eng Science and Education Publishing Journal of Physical Activity Research 2574-4437 2018-11-29 3 2 109 117 10.12691/jpar-3-2-8 JPAR2018328 article Dick M. Carpenter II dcarpent@uccs.edu 1 Cheryl Kelly 2 Timothy K. Behrens 3 Julaine Field 3 Carmen Luna 3 Elizabeth Tucker 3 University of Colorado Colorado Springs Institute for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Colorado Northern Arizona University This study examines the relationship between physical activity (PA) levels and academic achievement and student behavior in schools that completed a three-year initiative to increase and improve PA for students. Using difference-in-difference and discontinuity analyses, we find schools that participated in a PA intervention saw greater academic achievement during the three years of PA programming as compared to non-participating schools. The significant effects of the intervention were realized during the first year of programming; subsequent years saw stable achievement but not significant growth. There did not, however, appear to be differences in maladaptive student behavior between schools based on participation in the PA intervention. http://pubs.sciepub.com/jpar/3/2/8/jpar-3-2-8.pdf physical activity student achievement student discipline