Public Law 94-142 has specified that all handicapped children must receive appropriate instruction in physical education. Many handicapped children, particularly mildly handicapped children, are placed in regular physical education classes before being assessed to determine what type of P.E. placement is the most appropriate. This study compared qualitative fundamental motor skill performances of 170 non-handicapped (NH) and 138 educable mentally impaired (EMI) students. NH students performed significantly better than EMI students on each of seven skills assessed. Further analyses demonstrated that performances of NH and EMI students improved with age, and when gender differences were present, differences were in favor of male students.
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