Teacher pedagogical content knowledge plays a critical role in the teaching-learning process (Shulman, 1987). More effective teachers have the ability to identify appropriate content and transform the content appropriately for particular learners based upon their understanding of children. In physical education, the national content standards, and grade level expectations that are increasingly being developed by states, provide guidance for teachers as they develop and implement their curriculum. The lack of a strong assessment base in physical education has made it difficult to articulate those expectations for students, leaving it to the teacher to make decisions about what children should know and be able to do at particular grade levels. The purpose of this study was to describe teacher perceptions of the appropriateness of student performance expectations. A survey of grade level student performance indicators from various literature sources (NASPE, 2004; South Carolina Physical Education Curriculum Standards, 2000; SCPEAP, 2004) was created in a variety of content areas. Elementary physical education teachers involved in the South Carolina Physical Education Assessment Program (SCPEAP) and North Carolina AAHPERD members with registered e-mails were asked to participate in the on-line survey. One hundred fifty teachers who completed the survey categorized what they believed to be an appropriate level of competence (“too easy, “appropriate”, and “too difficult”) for kindergarten, second and fifth grade students in the following content areas: locomotion, manipulative skills, gymnastics, dance and games. Teachers' expectations were consistent with the literature of best practice in manipulative skills and dance (69-93%). Teachers identified most of the locomotor skills developmentally appropriate for kindergarten and second grade with the exception of competence in leaping which they identified as appropriate. Teachers had lower expectations for kindergarten and second grade gymnastics identifying performance outcomes lower than what is identified by national and state standards. Teachers identified higher game performance expectations than the literature in that they expected fifth graders to be competent in full competitive game play. No significant relationships were found among the content areas and teacher gender, educational level, years of teaching and/or coaching experience. Identifying inconsistencies between teacher perceptions of appropriateness and national and state expectations of competency can help both groups make better decisions regarding expectations for student performance critical to the development of curriculum and assessment materials. Keyword(s): assessment, curriculum development, elementary education