Over the past two years, Gateway Regional High School students have wondered why they receive 80s for their daily participation grade, a C. The answer, surprisingly, is because they have worn jeans. Students have called this practice unfair for many reasons.
For one, it isn’t listed in the PE rubric or syllabus that students will receive this point deduction. Secondly, it seems that the practice of deducting 20 points off students’ daily grades is quite arbitrary, as students are still allowed to participate to the fullest extent while wearing jeans.
In this article, we question this policy and the grading practices surrounding it and offer potential solutions where the school and the students could potentially meet in the middle.
Readers should note that whilst there isn’t a clear policy on this matter, we refer to the practice of point deductions as a policy throughout this article.
It also appears that the policy of assigning an 80 for wearing jeans is inconsistent amongst gym teachers, but it does seem to be the most common practice.
Our Investigation
To start, we looked at the most obvious source of information, Gateway’s physical education rubric. Nowhere is it made clear in it that students will lose points for wearing jeans. Whilst it is mentioned in the PE syllabus that “Students will wear the required physical education attire,” it is not made clear in the rubric or under consequences that students will be graded on this.
Grading in PE is based on New Jersey’s state standards, which are outlined in the rubric; however, grades are assigned before students even get the chance to demonstrate their mastery of these standards.
After a request, Dr. Mount, Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Gateway Regional High School, agreed to an interview, attended by Desmond McCue, grade 9, and Alex Noble, grade 10. When asked about the policy regarding jeans during gym class, she responded that it is left up to the individual teachers’ discretion. This isn’t mentioned within the PE rubric, linked on the Gateway Health and PE website, which only mentions specific standards in rubrics.
Furthermore, Gateway’s own Grading and Testing Practices mentions that students are to be graded on “Assignments completed in class or as additional practice at home,” and “Long range performance assessments,” of which the attire we wear to PE class does not fall under.
This is synonymous with forgetting to bring a Chromebook to class. Teachers can still give the student the assignment on paper, and the student cannot lose points on things they are unable to participate in without their Chromebook, as the grading policy prohibits grading on participation.
We believe the same logic should be applied to PE class, with students unable to lose points for wearing jeans, because the attire we wear does not constitute a grade under Gateway’s policies. It is no different than forgetting a Chromebook because students in jeans who lose points are still able to participate, just like they can on paper in class without losing points.
When asked about specific evidence that makes jeans a safety hazard, Dr. Mount said that the burden of proof was on the students to prove that jeans are not dangerous, rather than on the school to prove that they are dangerous. This shows a lack of coherent information demonstrating that jeans are inherently dangerous.
Throughout the interview, Dr. Mount offered to change the policy to make jeans in gym class a full 0, which our interviewers perceived as an act of retaliation, which would go against the New Voices Act in New Jersey.
In the following interview with Mr. DiCicco, who supervises athletics and PE at Gateway Regional High School, attended by Desmond McCue, grade 9, Alex Noble, grade 10, and Laurel Barrett, grade 11, Mr. DiCicco answered questions about the PE grading policy and provided coherent explanation.
When asked about why students can’t earn 100% for their daily gym grade when they are wearing jeans, even though they are still allowed to participate, Mr. DiCicco stated:
Mr. DiCicco also agreed that for many activities in PE, such as walking, there are no real concerns over health/safety or range of motion when jeans are worn.
It was also brought up that because students have the freedom to choose which activities they would like, students could potentially choose activities that are completely appropriate for jeans.
School’s Perspective
In the eyes of the school, policies of this matter are quite ubiquitous amongst other schools and gyms, and this may be the reason why this policy had been established in the first place.
When asked about the policy, one gym teacher recommended wearing sweatpants on top of jeans and said that this would allow students to earn a 100 for their daily grade in gym class.
When this was brought to the attention of Mr. DiCicco, he remarked that such an “act of rebellion” was “disrespectful” to gym teachers. This is evidence of a major disconnect if this was the teacher’s recommendation.
Mr. DiCicco also stated that taking off points for wearing jeans is more of a “post-pandemic thing,” as students were not able to change during the pandemic as it would be more dangerous to have students change in a cramped locker room than to simply let students participate with whatever clothes they wanted. From this, we can make the point that if jeans weren’t dangerous during the pandemic, why are they now?
Students’ Perspective
To students, this policy seems ridiculous. It makes no sense whatsoever to allow students to participate in PE if jeans are, in fact, a health or safety issue. Students receive an 80 for the day, with no real explanation of what this 80 means, or why it is assigned, simply that it is “policy,” albeit unwritten. On this basis, we must ask why it is that such policies exist in the first place. What is the interest of the school in such policy?
Secondly, we understand that there are freedom/range of motion concerns while wearing jeans. However, we must bring up the point that the goal of gym class is to get students active and moving, not to turn them into professional athletes.
It must also be noted that a study analyzing specific parameters (lumbar and hip movement during trunk flexion) found that there was no significant difference between “general jeans,” and wearing no pants (Yoo, 2012). We also realize that policies prohibiting jeans aren’t all that uncommon.
