Health Education Assessment Tools
With growing concerns about obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, AIDS and sexual health, America has become increasingly concerned with the quality of health education in schools. Health education includes both physical education and information on nutrition, diseases and the impact of personal choices on health. Teachers must measure student learning and performance to determine whether their lessons and approaches are working and to make adjustments to their classes and lessons when necessary. Luckily, several well-developed sets of tools can assist them.
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Health Education Assessment Project
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In 1992, 30 states joined forces with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to create the Health Education Assessment Project (HEAP). The program endeavors to promote health both through physical activity and classroom education. The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) oversees the project, which aims to build effective, functioning school programs that promote the purposes and guidelines set forth in the National Health Education Standards from the U.S. Department of Education.
HEAP Tools
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In its efforts to make effective health education a reality, CCSSO has developed numerous lesson and activity ideas for teachers as well as more than 2,000 assessment tools teachers can use to measure students' success. HEAP originally offered these tools exclusively through Harcourt Brace educational publishing, but it now sells them through several education publishers. Schools and teachers can buy books, CD-ROMs, workbooks and website subscriptions to libraries of various tools. Some of these tools focus on measuring physical fitness and tracking student progress toward fitness goals, while others consist of quizzes, examinations, projects and presentations to demonstrate proficiency in areas such as nutrition, communicable diseases and sexual education.
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CDC Tools
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The CDC has expressed the desire for teachers to assess their curricula before they assess students. To that end, it created the Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT), which helps teachers and school district curriculum planners meet national standards. HECAT focuses on nine modules: alcohol and other drugs, healthy eating, mental and emotional health, personal health and wellness, physical activity, safety, sexual health, tobacco and violence prevention. Because states and school districts have different rules and mandates --- for example, some states do not require districts to offer sexual education --- teachers don't always use tools from all the modules. However, these free CDC-developed tools can prove useful as criteria for teachers to examine against their current curricula to make improvements.
Environmental Health
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Unfortunately, some parts of the country face environmental challenges. Pollution and problems from natural disasters have left communities struggling to move forward. In such places, striving to become healthy takes on new dimensions. Health departments and schools work with students and communities to develop strategies for healthier living. The National Association of County and City Health Officials developed the Environmental Health Education Needs Assessment Program (EHENAP) to help figure out how to support communities effectively. Educators can use EHENAP materials to gather useful information and create lessons and activities appropriate to their students' ecological and health needs.
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References
- America School Health Association: Assessment Tools for School Health Education
- Centers for Disease Control: Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool
- Central Michigan University - Michigan Department of Education: Performance-Based Assessment and the SCASS Project
- National Association of City and County Health Officers: Environmental Health Education Needs Assessment Program
- BNet: Education: Standards Based Assessment in School Health Education; Kathy Van Reusen; Summer, 1996
- Toucan Ed: HEAP Materials
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
