Exploring Assessment of Students in Physical Education: Nationally Representative Survey of School Community in Lithuania

Abstract

Assessment in physical education lessons remains a relevant issue both among practitioners and in scientific discourse. There is also no consensus in Lithuania on the assessment of students in physical education lessons. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate Lithuanian students', their parents', teachers' and school administrators' opinions on the assessment in physical education. A total of 4073 participants (1497 students of 9-10th grades, 1498 parents, 317 physical education teachers, 443 teachers of other teaching subjects, and 318 school administrators) from different schools in Lithuania participated in a questionnaire survey. It was found that from the perspective of the study participants, effort and progress should be assessed most in physical education, then physical fitness, knowledge, and motor skills. The most important criteria for cumulative assessment of students in physical education lessons should be students' progress and achievements, activity in classes and attendance, with knowledge being considered the least important criterion. The study results highlighted the importance of encouraging teachers to more actively communicate learning goals as well as involve students into the evaluation processes.