Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 17, 1993 TAG: 9308170606
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
In fact, local students score slightly lower than the state average on exercises such as sit-ups, pull-ups, stretching and a one-mile walk or run.
County elementary pupils tested during the 1991-92 school year performed the best, with about one in four passing performance standards in all four tests.
Only about one in five students in middle and high schools passed all four.
Those physical-fitness test results will be among a number of other performance ratings - from standardized test scores to dropout rates to keyboard skills - to be discussed at tonight's meeting of the Montgomery County School Board.
The state tests all school divisions and compares scores to measure how well Virginia students are being prepared for college or work.
County students on all three levels slightly improved their performance rankings in the physical fitness tests over the previous year. But they remained below the state average.
School administrators across Virginia disagree about the validity of the physical fitness tests.
Some say the tests don't measure the right kinds of activities. Others maintain the tests, which are developed by the President's Council on Physical Fitness, are accurate indicators of physical health.
Montgomery County schools don't emphasize the sort of calisthenics that lead to good scores on the state tests, said Jim Sellers, director of instruction.
Instead, the local physical education curriculum includes team sports and leisure-time activities such as volleyball, tennis and aerobics.
"Very few of us do pull-ups or sit-ups in our leisure time," he said.
Physical fitness is one area of concern identified by county schools from the test results.
Others include the dropout rate among students in grades seven through 12, the number of sixth-graders who had not passed the required Literary Passport Test and attendance among secondary students.
Among Virginia's 133 school divisions, Montgomery County students are above average in keyboarding skills, dropout rate for minorities, special education requirements and test scores among fourth- and eighth-grade students.
The state says it will use the test results as a measure to hold schools accountable for what students learn.
In other business at tonight's meeting, the School Board is scheduled to discuss the system's capital improvements program and to approve a $3 million bond application for the new Blacksburg elementary school.
by CNB