The results show that both the control and experimental groups significantly improved their math and reading skills over the twelve-week period. The experimental group actually showed more improvement than the control group based on their average scores. Students receiving the extra physical education moved from a pretest score average of 35.04 in Math to 61.13. Students in the control group moved from a pretest Math score of 44.16 to 57.16. Not only did the experimental group outperform the control on average, but they also made up a deficiency. This difference was significant (p =.05). On average pretest score in reading for the experimental group was 35.40 with a posttest improvement to 51.94. This is in comparison with the control group, whose pretest average score was 41.56 with a posttest improvement to 51.20. The results in reading were not scientifically different, but once again the extra physical education group made up a deficit.

Chapter 4
DATA ANALYSIS

This study was designed to explore the effects of increased physical education on reading and mathematics test scores in third grade students at Tryon Elementary. Reading and mathematics test scores were used to determine the differences between the control and experimental group. Those differences were measured by using a 2 x 2 ANOVA. In this study the entire third grade at Tryon participated in the study, with only one student not receiving parental permission. There were four 3rd grade classes. Two were randomly chosen to be the experimental group and two the control. The subjects had already been pre-assigned to their classes before selection. Data were collected using a pre and post-test in reading and mathematics. All subjects were given the same test, in the same testing environment. Their classroom teacher gave the tests in the regular classroom. The students were told that the results from this study would not affect their grades. The control group consisted of 41 third grade students. Twenty-two were male; while nineteen were female. This was the same as the experimental group, which consisted of 41 students, twenty-two male and nineteen female. Analysis of the Data
Separate repeated measures 2 x 2 ANOVA were used to determine whether there was a significant difference between the pre and post test scores for both the control and experimental groups for reading and math.  A pairwise comparison for groups on the reading and math pre- and post-test scores was also conducted to test for significance of interaction between groups.Results
Subjects in both the experimental group and the control group were given a pre-test and post-test for reading. The data for the sample are shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Summary of Means and Standard Deviations for Both Groups for Pre- and Post Reading Tests

Group N Mean SD Std. Error Mean

Pre-Test Control

Pre-Test Experimental 40

41 41.5632

35.4046 18.23106

15.08687 2.88258

2.35617

Post-Test Control

Post-Test Experimental 40

41 51.2095

51.9495 18.38346

15.65312 2.90668

2.44461

Subjects in both the experimental group and the control group were also given a pre- and post-test for math.  The data for the sample are displayed in Table 2.

Table 2

Summary of Means and Standard Deviations for Both Groups for Pre- and Post-Tests for Math

Group N Mean SD Std. Error Mean

Pre-Test Control

Pre-Test Experimental 40

41 44.1663

35.0405 18.50159

16.96613 2.92536

2.64966

Post-Test Control

Post-Test Experimental 40

41 57.1665

61.1380 21.47744

22.65192 3.39588

3.53764

The research question was whether there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups on pre- and post-test scores for reading and math.  It was expected that both groups would improve; however, based on current research, it was expected that the experimental group would show more improvement.  Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA on two factors, group and time.  The data for the reading scores for both groups relative to time (pre and post) are reported in Table 3.

Table 3

Analysis of Variance Summary Between Groups Relative to Time on Pre- and Post-Test Scores for Reading

Source df Mean Square F Sig.

TIMEPER 1 69 55.664 .000

TIMEPER 1 48.786 3.862 .053

Error (TIMEPER) 79 124.757

Table 3 shows that there was a significant difference between time periods in that both groups improved from pre- to post-test (p = .95).

Data for the math pre-and post-tests scores for both groups were also analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA on two factors, group and time.  The data for the math scores for both groups relative to time (pre and post) are reported in Table 4.

Table 4

Analysis of Variance Summary Between Groups Relative to Time on Pre- and Post-Test Scores for Math

Source df Mean Square F Sig.

TIMEPER 1 15475.109 90.734 .000

TIMEPER 1 1736.573 10.182 .002

Error (TIMEPER) 79 170.555

Table 4 shows that there was a significant difference between time periods in that both groups improved from pre- to post-test (p = .95).  It should be noted that the experimental group scored much lower on the pre-test than the control group.  Thus, a pairwise comparison was made to determine significance of interaction between the two groups.  Date are reported in Table 5.