Fitness tests yield low marks

Newport-Mesa students score above state averages though, with around 30% passing, report says.Students in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District are slightly more physically fit than the state average, according to a report issued this week by the California Department of Education.

However, the statistics are only partially good news, since districts across California still showed a low percentage of students meeting fitness requirements in the last school year.

Every spring, districts hold tests to determine the fitness of students in the fifth, seventh and ninth grades. The tests encompass six areas: aerobic capacity, percentage of body fat, abdominal strength and endurance, trunk strength and flexibility, upper body strength and endurance, and overall flexibility.

The report issued Monday by state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell identified the percentage of children who met requirements in all six categories.

According to the statewide statistics, 24.5% of fifth-graders, 28.8% of seventh-graders and 26.7% of ninth-graders passed the test last year. In a news release, O’Connell expressed disappointment at the small growth in scores.

“A silent epidemic of obesity and poor nutrition is endangering our children’s health and their ability to learn,” O’Connell wrote. “This physical fitness test is just one more reminder that we need to rededicate our commitment to turn this trend around.”

In Newport-Mesa, the numbers were 30.4% for fifth-graders, 33.3% for seventh-graders and 31% for ninth-graders.

“I think we’ve seen a change in the world,” said Newport-Mesa spokeswoman Jane Garland. “As kids, we used to ride our bikes down the street and play outdoors. The lifestyle changes have become more sedentary. Coupled with that is the lack of funding in schools for physical education classes, so we’re not getting it at school or at home.”

Newport-Mesa nutrition services director Dick Greene did not return calls for this story.

The California physical fitness test, known as the Fitnessgram, was developed by the Cooper Institute in Texas. To complete the six parts of the test, students must run, be weighed, do curl-ups, push-ups and pull-ups and touch their fingertips behind their backs.

The highest-scoring Newport-Mesa campus last year was Lincoln Elementary, where 51.5% of fifth-graders met all six requirements. Mariners Elementary was second with 50.9%. The lowest scorer was Estancia High School, where just 1.5% -- three out of 199 students tested -- passed.

Newport-Mesa’s marks, while just under the Orange County average, were higher than its marks from the year before. Over the last two years, the district introduced a number of nutrition and physical fitness programs for students, some provided by outside sources.

In 2003-04, the California Nutrition Network introduced the Steps to Healthy Living program -- which includes both daily exercise and nutrition lessons -- at four Costa Mesa elementary schools. The Network also held “A to Z Salad Bars” at Estancia High School and TeWinkle Middle School last year, encouraging students to eat more fruits and vegetables.

At Newport Heights Elementary, parent volunteer Gail Standt introduced the Coordinated Approach To Child Health exercise program, which has since spread to Mariners and Paularino elementary schools.