Physical education teachers measured students’ endurance using the shuttle run test or the Cooper test, before COVID-19 and after two school closures. After the first school closure (spring 2020), the results were significantly lower than those of students of the same age before the COVID-19 measures.

Differences between lower and upper grades

There were sometimes differences between the lower and upper grades and between the two tests:

  • For the shuttle run test, the endurance of students in both the lower and upper grades was lower after the first school closure than before the measures. Cooper test scores of students in the lower grades were lower after the first and second school closures than before the measures.
  • For the Cooper test, the endurance of students in the upper grades was lower after the second school closure than before the measures.

No differences between boys and girls

We found no differences between boys and girls. The endurance of both boys and girls was lower after the first school closure than before the COVID-19 measures.

Data collected at three points in time

For this study, physical education teachers from ten schools collected data using the Cooper test or the shuttle run test. They did so at three points in time:

  • before the COVID-19 measures: September 2018–March 2020;
  • after the first school closure: September–December 2020;
  • after the second school closure: September–December 2021.

The authors of the study are Maxine de Jonge, Manou Anselma, Arnold Bronkhorst, Lisanne Balk, Sofie Vrieswijk and Amika Singh.