Myth vs. Fact
Myth
Participation in extracurricular activities decreases when schools implement random student drug testing programs.
Fact
To date, more than 750 schools have implemented random student drug testing programs. A number of these schools indicate that the presence of a testing program does not appear to reduce levels of student participation in extracurricular activities; in fact, the levels have remained stable or actually increased. In Florida’s Polk County schools, for example, where athletes are randomly drug-tested, 448 more students tried out for sports in 2005 than in 2004, and 319 more students tried out for sports in 2004 than in 2003.
Published studies support these findings. In Oregon, the Student Athlete Testing Using Random Notification (SATURN) study found that sport-activity participation increased by over 10 percent in schools with a random testing program. In addition, on a recent survey of high school principals in Indiana with 54 principals responding, 45 percent of principals in schools with random student drug testing programs reported increases in student participation, and no principals reported a decrease (see “Principals Claim Testing Brings a Wealth of Benefits”).