What is Quality Physical Education?

Every student in Massachusetts deserves the opportunity to benefit from Quality Physical Education.

Physical education provides the opportunity for all students to develop the health-related fitness, physical competence, and cognitive understanding about physical activity for all students so that they can adopt healthy and physically active lifestyles. Quality Physical education programs are individualized, meaningful, developmentally appropriate, and academically enhancing.

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education Guidelines for a Quality Physical Education program include three components: opportunity to learn, meaningful content and appropriate instruction.

Opportunity to Learn:
• 150 minutes per week (elementary) and 225 minutes per week (middle and high school)
• Certified Physical Education teachers

Meaningful Content:
The New Physical Education: This is not the “gym class” of the past.

• Instruction in a variety of motor skills that are designed to enhance the physical, mental, and social/emotional development of every student
• Fitness education and assessment to help students understand , improve and/or maintain their physical well-being
• Development of cognitive concepts about motor skill and fitness
• Opportunities to improve emerging social and cooperative skills and gain a multi-cultural perspective
• Promotion of regular amounts of appropriate physical activity now and throughout life

Appropriate Instruction:
• Full inclusion of all students
• Maximum practice opportunities for class activities
• Well-designed lessons that facilitate student learning
• Out of school assignments that support learning and practice
• Uses regular assessment to monitor and reinforce student learning