Jasmine AlfonsoThe Tech Center

New Visions Education

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COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN STUDENT ATHLETES AND NON-ATHLETES IN HIGHER

LEVEL CLASSES

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How do student athletes perform in higher level

classes as compared to non-athlete students?

THESIS

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Purpose of Study• To determine if there is a correlation between athletics and academics in secondary education

• The relationship between the success rate in higher level classes such as honors, advanced placement, and college level classes as compared to the amount of physical activity the student receives determined by whether or not the student participates in a varsity or J.V. level sport

• Examines whether or not there is true a relationship between the mind and body in correlation between grade point averages and physical activity

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Background Research

LITERATURE REVIEW

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General Information• Some evidence indicates that there is a relationship between physical fitness and cognitive development which can be explained by psychological and physiological mechanisms.

• The mind of a student is more likely to hold more attention when the body is active rather than sedentary

• due to the amount of blood being pumped throughout the body and brain through physical movement

General Information Continued…

• In a time where child obesity is on the rise, the importance of being fit both mentally and physically is an essential component to being a healthy person

• Students, who in general, are physically fit perform better on academic achievement tests over students who are not as physically fit. showing that as fitness scores improved the scores for academic achievement improved as well. (Vail, 2006)

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Positive Correlations

• “Increased physical activity through physical education include increased arousal and reduced boredom, which may lead to increased attention span and concentration [as well as] increased self-esteem, which could be expected to improve classroom behavior as well as academic performance.” (Coe, et. all, 2006, 1515)

• “For example, investigators in Illinois found that students’ total fitness, as measured by passing all 5 components of the Fitnessgram, positively correlated with academic achievement, measured by the standardized Illinois State Achievement Test, particularly Mathematics and Science.” (Chomitz, et. all, 2009, 31)

Positive Correlations Continued…• Students who are physically fit exhibit better concentration than their peers; stating how the exercise these students are receiving lowered stress levels and anxiety, which are factors that can have a large impact on the mental capabilities of a student (Vail, 2006).

• It was also stated by the Department of Education that students who participate in sports are three times as likely to have a GPA of 3.0 and higher (Stegman, Stephens, 2000).

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Trends

• Female athletes tend to have greater academic abilities over their male counterparts. As well as a greater correlation in math scores over those in English (Chomitz, et all., 2009).

• Sports foster the development of student success in lifelong learning, life roles and personal effectiveness. Allowing student-athletes to distinguish rules of behavior in team settings, as well as assisting in the development of team, letting individuals reflect upon failure on and off the field (Silliker, Quirk, 2002).

• These characteristics which are commonly found in student-athletes have shown to lead to higher career aspirations, better attendance records, reduced delinquency and a higher social standing among their peers (Silliker, Quirk, 2002).

Trends Continued…• Sports not only assist in improving the success of student

achievement in the classroom, but also show that talented athletes have higher graduation and report rates over their peers who are not as athletic

• This can be attributed to the commitment they have for their sport as well as a problem focused, self-conscious and goal oriented mind of a student athlete (Jonker, et all, 2009).

• Student-athletes’ ability to manage their time better than that

of non-athletes is shown also in a study completed by Laughlin in 1978 where he found that overall student-athletes had a high grade point average

• During the on-season the students maintained a higher grade point average than during the off seasons of their sport. (Silliker, Quirk, 2002).

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Negative Correlations

• Student-athletes, “training through the educational system has left a number of student-athletes with inadequate skills necessary for academic success in college.” (Dilley-Knoles, Burnett, Peak, 2010, 2)

• The Woman’s Sports Foundation determined that overall there is no effect on the grade point average of student athletes in rural, urban or suburban areas.

• The study shows that while sports made little impact on grades the students were not as likely to attend a four year college.

Inconclusive Results

• Several studies have been completed over the past few decades which have yielded inconclusive results, due to the amount a variable influence on the study. • Some of the studies which were deemed inconclusive or

negative include Melnick as well as Marsh and Kraus in the late ‘90’s (as cited in Broh, 2002).

