Hispanic, based on data in the 2002–03 CCD School Universe file. Data on this variable were missing for 21 schools; schools with missing data were excluded from all analyses by percent minority enrollment. The percent minority enrollment variable was collapsed into the following four categories:


Less than 6 percent minority

6 to 20 percent minority

21 to 49 percent minority

50 percent or more minority


Percent of Students Eligible for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch—This variable was based on responses to question 16 on the survey questionnaire; if it was missing from the questionnaire (3.9 percent of all cases), it was obtained from the 2002–03 CCD School Universe File. This item served as a measurement of the concentration of poverty at the school. The categories are:


Less than 35 percent

35 to 49 percent

50 to 74 percent

75 percent or more



Contact Information


For more information about the survey, contact Bernie Greene, Early Childhood, International, and Crosscutting Studies Division, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, e-mail: Bernard.Greene@ed.gov; telephone (202) 502-7348.














Appendix B


Questionnaire

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FORM APPROVED

NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS O.M.B. No.: 1850–0733

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006-5651 EXPIRATION DATE: 09/2006


Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005


FAST RESPONSE SURVEY SYSTEM



This survey is authorized by law (P.L. 103-382). While you are not required to respond, your cooperation is needed to make the results of

this survey comprehensive, accurate, and timely.


Focus of Survey

This survey focuses on two topics: availability of foods, and opportunities for physical activity for students at your school. Please note that in this survey:

  • The term “foods” is used broadly to include both foods and beverages.

  • Before- and after-school activities refer only to school-sponsored activities.

  • Questions 12 through 15 ask for information only for elementary grades above kindergarten (typically grades 1 through 5 or 6), even though your school may have higher or lower grades.

  • Physical education refers to class time that is spent teaching a physical education curriculum, excluding regularly scheduled recess and instruction on physical activity topics that are part of health education or any other subject.






LABEL









IF ABOVE INFORMATION IS INCORRECT, PLEASE MAKE CORRECTIONS DIRECTLY ON LABEL.


Name of person completing form: Telephone:


Title/position: E-mail:


Best days and times to reach you (in case of questions):


THANK YOU. PLEASE KEEP A COPY OF THE COMPLETED SURVEY FOR YOUR FILES.


PLEASE RETURN COMPLETED FORM TO: IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, CONTACT:

WESTAT Basmat Parsad

Attention: Parsad 8096.03.03 800-937-8281, ext. 8222

1650 Research Boulevard Fax: 800-254-0984

Rockville, Maryland 20850 E-mail: basmatparsad@westat.com


According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information is 1850–0733. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collected. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202–4651. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: National Center for Education Statistics, 1990 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006


FRSS Form No. 87, 03/2005

Questions 1 through 11 ask about the availability of food services or foods at your school. Please note:

(a) the term “foods” is used broadly to include both foods and beverages; and

(b) before- and after-school activities refer only to school-sponsored activities.

1. Does your school offer any food service (e.g., school meals, a la carte items, or vending machine foods) in a cafeteria or lunchroom? Please include the service of both foods and beverages in the cafeteria or lunchroom.

Yes 1 (Continued with question 2.)

No 2 (Skip to question 4.)

2. Does your school offer full school meals (i.e., School Breakfast Program or National School Lunch Program) to any students? Include free, reduced-price, and full-price school meals.

Yes 1

No 2

3. Indicate whether students can purchase the following foods separate from full school meals (e.g., as a la carte foods or from vending machines) during mealtimes in the school cafeteria/lunchroom. (Circle one on each line.)


Yes

No

a. 100% fruit or vegetable juice

1

2

b. Sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice

1

2

c. Soft drinks

1

2

d. Bottled water

1

2

e. Low-fat or skim milk

1

2

f. Milk that is not low fat or skim

1

2

g. Yogurt

1

2

h. Ice cream or frozen yogurt

1

2

i. French fried potatoes

1

2

j. Green salad or fruit

1

2

k. Candy

1

2

l. Low-fat salty snacks (e.g., pretzels and baked or other low-fat chips)

1

2

m. Salty snacks that are not low in fat (e.g., regular potato chips and cheese puffs)

1

2

n. Low-fat cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods

1

2

o. Cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods that are not low in fat

1

2

4. When are vending machine foods available to students in the school? Consider foods that are available before, during, or after school (including before- and after-school activities and programs). (Circle all that apply.)

Never 1 (Skip to question 6.)

At mealtimes 2

Other times during the school day 3

Outside of the school day (e.g., school-sponsored before- or after-school activities) 4

Other times (Please specify.) 5

5. Are the following vending machine foods available to students? Consider foods that are available before, during, or after school (including before- and after-school activities and programs). (Circle one on each line.)


