Learner expectancy beliefs and subjective task values are important motivation sources for learners in elementary and secondary schools (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). The expectancy beliefs are student thoughts about success in upcoming learning tasks. The task values are students' perception of worth of a task, including importance (attainment value), interest (intrinsic value), and usefulness (utility value). The purpose of this study was to examine the expectancy beliefs and task values and their relationship with knowledge and skills in a middle school physical education traditional curriculum centered on skill development and exercise for fitness. Middle school students in 6th (n=236), 7th (n=277), and 8th grade (n=284) from a random sample of 15 middle schools provided data for the study. Student expectancy beliefs and task values were measured using modified Expectancy-Value Questionnaire (Eccles & Wigfield, 1995). Their knowledge about fitness was measured using a validated, standardized multiple-choice test. Their physical skills were tested using a basketball control-dribble test (AAHPERD, 1984) and badminton overhand stroke test (Lockerhart & McPherson, 1949). Results of MAONOVA on class means showed statistically significant differences among the grades in task values (p<.01) and the rating on the values declined from the 6th to the 8th grade (p<.05). This finding is consistent with that reported in a 12-year longitudinal study (Jacobs et al., 2002). There was no statistically significant differences across the grades in expectancy beliefs (p = .10). Multiple regression analyses revealed that expectancy beliefs and task values together accounted for 5.1% in the basketball test performance and expectancy beliefs accounted for 2.7% of the variances in the badminton test performance, respectively. But the contribution of the expectancy belief to skill performances (β) was negative, indicating it is possible that low skilled students had higher expectancy due to their inaccurate estimate of their competence, and/or all students performed poorly in skill tests, leading to low variability in the data. The results seem to suggest that the relationship between the expectancy-value and performance on knowledge and skill tests can be complex in the skill centered physical education curriculum.Keyword(s): curriculum, middle school issues, physical education PK-12