Should Athletic Courses Grade By Athletic Ability?

[Markluzz]

Throughout my life I have met different coaches who grade their students either by their athletic ability, and some who give everyone a free 100 as long as they show up and behave.

So my question is how should Athletic Courses be graded?

A) They should be graded by athletic ability and how well you can complete the athletic tasks required by the class just like you get graded on your mathematical ability on how well you can complete math equations.

B) They shouldn't grade on athletic ability but the effort given during the classes, a good effort would equal a good grade, just like how in any class when you put in a good effort such as studying a good grade comes out.

C) The coach should give 100s as long as the students show up, behave, and do what they are told, because your scholastic grade should not be affected where it could be hindered because you are not a great athlete.

[Yousend]

I always thought that Athletic Courses should be graded on participation. It's not someone's fault if they suck at something they've never or don't enjoy, but they should at least put the effort to play and what not. In my phys ed classes, I was always playing any sports we played, but then I didn't do as good on the athletic requirements preset by the teacher. Though I've always had bad luck on those tests, I always seem to have some muscle pain the day we got those evaluations.

[pOO flinger]

I say B.

Someone who has good athletic ability but doesn't put in much effort and doesn't strive to improve should not be given a better grade than someone who works their ass off and strives for improvement but might not be at the same level as other people. My coaches always graded on effort and that's how I think it should be. In my courses I was never the strongest or the fastest person there but I sure as fuck worked harder than anyone else. I pushed myself every single day and showed great improvement and was given an excellent grade because of that.

[anveena]

Option B. People should be graded on the effort they put into the phys ed class.

With option A a bunch of people are going to be graded bad because they're terrible at whatever the athletic activities they're doing. Option C just seems like you're giving people free A's just for showing up pretty much.

[Drekker17]

A or B for me. Most schools you are only required to do 1-2 PE classes anyway. I think a school should have different options where some classes have B, like generic individual sports, team sports class or adventure class, for people not interested in subject but need to do good (kind of like Algebra), and other classes like Dance or Training etc...should be graded on A, being for more dedicated people (like Calculus).

[Roose]

Athletics courses are a supreme joke, but most of all education is.

I had a blast in my basketball class, but it should never have counted for a grade. Even if it was just a 1 hour credit.

Really though, who cares? Education system is just one big money pit.

That was all about collegiate athletics classes. As far as grade school goes, that shit even more useless. I loved my football, soccer, and tennis classes. Free A's and unsupervised skip class time.

Education system on all fronts is a fucking joke. Why not just give everyone a 4.0 and call it a year. People that are going to be successful will be no matter what school does. People that are going to be failures will be bums no matter what happens in school. All just an enormous waste of time as is.

[saberon]

Option B - "Putting in the effort" basically sums up what Education is about. It shouldn't matter if some fatty runs a lap in an hour - the fact that he has the persistence to keep going means a helluva lot more than anything else you could be graded on.

[inboundpaper]

All I was ever graded on was B, you showed up, met the standard, and participated, you got an A. I also had pretty awesome P.E teachers in High School.

[Scratches]

I've personally experienced both A and C (diff schools, obviously), and I can say without a doubt that, out of the choices given, I'd go with A any day of the week. Ideally, I'd prefer a system that's more a common ground between options A and B, but... I can't choose that, heh.

Anyway, in school A, phys-ed courses were treated just as important as math and science. All able-bodied kids had to take at least 1 full semester of phys-ed each year, no exception. From the start, kids knew that they would be graded on how they performed, and every kid worked their asses off -- if they sucked, they accepted it, asked for help, and improved. The only kids that failed were those that just didn't give a shit, but honestly, you get some of those everywhere... *shrug*

In school C, however, students were only required to take one quarter of phys-ed. Throughout their whole high school career. Kids did what was requested of them, more or less, but the classes were more like recess than any real phys-ed. No fitness tests, barely any structure; nothing. All the students were lazy and out of shape...I was disgusted...

So...yeah. In my opinion, option A, even though more physically demanding, is actually better for the students. From what I've observed and experienced, in addition to teaching how to stay fit, it also taught students that "hey, you're not going to be great at everything," and that it's both okay to ask for help and that there's no shame in it. And that's infinitely more useful than an untarnished 4.0 GPA...

[Endus]

I'm an actual real-life teacher 'n stuff.

School boards almost invariably go with B. C is what lazy and bad Phys. Ed. teachers do so they don't have to work. A is problematic. The purpose of most academic classes is to educate, to improve the student's understanding of the subject matter. This isn't true of Physical Education, not entirely. Part of it is teaching kids the basics of certain popular sports, so if someone says "hey, let's shoot some b-ball outside of the school", you can say "sure" and not be clueless. But mostly, it's just about getting kids moving and physical. The purpose is more like Art classes; there are some skills being taught, but there's also a large focus on getting them in touch with something that isn't entirely intellectual. In Art, it's creative impulse, in Phys Ed, it's just physical exercise. There's a lot of health benefits, and especially with younger students, it helps them focus in the rest of their classes; extra energy makes you restless. Sure, some kids are going to get plenty of exercise before and after school and during recess, all on their own, but good physical education makes sure EVERYONE is getting active to a certain minimal degree. That's why participating is usually a large part of the grade; it's an easy grade to get just by not being a wallflower, so most kids just go along and get their exercise even if they think it's a waste of time.

