Education Report Roundup

Extracurricular Activities

By Sarah D. Sparks — March 20, 2019 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Fernands fondly recalled watching CNN and analyzing polling data in her math class, and she spoke positively about what she picked up about the messy political process from a government course.

The poll found half of U.S. secondary students participates in school sports, and 40 percent were involved in arts or other clubs in the 2018-19 school year.

But the total cost for these activities averaged $408 for sports, $251 for arts, and $126 for other activities. Ten percent of parents felt the extracurricular activities were not worth the cost—but three times as many parents who made less than $100,000 a year thought so.

Moreover, only 7 percent of parents had ever asked for a fee waiver for activities.

The poll was based on a nationally representative sample of 961 parents of 1,323 middle or high school students.

A version of this article appeared in the March 20, 2019 edition of Education Week as Extracurricular Activities

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Special Education Webinar
Integrating and Interpreting MTSS Data: How Districts Are Designing Systems That Identify Student Needs
Discover practical ways to organize MTSS data that enable timely, confident MTSS decisions, ensuring every student is seen and supported.
Content provided by Panorama Education
Artificial Intelligence Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: AI Could Be Your Thought Partner
How can educators prepare young people for an AI-powered workplace? Join our discussion on using AI as a cognitive companion.
Student Well-Being & Movement K-12 Essentials Forum How Schools Are Teaching Students Life Skills
Join this free virtual event to explore creative ways schools have found to seamlessly integrate teaching life skills into the school day.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Opinion The Opinions EdWeek Readers Care About: The Year’s 10 Most-Read
The opinion content readers visited most in 2025.
2 min read
Collage of the illustrations form the top 4 most read opinion essays of 2025.
Education Week + Getty Images
Education Quiz Did You Follow This Week’s Education News? Take This Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz How Did the SNAP Lapse Affect Schools? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz New Data on School Cellphone Bans: How Much Do You Know?
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read