| Abstract: | Ninth grade boys from a California junior high school who were participants in interscholastic athletics were compared with non-participants with respect to academic achievement. The athletic group tested higher on academic ability on the School and College Ability Test and earned a higher academic grade-point average. When athletes and non-athletes were matched on SCAT test scores, the athletic group showed higher academic achievement. The majority of boys who participated in sports for only one semester did as well as or better academically during their semester of participation than they did the other ninth grade semester. An incidental finding of the study showed that boys in general showed improved grade-point averages in the ninth grade when compared with their eighth grade records. |
