WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Why Do We Test Middle Schoolers' Fitness?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Lorn vogel Bomb, and this is a classic episode

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<v Speaker 1>of the podcast. Today's delves into the strange history of

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<v Speaker 1>why we Americans have standardized tests for our middle schoolers' fitness.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, fitness is important to feeling good, but why

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<v Speaker 1>the tests? Hey brain Stuff. I'm Lauren vogel Bomb, and

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<v Speaker 1>believe it or not, I was never particularly the athletic type.

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<v Speaker 1>I have vivid middle school memories of being administered a

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<v Speaker 1>standardized fitness test during gym class. I don't recall ever

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<v Speaker 1>being taught how to do pull ups or curl ups,

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<v Speaker 1>but I sure remember being tested on how many I

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<v Speaker 1>could do in front of my class. The Presidential Fitness

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<v Speaker 1>Test was a battery of physical feats designed to assess

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<v Speaker 1>the health of school age American children. The test has

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<v Speaker 1>since been retired and replaced by the less arbitrary and

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<v Speaker 1>more forgiving physical fitness test known as Fitness Graham, but

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<v Speaker 1>it left a significant mark on scholastic history. It all

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<v Speaker 1>started in the early nineteen fifties, when fitness activists doctor

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<v Speaker 1>Hans Krauss and Bonnie Pruden administered exercise tests to thousands

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<v Speaker 1>of kids throughout the United States, Switzerland, Italy, and Austria.

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<v Speaker 1>US kids came up shockingly short. Fifty eight percent of

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<v Speaker 1>them failed the tests, compared to just eight percent of

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<v Speaker 1>the European kids. Then President Dwight Eisenhower was not pleased.

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<v Speaker 1>He took action by forming the President's Council on Youth

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<v Speaker 1>Fitness in nineteen fifty six to seek out strategies for

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<v Speaker 1>improving American kids fitness scores. Concern mounted by the time

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<v Speaker 1>John F. Kennedy took office in nineteen sixty he penned

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<v Speaker 1>a Sports Illustrated op ed about the perceived problem, an

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<v Speaker 1>excerpt in a very real and immediate sense, our growing softness,

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<v Speaker 1>our increasing lack of physical fitness is a menace to

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<v Speaker 1>our security. And so in nineteen sixty six, the Presidential

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<v Speaker 1>Physical Fitness Challenge commenced, a competition of sorts designed to

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<v Speaker 1>get kids excited about physical fitness as it related to

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<v Speaker 1>military service. The challenge included activities like a softball throw,

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<v Speaker 1>a long jump, and that dreaded pull up, all meant

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<v Speaker 1>to mimic military tasks like grenade throwing and ladder climbing.

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<v Speaker 1>To earn the coveted physical fitness awards, kids would have

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<v Speaker 1>to place in the top eighty fifth percentile based on

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<v Speaker 1>national standards. The problem with all this testing, which by

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<v Speaker 1>the way, was usually done in front of one's peers,

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<v Speaker 1>was that, according to experts, it didn't resemble the Krause

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<v Speaker 1>Weber tests in any way. Rather than focusing on core

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<v Speaker 1>and arm strength and improved flexibility, the Presidential Physical Fitness

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<v Speaker 1>Challenge simply reflected the goals and priorities of the country

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<v Speaker 1>and people who had formed their fitness philosophy during training

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<v Speaker 1>in World War Two years later, in twenty twelve, the

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<v Speaker 1>test was finally abolished and replaced by a more comprehensive

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<v Speaker 1>fitness program designed to support individual goals rather than prescribe

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<v Speaker 1>as standard fitness regimen. The change was the result of

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<v Speaker 1>decades of negative feedback from both students and teachers. Physical

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<v Speaker 1>education teacher Joanna Faber told NPR the test was totally backward.

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<v Speaker 1>We knew who was going to be last, and we

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<v Speaker 1>were in embarrassing them, We were pointing out their weakness.

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<v Speaker 1>So where does that leave us now? And why are

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<v Speaker 1>teachers still testing kids at all? We spoke with Marisol Visali,

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<v Speaker 1>a San Francisco Bay Area physical education teacher and massage therapist.

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<v Speaker 1>She said, the reason for the tests, I believe is

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<v Speaker 1>basically to collect data so the state knows fitness levels

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<v Speaker 1>of different demographics and counties, schools, cities, etc. But we

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<v Speaker 1>teachers do our best to turn it into goal setting

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<v Speaker 1>and teaching students about their bodies. We also turn it

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<v Speaker 1>into awards for students with the most improvements or best

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<v Speaker 1>scores to create some buy in and get them motivated

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<v Speaker 1>to be fit people. While the current program continues to

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<v Speaker 1>focus on specific areas of fitness, there's a decidedly less

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<v Speaker 1>militaristic approach to it. For instance, Fasally says there are

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<v Speaker 1>different options for each of the five categories that are

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<v Speaker 1>tested cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, and body

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<v Speaker 1>composition which is muscle to fat ratio. These options acknowledge

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<v Speaker 1>different types of fitness far better than the original test

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<v Speaker 1>in taking into account the different ways kids' bodies work

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<v Speaker 1>based on age and sex, and acknowledging that fitness is

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<v Speaker 1>a spectrum. So how many kids do well on this test?

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<v Speaker 1>Zali said the number of kids that pass usually depends

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<v Speaker 1>on the school. In Burlingame, California, for example, where I teach,

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<v Speaker 1>most kids pass I'd say eighty five percent, but that

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<v Speaker 1>has to do with a lot more than just our

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<v Speaker 1>awesome physical education teachers. She explains that the kids in

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<v Speaker 1>her community are really active outside of school, whereas in

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<v Speaker 1>poorer areas the number of kids that pass could be

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<v Speaker 1>much lower. For many reasons, children might not be active

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<v Speaker 1>outside of school due to lack of local programs, time,

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<v Speaker 1>or funding. Punishing and humiliating tests certainly aren't the way

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<v Speaker 1>to get kids in shape, but encouraging physical activity of

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<v Speaker 1>some kind is important, since it's been shown to help

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<v Speaker 1>kids build cardio fitness, strong bones and muscles, and even

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<v Speaker 1>reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. According to the Centers

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<v Speaker 1>of Disease Control and Prevention, only twenty one point six

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<v Speaker 1>percent of six to nineteen year old children and adolescents

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<v Speaker 1>in the United States get sixty or more minutes of

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<v Speaker 1>moderate to vigorous physical activity at least five days per week.

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<v Speaker 1>But don't be discouraged. Any activity is better than no activity.

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<v Speaker 1>There are lots of guides online to making fitness fun,

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<v Speaker 1>even for the less coordinated among us. Today's episode is

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<v Speaker 1>based on article could you pass your kids middle School?

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<v Speaker 1>Fitness tests on how stuffworks dot Com, written by Michelle Constantinovsky.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership

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<v Speaker 1>with HowStuffWorks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Playing.

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<v Speaker 1>Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.