COMPARING CALIFORNIA STUDENT FITNESS

The State Department of Education for the first time last spring tested the physical fitness of fifth-, seventh- and ninth-graders. State Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig said the scores for the nearly 800,000 students surveyed confirmed experts’ hunches that most California children are woefully out of shape.

Not all schools participated in the survey and Los Angeles Unified School District scores are not shown because district officials say problems in the administration of the test by many schools has raised questions about the results.

Also, officials in other districts said schools show zero scores in certain categories of fitness because state reporting forms were not properly completed.

The physical education tests are the newest addition to the California Assessment Program, which annually evaluates the state’s students in academic areas. As with the academic exams, results of the physical education survey are intended to provide a way to assess the school’s performance; individual scores are not released.

The test was developed by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. There were four mandatory exercises--sit and reach, sit-ups, pullups and mile run. A fifth test--of body composition--was voluntary and not all students participated. The results were compared against a minimum fitness standard for each grade level. Listed below are average percentages of students in each grade level who met the standard in four or more areas, three areas, two areas, one area and none.

For comparison, here are state averages:

STATE AVERAGE

4+ 3 2 1 0 5th 15 21 26 25 12 7th 20 26 25 21 9 9th 26 26 24 18 6

CAP Student Fitness Scores for 5th, 7th and 9th Grades

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified DISTRICT AVERAGE

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 12 27 27 21 14 7 20 27 26 20 7 9 15 27 26 22 10

ADAMS

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 7 12 14 33 32 9

FRANKLIN

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 4 16 29 35 15

GRANT

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 31 20 22 15 11

LINCOLN

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 7 27 33 22 13 5

CABRILLO/MALIBU PARK

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 10 38 42 8 2 7 15 37 20 17 10

MCKINLEY

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 2 23 32 32 11

MUIR

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 2 19 28 16 35

ROGERS

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 17 39 27 13 4

ROOSEVELT

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 19 35 9 15 22

SANTA MONICA

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 9 15 27 26 22 10

Culver City Unified DISTRICT AVERAGE

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 14 23 26 23 14 7 9 24 27 24 17 9 13 19 29 28 12

CULVER CITY

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 7 9 24 27 24 17 9 13 19 29 28 12

EL RINCON

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 20 14 16 27 23

FARRAGUT

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 15 23 27 26 10

HOWE

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 7 24 41 20 8

LA BALLONA

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 15 31 21 18 14

Beverly Hills Unified DISTRICT AVERAGE

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 12 36 30 17 4 7 10 45 26 13 6 9 34 28 23 11 3

BEVERLY HILLS

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 9 34 28 23 11 3

BEVERLY VISTA

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 24 33 27 12 4 7 19 48 23 8 3

EL RODEO

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 8 50 33 8 0 7 8 45 29 12 6

HAWTHORNE

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 3 36 33 23 5 7 6 52 24 17 2

HORACE MANN

Grade 4+ 3 2 1 0 5 11 30 28 24 7 7 8 36 27 17 12