Q&A on the News

Q: A recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution article mentioned that the SHAPE Act to promote childhood fitness was tested in five school systems last year. Now that the program is being expanded statewide, what were the results in the test schools?

-- Kathy McManus, Gainesville

A: The SHAPE Act assessment results from the five pilot sites -- Bibb, Gwinnett, Hall, Lowndes and White counties -- are still being measured, according to officials with the Georgia Department of Public Health. The five pilot sites are entering the data from the student assessments, during physical education classes, into a database housed by the Georgia Department of Education. The state Department of Public Health's Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Programs provided funding to support the fitness assessment training of PE teachers in the pilot schools to ensure they are certified to administer the Fitness Gram Assessment tool, which measures a student's aerobic capacity, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition. The division also assisted Georgia State University to evaluate teacher training, assessment implementation and students responses to the fitness assessment. The objective of the pilot was focused on the testing process more than the data, DOE spokesman Matt Cardoza told Q&A on the News. Data on each student assessed using the Fitness Gram tool developed by the Cooper Institute will indicate his or her healthy fitness zone (for example, needs improvement-high risk; needs improvement-some risk; healthy fitness zone), according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. Students in the needs improvement-high risk zone will be advised about the potential for future health risks. Parents or legal guardians will receive the final fitness assessment report for each child. For the state rollout, the first report will be submitted to Gov. Nathan Deal by October 2012.