COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 89

May 23, 2003

INFORMATIONAL

TO:	Division Superintendents
FROM:	Jo Lynne DeMary Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT:	Virginia Wellness-Related Fitness Test Data Analysis

The Department of Education is pleased to offer a data analysis service for your divisions 2002-2003 Wellness-Related Fitness Test data. This local and state data collection system is submitted electronically, and the school, division, and state fitness summaries are calculated for you.

The primary objective of this assessment program is to provide students, teachers, and parents with the necessary information to design an individualized fitness program for each student. The Virginia Wellness-Related assessment measures two components of fitness identified as important because of their relationship to health and learning. The two components are aerobic capacity and muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility. Body fat composition impacts student health; however, it is not included in this state date collection system because of the sensitive issues involved in collecting height and weight and skin fold thickness data needed to calculate the percent of body fat.

The Virginia Wellness-Related Fitness Test uses current criterion-reference standards to assess student health related fitness. This testing program emphasizes maintaining an acceptable level of physical fitness--not athletic physical fitness. The standards at the lower end of the Wellness Fitness Zone represent the level of fitness that offers some degree of protection against mortality, and hopefully motivates students to move out of the lower 20 percent sedentary lifestyle population. The upper end of the Wellness Fitness Zone corresponds to a higher level of athletic fitness that includes up to 60 percent of the K-12 population.

The Fitness Data Analysis Excel Spreadsheets and instructions for manual and electronic data entry are available on the Department of Educations website at www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/PE/. Electronic submission of the division data will be aggregated and posted as a part of the state summary at http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/PE/Fitness2003.xls. Division names will not be identified on the state summary.

I hope your staff will take advantage of this data analysis service. If you need additional information about the Virginia Wellness-Related Fitness Test, please contact Vanessa Wigand at (804) 225-3300 or (vwigand@mail.vak12ed.edu).

JLD/VW/jbn