Background/Purpose High school physical education is frequently recommended, however, little is known about its quality. The System for Using Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) is frequently utilized to this end, but its use in high school settings is not well established. The purpose of this study is to describe existing SOFIT data from a sample of 11 high schools.
Method We assessed SOFIT data from 335 lessons from 11 high schools located in the United States. The dependent variables were class size, lesson length, physical activity levels, lesson contexts, and teacher promotion of physical activity behavior. Data collectors were trained. Percent agreement ranged 84-100%. Descriptive frequencies and mean scores were used to describe all categorical and continuous variables. MANOVA assessed significant differences between the schools. Alpha was set at .002.
Analysis/Results Lesson quality varied significantly between schools F = 3.8 (df = 300, 3040), p < .005. Specifically, lesson length, class size, sitting, standing, MVPA, management, fitness, game play, and were different between the schools (p < .001). Students engaged in MVPA for 57% of every lesson (SD = 17.8) and spent 40% of the time in game play (SD = 35.0). Little time was spent in knowledge (x = 6%, SD = 11.5) or skill practice (x = 5%, SD = 13.2). Teachers promoted physical activity outside of school less than 1% of the time (SD = .80).
Conclusions More studies using SOFIT are needed in high school settings in order to improve generalizability of findings.