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The Atlantic: 'The case against high school sports'

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dick Whitman, Oct 7, 2013.

  1. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    Hundreds of millions of people attend high school sporting events every year.
     
  2. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    I mean this with all due respect: So? What is this an argument in response to?
     
  3. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    Answer to YF's question I'm guessing.
     
  4. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Joe, I don't think the author - miserable as she is at presenting her case - would argue that you aren't working hard for your stipend, although she does note that poor teachers are sometimes hired because they can coach. What I do think she would argue, and a more deft writer could certainly make this case well, is that nonetheless that $1,000 could net more value for the educational process were it spent on something else.
     
  5. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Ah, OK.

    Well, it's probably true. But, as a percentage of the population, certainly less people attend high school sporting events than they used to. Hell, even college football is struggling to lure students to games these days, even in the SEC, as reported recently by the Wall Street Journal.
     
  6. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    It was a response to YF's question, and the insinuation of some that we could just "get rid" of high school sports (or high school sports newspaper coverage) in a vacuum.
     
  7. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    Came across an interesting article that states that schools that place a greater emphasis
    on athletic success have better metrics in the measurement of academic success.

    http://educationnext.org/does-athletic-success-come-at-the-expense-of-academic-success/

    In addition to attainment, we also looked at achievement on state tests:

    We observe similar positive and statistically significant relationships between the success and participation in high school sports and student achievement as measured by the Ohio standardized test results. A 10 percentage point increase in overall winning percentage is associated with a 0.25 percentage point increase in the number of students at or above academic proficiency. (See Table 4) When we examine the effect of winning percentage in each sport separately, once again winning in football has the largest effect. Girls’ basketball also remains positive and statistically significant (at p < 0.10), but boys’ basketball is not statistically distinguishable from a null effect.

    Lastly, we looked at the effect of participation rates in Ohio high schools on overall student achievement:

    As for participation and achievement, the addition of one sport increases the number of students at or above academic proficiency by 0.2 of a percentage point. The addition of 10 students directly participating in a sports team improves the proportion of students at or above proficient by 0.4 of a percentage point. Both of these results are statistically significant at p < 0.01. (See Table 5) When examining just the winter season, adding one winter sport increases the percentage of students performing proficiently by 0.4 of a percentage point, while an additional 10 student able to directly participate in sports during the winter season relates to a 0.6 percentage point increase in students at or above proficiency (see Table 5)
     
  8. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    I wasn't speaking in a vacuum, which is why I noted that this would particularly apply in areas that covered multiple communities. Having grown up in Indiana, I recognize that they may still be a big deal and worth the coverage in small towns. But with few exceptions, every suburban sports editor who runs a high school volleyball gamer on his or her sports front should be immediately summoned to the managing editor's office and relieved of his or her duties.
     
  9. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    That's all just correlation, I'd bet. Those kids are upper-income strivers, for the most part. If there weren't sports, they would find something else to kick ass at. Or they would play sports outside of school, reaping the benefits while the school could spend the money on something more worthwhile. (In theory.)
     
  10. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    In our area an enterprising sports writer left their paper and started a web site dedicated to covering local HS sports. They do a great job with. Articles on all sports, interviews with athletes and even highlight film fed to them by the coaches off their game film.

    Site is funded by local business sponsorships. Perhaps this is the new model for
    covering HS sports.
     
  11. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Boom, there is a guy in my area who essentially did the same thing, except he started a radio sports syndicate and high school sports Web site. He's been at it for a while and I've even written for him a couple times.
     
  12. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    In the end it's the tax payers who control where money is spent. Seems like most still
    want a percentage of their education tax dollars to go to HS sports.
     
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