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Design of study

METHODOLOGY

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Setting of Study• A high school in suburban New York State. The school was large in scale and maintained roughly 400 students per grade level

• Approximately 525 surveys were distributed to students. 305 were returned completed.• 100 were student athletes who were enrolled in higher level classes • 30 were student-athletes not enrolled in higher level classes• 120 were non athlete students enrolled in higher level classes • 57 were non athlete students not enrolled in higher level classes

• The individuals who participated in this study were willing male and female high school students who are between the ages of 14 to 18

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Overview of Study

• an anonymous survey was created asking if they:• participated in sports• how many hours a week they perform physical activity• how many honors, AP, and college level classes they are

enrolled in• how many hours a week they spent studying and completing

homework• check off the averages they had for each higher level class

and GPA

Overview of Study Continued…• a letter was sent to the local school administrators to gain approval to test the hypothesis in the suburban high school

• a letter was then sent out to fourteen teachers, coaches and club representatives asking if they would allow their students to participate in the study

• copies of the survey were then given to that teacher for distribution. Responses were collected from those students who were willing to participate over a period of two weeks.

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Overview of Study Continued…• each survey was separated into four separate categories:• Student Athletes enrolled in higher level classes• Student Athletes not enrolled in higher level classes • Non-Athletes enrolled in higher level classes• Non-Athletes not enrolled in higher level classes

• the data was then inputted into Microsoft Excel to be sorted into a table.

• all the data was placed into the correct category

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Overview of Study Continued…• charts were created that used data from three of the categories:• student type• enrolled in higher level • GPA

• Four charts were made which displayed the percentage of students from each category who maintained a certain GPA range.

• the percentages from each were then taken and compared in a final graph which compared the overall results of the study

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Observations of data

RESULTS

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Compared GPA’s between

Athletes & Non-Athletes

Note: HLC stands for Higher Level Classes

As displayed by the graph Athletes yielded better results, whether or not they were enrolled in HLC.

1.1 - 1.5

1.6 - 2.0

2.1 - 2.5

2.6 - 3.0

3.1 - 3.5

3.6 - 4.0

NA

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Compared GPA's betweenAthletes & Non-Athletes

Athletes in HLCNon-Athletes no HLCAthletes no HLCNon-Athletes in HLC

Percent of Students in Each Range

GPA

ran

ge

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Athletes not enrolled in

Higher Level Classes

•2 students had the GPA range of 2.1 – 2.5 (7%)

•14 students had the GPA range of 2.6 – 3.0 (47%)

•10 students had the GPA range of 3.1 – 3.5 (33%)

•4 students had the GPA range of 3.6 – 4.0 (13%)

• total: 30 students fit this category

7%

47%33%

13%

Athletes not in Higher Level ClassesAthletes N 2.1-2.5 Athletes N 2.6-3.0 Athletes N 3.1-3.5 Athletes N 3.6-4.0

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Non-Athletes enrolled in

Higher Level Classes

• 1 student had the GPA range 1.6 – 2.0 (1%)

•3 students had the GPA range 2.1 – 2.5 (2%)

•19 students had the GPA range 2.6 – 3.0 (16%)

•47 students had the GPA range 3.1 – 3.5 (39%)

•49 students had the GPA range 3.6 – 4.0 (41%)

•1 student did not know their GPA range (1%)

•Total: 120 students fit in this category

1%

3%

16%

39%

41%

1%

Non-Athletes enrolled in Higher Level Classes

Non Athletes Y 1.6-2.0 Non Athletes Y 2.1-2.5 Non Athletes Y 2.6-3.0 Non Athletes Y 3.1-3.5 Non Athletes Y 3.6-4.0 Non Athletes Y NA

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Non-Athletes not enrolled in

Higher Level Classes

• 2 students had the GPA range 1.6 – 2.0 (4%)

•7 students had the GPA range 2.1 – 2.5 (13%)

•14 students had the GPA range 2.6 – 3.0 (25%)

•25 students had the GPA range 3.1 – 3.5 (45%)

•4 students had the GPA range 3.6 – 4.0 (6%)

•5 students had an unknown GPA range (7%)

•Total: 57 students fit in this category

4%

13%

25%

45%

7%

5%

Non-Athletes not in Higher Level Classes

Non Athletes N 1.6-2.0 Non Athletes N 2.1-2.5 Non Athletes N 2.6-3.0 Non Athletes N 3.1-3.5 Non Athletes N NA Non Athletes N 3.6-4.0

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Athletes enrolled in Higher Level

Classes• 1 student had the GPA range 1.1 – 1.5 (1%)

