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No Pass No Play Rule

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Historical Perspective No pass, no play has been a part of Texas high school football since 1985. During that time, Ross Perot spearheaded a campaign to require higher standards for athletic participation. According to the state law, students must have a passing grade in each class during the grading period they are attempting to participate in the extracurricular activity in order to be eligible to participate. Although the state of Texas was the first to initiate the academic standards, most states quickly followed behind passing similar “no pass / no play” rules. The passing of this law has created controversy since its inception. Many educators, lawmakers, and members of the community support the law; however, some community …show more content…

Negative Impacts of “No Pass/No Play” The “No Pass/No Play” requirement drastically affects the ability for low-income students to participate in extracurricular activities. According to an article in the Washington post in 1995, The correlation between the income of students and their GPA, SAT, or ACT score is strong. Using the current requirement, the NCAA may be restricting participation in extracurricular activities to income not scores. Also, in 1995, the USDOE’s National Center for Education Statistics found that Proposition 48 would cut off more than 1/3 of low-income students and 1/10 of high-income students (Klesse, 2005). Cutoff scores are controversial because a point or half a point difference in a score can determine pass or fail; however, the standardized assessment being used as the measuring stick may require a larger difference before mastery or lack of mastery can be indicated. For example, one additional question correct or incorrect on the SAT can result in a 10-point difference in a student’s score. However, a 120-point difference is needed in the score of a SAT student before a difference in ability can be qualified (Klesse, 2005). Opponents of the “No Pass / No Play” requirements argue that minority athletes will end up

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