This study examined 16 school district curricula and surveyed teachers in those districts to determine what factors influenced their decisions about what to teach and their professional development. The Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT) instrument was used to assess each school district's written physical education standards and benchmarks. PECAT content coverage scores ranged from 0-64% (m=35.2%), seven districts had scores of 44% or more. The curriculum map analysis of 1060

more »

... enchmarks produced 27% fully aligned, 52% partially aligned and 21% autonomous benchmarks. Five districts had at least one fully aligned benchmark for content associated with their district standards. PECAT and the curriculum maps scores were correlated (r=.58, p=.0001). Teachers reported little to no professional development related to curriculum. The results of this study partially support Chen's (2006) observation of a "disturbing" misalignment of standards for physical education offered in some schools today. This study goes beyond previous work by providing empirical evidence about curriculum alignment. Better district curriculum maps and PECAT scores were associated with teacher decisions based on student assessment (e.s.=.86) and student needs (e.s.=.81) by using PECAT and curriculum mapping.