Yes

No

a. 100% fruit or vegetable juice

1

2

b. Sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice

1

2

c. Soft drinks

1

2

d. Bottled water

1

2

e. Candy

1

2

f. Low-fat salty snacks (e.g., pretzels and baked or other low-fat chips)

1

2

g. Salty snacks that are not low in fat (e.g., regular potato chips and cheese puffs)

1

2

h. Low-fat cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods

1

2

i. Cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods that are not low in fat

1

2

6. When are school store or snack bar foods available to students in the school? Consider foods that are available before, during, or after school (including before- and after-school activities and programs). (Circle all that apply.)

Never 1 (Skip to question 8.)

At mealtimes 2

Other times during the school day 3

Outside of the school day (e.g., school-sponsored before- or after-school activities) 4

Other times (Please specify.) 5

7. Are the following school store or snack bar foods available to students? Consider foods that are available before, during, or after school (including before- and after-school activities and programs). (Circle one on each line.)


Yes

No

a. 100% fruit or vegetable juice

1

2

b. Sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice

1

2

c. Soft drinks

1

2

d. Bottled water

1

2

e. Candy

1

2

f. Low-fat salty snacks (e.g., pretzels and baked or other low-fat chips)

1

2

g. Salty snacks that are not low in fat (e.g., regular potato chips and cheese puffs)

1

2

h. Low-fat cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods

1

2

i. Cookies, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods that are not low in fat

1

2

8. Do any companies have a contract to sell drinks or snack foods at your school? Consider foods that are available to students before, during, or after school, including before- and after-school activities and programs.

Yes 1 (Continue with question 9.)

No 2 (Skip to question 10.)

Don’t know 3 (Skip to question 10.)

9. Are there agreements with those companies for your school or district to receive the following? (Circle one on each line.)


Yes

No

Don’t know

a. A specific percentage of the sales receipts

1

2

3

b. Sales incentives such as cash awards or donations of equipment or supplies for
a specified amount of sales receipts

1

2

3

c. Other agreement (Please specify.)

1

2

3

10. Consider the foods and beverages that students can buy separately from full school meals (e.g., foods sold a la carte in the cafeteria/lunchroom and foods sold at vending machines, school stores, and snack bars). Are any of these foods sold to generate funds to support food service operations at your school or district? (Circle one.)

Yes 1

No 2

Don’t know 3

Not applicable; no foods or beverages sold separately from full school meals 4

11. Which of the following operates the food service operations at your school? (Circle one.)

Not applicable; no food service operations at this school 1

Your school or school district 2

A private entity under contract to your school or school district 3

Other entity (Please specify.) 4


For questions 12 through 15, please report only for elementary grades above kindergarten (typically grades 1 through 5 or 6), even though your school may have higher or lower grades.

12. Please provide the following information about scheduled recess during a typical week for elementary grades above kindergarten. If your school does not have any of the listed grades or does not consider a particular grade as elementary, leave that row blank. (See definition of elementary grades in box above.)

Grade

How many days per week is recess scheduled?

(If none, enter “0.”)

How many times per day is recess scheduled?

(If none, enter “0.”)

What is the total number of minutes per day for recess?

(If none, enter “0.”)

a. Grade 1




b. Grade 2




c. Grade 3




d. Grade 4




e. Grade 5




f. Grade 6




13. Please provide the following information about scheduled physical education during a typical week for elementary grades above kindergarten. If your school does not have any of the listed grades or does not consider a particular grade as elementary, leave that row blank. (See definition of elementary grades in box above question 12.)

Grade

How many days per week is physical education scheduled?

If the schedule is the same every week, enter the number of days.

(If none, enter “0” days.)

If the schedule varies by week, specify the schedule.

How long (in minutes)
is each physical education class?

(If none, enter “0.”)


a. Grade 1

Enter number of days

_______

OR

Specify schedule if it varies by week

__________________________________________

Enter minutes per class

_______


b. Grade 2

Enter number of days

_______

OR

Specify schedule if it varies by week

__________________________________________

Enter minutes per class

_______


c. Grade 3

Enter number of days

_______

OR

Specify schedule if it varies by week

__________________________________________

Enter minutes per class

_______


d. Grade 4

Enter number of days

_______

OR

Specify schedule if it varies by week

__________________________________________

Enter minutes per class

_______


e. Grade 5

Enter number of days

_______

OR

Specify schedule if it varies by week

__________________________________________

Enter minutes per class

_______


f. Grade 6

Enter number of days

_______

OR

Specify schedule if it varies by week

__________________________________________

Enter minutes per class

_______

14. Does your school do the following to encourage physical activity among students in elementary grades? (See definition of elementary grades in box above question 12.) (Circle one on each line.)


