Comparison of Academic and Behavioral Performance between Athletes and Non-athletes

Authors

James Eldridge‡, University of Texas of the Permian BasinFollow
Ty B. Palmer†, Texas State University
Kyle Gillis†, Texas State University
Richard Lloyd‡, The University of Texas of The Permian BasinFollow
William G. Squires‡, Texas Lutheran UniversityFollow
Tinker D. Murray‡, Texas State UniversityFollow

Abstract

International Journal of Exercise Science 7(1) : 3-13, 2014. The Toronto Charter for Physical Activity (2010) and several national physical activity plans advocate sports participation as an important part of population targeted physical activity for youth. Emerging research evidence also suggests that sports participation during adolescents is linked to significant positive correlations with academic and behavioral performance. The purpose of this study was to compare academic and behavioral performance between male and female public school athletes (Total N=11,139; 38% Female) and non-athletes (Total N=23,891; 52% Female) in a convenient, ethnicity diverse, sample (grades 7 -12) from the state of Texas (USA). We examined the passing rates of individual athletes and non-athletes on standardized tests (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, TAKS) for math, language arts, reading, writing, science, and social studies. We also examined the percentage of athletes and non-athletes for being “at risk,” for dropping out of school and for the total average number of disciplinary actions. Chi-Square statistical analyses comparing athletes to non-athletes showed that athletes scored significantly better (ppp

Recommended Citation

Eldridge‡, James; Palmer†, Ty B.; Gillis†, Kyle; Lloyd‡, Richard; Squires‡, William G.; and Murray‡, Tinker D. (2014) "Comparison of Academic and Behavioral Performance between Athletes and Non-athletes," International Journal of Exercise Science: Vol. 7 : Iss. 1.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijes/vol7/iss1/2