Nopassnoplay

Resolved: Students not passing all classes will not be able to play sports. Terms: “No Pass No Play policy” - States that students not passing all classes will be ineligible to play high school sports for a defined amount of time Passing grade - Any grade above an F Mission statement - A statement of an entity’s main goal Student Athlete - A student who participates in athletics Facts and Studies: In recent years the U.S. has slipped behind foreign countries in educational ranks. Twenty years ago the U.S. ranked first both among adults ages 25-34 who have a high school diploma, and those who have a college degree. Now the U.S. ranks 9th among adults who have a high school diploma and 7th among adults who have a college degree. Texas and Los Angeles school districts were among the many who realized that the U.S. needed to focus on improving the grades of our students. They enforced rules such as No Pass No Play. Previously both districts had held less demanding eligibility rules. When the No Pass No Play policies were enforced, a large amount of students immediately became ineligible. However, after 2 years of enforcing this rule the number of ineligible students had decreased to the number of students ineligible before the rule was enacted. Very importantly, drop-outs did not increase among students who lost eligibility when the rule was first enforced. Furthermore, the number of students enrolled in honor and advanced classes increased, proving that the rule does not discourage participating in more challenging classes. This proves that many students were able to raise their grades to stay eligible. These districts found that No Pass No Play policies were one of the most successful tools for raising student athletes’ grades. The results of Texas and Los Angeles NO Pass No Play policies support the University of Michigan’s prediction that some students cannot be motivated by academic goals and teachers. For these students the requirement to meet minimum academic guidelines in order to participate in sports provides the needed motivation to improve scholastic performance. Research has been conducted that shows which sport a student selects may impact whether there is a negative or positive effect on scholastic performance. For example most negative links between academics and sports are found in basketball and football. The National Collegiate Athletic Association notes that incoming freshman in basketball have lower high school academic profiles than any other Division I sport, with football athletes maintaining the second lowest academic profile. These sports are most demanding and receive the most attention from the public, thus the students are obliged to work harder. This takes time away from academics. Many opposing parents and coaches complain that controversial No Pass No Play policies limit a student’s high school experiences and take away a major part of student-athletes’ lives. However, the primary and most important duty of a school is to focus on academic success, which is a key part of all adults’ lives. In a time when the US is losing ground in education, schools are only hurting themselves by letting their athletes get by with low grades. Every state must have a NO Pass NO Play rule; however, that state would determine the details of how they would enforce the rule and the period of time that a student would be ineligible. Schools would be required to implement No Pass No Play policies by the school year 2013-2014, thus giving student athletes two years to improve any failing grades. Thank you for listening.