The Academic Benefits of High School Athletics Graduate Degree/ Major: Ms School Counseling

With the current trend in educational budget cuts it is imperative that schools are aware of ways to increase student success. A negative stigma has often been associated with being an athlete. The following study was designed to discover whether students participating in athletics tend to possess significantly different grade point averages, and unexcused absence rates, than their non-athlete counterparts. Fifty students, both athletes and non-athletes, were surveyed at two, rural Midwestern high schools. The grade point averages and unexcused absence rates were obtained and compared during the spring semester of 2008-2009 school year. In previous research, participating in athletics has been shown to increase grade point averages and produce lower truancy rates. The research questions of this study focused on students in these rural high schools and asked: Do athletes possess a significantly different grade point average than nonathletes? Do athletes have fewer unexcused absences than non-athletes? ii