The reason not to grade by athletic ability is the same reason you don't grade a student badly for lack of participation in reading aloud if they're mute. The point of the phys ed isn't to make them athletes, it's to get them some exercise.

[Caiada]

B or drop the grading for them.

B slightly edges out dropping them completely because it gets some people into doing more physically, but I don't know honestly know how much it helps.

A is just unfair. I, due to horribly poor physical condition (massively underweight), could not feasibly meet the requirements to get an A in one of the 'P.E' type classes. I tried my hardest, a lot more than some of the other lazy assholes, but the bars were just literally too damn high. Imagine doing high-school math without knowing what numbers are. Sure, you'll eventually figure it out after hours of hard work, but you should probably do something much simpler and easier first. I had no 'easier' option.

C is basically dropping it but with the benefit of, in many systems, a GPA boost. Screw that.

[Vanamman]

Where is the clarification on what grade level we are talking about? If you are talking Collegiate level than it should 100% be option A (needs to be reworded to athletic performance. Ability assumes you already possessed that skill, while performance is something you can actually grade.) You only take those classes in college if you want to become a coach/have something to do with Athletics. If you are not in decent shape and able to perform what you are trying to teach students than you should not be in that line of work. It sets a terrible example when coaches and phys. ed teachers are overweight and lazy.

If you are talking about high school or lower however than it should be option B. As others have said, high school phys. ed classes truly aren't about making your kids athletes. Its about getting them active and trying to keep your students at least somewhat healthy and in shape.

[Smoshreptar]

Athletics courses are a supreme joke, but most of all education is. ...

...People that are going to be successful will be no matter what school does. People that are going to be failures will be bums no matter what happens in school. All just an enormous waste of time as is.

I agree with you that it is a huge joke. It's a joke because we as a society (specifically the United States) don't TRY to make it anything better than what it currently is.

As far as people being bums if they're going to be bums, no. People can change if they're willing to make the effort eventually. Unless you are a part of the never-ending circle of "I don't have enough money for clothes, so I cannot get a job. I don't have a job, so I cannot get enough money for clothes."

On Topic: I picked C. While it is good to teach good exercise habits, there is no point to having people in grade school through high school playing kickball for an hour out of the day. You can leave it as an elective class for 0 credits if the person wanting the free grade that it is at the moment, still wants the "recess" time in middle school and high school.

[Tyranostar]

B for sure, you may not be a skilled athelete but if you are out there sweating your bag off because you are trying hard that deserves an A. Example would be 2 kids running side by side, one is a track and field athelete and the other is just regular joe who is still in decent shape, If the coach says run for 5 minutes and they both sweat then they both get a good mark if the athelete is doing a kind of jog while the regular joe is busting his ass to keep up then the athelete should get docked marks. Just my opinion.

[Mercadi]

In my high school we had option B. Students were supposed to record amounts of weight they lift, sets, reps, times, heart rate. Calculate improvements...
I hated all that bureaucracy. Spent 10-15 minutes of each class just doing the paperwork.

[Osoroshii]

Should be effort, but every Phys Ed class I had simply graded us on if we changed clothes for gym or not. As long as you put on your school-mandated shorts and shirt, it didn't matter if you went and sat in a corner to sleep through class, you were guaranteed a perfect 100.

[THE Bigzoman]

We have high school sports to place a meriotractic structure on physical ability.

So B.

[Spectral]

Raw athleticism won't matter very much in life (unless you're an extreme outlier than can go pro), but the ability to commit to something, try your level best, and learn new abilities will. Option B all the way. Judging by improvement is also worthwhile.

[PACOX]

How do you measure effort? What if a good athlete isn't putting forth any effort because they their 10% is everyone elses 80% or their coach forbids them because they don't want to risk any stupid injuries because of PE.

My school was C because those who are going to participate are going to participate regardless of grade. Those who aren't are still going to do the bare minimum whether you grade them on option A or B anyway. At the end of the year we took some BS test that pretty much just proved that you took the class. We had a required PE class that you actually had to participate in, learned things about fitness/wellness/etc but I can't remember the name of it.

You have 6(or 7 or whatever your schedule is) other classes that require you to put in work, who cares if you have one "free" class. I say this as a former high school athlete.

[belfpala]

I never understood grades for gym classes at all. Either they should be dropped, or they should be pass/fail. Pass if you participate at your own ability level. There are extra-curricular sports for those with higher ability levels (and that's another topic).