Even though most physical educators see their role as developing movement competence, assessing movement competence has been perceived as a formidable personal challenge and even an impossible task for large-scale assessment. Most large-scale assessment projects have resorted to paper and pencil tests or fitness scores because of the difficulty of deciding what to assess and how to assess it in the psychomotor domain. This performance indicator for the South Carolina Physical Education Assessment Program (SCPEAP) requires that a student be competent in two different movement forms (types of activity). The SCPEAP has been effective in developing assessment tools that are authentic in nature and can be used reliably by teachers to determine student competence in a broad range of activities that represent diverse curriculum offerings. This presentation will discuss the rationale for student movement competence as a critical indicator of program effectiveness, the approach used to develop the materials for assessment, and the results of two years of program assessment data representing 112 schools throughout the state. In both data collection years the average school mean for the movement competence performance indicator was similar (M= 40.93% and 40.50 %). That means that, on average, only 40% of students are reaching a minimal level of competence in physical activities. In both years the range was from 0 to over 90% competence (SD= 26.05; 28.48), representing a great deal of variability among classes assessed on this indicator. The potential reasons for variability among schools and classes across the state will be discussed. Differences in performance by activity and similarities and differences between the data sets over the two- year period will be discussed. Issues related to defining student competence, teacher training, teacher effectiveness, and the influence of the nature of different activities on the assessment process and student results will be presented. If as a profession we define our role as being responsible for the development of movement competence so that students have the skills to be participants in physical activity over their lifespan, then knowing how to define and measure competence both authentically and practically is critical. Keyword(s): high school issues, measurement/evaluation, research