Approximately 25 percent of kids can’t pass physical fitness
test
Morgan Hill – It only takes seven push-ups, nine trunk lifts, four pull-ups, plus several other fitness measures, for fifth, seventh and ninth-grade students to be considered in the “healthy fitness zone,” or HFZ by the California Department of Education.
Yet approximately 25 percent of the Morgan Hill Unified School District students tested could not meet all the standards.
Compared to the county student scores, which averaged about 30 percent who could not meet all standards for all three grade levels, local students successfully completed more of the physical fitness tasks – which include aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength and endurance, trunk strength and flexibility, upper body strength and endurance and flexibility.
El Toro Elementary fifth-grade teacher Jackie Lee said that when elementary teachers make a commitment to fitness, the students benefit.
“El Toro has made a concerted effort to work at the fitness standards, especially in the fifth grade, the level the students first take the test,” she said. “A commitment to the Fit for Learning program through the County Office of Education, our commitment to the Krauss Center and our Healthy Kids project all support our efforts to go ahead and put a stronger emphasis on fitness.
“We have started the students seriously in the fall, started having our kids run the mile, every Friday morning at 7:45. We record their times, some teachers even have their students graph their times for the trimester. We have an eight-minute-mile club; we already have kids who are meeting that goal, the kids have real positive attitudes.”
Looking at statewide averages, the picture is more dismal. About 75 percent of students tested couldn’t pass all fitness categories.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell was disappointed with the results.
“The 2006 test scores show a modest 1 percent gain in overall performance compared to last year’s results,” he said. “These numbers tell us that too many of our students are leading sedentary lives exacerbated by poor eating habits. This is a destructive trend that has resulted in an epidemic of childhood obesity and must be reversed.”
Compared to neighboring districts, Morgan Hill students performed better than most but not as well as some. More Los Gatos Union Elementary District fifth and seventh-graders tested in the HFZ in most categories, as did more Evergreen School District fifth and seventh-graders. But Morgan Hill students generally outperformed Oak Grove and Gilroy students.
When students take the California physical fitness test, the object is that they achieve the minimum fitness levels for six fitness areas, and the results are pass/fail; either the students achieve the minimum or they are not considered in the HFZ.
Students must perform at a minimum level in several exercises, including a one-mile run, push-ups, pull-ups and trunk lifts. The moves are designed to measure different areas of strength, including aerobic capacity, which the CDE describes as “perhaps the most important indicator of physical fitness and assesses the capacity of the cardiorespiratory system by measuring endurance.”
The physical fitness test was administered to about 1.4 million California students this year. Results show that 25.6 percent of fifth-graders, 29.6 percent of seventh-graders and 27.4 percent of ninth-graders passed the fitness test’s six areas.
“The message from these annual tests continues to be abundantly clear and it is imperative we get that message through to our young people. Being physically fit is not only healthier, but studies have shown it can lead to higher academic achievement,” O’Connell said. “It is up to us to provide ample opportunities to get them moving and motivated. Schools have the responsibility for providing standards-based physical education instruction, families can participate in regular physical activities, and communities play multiple roles in meeting the physical activity needs of children and adults.”
MHUSD has taken steps in the past several years to emphasize fitness, including focusing on bringing back structured physical education to its elementary schools.
Fifth graders in the district are required to exercise for approximately 30 minutes, while the state requirement is 20 minutes. Local seventh and ninth graders typically have one 50-55-minute period of PE per day.
Middle school students take PE as a regular part of their day, and high school students are required to take two years of PE, but at the elementary level, the classroom teachers are often the “coaches,” and the level of structured PE activities, as compared to general recess play, often varied from classroom to classroom.
The district is also embracing new nutrition guidelines, designed to both teach kids healthy eating habits and also insuring food eaten at school – including party food – is healthier than traditional lunch and party menus.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@*************es.com.
