- Ohio lawmakers propose annual fitness test for students based on the former Presidential Fitness Test.
- The bill aims to combat rising childhood obesity and promote healthier lifestyles.
- The proposed test would not penalize students for poor performance but would offer awards for high achievement.
- This bill is considered alongside another bill proposing mandatory recess for younger students.
Remember the one-mile run and pull-ups from the Presidential Physical Fitness Test? Schoolchildren today have never experienced it.
A group of Ohio lawmakers wants to change that.
Reps. Brian Lorenz, R-Powell, and Elgin Rogers, D-Toledo, introduced House Bill 322 to require 1st- through 12th-grade students to take an annual fitness exam modeled after the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, which was discontinued in 2012.
What is the Presidential Physical Fitness Test?
Started in the late 1950s by President Dwight Eisenhower, the fitness test evolved into five parts: curl-ups, a shuttle run, pull-ups or sit-ups, a sit-and-reach and a one-mile run. Students were placed into percentiles based on their age and sex.
In 2012, former President Barack Obama replaced the test with a fitness program that emphasizes individual progress and goal-setting over competition with peers.
But some people want the test to return. Ohio Republican governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is campaigning on bringing back the Presidential Fitness Test starting in middle schools. “And yes, that includes the pull-ups that we had to do back when we were going through with that,” he said.
Childhood obesity rates high in Ohio
Lawmakers pitching the new Ohio Fitness Test say the state’s children need more exercise goals. The rate of obesity for Ohio children is 18.3%, slightly higher than the national average, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State of Childhood Obesity report.
“In a time when sedentary lifestyles, screen time and childhood obesity are on the rise, this legislation sends a clear message: physical fitness is not optional, it is essential,” Rogers told lawmakers during a June 10 committee hearing. “This bill is not just about push-ups and sit-ups.”
The House bill, if approved, would give awards to students who perform in the 50th and 85th percentiles. But no one would be disciplined for poor physical performance. Those who perform below the 50th percentile would receive a participation award.
“This isn’t about punishment or pass/fail,” said Lorenz, who shared his wife’s fitness scores with the committee members. “It’s about giving students a tangible goal to work toward and providing parents, schools and policymakers with valuable data to help reverse the course of declining youth health.”
Rep. Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville, asked about children who might perform poorly on a particular test. “We don’t want to do anything to make people feel worse.”
Rogers said competition with his friends inspired him to do better, but he also hopes students will cheer one another on.
“We should be creating a team environment, a community environment, where we encourage each other,” he said.
Manning also pointed out that Ohio is the only state without health education standards, which is cited as one reason for children’s poor health.
On June 10, lawmakers also reviewed House Bill 304, which would require public schools to offer 30 minutes of recess, twice a day, for students from kindergarten through eighth grade. The proposed law would also allow club sports, dance and athletic activities to be used to fulfill high school physical education requirements.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@gannett.com or @jbalmert on X.
What do you think about Ohio requiring students to take a fitness test?
