ELEMENTARY PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The focus of physical education at the elementary level is to provide an
opportunity for physical fitness, cardiovascular endurance, dance, ball
and stick skills, locomotor games and gross motor skills. Grades are
primarily based on effort, although some fitness testing is done.
The first two terms, physical fitness evaluations for grades 4 and 5 are
based on effort during exercises and warm-up activities. Final term
fitness evaluations are based on fitness test results using The
President’s Challenge, a battery of five tests that measures overall body
strength, flexibility, agility and cardiovascular endurance. This test is
given annually to thousands of students across the United States. The
test measures physical fitness levels in each student, and their scores
are given in relation to other students across the country by age. The
results are measured in percentiles. A score of 50% indicates that the
student has performed better than 50% of the students their age
nationally.
If a student receives a score of 50% on all five tests, that student is
awarded a National Physical Fitness certificate for achieving a basic
yet challenging level of physical fitness. A student that receives a score of
85% or better on all five tests is awarded the Presidential Physical
Fitness certificate and emblem. This award signifies an outstanding
level of physical fitness.
Upon completion of The President’s Challenge students will receive a
final fitness grade of:
• O (Outstanding) if they qualified for a Presidential or National
Award.
• S (Satisfactory) if a student is able to pass 3 out of 5 tests.
• NI (Needs Improvement) if a student passes 2 or less.
5th grade fitness cards will be sent to the Middle School since all students
will continue to take the President’s Challenge there as well.
4th grade fitness cards will be used again next year so that students can
measure their improvement on scores. Since these cards will eventually
follow each student to the High School, all students will have a fitness
profile given to them upon graduation.
The importance of maintaining a fun, healthy and fit lifestyle is the focus
of all physical education units.
More in depth information concerning qualifying standards for The President’s
Challenge and suggestions for living a healthy lifestyle can be found on the website:
www.presidentschallenge.org.