Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport Lecture Statewide Physical Fitness Testing

Abstract

Statewide physical fitness testing is gaining popularity in the United States because of increased childhood obesity levels, the relations between physical fitness and academic performance, and the hypothesized relations between adult characteristics and childhood physical activity, physical fitness, and health behaviors. Large-scale physical fitness testing can be fraught with problems unless properly planned and conducted. Legislators, administrators, teachers, and parents should consider the following 10 essential issues when conducting large-scale physical fitness testing purpose of testing, proper planning, training, quality of the data, reporting support, costs, interpretation, programmatic matters, and policies and politics.