Yes

No

a. Use nontraditional physical education activities (e.g., dance or kick-boxing) to make physical education enjoyable

1

2

b. Provide opportunities during the school day for organized physical activities (e.g., walking or running laps at recess), excluding physical education

1

2

c. Offer school-sponsored before- or after-school activities that emphasize physical activity (e.g., walking or running, sports, dance, or group games)

1

2

d. Participate in the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Award program

1

2

e. Other activity/program (Please specify.)

1

2

15. How often are height, weight, and body mass index measured for students in elementary grades at your school? If measured, please indicate whether this information is sent to parents. (See definition of elementary grades in box above question 12.)

Height, weight, body mass index

How often measured?

If measured, is information sent to parents?

Never

In selected grades only

Yearly for all students

Other approach

Yes

No

a. Measure students’ height

1

2

3

4

1

2

b. Measure students’ weight

1

2

3

4

1

2

c. Calculate students’ body mass index

1

2

3

4

1

2

16. What percent of the students in your school are eligible for the federally funded free or reduced-price lunch program? (If none, enter “0.”) _________%

17a. Which of the following grades are taught at your school? (Circle all that apply.)

PK

K

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Ungraded

17b. Of the grades taught at your school, which grades are considered elementary? (Circle all that apply.)

PK

K

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Ungraded


1 Includes schools with no scheduled recess.

2 Includes schools with no scheduled physical education.

3 Thus, food service is used in a broad sense to include cafeteria services (i.e., school meals and a la carte items) and foods sold at vending machines and school stores.

4A small number of cases (six schools in the sample) offered cafeteria services but did not provide full school meals to students in 2005.

5These measures were derived from question 4 and question 6, which asked about the times when vending machine foods were available to students and when school store or snack bar foods were available to students. Respondents could either choose “never” (and skip to the next question) or they could check one or more response options—at mealtimes, other times during the school day, outside of the school day, and other times. Thus, a response of “never” was coded as “no” for whether the school had foods available at these locations.

6 See appendix B for a copy of the questionnaire.

7 Estimates for towns were based on small sample sizes and generally had large standard errors. Thus, throughout the report, differences that appear large for towns were often not statistically significant.

8 See description of poverty concentration on page 3.

9 For example, soft drinks was coded as being available for sale at one or more locations at the school if this item was available at any of the following locations: school cafeteria or lunchroom, vending machines, or school stores or snack bars.

10 These measures are different from the two measures discussed in table 1, i.e., whether schools sold vending machine foods and school store or snack bar foods. As indicated in the section on types of food services, the measure of whether schools sold vending machine foods was derived from question 4 of the survey, which asked when vending machine foods were available to students. Schools that checked “never” were coded as not having vending machine foods for sale, while those that checked any of the other responses to the question were coded as having vending machine foods for sale. The measure of whether schools sold foods at school stores or snack bars was derived from question 6 in a similar way. However, the measure of whether schools sold at least one of the nine listed foods at vending machines was derived from question 5, which asked whether each vending machine food was available to students. Similarly, the measure of whether schools sold at least one of the nine listed foods at school stores or snack bars was derived from question 7, which asked whether each food was available to students at this location. See appendix B for a copy of the questionnaire.

11 The percentage of schools that reported some other time when foods were available at vending machines and at school stores or snack bars is not shown in tables 8 and 9 because it represents only 2 percent for vending machines and 5 percent for school stores or snack bars.

12 Respondents could report multiple times when vending machine foods were available.

13 Respondents could report multiple times when school store or snack bar foods were available.

14 These types of agreements were not defined for respondents on the questionnaire; see appendix B for a copy of the questionnaire.

15 Includes schools with no scheduled recess.

16 Information provided by schools with physical education schedules that vary in the number of days from one week to the next was used to calculate an average number days per week of scheduled physical education for each of those schools. For example, if a school reported 3 days of physical education in one week and 2 days in the next week, the average number of days per week was calculated as 2.5.

17 For each grade at the school, the number of minutes per physical education class was multiplied by the number of days per week of scheduled physical education to provide a total number of minutes of physical education per week. For each grade, this total in minutes per week was summed across all schools and divided by the number of schools to obtain the average minutes per week of physical education across public elementary schools.

18 Information provided by schools with physical education classes that varied in length was used to calculate the average length per class. For example, if a school reported three physical education classes of 20 minutes and one class of 40 minutes, the average class length was calculated as 25 minutes.

19 Per NCES standards, all missing questionnaire data are imputed.

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