Fitnessgram

Parent Letter

The Cooper Institute developed FitnessGram, the first “student fitness report card,” in an effort to improve school physical education programs and children’s health. It is a health-related youth fitness assessment that utilizes evidence-based standards to measure the level of fitness needed for good overall health. Developed by The Cooper Institute, FitnessGram was adopted by the Presidential Youth Fitness Program in 2012 and is used in schools nationwide. It serves as a student-centered assessment, reporting, and educational tool used to promote health, fitness and activity in children.

According to The Illinois State Board of Education https://www.isbe.net/enhancedphysicaleducation

"...Illinois has long been a leader in valuing children’s health. Although many states require P.E., Illinois was the first state in the nation to require daily P.E. for all students. Many schools have designed or adopted model programs to meet this requirement and create opportunities for physical activity. Unfortunately, physical activity times in P.E. classes are consistently low. In a typical 30-minute (K-6 grade) class, students engage in only 11 minutes of physical activity. Thus, a tradition­al P.E. class contributes very little to ensuring students are meeting the 60 minutes per day of exercise recommended in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. "

All pupils enrolled in a public or State-operated elementary school, secondary school, ... shall be required to participate in the State assessment, whether by taking the regular assessment, with or without accommodations, or by participating in an alternate form of the assessment (Sections 2 -3.25a and 2-3.64 of the School Code).

The ISBE has a Frequently Asked Questions Document to describe the required assessment for PE.

Links to the Illinois Required Reading

We must ensure that school personnel administering the assessments participate in training related to the proper administration and scoring of the assessment by reviewing the chapters of the FitnessGram Test Administration Manual titled

  1. Test Administration

  2. Aerobic Capacity and

  3. Muscular Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility

  4. and, if applicable,

  5. Brockport Physical Fitness Introduction. Brockport Fitness Test Form and Brockport Data Entry Form

Summary of New Rules: Physical Fitness Assessment, Data Collection, & Reporting

Public Act 98-0859 ensured the creation of the Stakeholder and Expert Task Force on Physical Education. The purpose of the Stakeholder and Expert Task Force on Physical Education was to create recommendations for ISBE to consider for adopting rules for and reporting of the implementation of physical fitness assessments.

The he Stakeholder and Expert Task Force on Physical Education submitted its recommendations to ISBE which ISBE adopted. The rules went into effect Jan. 27 and were released on Feb. 16 in the Illinois Register (Part 1, Section 1.425, pages 2991 and 3013-3016). This new section puts into rule the task force's recommendations regarding the use of the FitnessGram [or the Brockport Physical Fitness Testing protocols for students with disabilities for whom FitnessGram is not appropriate]. These scores must not be used as part of a student's grade or to evaluate teachers.

During the school year, schools must:

  • Ensure that school personnel administering the assessments participate in training or a yearly refresher related to the proper administration and scoring of the assessment by reviewing the applicable chapters of the FitnessGram Test Administration Manual and, if applicable, the Brockport Physical Fitness Test Manual. Each district must maintain evidence of an individual's successful completion of the training and make it available to ISBE upon request.

  • Establish procedures and protocols to ensure the confidentiality of individual student assessment results consistent with the requirements of the Illinois School Records Act and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

  • Begin administering the following four portions of FitnessGram protocols in grades 3-12 in the second semester (first and second semesters preferred for pre and post results) and annually thereafter:

  1. for Aerobic Capacity - the PACER test (recommended) or Mile Run (alternate) or Brockport test (any of the adapted tests for aerobic functioning for students with disabilities) for students in grades 4-12;

  2. for Flexibility - the Back-Saver Sit and Reach test (recommended) or Trunk Lift test (alternate) or Brockport test (any of the adapted tests for flexibility or range of motion for students with disabilities);

  3. for Muscular Endurance - the Curl-Up test or Brockport test (any of the adapted tests for strength and endurance for students with disabilities); and

  4. for Muscular Strength - the Push-Up test or Brockport test (any of the adapted tests for strength and endurance for students with disabilities)

  • Collect and report the following data by your district's established date for grades 5, 7, and 10. The district will report our results to ISBE through the Student Health Data in IWAS by June 30, and annually thereafter:

o number of students tested by grade (5, 7, and 10 only) and gender in each of the four tests above,

o number of students that achieved a healthy fitness zone by grade (5, 7, and 10 only) and gender in each of the four tests above, and

o number of students that were identified as needing improvement by grade (5, 7, and 10 only) and gender in each of the four tests above.

For assistance, including a Q & A document, please go to https://www.isbe.net/enhancedphysicaleducation