A Cross The Country

For my evaluation of the standards I wanted to look across the country to see if in fact standards not only differed by state but by geographical location as well. While my focus for these standards was physical education, I wanted to compare and contrast standards I am familiar with, New York, and a state I know nothing about, Oregon. After comparing these two states specifically, I wanted to use my classmate’s evaluations to gain an even deeper understanding of the physical and health education standards across the country.

            What I found through my examination of the standards is how specific Oregon was when compared to New York. When looking at New York’s standards they were very broad and generalized to all aspects of physical education with very little specifics. Oregon on the other hand demonstrated very detailed grade oriented standards. These standards were age and grade specific as well as directly connected to the national physical education standards. The Oregon standards were adjusted according to the grade level and even as the grades got higher the standards still connected back to the national standards.  

I find it interesting and upsetting that New York has no justification or rationalization of how their standards meet the national ones. In order for these standards to truly be assessed there must be some justification on their relevance to the overall national physical education guidelines. On top of justification, New York also lacks age/grade specific standards which seem very important when your dealing with developmental levels and age appropriate activities for students grades K-12.

            When looking at other standards that my classmates have located, I see a common trend of very specific age appropriate standards. For example in California the standards are very specific in there requirements as well as their connection back to the national standards. While these California standards are geared towards kindergartners, I find there overall detail to be extremely helpful in understanding the requirements. Other states such as New Mexico, provide less detail and can be generalized to a wide variety of physical education activities, and learning outcomes.

Overall I find it very interesting to see how different states address their learning standards. While some states leave it open to interpretation, others provide benchmarks that are age specific. Personally, the specific standards provide physical education teachers like me with a framework. This framework will ultimately benefit the students to ensure the proper learning outcomes are occurring.