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 table 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).
• 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).
• 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.¹
• 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.

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