The State Board of Education designated the FITNESSGRAM® as the PFT for students in California public schools. The FITNESS GRAM® is a comprehensive, health-related physical fitness battery developed by The Cooper Institute. The primary goal of the FITNESS GRAM GRAM® is to assist students in establishing lifetime habits of regular physical activity.
The California Physical Fitness Test (PFT) provides information that can be used by students to assess and plan personal fitness programs; by teachers to design the curriculum for physical education programs; and by parents and guardians to understand their children’s fitness levels. This program also provides results that are used to monitor changes in the physical fitness of California students. By law (California Education Code Section 60800), all school districts in California are required to administer the PFT annually to all students in grades five, seven, and nine.
The FITNESSGRAM® is composed of the following six fitness areas, with a number of test options provided for most areas:
- Aerobic Capacity
- Body Composition
- Abdominal Strength and Endurance
- Trunk Extensor Strength and Endurance
- Flexibility
- Upper Body Strength and Endurance