•1 student had the GPA range 1.6 – 2.0 (1%)

•1 student had the GPA range 2.1 – 2.5 (1%)

•12 students had the GPA range 2.6 – 3.0 (12%)

•34 students had the GPA range 3.1 -3.5 (34%)

•51 students had the GPA range 3.6 – 4.0 (51%)

•Total: 101 students fit into this category

1% 1% 1%

12%

34%

51%

Athletes enrolled in Higher Level Classes

Athletes Y 1.1-1.5 Athletes Y 1.6-2.0 Athletes Y 2.1-2.5Athletes Y 2.6-3.0 Athletes Y 3.1-3.5 Athletes Y 3.6-4.0

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DISCUSSION

Conclusion• Athletes are able to maintain a higher GPA over their non-athlete counterparts whether or not they are enrolled in higher level classes

• A positive correlation between academics and athletes through the high percentage of student-athletes who maintained a 3.6 – 4.0 GPA

• Similar to prior studies there is a relationship between athletics and physical fitness and academic ability

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Significance• shows that students need be focus not only on their mind but on their body as well

• in order to not only keep them physically active but also improve themselves academically

• correlation between the mind and body will stop schools from cutting sports and gym classes from curricula in order to save money

• By promoting physical activity in school the students will increase their abilities in the classroom while providing experiences outside of the classroom

Further Investigation• Be tested on schools in the surrounding areas in order to show a going trend in students across the board.

• Gain the exact GPA of each student in order to maintain a firmer grasp of the data

• More specific in the grouping of students by asking more questions about the student• the grade level • gender of the student

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Limitations• The need to maintain the anonymity of the student.

• The types of questions which can be asked to categorize the students are limited

• Stops other people from being able to identify the students who par-took and were involved in the completion of the study

• Data collection• Through the limited contact with the students involved it was

difficult to gauge when student had questions when answering and completing the survey

• Led to certain parts of the survey to being null and void when analyzing the data.

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Errors in Study• Teachers held on to surveys instead of handing them in

• Caused an extended wait period before analysis of data could begin

• Directions were not followed on the survey for question 3(how many honors level classes the student is involved in) • Listed all HLC instead of just honors classes• took up more time to reanalyze and correct data

• Did not understand question (check off each time a higher level class has a specific average)• Only checked off one average • Answers were skewed, unusable and the question was

disregarded

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References• Begnaud, B. (2007) The effect of athletic involvement on GPA: The benefits of playing a

sport - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com. (n.d.). Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com . Retrieved November 3, 2010, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/146382/the_effect_of_athletic_involvement.html?cat=25

• Broh, B. (2002). Linking extracurricular programming to academic achievement: Who benefits and why?. American Sociological Association, 75(1), 69-95.

• Chomitz, V., Slinning, M., McGowan, R., Mitchell, S., Dawson, G., & Hacker, K. (2009). Is there a relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement? Positive results from public school children in the northeastern United States. Journal of School Health, 79(1), 30-36.

• Coe, D. P., Pivarnik, J., Womack, C., & Reeves, M. (2006). Effect of physical education and activity levels on academic achievement in children. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 38(8), 1515-19.

• Dilley-Knoles, J., Burnett, J., & Peak, K. (2010). Making the grade: academic success in today's athlete. The Sport Journal, 13(1), 7. Retrieved December 20, 2010, from http://www.thesportjournal.org/article/making-grade-academic-success-today- s-athlete

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References continued…• Jonker, L., Elferink-Gemser, M., & Visscher, C. (2009). Talented athletes and

academic achievements: A comparison over 14 years. High Ability Studies, 20(1), 10.

• Jr., Thomas R. M. (n.d.). ATHLETICS - ATHLETICS - Playing sports doesn't lift grades, study finds - NYTimes.com. The New York Times - Breaking

News, World News & Multimedia. Retrieved March 21, 2011, from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE0D81239F935A2575BC0A96F948260

• Silliker, A., & Quirk, J. (2002). The effect of extracurricular activity participation on the academic performance of male and female high school students. American Shool Councelor Association, 44(4), 1-7.

• Stegman, M., & Stephens, L. (2010, December). Athletics and academics: Are they compatible?. High School Magazine, 7, 1-3.

• Vail, k. (2006). Is physical fitness raising grades?. American School Board Journal, 193(30-33), 7.