PE Classes and GPA

seegate

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Jan 3, 2014
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Hello everyone. I keep on hearing different things from different people. Do physical education classes such as boxing and swimming factor into a cadet's GPA, or only the PEA. I do not get why these classes would be weighted into the GPA when that is for academics.
 
It is factored in to both scores, however it only factors in to AD's list, and has no impact on Dean's list. It is factored in to the GPA because you are given class credit for it, just like you would for a PE class at a normal university.
 
I believe the answer is yes. But I remember my son saying they were only like 1 credit vs full credit for the academic classes.

Question....

Didn't PE count towards your Gpa in high school? I know it did for me in high school. Then again, I've read where many schools around the country no longer require PE in high school. that's a problem of its own.
 
You can get kicked out for poor PE grades...
 
I believe the answer is yes. But I remember my son saying they were only like 1 credit vs full credit for the academic classes.

Question....

Didn't PE count towards your Gpa in high school? I know it did for me in high school. Then again, I've read where many schools around the country no longer require PE in high school. that's a problem of its own.

Why is it a problem? In HS, our DS was the track and cross country captain. He also played varsity hockey. They still required him to take gym. For what? He didn't need anymore exercise. Gym was an easy A. His time would have been better spent taking an academic class where he could explore other classes and stretch his mind.

If a HS wants to mandate gym class for non varsity students then I understand that logic. I also understand why the academy grades PE classes and mandates it. Even if you are a basketball player in a SA, you should experience boxing and combat fighting. It should also be graded.
 
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Hello everyone. I keep on hearing different things from different people. Do physical education classes such as boxing and swimming factor into a cadet's GPA, or only the PEA. I do not get why these classes would be weighted into the GPA when that is for academics.

Grading PE at a school where nearly everyone is a great athlete means it's tough to get an A. Note how rare it is for even the most brilliant students to graduate with a 4.0. It's one reason why the Ace's club is so rare. recently, 16 out of 4000 students got this award http://www.usafa.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123378679 .

Chances are, the 1st string linesman on the football team isn't going to get an A in boxing nor is the 6'7" basketball center going to get an A in combat fighting. Their body profiles preclude this from happening.

Since the students mind plays a major part in that gym class performance, I have no problem with it being in the GPA.
 
Why is it a problem? In HS, our DS was the track and cross country captain. He also played varsity hockey. They still required him to take gym. For what? He didn't need anymore exercise. Gym was an easy A. His time would have been better spent taking an academic class where he could explore other classes and stretch his mind.

If a HS wants to mandate gym class for non varsity students then I understand that logic. I also understand why the academy grades PE classes and mandates it. Even if you are a basketball player in a SA, you should experience boxing and combat fighting. It should also be graded.

The problem is; many schools don't do PE classes at all. And in most schools, the majority of kids aren't playing varsity sports. I believe this probably leads to an unhealthy habit forming lifestyle. Even in many elementary schools, they've stopped recess. And people wonder why kids are all wound up and fidgeting. Of course, they can simply mis-diagnose them as ADD/ADHD.
 
A couple notes on this...

1.The prevalent rumor right now is that PE classes are being removed from consideration for Ace's List starting next year. It makes sense-I know a few people who missed it because their A- in a PE class brought them all the way down to a 3.99 for the semester.

2.PE classes here are exceptionally hard to get A's in, even for great athletes. There's a freshman class here called Physical Development where 40% of your grade is a multiple choice test...I'm no star athlete, but I pulled an A- in that class mostly because I did fairly well on the test. Great athletes I know got C's and D's because they did poorly on the test.
 
The problem is; many schools don't do PE classes at all. And in most schools, the majority of kids aren't playing varsity sports. I believe this probably leads to an unhealthy habit forming lifestyle. Even in many elementary schools, they've stopped recess. And people wonder why kids are all wound up and fidgeting. Of course, they can simply mis-diagnose them as ADD/ADHD.
Agreed ^^. Assuming a school doesn't have a PE program. I didn't know there was such a school or disctrict. But prevailing minds at other schools think PE should be mandatory even when someone is a 3 sport athlete. To me, that's a waste of time.

In some of our MN elementary schools, the kids are no longer able to play tag at recess. Why, someone just might get hurt.:rolleyes:
 
A couple notes on this...

1.The prevalent rumor right now is that PE classes are being removed from consideration for Ace's List starting next year. It makes sense-I know a few people who missed it because their A- in a PE class brought them all the way down to a 3.99 for the semester.

2.PE classes here are exceptionally hard to get A's in, even for great athletes. There's a freshman class here called Physical Development where 40% of your grade is a multiple choice test...I'm no star athlete, but I pulled an A- in that class mostly because I did fairly well on the test. Great athletes I know got C's and D's because they did poorly on the test.
Considering the mission of a military academy is physical in nature, it makes sense to keep the PE class in the Ace's list. It the brightest minds cannot get an A in PE because it is incredibly difficult to do so, then they really are not the "Ace's".
 
Disagree-the whole point of the Ace's list is for the Dean to reward students who have great academic records. It's not some joint award from DF and AD-it's a DF specific award. If PE classes were run by DF or didn't already count into the PEA, it would make a little more sense. But why grade someone twice on the same thing?

In addition, cadets who go on exchange to another academy during their 2 degree year don't have to take PE classes at all, and their PEA is frozen for the semester. The Dean doesn't have a problem recognizing those students as Aces if they achieve all A's in their academic courses for that semester....
 
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Disagree-the whole point of the Ace's list is for the Dean to reward students who have great academic records. It's not some joint award from DF and AD-it's a DF specific award. If PE classes were run by DF or didn't already count into the PEA, it would make a little more sense. But why grade someone twice on the same thing?

In addition, cadets who go on exchange to another academy during their 2 degree year don't have to take PE classes at all, and their PEA is frozen for the semester. The Dean doesn't have a problem recognizing those students as Aces if they achieve all A's in their academic courses for that semester....

You make a compelling argument. But PE has been the part of the curriculum from K-12 as well as many colleges for decades. PE has always been calculated in the overall GPA. It's part of what makes the Ace's list impressive. Not only are they academic geeks but they are fantastic athletes among intense competition. Considering this is a military academy where PE is heavily emphasized, I can think of no better place to include it in the GPA. If there is recognition overlap, so be it.

If you want to change the description of the Ace's list to include PE or create another category to ignore PE in the GPA that's fine. But leave the 4.0 overall as the top prize. If only 8-15 students out of 4000 can accomplish that goal, that makes it even more impressive.
 
FWIW: I've known quite a few cadets who have had 4.0gpa for a semester. But I've never known one who went the entire 4 years at the academy and graduated with a 4.0gpa. Not saying it's never happened; just that I don't recall.
 
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