Two changes to the Student Fitness Test to be implemented from August 1
To improve the flexibility and safety of student physical fitness testing, the Sports Administration (SA) announced on November 20, 2023 amendment of the "Regulations for Implementation of National Physical Fitness Testing" to target the two categories of the student fitness tests of cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle strength and muscular endurance; "sit-ups" were changed to "supine crunches" and a new "pacer test" added to update the testing method in response to international trends. The changes will be officially implemented from August 1, 2024.
One of the important changes in the student physical fitness testing method is the replacement of the "sit-ups" test for muscle strength and endurance with "supine crunches." "Sit-ups" are more likely to cause lower back pain and sports injuries due to incorrect posture. By switching to "supine crunches," students' muscle strength and endurance can be assessed more safely. Secondly, in the cardiopulmonary endurance test, in the past, only "run and walk" were tested, and the test method was based on the time it took students to complete 800 or 1,600 meters. This was likely to be limited by venue and weather factors, so the "Pacer test" was added as one of the testing items. The aim is to maintain the safety of students' physical fitness testing through more flexible, diversified and safe testing methods, while also referring to international trends to meet the needs of different teaching sites.
To enable county and city governments and teachers at all levels of school to better understand the implementation methods of the new testing items, the SA held 20 briefing sessions last year and will continue to hold 9 briefing sessions this year. In response to the concerns raised by teachers in the briefing sessions, the SA said that for the testing equipment part, the testing will be carried out based on the principle of using existing equipment (such as soft mats, yoga mats, pyramids, etc.) and purchasing new equipment as a supplement to reduce the cost of on-site teaching equipment. As for the testing results, schools were also advised to use continuous practice and repeated testing, then select the best results to upload to address students' concerns that lack of familiarity with the testing items may affect their test scores. The briefing session also allowed teachers to familiarize themselves with the implementation process of the new testing items through on-site practical exercises; they can also use the "Physical Fitness Website of the SA (Website: https://www.fitness.org.tw/)" to download related audio and video files. In addition, each county and city government is also encouraged to organize county and city briefing sessions and assist in recommending lecturers to teach in each county and city, so that teachers can more conveniently familiarize themselves with relevant operations locally.
In addition, the SA will also launch a revised "Physical Fitness Website of the SA’’ on August 1, which will provide a more user-friendly web interface. The new version of the website adds the implementation methods and testing equipment introduction of the two test methods of "Supine Crunch" and "Pacer Run", and also produces audio and video files and physical fitness test norm data to provide students and people in need a way of understanding their own physical fitness status, enhancing physical fitness literacy to put the concepts of student diversified learning and balanced development into practice.
The SA stated that this reform of student physical fitness testing mainly focuses on improving the testing methods and providing normative data to students to allow them to understand their physical fitness. Through the reform of physical fitness testing items, students can cultivate diverse and regular exercise habits, improve physical health, and demonstrate more comprehensive advantages in future study and life.
