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Educating the Student Body
Status and Trends
Sports programs are widespread in U.S. schools (see Chapter 6). Nearly 
77 percent of middle and 91 percent of high schools offer at least one sport. 
Participation rates vary, but it is estimated that 33-55 percent of students 
participate in school sports programs (Lee et al., 2007). 
Forty-eight percent of schools offer at least one intramural sport or 
physical activity club, with rates of participation and opportunities vary-
ing among elementary, middle, and high schools (Lee et al., 2007). More 
intramural sports are offered in middle than in high schools, but both 
offerings and participation in middle school intramural programs have 
been declining (Lee et al., 2007). Interscholastic sports are more common in 
high schools, and participation rates tend to decline from 9th to 12th grade 
(Landis et al., 2007). Overall, fewer girls than boys participate in school 
sports (Lee et al., 2007), and girls are less likely than boys to engage in 
vigorous-intensity physical activity during sports (CDC, 2012).