This article discusses the basis for assessing and grading students in physical education. Although students should dress appropriately for physical education, be physically active during class time, and improve their fitness (e.g., mile-run time), these items are typically not included in the physical education content standards. The vast majority of school districts have based their physical education standards on the National Standards for Physical Education (National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 2004). This is not to say that every state has adopted all six national standards, or that the wording is the same. But the intent of the standards has gathered widespread acceptance by most states. That being said, teachers need to look directly at the standards to determine the manner in which they should grade students. Using physical education standards for grading is known as "standards-based" grading, and it is endorsed by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (BOTS). Once teachers begin to use standards-based assessment, it is time to consider using rubrics instead of grades. Grades have come to mean many things to different people (i.e., good students get good grades). When using rubrics, a shift occurs away from simply rewarding students with grades, to documenting the quality of their performances or learning. As educational reform of assessment has occurred, rubrics, or scoring guides, have emerged as a consistent and fair method for explicitly stating what students are expected to achieve. (Contains 5 figures.)