Assessment in Physical Education

Assessment is an important part of the the learning experience and curriculum. Here are some of the many purposes of assessment:
  • Determine whether students are meeting the learning objectives.
  • Identify students with special needs.
  • Modify the curriculum and individualize instruction.
  • Motivate students to improve their performance.​
  • Provide ppportunities for students to demonstrate what they know and are able to do.
  • Provide teachers with objective information for grading.

SHAPE America Appropriate Practices

  • 2.1.1 Clear goals and objectives for student learning and performance are communicated to students, parents, guardians, and administrators. Students are held accountable for those expectations through various strategies (e.g., goal-setting, teacher monitoring, assessment and evaluation).
  • 4.1.1 Formative and summative assessments constitute ongoing and integral parts of the learning process for all students, including those with disabilities.


  • 4.2.1 Physical educators systematically teach and assess all domains, using a variety of assessment techniques.


  • 4.2.2 Assessments include clearly defined criteria that are articulated to students as part of instruction before the assessment.


  • 4.3.1 Physical educators use fitness assessment as part of the ongoing process of helping students understand, enjoy, improve and/or maintain their physical fitness and well-being.


  • 4.3.2 As part of an ongoing physical education program, students are prepared physically in each fitness component so that they can complete the assessments safely.


  • 4.4.1 Physical educators make every effort to create testing situations that are private, nonthreatening, educational and encouraging.


  • 4.4.2 Physical educators encourage students to avoid comparisons with others and, instead, use the results as a catalyst for personal improvement.


  • 4.5.1 Test results are shared privately with students and their parents/ guardians as a tool for developing personal goals and strategies.


  • 4.5.2 Teachers provide regular reports of student progress to students and parents/guardians, using a variety of continuous, formative evaluations and assessments.


  • 4.7.1 Data on student achievement are used to evaluate program effectiveness on a regular basis.

Additional Appropriate Practices

  • Allow students to practice the assessment as needed (especially fitness tests).


  • Allow students to redo assessments when possible.


  • Assess students in authentic contexts when possible.


  • Provide examples of past student work when appropriate (exemplars).


  • When appropriate, involve students in the assessment process (ie. self or partner evaluation) and give them choices on how they will be assessed.

Key Factors When Designing Assessments

  • Validity: Does the assessment match the learning objectives?
  • Reliability: If two different teachers assessed the same student performance, will they have the same scoring.

Assessment Categories

  • ​Continuous or Informal Assessment: Quick and easy assessments that are done continuously throughout a lesson (ie. checking for understanding).
  • Formative Assessment: Formal assessment that is done to periodically assess student learning (ie. exit slip or peer assessment).
  • Pre/Post Assessment: Assessments performed before and after a lesson or a unit. Allows students and teachers to see how much improvement has been made.
  • Summative Assessment: Formal assessment that is done at the end of the unit and assesses multiple student learning objectives (ie. student project).

Authentic Assessment

Authentic assessments are holistic in nature and occur in real world contexts. For example, an authentic assessment example for passing a soccer ball could be: "Place students into pairs, with one student playing and the other observing. During a game-like scenario (multiple players and observers), have the observing students record the number of passes attempted by their partner, the success rate, and any observations about the quality (cues) of the passes."​​​

​Characteristics of authentic assessment include:​
  • Assessment focuses on both the process and the product.
  • Criteria for the assessment is provided to students ahead of time.
  • Learning occurs during the assessment.
  • Tasks are meaningful and often simulate real world scenarios.
  • The final product is something that can be showcased publicly.

Example from Dance

​Ballroom Olympics: A festive culminating event where students competed in various events (Directions on PDF).

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Example from Self Defense

Fight Movies: Students choreographed various fight scenes using the skills they had learned and within a movie theme they chose (Direction on PDF).

Student Certificates in Elementary PE

Students collect certificates throughout the year as students complete grade level outcomes. At the end of the year, students will be given their folder with all their certificates (which include the cues they learned). Click here for a Canva template for all the psychomotor skills.

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