OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of Playworks on students' physical activity during recess. METHOD: Twenty-seven elementary schools from six US cities were grouped into blocks and randomly assigned to implement Playworks (treatment) or not (control) during an entire school year (either 2010 to 2011 or 2011 to 2012). Study data were collected at the end of the school year only. Fourth- and 5th-grade students (n = 2,278) reported on their physical activity during recess, and a subset (n = 1,537) wore accelerometers during recess. Teachers (n = 111) also reported on their students' physical activity during recess. RESULTS: A significantly higher percentage of teachers in treatment schools reported that their students engaged in an intense physical activity during recess (p = 0.01). Marginally significant differences between treatment and control groups were found for the mean number of accelerometer intensity counts recorded per minute during recess (p = 0.10) and the mean percentage of time spent in vigorous physical activity during recess (p = 0.07). No significant differences were found for student reports about their physical activity during recess (p = 0.92). CONCLUSION: Teachers in Playworks schools reported that students were more active during recess, but accelerometer and student survey measures showed either no impacts or marginally significant impacts.
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