Accountability Comes to Physical Education: Education Next looks at 25th Hour P.E.

As policymakers call on schools to help combat childhood obesity, Education Next takes a close look at an innovative P.E. class that holds students accountable for how long and how hard they work out.

Students enrolled in the 25th Hour P.E. class at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, don't break a sweat during the school day. Instead, they workout three times a week, before or after school. While the students are jogging, swimming, playing pickup basketball, going to soccer practice, or walking the dog, they wear monitors that track how long they exercise and whether their heart rates are in the target zone. Students meet with a P.E. teacher once a week to download the data from their monitor to her computer and discuss their workouts. Grades are based on how long students keep their heart rates in the target zone.

For more from Education Next on the role of physical education in fighting obesity, see:
"Not Your Father's PE: Obesity, Exercise, and the Role of Schools" - http://educationnext.org/not-your-fathers-pe/
and
"Don't Sweat It" - http://educationnext.org/dont-sweat-it/

To comment on this video visit http://educationnext.org/accountability-comes-to-physical-education

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Tags:

• Accountability
• childhood obesity
• P.E. class
• 25th Hour P.E. class
• T.C. Williams High School
• Alexandria
• Virginia