Fitness Testing And PE
Support needs to be given to your local physical education (PE) program. PE is such an important component of your child’s complete school experience. Not only does PE increase your child’s cognitive skills, but it is teaching them lifelong skills needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This web site has exposed many times that the lack of PE and funding for PE in the schools has had a large impact on the overall health of our children.
The article today from Recordnet.com ( link ) supports the need for quality PE. “Physical education programs at many public schools are not as strong as they could be. Some districts don’t have money to hire teachers who specialize in P.E., fitness advocates have said, and others overlook the discipline in their focus on academics.” Experts are hoping this is going to change. “California’s budget for 2006-07 includes $40 million in ongoing grants to help schools hire credentialed P.E. teachers. The budget also includes a one-time allocation of $500 million for arts and P.E. equipment.”
California law requires schools to measure the physical fitness of their fifth-, seventh- and ninth- graders every year. On a positive note, some schools in California have showed a slight gain in physical fitness. Below is a ‘snip’ of what the children in California measured on their fitness tests with a brief description of the terminology. Many parents always ask what is on a fitness test and what it measures. The list below will help answer that question.
• Aerobic capacity: According to the state Education Department, this is possibly the most-important indicator of fitness and is measured through an endurance test. Students can complete the test through a one-mile walk or run, or by running back and forth across a 20-meter distance for as long as possible.
• Body composition: This estimates the percentage of a student’s weight that is fat, as opposed to muscles, bones and organs. To make this estimate, schools can take measurements of the skin folds on the back of the students’ upper arms and the insides of their calves. Because taking those measurements can be controversial, schools also have the option of calculating a body-mass index based on height and weight.
• Abdominal strength: Students are asked to do as many curl-ups as possible, to a maximum of 75 at a specified pace.
• Trunk-extension strength: This has to do with lower-back health. Students are asked to lift their upper bodies 12 inches off the floor using their back muscles.
• Upper-body strength: Students may be asked to complete as many push-ups or pull-ups as possible. They also can complete a flexed-arm hang in which they hang with their chins above a bar for as long as possible.
• Overall flexibility: Students are directed to sit and reach over their extended legs. They also might complete a shoulder stretch in which their are asked to touch their fingertips together behind their backs by reaching over one shoulder and under the other.
10 comments December 11th, 2006 by Len Saunders