This school year is the first year that the physical education department will have a consistent data management program to help teachers track and manage students’ progress.

“For the past few years, district physical educational teachers have been researching [different programs],” said Jennifer Heuck, head of the physical education department.

The program that they chose to use is called FitStats. It includes the entire school district from kindergarten to grade 12. According to Heuck, before this year there was no data management program at the high school level. There was a program at the elementary level, but it was inconsistent.

FitStats allows teachers to test their students with either the President’s Challenge, Physical Best or the FITNESSGRAM®.

The difference between the two tests is that they are different ways to test the four main points of physical education: cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, and flexibility.

“This program allows us to do all of theses different tests and track them,” said Heuck.

As well as being able use President’s Challenge, Physical Best, or FITNESSGRAM®, teachers can create their own tests. FitStats is completely customizable. According to Heuck, being able to create their own tests for the weight room will be helpful.

“This year is a pilot year for us to see what tests will work for us,” said Heuck.

FitStats allows teachers to compare physical education rates between classes in order to show which class is doing best. This can help because teachers can try different exercises in each class and be able to see which works the best.

FitStats automatically interprets data and displays results by age and gender.

Students will be able to see their progress through the FitStats printouts. The printouts include a wellness report which describes the current physical state and ways in which the students can improve.

“It’s nice to give students a wellness report,” said Heuck.