FITNESSGRAMOverview

Created by HealthMPowers

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WHY FITNESSGRAM? Combines both an educational assessment and

reporting software program Designed to promote lifelong physical activity Based on the latest research on children’s fitness Health related Uses criterion-referenced standards

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FITNESSGRAM Advisors Charles L. Sterling, EdD

The Cooper InstituteFITNESSGRAM Chairman

Charles B. Corbin, PhDArizona State University - Retired

Kirk J. Cureton, PhDUniversity of Georgia

Scott Going, PhDThe University of Arizona

James R. Morrow, Jr., PhDUniversity of North Texas

Robert Pangrazi, PhDArizona State University - Retired

Russell R. Pate, PhDUniversity of South Carolina

Sharon Ann Plowman, PhDUniversity of Northern Illinois - Retired

Judith J. Prochaska, PhDUniversity of California, San Francisco

Georgi Roberts, MSFort Worth I.S.D., Fort Worth, Texas

Weimo Zhu, PhDUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dolly Lambdin, EdDUniversity of Texas at Austin

Matthew T. Mahar, EdDEast Carolina University

Marilu D. Meredith, EdDThe Cooper InstituteProject Director

Gregory J. Welk, PhDIowa State UniversityScientific Director

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FITNESSGRAM Philosophy

H = Health and health related fitness

E = Everyone

L = Lifetime

P = Personal

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Georgia’s Philosophy & GoalsSee DOE Information Section in training manualPhilosophy:

The acquisition of knowledge related to students' health related fitness levels is vital to the development and implementation of strategies focused on personal health improvement and enhanced readiness for learning.

Goals: To improve the health related fitness levels and therefore health outcomes of students. To develop students who are active now and for a lifetime. To develop students who are able to self assess health-related fitness levels, interpret

fitness test results, set goals, and motivate themselves for personal fitness improvement. To provide longitudinal data on the status of the health-related fitness of Georgia students

through systematic assessment, data collection, monitoring, and reporting. To use fitness assessment data to inform policy, program, curricular, and instructional

decisions for P-12 physical education at the school, district, and state levels.

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Process vs. Product

If we do the process the product will follow!

Physical activity is the process.Physical fitness is the product.

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Differences in Fitness AssessmentsFITNESSGRAM

Health related Criterion-referenced NOT used for grading Personal improvement driven Provides individualized feedback Encourages self assessment or

individualized assessment

OTHERS Skill related Norm-referenced Often used for grading

because of percentiles Award driven Provides scores, awards, but

no recommendations for improvement

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Criterion-Referenced vs. Norm-Referenced Criterion-referenced standards are associated with good

health and based on scientific information. Normative standards are comparisons relative to others

in a group but do not provide information on how the values relate to health.

FITNESSGRAM is Criterion-Referenced. The established standards for good health are called

Healthy Fitness Zone.

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Percentage of Students in Healthy Fitness ZonePhysical Fitness Assessment Grade 5 Grade 7 Grade 9

Aerobic Capacity 60.2% 60.5% 52.4%

Body Composition 67.4% 67.0% 68.0%

Abdominal Strength 80.6% 83.1% 82.6%

Trunk Extension Strength 88.2% 89.3% 86.3%

Upper Body Strength 67.1% 68.7% 69.5%

Flexibility 66.6% 72.4% 70.3%

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Two Components FITNESSGRAM

• Fitness assessment and reporting system

ACTIVITYGRAM• Physical activity recall tool• Use of ACTIVITYGRAM is up

to individual schools and districts

Courtesy of Human Kinetics.

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FITNESSGRAM Testing Options Self Testing

• Student learns to test self• Takes time to teach• Good education; serves students for a lifetime

Individualized Testing• For personal information• Can be conducted by student, or with assistance from a

partner, parent or teacher

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FITNESSGRAM Testing Options Institutional Testing

• Administered by a trained person• Provides more accurate results to parents and others• Takes time

Personal Best Testing• See how well interested students can perform on each

assessment• Takes a lot of time• Recommended use after school or voluntary• Focus is more on performance as opposed to health

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Institutional Testing Guidelines Take steps to insure confidentiality of assessment

results Take care in interpreting results Take care in generalizing pre- and post-assessment

data Consider nutrition and other factors Take care in accurately reporting assessment results

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FITNESSGRAM Software Web-based Generates individual student/parent reports Provides suggestions about how to promote

good fitness Generates group reports for State reporting Allows for tracking of students’ fitness

throughout their school years

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Reports

Software generates:

Individual Reports• Comparison to HFZ• Recommendations

Group Reports

Courtesy of Human Kinetics.

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Appropriate Uses of FITNESSGRAM Facilitates fitness education

• Evaluating personal fitness levels• Goal setting• Program planning and tracking

Provides feedback to students and parents Allows personal tracking

• Annually and over time Can guide PE program planning

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Inappropriate Uses of FITNESSGRAM

Using scores for grading

Using scores to evaluate teacher effectiveness

Using scores to evaluate overall physical education program

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Confidentiality

Confidentiality of results is important!

Appropriate protocol must be used to ensure proper privacy.

Educate students on the importance of confidentiality of fitness assessment results.

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FERPA

The parties will safeguard the confidentiality of the student data as required by the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and other applicable laws and regulations. No release of data, reports, information, or output of any kind based on the data will include any information that could be identifiable or linked to a specific person.

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FITNESSGRAM Resourceshttp://www.cooperinstitute.org/index.cfm

http://www.fitnessgram.net/home/Scientific Reference Guide

http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_services.aspx?PageReq=CIServHealthPhys

Georgia Department of Education – Health and Physical Education

http://georgiashape.org