Secondary School Students’ Attitudes Toward Fitness Testing

• In Event: Images and Attitudes Surrounding Physical Education

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the attitudes of secondary school students toward fitness testing. Participants were 1199 students from 13 schools. A previously validated instrument to measure attitudes toward fitness testing contained four factors: cognitive, affective-enjoyment, affective-feelings, and affective-teacher. Students displayed overall neutral to slightly positive attitudes toward fitness testing. Post hoc analyses on significant differences indicated that girls, regardless of grade, had significantly lower affect-feelings attitudes. Schools that administered the FitnessGram had students who reported higher overall attitudes toward fitness testing than students from schools that administered the President’s Challenge fitness test. The results inform us as to the current attitudes of students toward fitness testing as they apply to gender, grade and fitness test type.

Authors

• Kevin Mercier, Adelphi University

• Stephen Silverman, Teachers College, Columbia University