In the spirit of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, I would like to propose another state test, one which would more fully reflect the growing needs of society and better prepare students for the twenty-first century: the Physical Education Assessment for Students (PEAS).
No one disputes the fact that our Nation's youth are out of shape and that there is a growing weight problem in our country. I submit that this is due to lazy Gym teachers. PEAS would go a long way towards fixing this problem. The test would measure how successful, how effective, Health and Physical Education teachers actually are. Instead of relying merely on teacher-reported grades and other outdated assessments, each state, and thus the nation as a whole, would have a true picture of the health of our young people.
The test itself would be comprised of three sections: fattiness, swimming and running. The first would measure a student's weight. In the spring, a student's weight would be measured, using state approved scales by a state approved testing vendor. (Testing dates TBD.) and a scaled score will be given based on weather a student is in a healthy range. This section of the test is simple and easy to administer. It can be described as "cut and dried."
The second section of the test will measure how many laps of an Olympic sized pool a student can make in a five minute period. To accommodate different learning styles, students may choose freestyle, breast-stroke, butterfly or doggie-paddle.
The third section of the test measures how fast a student can run a mile. The chosen testing company (bids pending) will form a committee comprised of all steak-holders to determine the cut off times to determine proficiency, below proficiency, and well-below proficiency.
The scores from all three sections will be scaled, combined and a magic formula used to determine an overall score. This score could then be used to fire lazy gym teachers.
Of course, there will be naysayers and those who simply believe that Physical Education teachers cannot be tested in such a fashion. Some may believe that a student's weight is not an appropriate measure. There will be some who argue that a teacher cannot be held accountable for what a student eats outside of the classroom, especially in such trying economic times where the cheapest food is often the least healthy. Such people are simply making excuses. Proficient teachers will convince students and educate parents to make better food choices, regardless of availability or cost.
There may be those who whine that they do not have a pool in their building or that students will not have access to pools to practice outside of school. They will say this is an unfunded mandate. This may be true, but the state cannot be responsible for economic inequalities, everyone knows that. The fault must lie in the local community, and it is up to the education professionals to fix this somehow.
Some in the education profession may be concerned that measuring how fast a student runs a mile will narrow the Phys Ed curriculum. This is pure nonsense. All sports can somehow incorporate running a mile. No one believes that teachers will "teach to the running test." Furthermore, Proficient teachers will know how to differentiate running in such a way as to motivate those who may not wish to participate in gym, let alone run.
Lastly, to those who believe that the powers that be do not listen to professionals in the field, I would like to point out that we heard loud and clear the concerns that first graders should not be tested. Of particular concern was the mile running component. To that end, the running portion will only be administered in 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th grades. First and second graders will be given modified versions of the test.
Next, we will discuss how to use speeding ticket data to determine Driver's Ed teacher effectiveness.
/snark (In case you missed it.)