However, we would like to point out that in the interview with Mr. DiCicco, with regard to fashion changes, he stated:
We believe that this statement should be applied when these policies are created, reviewed, or updated.
Laurel Barrett shared a story from earlier this year recounting the time she debated the cotton blend and elasticity of her mock-corduroy pants after 20 points were taken off her grade for them.
She shared, “My points were returned. My friend made fun of me for speaking up to recover my points, and I replied that it was worth it since those points were taken off a quiz grade. I wasn’t willing to lose the points before I even started the activity, especially if I wasn’t being assessed on a skill.”
Ironically, she ended up being on the leaderboard while wearing the fitness monitor and those pants that day.
![](https://thechompgateway.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-9.30.36-PM-502x600.png)
Solution(s)
With the flaws of the policy pointed out, we would like to provide two solutions.
Solution A is that students can make up the lost points by completing an alternate assignment. We think this should be in place because Gateway encourages retakes and this would be a fair way for students to make up points that they lost for wearing jeans.
We also believe this should be in place because students who already miss three days of gym class have to do an alternative assignment to make up lost points (per the PE syllabus), so it seems fair to offer an alternate assignment to recover lost points for jeans.
Solution B is to allow students to receive full credit on certain activities that jeans don’t impede on. The way PE works is that students choose activities that they will do over 2 weeks.
For example, one selection might consist of football, badminton, or walking the track. Badminton and walking the track are two examples of activities that students should be able to score a 100 on, as there is no reason why jeans would impair their ability to do either to the fullest extent.
To conclude, Gateway’s current policy, which isn’t a written policy, doesn’t seem to have sound reason for existing. No one could fully explain why it’s in place or what purpose it serves.
We think our solutions are best summed up by Mr. DiCicco:
Special thanks to Mrs. Barrett, adviser to The Chomp, for her guidance on this article; Dr. Pierro, GRHS principal, for your support of us addressing this issue; and Laurel Barrett, Editor-in-Chief of The Chomp, for attending the interview with Mr. DiCicco.
Jim Gooding • Mar 16, 2024 at 10:06 am
I appreciate you all supporting the students. It is a well worded article, but misinformed. The rubric referenced is for movement and skill concepts. This is how students are assessed for their primary grades in PE (summative assessment). Students are given a secondary grade (formative assessment) based on preparedness and warm ups. This is shared in the course syllabus for how the students are supposed to dress. This is how most if not all PE programs are run in our county. Wearing jeans, khakis or corduroy pants to PE class limits the chance for success and improvement. I realize not all students enjoy PE. I didn’t enjoy english class (shocker) but I still did it, gave it my all and was respectful. Its part of the mentality of being successful. Doing things we don’t want to and building mental grit and toughness to apply in other disciplines. I will ask the same of my students with this oh so simple task.
Colleagues please remember to wear athletic wear to the pickle ball or yoga sessions on Monday.
Laurel Barrett • Mar 16, 2024 at 11:03 am
Thank you very much for supporting student journalists and for interacting with our writers, Mr. Gooding. Each time we receive a comment, more readers are offered the opportunity to access their article, which will help us meet our goal of increased engagement in our first year on this platform. However, by making a comment here, you must understand that you are commenting directly to student writers of this specific article, not to those who have commented before. So, including a PSA message to your colleagues reminding them to wear athletic wear likely won’t be seen by participants of yoga and pickle ball.
You also mention that these writers are misinformed, and I disagree as someone who mentored their research. You read that those who contributed to this piece interviewed your supervisor, Mr. DiCicco. Those who investigated and wrote this article did extensive research and based their conclusions (and article) on a lack of a clear written gym policy. The gym syllabus only states what must be worn. There are no rubrics that outline formative assessments related to preparedness and participation. Nor are there consequences mentioned under the consequences section of the syllabus. Furthermore, there is no verbiage at all about daily secondary grades. The writers of this article aptly pointed this out and linked to both documents. The writers’ main purpose is to initiate revision to Gateway’s gym policy so that it matches assessment practices consistently among all Gateway students’ experiences. Because it doesn’t as written, our writers, who are among the brightest and most successful at Gateway, noticed lack of written policy as well as incompatibility between how verbal policies are practiced and how Gateway testing policies and practices are written. As Mr. DiCicco pointed out once we shared our extensive research with him, “Maybe you are right. Maybe it’s time for change.”
It is possible that other schools within the same county have clearer written policies. Thank you for bringing that to our attention, so our writers can research that further. Also, nowhere in this article did any writer mention that they didn’t like gym class. On the contrary, they do. The main writer of this article is a cross country athlete for Gateway. Additionally, it is an assumption on your part that these student writers don’t have mental grit and aren’t successful. Again, these writers are academic leaders and record crushers because of their mental grit. It is okay to attack ideas but not people when you disagree. It is students with these qualities that have the inquisitiveness to notice where policies and logic fall short, and they did so respectfully.
