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For many California ninth-graders, it's shape up or more PE

Comment by Donna Metler: Sigh. . . I remember the presidential physical fitness tests, and having the scores graphed on the wall of the gym. I also remember being the lowest every single solitary year, because, due to my cerebral palsy, my motor skills ran 3-5 years behind those of my peers, I couldn't run really at all, and so on. There's nothing like being the one person in class, any class, who always fails the test every year-and every year, hearing how "our WHOLE SCHOOL can get a reward if everyone just tried to do their best, because EVERYONE can make the minimum,"

I couldn't. Ever. I probably couldn't have passed the kindergarten standard for running as a high school senior. Heck, as an adult, I can tell you that my 3 year old daughter has a good chance of outrunning me-the only advantage I have, thus far, is longer legs!

By standards of my disability, I'm extremely well compensated. I'm mobile, I'm able to do just about anything I want to do, even if not wonderfully well, and I don't have a lot of excess pain or too many "bad days". In high school, I walked several miles a day and swam most of the year. I was just the geeky kid who passed PE based on learning the rules of the game, being a team player, always dressing for PE, and trying hard, while physically never making the goal. Luckily, when I was in school, being a team player, trying hard, following the rules, and so on was considered more important than being able to run a mile.

And I pity the poor kid who fails physical fitness and is stuck with extra PE each year and struggles academically too. Since the usual requirement is "Fail the test, take another class," once you add an extra PE class, math class, English class, and so on, you've pretty much made it impossible to graduate on time--which, for most students, will make it unlikely that they'll graduate at all.

by Deb Kollars

In California public schools, kids have been tested for physical fitness for many years. If they could do the push-ups and run a quick mile – great. If not – no big deal.

This spring, that is changing for many of the half-million ninth-graders across the state. For the first time, high school freshmen in many districts must pass five of six fitness exams or face the possibility of extra years in physical education classes.

In gym after gym, the pressure is on. Kids are being pressed to run, reach, push, stretch and pull like their bodies and their futures depend on it.

"OK, who wants to try the push-ups?" Cici Robinson called out to her freshman physical education class at El Camino High School on Tuesday. "Girls, to qualify, you need to do at least seven. If you do more than 15, you're above the standard."

Two boys and a girl took their places on the gym floor. A voice on a recording set the pace: "Down. Up. One. Down. Up. Two … "

Twenty counts later, then 25, then 26, the three students called it quits. All had shown they were above or within the "healthy fitness zone" for upper body strength for students their age and gender.

"Nice job," Robinson said. "Who's next?"

For Robinson and PE teachers across the state, it has been a year of intense practice and pushing to get kids ready for this spring's round of fitness testing. Many have welcomed the challenge, which comes against the backdrop of rising rates of obesity and the price of diabetes, heart disease and other health problems in people's lives.

"It's a new year for physical education," said Nancy Carr, interim physical education consultant for the California Department of Education. "California students are being asked to work on becoming physically fit for life."

Doesn't affect graduation

The state has long required students in grades five, seven and nine to be tested in six major fitness areas: aerobic capacity, body fat measurements, abdominal strength and endurance, trunk strength and flexibility, upper body strength and endurance, and overall flexibility. Some of the categories have several choices of tests, while others offer one way to pass.

Results get reported every year, celebrated when they are good, and set aside as a fact when they are not.

Under legislation taking effect this school year by Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, many freshmen now must pass five of the six fitness tests this spring or face a significant new consequence: Those who fail must take physical education again as sophomores, where they will face the same testing hurdles. Each year that they continue to fail two or more tests means another year of PE.

The testing results do not affect students' ability to graduate, Torlakson said. Ninth-graders who pass five or six tests still must take another year of PE, but in many districts they will have a choice of which year they enroll.

"We want our students to be healthier. That's the whole goal," Torlakson said, noting that educators have found a correlation between health and fitness and a student's ability to learn well.

Not all districts must comply because of differences in the way they exempt certain students from physical education.

But many school systems are embracing the new legislation with stopwatches, clipboards, weight scales and big doses of encouragement. Among them: San Juan Unified and Elk Grove Unified in the Sacramento area.

In both districts, about 67 percent of ninth-graders last year met the five-out-of-six passing rate. District representatives expect that number to rise this spring because the tests have been such a big focus this year.

"The message is out how serious this is," said Joanne Clark, retired physical education specialist in Elk Grove Unified, which has worked aggressively to build a strong PE program across all grades. "Students' wellness is extremely important for the quality of their life."

Robinson agreed.

"I've been telling my students from the beginning of the year that this year it counts," Robinson said. "I put it out there as early as I could so they would take it seriously. And I have seen a lot of improvement."

Student philosophical

In California, districts typically require just two years of PE to graduate. They do so backed by a tangle of laws contained in the California Education Code.

Under the code, students are to be enrolled in physical education all four years of high school, said Carrie Strong-Thompson, a consultant with the state Department of Education. But in an odd dichotomy, the code requires only two years of PE to graduate.

"There's a disconnect," Strong-Thompson said. The law offers several ways that districts can "exempt" students from the four-year requirement, and many do so, she said. The state doesn't track exemption patterns.

Under the new Torlakson legislation, some students could face as many as four years of physical education. It has some students concerned about being in a course they don't enjoy and missing out on other electives.

Others, however, have found themselves thinking it might not be a bad idea.

Oscar Luna is a 14-year old in Robinson's class at El Camino. When he first heard about the new requirement, he was worried. He is 5-foot-11, and quick to acknowledge he is heavier than is healthy.

As Luna learned about the six tests and the minimum proficiencies, he realized he would have a tougher journey than some of his peers: "I know I can't pass the body weight test," he said. "That means I have to pass all the other five."

On Tuesday, Luna passed a stretching test. And he is sure he can do the minimum number of push-ups when his turn comes. The problem, he said, is that he cannot run a mile. He is pinning his hopes on passing an optional walking test, but also bracing for the possibility he will not pass five tests.

In recent weeks, he has become philosophical about possibly spending an extra year or two in physical education.

"I think I actually may need more PE than most people," he said. "It probably would be good for me."

Not all educators find the state's fitness exams a great measure for all students. To Brian Prahl, a longtime PE teacher in Elk Grove Unified, some tests are too easy, while the body composition tests can unfairly penalize athletes with lots of muscles.

But overall, he said, the new requirements and energy swirling around them are a healthy step for a state where millions of children and adults are overweight, sedentary or both.




— Deb Kollars, with comment by Donna Metler
Sacramento Bee
2008-04-24


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