Teacher Challenges with Assessment Practices in Elementary School Physical Education: A Literature Review

Abstract

Elementary school physical education (PE) has historically been recognized as an essential subject in school curricula (Graber et al., 2008; Kirk, 2005). Meaningful experiences of participating in PE have a significant impact on students’ development of fundamental motor skills, positive behaviors, and fostering physically active lifestyles (Hunter, 2006; Morgan et al., 2013). Assessment in PE is one of these experiences and has become a central concern in PE pedagogy as it is considered necessary for students to be assessed in order to achieve the desired learning outcomes in school contexts (Elwood, 2006). Assessment is defined as “the process of gathering, recording, interpreting, using and reporting information about students’ progress and achievements in developing knowledge, skills and attitudes” (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, 2007, p. 7). Siedentop and Tannehill (2000) described PE assessment as “a variety of tasks and settings where students are given opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge, skill, understanding and application of content in a context that allows continued learning and growth” (p. 179). This review adds a comprehensive view of PE teachers’ challenges with assessment implementations to the current literature base. In conclusion, researchers have shown that PE teachers face several barriers with regards to implementing assessment practices in PE instruction. These include lack of time, large class sizes, lack of administrative accountability, lack of professional preparation, and belief that assessment is not necessary in PE. Additionally, although the descriptions of assessment practices in PE education have been a feature of education research for a while now, teachers remain incapable of implementing assessment appropriately and are making decisions regarding assessment results without proper training programs (Lund & Veal, 2008).