Most States Receive a Failing Grade on Physical Education; NCLB Threatens Time Spent on Physical Education
NCLB focuses on student achievement in defined core academic subjects. As states develop or select standardized tests to hold schools and students accountable, content that is not tested, such as physical education, has become a lower priority.
Despite skyrocketing childhood obesity rates and calls from Congress, the Surgeon General and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for high quality daily physical education programs, most states receive a failing grade on their physical education requirements. Those are the findings of Shape of the Nation Report: Status of Physical Education in the USA, a report recently released by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the American Heart Association (AHA).
"Unbeknownst to many policymakers, the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 is threatening the amount of time available for physical education," said NASPE Executive Director Charlene R. Burgeson. "NCLB focuses on student achievement in defined core academic subjects. As states develop or select standardized tests to hold schools and students accountable, content that is not tested, such as physical education, has become a lower priority."
http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/ShapeOfTheNation/template.cfm?template=pressRelease.html
Published Thursday, May. 25, 2006