The Pacer Test

The PACER (an acronym standing for Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run) is a multistage fitness test adapted from the 20-meter shuttle run test published by Leger and Lambert (1982) and revised in 1988 (Leger et al.).

It is a 20-meter shuttle run, where students run back and forth as many times as they can between two markers, using an audio signal to guide their pace. One meter is a little more than one yard.

Every fall and spring Durham students grades 3-5 participate in the Pacer Test. They work with a partner who counts and marks the laps completed on the sheet you can see to the left.

In the fall students are running to get a base number of laps. In the spring we repeat the test with the goal of beating the number of laps completed in the fall. 

KG, 1st and 2nd graders do a modified version of the PACER test (shorter distance and different speed).

The PACER test has often gotten critical reviews from professionals and the public. To me it is important that children get a chance to push themselves every once in a while. This is especially important growing up in a world that rarely demands being pushed physically. I tell my students to think of the pioneers or farmers when no machinery was available - back then people had to be physically fit and they had to push themselves daily just to survive. Today, we hop in the car or on a plane to get to places, we don't even have to leave the house because we can do our shopping online. When will we learn about our physical limits? The PACER test does give such an opportunity on a small scale - that's why I offer it to my students. 

It is also important to know when to stop. "How to listen to your body" is a valuable lesson we all need to learn. 

I am against using a test like the PACER to assess physical ability, but I support and include it in my PE lessons because kids set their own goal and try to beat it. There is no pressure to "perform" a certain way but it is rather a chance to challenge oneself which is an important lifetime skill to learn.