Lastly, your presumed “oh so simple task” of wearing jeans can be an equity issue. Not everyone has access to clean athletic wear daily, and not everyone has access to a stall to change privately because of other issues, such as vaping. To your point, I’ve witnessed students wearing jeans consistently top the leader board while wearing the fitness trackers.
Thank you again for interacting with our student writers. We appreciate that you took the time to be part of the conversation so that The Chomp could reiterate their purpose and call to action.
– Laurel Barrett, Editor-in-Chief
Jim Gooding • Mar 16, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Happy to help Laurel. As I mentioned to you during PE class I think it’s great what you’re doing with the CHOMP. I said I thought the layout looks well thought out and professional. Kudos to you and the staff. We all have grit in different ways, and I’m not implying your writers have no grit, but in wearing jeans when they don’t want to will it will help them sharpen their skill of doing things they don’t like when they are required. They clearly have a passion for writing which allows you all to be gifted at what you do. I’ve told you that many times in person while in our Health class how impressed I was with drawings or other activities you were developing on your iPad for other classes.
However, its been made clear many times to students jeans are not proper athletic wear for PE. At the start of the school year, reiterated daily, reintroduced when we came back from health at the start of the 3rd marking period. If a rubric is needed to spell that out our PE staff will get that done.
Wearing jeans to PE class even for those a top the leader board are hindering their abilities. I’ve had students take their heart rates into the red zone (90% of max HR) while wearing jeans and thinking how uncomfortable that has to be and how they might be able to operate in the optimal performance range of green (70%) or orange (80%) if they were wearing more breathable fabrics. There is plenty of research out there too on why wearing jeans is bad for physical activity. Most if not all public gyms do not allow jeans to be worn. I am doing my best to set my students up for life long fitness and many of them will find there way into a public gym at some point during adulthood.
I do my best to combat the vaping problems in the locker rooms. I know it is extremely unfortunate for students who actually need to use the bathroom. Maybe bringing awareness to our school’s vaping problems could be a topic for the next issue.
I appreciate you sharing your opinions and you listening to mine. If you’d ever like to discuss these matters in person I’d be happy to sit down with you and any of your writers as I was not included in the last round of interviews. Please enjoy the rest of your weekend : )
Joseph J Snyder • Mar 12, 2024 at 7:39 pm
This is ridiculous. Who cares if you wear jeans or not? What does that have to do with anything? I’ve seen adults play softball wearing jeans. People who participate in rodeos where jeans. There’s no health issue and there’s no danger (unless you’re going swimming!) There’s no good reason to penalize anyone for wearing jeans to gym class. So unless it’s formally written in some handbook, syllabus, etc. that jeans are required in gym class then it’s absolutely ridiculous to reduce a student’s grade for wearing jeans in gym class.
Laurel Barrett • Mar 16, 2024 at 11:18 am
Thanks so much for your comment, Mr. Snyder. That was their goal, to share that actions (grades) should meet written policy. That’s why written policies exist. Thank you for supporting our publication’s writers with a comment.
– Laurel Barrett, Editor-in-Chief
Jackson Harker • Mar 11, 2024 at 9:11 pm
Bona est!
Laurel Barrett • Mar 16, 2024 at 11:18 am
Gratias tibi ago!
Melissa Powell • Mar 10, 2024 at 2:51 pm
Great research and so well written! Good job!!
Laurel Barrett • Mar 16, 2024 at 11:32 am
Thank you for supporting The Chomp, Mrs. Powell. I’ve shared your supportive comments with the article’s writers!
-Laurel Barrett, Editor-in-Chief
Jill Reichman • Mar 10, 2024 at 2:29 pm
Excellent job investigating policy equity and posing thoughtful solutions. I am really impressed with the article!
Laurel Barrett • Mar 16, 2024 at 11:21 am
Thank you for interacting with our writers, Mrs. Reichman. Policy equity matters. The writers appreciate that you were impressed with their product. Comments like this keep writers motivated.
Thank you!
– Laurel Barrett, Editor-in-Chief
Anonymous • Mar 10, 2024 at 1:31 pm
Yes! I’m in the weight room doing arm exercises. Jeans have no effect on my academic performance. We need change. And a message to the staff, why don’t you want your students to ask questions and want change? That’s the foundation of both our country and intellectual thought. The burden of proof is on the enforcers not the enforced.
Laurel Barrett • Mar 16, 2024 at 11:25 am
Thank you for your comment, Anonymous! We appreciate that you support change. I do want to share that our administration does support student inquiry. Barring a hiccup or two, writers of this article received a lot of support through their investigation process, and they do think policies will be clarified.
-Laurel Barrett, Editor-in-Chief
MELISSA ECKSTEIN • Mar 10, 2024 at 12:43 pm
Well written and thought provoking article! Kudos to all involved!
Ask hard questions! ❤️
Laurel Barrett • Mar 16, 2024 at 11:26 am
Thank you for always supporting student writers, Mrs. Eckstein. It keeps us motivated!
-Laurel Barrett, Editor-in-Chief