The South Carolina Physical Education Assessment Program (SCPEAP) is a statewide effort that evaluates physical education program effectiveness. High school (Mitchell, Castelli, & Strainer, 2003) and middle school (Hall, Webster, French, Crollick, & Harvey, 2009) performance data have been documented. This study reports the results of the first cycle for elementary assessment data.
Method
SCPEAP data at 2nd and 5th grades were acquired for analysis. Overall combined scores for schools (N=172) and teachers (N=220) in addition to school and teacher scores on four 2nd grade and five 5th grade performance indicators (PIs) were examined.
Analysis/Results
Descriptive statistics were calculated at school, grade and teacher levels. For schools, the mean combined score and each grade level were 50.3 ± 23.9 overall, 61.04 ± 27.4 (2nd), and 42.1 ± 25.1 (5th). Second grade PI's were 57.4 ± 36.9 (dance), 52.9 ± 35.1 (gymnastics), 71.6 ± 33.2 (locomotion), 62.2 ± 29.8 (toss/catch); 5th grade were 54.2 ± 42.0 (dance), 49.4 ± 40.6 (gymnastics), 38.1 ± 30.6 (overhand throw), 38.1 ± 28.0 (games), and 22.8 ± 31.6 (health-related fitness). Correlations between the mean school scores and grade level scores were significant; overall r = .68 (p <.01). The only significant relationship found between instructional time and school scores was locomotion r = .22 (p < .01). Average instructional time was 58 minutes/week (range 30 – 140 minutes). Separate analyses of variance were used to determine if certain teacher characteristics were related to the scores. Teachers who attended standards-based instruction workshops scored significantly higher (2nd, M = 67.1 ± 23; 5th, M = 47.5 ± 24.3) than teachers who did not: M = 49.7 ± 30.3, F(185) = 18.82, p<.01; M = 33.4 ± 23.9, F(176) = 14.3, p<.01. Teachers who attended assessment training scored significantly higher (2nd, M = 63.2 ± 26.4: 5th, M = 45.1 ± 25.0) than teachers who did not: M = 51.5 ± 29.8, F(185) = 5.37, p<.05; M = 31.3 ± 22.5, F(176) = 9.35, p<.01. Females teachers scored higher at both grade levels but only significantly higher at 5th: M = 46.5 ± 24.6; male teachers M = 36.0 ± 24.7, F(176) = 7.83, p.<01.
Conclusions
These findings are consistent with the middle and high school teacher data relative to professional development, assessment training, and gender. Surprisingly, instructional time was not significant suggesting the important role the teacher plays in program effectiveness.
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