Future Directions for the Praxis

You should be aware that the Praxis Physical Education Exams are constantly under revision. In fact, a significant number of new test items began to appear in 0091 Physical Education Content Knowledge during the September of 2002 test administration. ETS reports that more new test items are coming in 2003. Here are some topics that might appear on future Praxis tests.

Tests and Measurements / Assessment - with the nation continuing to emphasize testing and high stakes assessments for K-12 students you can expect the Praxis Exams to include more questions on standardized tests and assessments

Alternative Assessment - See the introduction and appendix of Moving into the Future. Recent issues of Strategies and JOPERD have pertinent information.

Rubrics - See Moving into the Future and recent issues of Strategies and JOPERD.

The Developmental Perspective - NASPE's Looking at Physical Education from a Developmental Perspective: A Guide to Teaching, written by the Motor Development Task Force, is continuing to shape the direction of physical education teacher education.  The Task Force greatly influenced Moving into the Future. In my opinion, a "developmental perspective," as defined in this booklet, is essential to scoring well on the Praxis Physical Education Content Knowledge Exam. Go to The Developmental Perspective page for more information.

The Tactical Approach to Teaching Physical Education - This approach has been prominent since the 1996-1997 journals. Despite its failure to catch on in the public schools, it seems that this movement may impact the PE teacher education and Praxis PE Exams.  Currently in-service teachers don't seem as enthusiastic about this curriculum model as the professional journals. The tactical approach to teaching games reminds me of NASPE's Basic Stuff Series from the late 1980s. Few schools actually adopted a Basic Stuff curriculum but the legacy of the concepts approach to teaching K-12 physical education is still seen in schools today.