For generations, schoolchildren in the United States hold memories of the Presidential Fitness Test, a hallmark of physical education featuring exercises such as the shuttle run and sit-and-reach.
President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to reinstate this once-cherished program, which measured students’ physical fitness for more than five decades until it was phased out in 2013 by the Obama administration.
The specifics of the new test, including which exercises will be reinstated and its launch date, remain unclear.
Traditionally, the test was administered once or twice a year for students aged 10 to 17 and included various drills, like push-ups, the PACER running test, and the one-mile run.
Ahistorically competitive initiative, students who met or exceeded the 85th percentile across all exercises qualified for the Presidential Fitness Award, which the executive order revives.
At the signing ceremony, President Trump emphasized the enduring significance of the test, stating, “From the late 1950s until 2013, graduate scholars all across our country competed against each other in the presidential fitness test, and it was a big deal. This was a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back.”
The executive order also reinstates the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, which will be responsible for devising the criteria for the new test.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will oversee the rollout of the initiative.
Kennedy’s
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