The New York City Department of Education has made it official that all New York City public schools must have a mandatory FITNESSGRAM.
Ms. Johnson, a physical education and a yoga teacher at the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology said that there are many tests in the FITNESS GRAM, including the Trunk-Lift, Sit-and-Reach, Pacer, Push-up test, and Crunch tests, and a height and weight measurement.
The FITNESSGRAM is a test that is administered to students in grade K-12; it is designed to grade the fitness levels of children by measuring the aerobic endurance, muscular strength, endurance, flexibility, and body composition of a student.
Johnson explained that every student has to take the FITNESSGRAM. It’s about a 10 second measurements for each test, except for the pacer test. The pacer test might take awhile because those tested have to run back and forth, Ms. Johnson said.
There are certain guidelines for grading the tests, in order to measure students level of fitness and flexibilty. For example, in the Trunk-lift, students are measured in how many inches they can lift their back up from the ground. In the Sit-and-reach, students are tested to see if they can touch their toes.
Ms. Johnson stated that if a student does not take the test then it will be considered a failing test grade.
“Students might not necessarily fail the class, but refusal to be tested would have to be recorded as a negative test grade,” she said.
Vincent Wu, a senior at HSTAT, said he was not worried about the test, and that he knows he will do just fine.