In recent years the dichotomous achievement goal model has developed to the more sophisticated trichotomous and finally to the most recent 2 x 2 model. Achievement goal research in physical education (PE) settings, however, relies heavily on the traditional dichotomous model. Few studies use the 2 x 2 achievement goal model to explore and examine middle school students' achievement goals and behaviors in PE settings. Additionally, few studies to date have examined social and achievement goals simultaneously for middle school students in PE settings. The purpose of this study was to examine how students' achievement goals and social goals might affect their reported persistence toward PE in middle school settings. A total of 272 middle school students served as participants in this study. Participants completed the 26-item Achievement Goal Questionnaire-Physical Education (AGQ-PE) adapted from Guan, McBride, Xiang, and Bruene (2006). The AGQ-PE includes the 2 x 2 achievement goal scale, the social goal scale, and the persistence scale. The format for all items is a 7-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (not at all true for me) through 7 (very true for me). The stem for all items is “In my PE class…”. Descriptive statistics of achievement goals and social goals revealed that students reported the highest value on social relationship goals (M = 5.54, SD = 1.17), followed by social responsibility goals (M = 5.47, SD = 1.21), mastery approach goals (M = 5.33, SD = 1.36), performance avoidance goals (M = 5.18, SD = 1.37), performance approach goals (M = 4.16, SD = 1.70), and mastery avoidance goals (M = 4.01, SD = 1.53). The results from multiple regression analysis revealed that mastery approach goals (â = .392, t = 6.10, p <.0001), social responsibility goals (â = .316, t = 5.21, p <.0001), and performance approach goals (â = .14, t = 2.48, p <.01), were significantly positive predictors of persistence, whereas performance avoidance goals, mastery avoidance goals, and social relationship goals were not significant predictors of persistence. Additionally, R2 from this multiple regression analysis was .45, indicating a stronger linear relationship between the set of predictors (achievement goals and social goals) and persistence. Based on the findings, we advocate using both achievement and social goals when examining student motivation and achievement in middle school PE settings.Keyword(s): curriculum, middle school issues