Standards-based assessment, grading, and professional development of California middle school physical education teachers

Purpose: This study examined California middle school physical education teachers' (grades 6-8) use of assessments based on state standards to grade their students. Method: An electronic survey was used to collect data. Results: Of the 309 teachers surveyed, 74% based their assessments on the state physical education standards. Teachers who used standards-based assessments were more prone to assigning higher percentages of students' grades to achievement-based assessments (e.g., skills testing, fitness, standards competency) than teachers who did not use standards-based assessments. However, all teachers gave similar weightings to administrative-based assessments (e.g., dressing out appropriately). Most of the teachers (91.2%) who reported not using standards-based assessments had limited to no professional development pertaining to the standards and perceived this as the biggest challenge to using standards-based assessments. Discussion/Conclusion: This study shows that professional development may be an important factor in teachers' use of standards-based assessments and achievement-focused grading in middle school physical education.