Active Living Program News
Featured Resource: Fitnessgram/Activitygram
Authors: Gregory J. Welk, PhD, and Marilu Dooley Meredith, EdD Copyright 2007 Human Kinetics
Fitnessgram/Activitygram is an integrated fitness and activity assessment program that can greatly enhance the effectiveness of school-based physical education programs. The program consists of software, a test manual with DVD, and related ancillaries, including The Cooper Institute's Fitnessgram/Activitygram Reference Guide. It works in conjunction with Physical Best, a program of curriculum resources and training certifications for health-related fitness education developed by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) and now run by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE).
Fitnessgram is recommended by NASPE and is the first health-related fitness test to use criterion-referenced standards. This means that test scores are compared to research-based health standards rather than to national averages. Fitnessgram has been widely used for two decades and is guided by a distinguished scientific advisory board.
Through Fitnessgram and Activitygram, teachers will be able to accurately assess students’ fitness levels, set goals for the students based on those assessments, and teach students how to manage and record their own activities. Teachers can easily track and report students’ progress, motivate students to stick with their activity programs, and—perhaps best of all—teach them to make healthy choices a lifelong habit.
The program helps students set individualized goals, gives students responsibility for managing and recording their own activities, and helps students understand the importance of physical activity and making healthy behaviors and choices a lifelong habit.
The Texas Education Agency announced it has selected Fitnessgram, created by The Cooper Institute and published by Human Kinetics, as the statewide physical fitness assessment tool. The annual testing of more than 4 million Texas 3rd- through 12th-grade students is a new requirement detailed in Senate Bill 530 that also enhanced physical education (PE) activity for kindergartners through 5th-graders this school year.
For a table of contents, more information about the authors, and ordering information, please visit the Human Kinetics Web site at www.HumanKinetics.com.
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