Fitness for Youth is currently leading the field in physical education assessment, going far beyond the traditional health-related fitness testing currently offered by programs such as the Presidential Awards and Fit Gram. Through the pioneering efforts of the universities and colleges making up the Statewide Assessment Initiative (SAI) Team, Fitness for Youth has expanded its capabilities and can now provide analysis and feedback in such areas as motor skill acquisition, physical fitness knowledge, understanding of personal social skills related to sport and activity and physical activity behavior patterns. In addition, the assessment is currently free to all K-12 physical education teachers within the state of Michigan!

To learn more about a particular area of assessment, click on the subheadings above.

To get involved with the SAI, call the appropriate SAI coordinator whose phone numbers and email can be found on the contact page.

Motor Skill Assessment
The Statewide Assessment Initiative (SAI) Team has developed a new and objective method to measure children's motor skill levels. Motor skill assessment has peaked the interest of many of Michigan's physical educators, particularly at the elementary level, and is gaining in popularity. The process by which children are assessed for motor skill acquisition is truly a team effort. For example, a teacher wishing to measure their students' ability to perform the overhand throw would video tape them individually using the protocols developed by Fitness for Youth. The video tape with its accompanying roster would then be sent to a nearby university participating in SAI. Once there, the tape would be analyzed by skilled graders trained specifically in the analysis of that particular motor skill. Below is an example of how the elements of form are used to grade a subject for the single leg hop motor skill.

Study the picture below. Can you tell what part of the single leg hop Rey is doing wrong?

If you look at the position of Rey's arms, you will see that while his right arm is properly flexed at near 90 degrees, his left arm is straight. The motor skill assessment would assign Rey a score based on the elements of form.

The eighth element of form for the single leg hop reads as follows:

8) Both elbows should be flexed (about 90 degrees):

2 - close to 90 degrees all of the time 1 - little flexion, 45-90 degrees 0 - no flexion

Rey would get a score of 1 on this particular element of form because his arms are not flexed near 90 degrees all of the time.

Once all of the elements of form are graded, the child is given an overall score for the entire skill according to the following guidelines:

9) All elements present in smooth hopping motion:

2 - all elements of form met with 2's 1 - less than three elements met with 0's 0 - 3 or more elements met with 0's

Health-Related Assessment
The program also trains physical education teachers on the most up-to-date and appropriate health and fitness testing techniques for their students. Fitness for Youth constantly strives to improve traditional fitness testing techniques to give teachers a more accurate profile of their students' health and fitness levels.

Health-related testing covers a variety of physical fitness areas including traditional muscular fitness tests such as pull-ups and hamstring flexibility, aerobic/cardiovascular fitness tests such as the 600-yard run and biomedical tests such as blood pressure and body composition.

Teachers who do health-related fitness testing for the SAI receive summary forms that compare their students' results to state and national averages by grade level and socioeconomic status.

Cognitive Assessment
The Statewide Assessment Initiative (SAI) has developed written testing instruments to evaluate student knowledge of physical fitness knowledge, understanding of personal-social skills, and their current activity levels. The behavior survey is based on a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) survey that Fitness for Youth improved upon by adding more relevant questions. The personal-social test is currently available in a pictorial version to be used in grades K-2 as well. The physical fitness knowledge tests come in three levels that were designed to be grammatically and contextually appropriate for given age levels.

Below are sample questions from each type of test.

Knowledge Test

Level 1 sample:
Your heart beats fastest when:

a. b. c.

jumping rope sleeping stretching

Level 2 sample:
The flexed arm hang is a measure of:

a. b. c. d. e.

muscular strength muscular endurance cardiovascular endurance skill-related fitness overall fitness

Level 3 sample:
People in good physical condition have a slower heart rate at rest because:

a. b. c. d.

the strength of the heart muscle has increased and more blood is pumped with each beat the central nervous system causes the heart to slow its rhythm the slower breathing rate causes you to be more relaxed which in turn slows normal heart rate an improved mental state causes the heart to relax and slow down

Behavior Survey

Grades 3 - 5 sample:
How many days a week do you go to physical education classes?

a. b. c. d. e.

1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days 5 days

Grades 6 - 12 sample:
On how many of the past 7 days did you exercise or participate in sports or activities that made you sweat and breathe hard, such as basketball, jogging, swimming, tennis, fast bicycling or similar aerobic activities?

a. b. c. d.

0 days 1 day 2 days 3 days

e. f. g. h.

4 days 5 days 6 days 7 days

Personal/Social Test

Sample:
Which example best describes students sharing with each other?

a. b. c. d.

Ann and Selena fight over a jump rope during recess. Tom lets Eduarado ride his new mountain bike. Amy won't loan Becky her new glove for the big softball game. A group of kids run to save the basketball court for themselves during recess.