School Fitness Test to Return

The Presidential Fitness Test is returning to schools after a 12-year hiatus, with President Donald Trump signing an executive order to restore and revamp the program late last week. 

The test has its roots in the 1950s, when the so-called “father of sports medicine,” Dr. Hans Kraus, coauthored a study finding American kids were 49.2% weaker than European counterparts on a series of physical fitness tests. For decades, public school students were regularly tested on drills like a timed mile run, pushups, pullups, and situps. Top scorers received the Presidential Physical Fitness Award. 

Then-President Barack Obama phased out the system in the 2012-13 academic year, replacing it with a less competitive, opt-in system testing a student’s fitness over time. Trump says he will reinstate the standardized approach following a May report highlighting concerns about children’s physical inactivity. See a history of the Presidential Fitness Test here.