School athletes get preferential treatment

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HAIFA, Israel, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Student athletes who compete in high school leagues receive preferential treatment from parents and school officials, University of Haifa researchers say.

The study, conducted by Sharon Yaniv, Ron Lidor and Avigdor Klingman, examined 203 students from 7th to 12th grade in four schools in northern Israel who participate in high school sports leagues.

Some of the students were on their school all-star teams; others were active in various sports leagues and the rest, as the control group, were student-musicians. Seventy-five percent of parents allowed their child to skip an exam for an important game, compared to 47 percent of parents of young musicians who agreed to let a child choose a performance over an exam.

The study also found 66 percent of all-star athletes reported their school helped them in extending deadlines for assignments and exams, compared to 44 percent of musicians and 30 percent of those in sports leagues. Sixty-three percent of the all-star athletes responded that their school helped them with tutoring sessions -- compared to 11 percent of those in leagues and 8 percent of musicians.