Presidential Fitness

Remember doing sit-ups, shuttle run (with the block of wood!), sit and reach, one-mile run, and pull-ups in PE (aka Gym). And all of the data was recorded? And at the end, some students would receive certificates for excellence. I found it extremely gratifying receiving the paper award with the President's signature on it; I felt like I accomplished something in my short life. My best event? Easily the Sit and Reach with a +13. But in my school system, they stopped doing it after middle school; I wonder why.

Here were the numbers needed to qualify for the award:
Presidential Physical Fitness Award Qualifying Standards (85th Percentile)
The standards for this award are based on the 1985 National School Population Fitness Survey. They were validated in 1998 through comparison with a large nationwide sample collected in 1994.

This program was ended after the 2012-2013 school year and replaced by a system that rewarded students points based on the amount of activity done. Is this a better system? It's definitely one that is harder to keep track of since each individual student has to record their own activity. How do you think you would fare if you did it today?

Turns out they have a test for adults... Anyone want to take this challenge with me?

On another note: I'm ready for some jellybeans!