The purposes of this study were to determine the current status of the sports component of a sports school in Malaysia, and to assess the effectiveness of the sports school program with regard to motor performance and academic achievement.

Using information submitted by the administrator and 37 coaches of the sports school, and from record and reports of the sports school, the current status of three main areas of the program; namely, the program content and policy, privilege and opportunities, and training and facilities, was compared to its original plan. Additionally, the level of adequacy for each program areas was determined. The program effectiveness was determined by comparing motor performance scores (flexed arm hang, jump and reach, thirty-yard dash, sit and reach, agility shuttle run, 800-meter run) and academic achievement attained over one school year between students of the sports school and ordinary schools. One hundred sixty boys and 66 girls in the sports school from three age groups; 13-year-olds, 14-year-olds and the 16-year-olds, and a similar number of students from two ordinary schools participated in the study. In addition other variables (stature, body mass, sitting height, skinfolds-boys only, arm and calf circumferences, sexual maturity status-boys only, arm and calf musculatures-boys only, family income, body mass index, place of residence) were measured or constructed to control for pre-existing differences among the subjects in the statistical analyses.

The extent to which the current status of the sports school program met its original plan varied according to the areas being evaluated. Among the three program areas assessed, privileges and opportunities provided to teacher-coaches and students had the least conformity with the original plan. The overall adequacy of the program was rated as moderately adequate. The most adequate area of the program is training and facilities, followed by program content and policy, while the privileges and opportunities area is the least adequate.

There were significant effects of the sports school program on motor performance for boys and girls for all age groups. However, the motor performance tasks affected were not consistent across age groups. The sports school boys had better performance than their counterparts in the ordinary schools on the FAH, SR, ASR, and ER for the 13-year-olds; on the TYD, SLJ, ASR, and ER for the 14-year-olds; and, on the FAH, TYD, and ER for the 16-year-olds. For girls, the sports school students had better performance than their counterparts in the ordinary schools on the FAH, ASR, and ER for the 13-year-olds; on the FAH, SLJ, ASR, and ER for the 14-year-olds; and, on the JR, SLJ, and ER for the 16-year-olds. Among the sports school students themselves, the effect of the program varied among the boys only. The boys in the oldest group had better performance in the FAH and TYD than the two younger groups.

Overall, there was no significant effect of the sports school program on academic achievement. However, for specific age groups, the sports school program had negative effect on academic achievement among the 14-year-olds. The sports school students in this age group had poorer academic achievement than their counterparts in the ordinary schools.