Experts, school leaders excited about Presidential Fitness Test but urge reforms

Health experts and school leaders are thrilled with President Trump's revival of the Presidential Fitness Test, but they are hoping for substantial revisions to program, which was first deployed nearly 60 years ago.  

Advocates say the test, which hasn't been used since 2012, will need a makeover to shift its focus away from competition and more toward sustaining healthy lifestyles for youth. 

The move comes amid Trump's increased interest in the sports world during his second term and is propelled by the "Make America Healthy Again" movement led by the Department of Health and Human Services.  

Trump appointed professional athletes to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, which will be guiding and working on standards for the revived test. Experts are urging the council to ensure the goals of the test are updated as well.

Kayce Solari Williams, past president of the American School Health Association and a professor at Purdue University, hopes the council will go from the old standard to really considering “overall health and performance” and linking expectations to certain age groups.  

Williams stressed she has to see “what the format” and “requirements” will be as we “know more about taking better care of the body and doing some prevention, along with strengthening and increasing endurance and flexibility” than we did in the past. 

The prior test had five core activities: a 1-mile run; pullups or pushups; situps; a shuttle run; and the sit-and-reach. It was originally created to compare with Europeans students in physical strength, and the top 15 percent of U.S. students who completed the test would get a presidential award.

The physical exam was ended during the Obama administration over concerns it focused more on competition than healthy lifestyles.  

“The good news is that we are going to be looking, I hope, at curriculum to enhance how much activity is happening at schools. As for the testing itself, I mean, it's just a number ... I’m hoping that a team or expert is really going to look at: How do we help improve baseline data?” said Laura Richardson, a kinesiology professor at the University of Michigan. 

“My hope is that the Presidential Fitness testing is going to evolve, maybe rewards to them, where it's going to incentivize students individually and not based on groups,” Richardson added. 

The test was previously taken by middle and high schoolers across the country, but only 10 to 17-year-olds were eligible for the presidential award.  

School leaders are ecstatic over the change, pointing to concerns about sedentary lifestyles among their students.  

Tori Snitker, principal of Rolla Junior High School in Missouri, said her district has worked to create more room for physical activity for all students, including those with disabilities.  

“I am seeing students have a more sedentary lifestyle due to technology,” Snitker said. “We have to focus on the physical health of our students.” 

Other principals are so concerned about this phenomenon they suggested school fitness standards tied to a national goal or even military service.  

“I’m hoping for some standards that are maybe even aligned with what military service is required because I think as a country, we need to be able to be prepared, and our young people need to be able to have a standard of fitness,” said Pierre Orbe, principal of DeWitt Clinton High School in New York, adding there is a difference between students who are medically unable to do certain tasks versus those who are “not fulfilling their current potential.” 

Orbe believes some national standard is needed because physical education teachers feel “hamstrung” by an “enabling society” where there are more notes “to say that my child can't do things” than can.

Concerns about reliance on technology among students have mounted as many states and districts have started to ban cell phones in schools.  

Steven Kelder, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas, Houston, and co-director of Coordinated Approach to Child Health, stressed that just one test will not help the situation, unlike a “combination of programs” that focus on physical fitness for a variety of individuals, not just those good at particular sports. 

According to 2024 data from the Centers for Control and Disease Prevention (CDC), one in five U.S. children are affected by obesity.  

“There is an obesity crisis in America. It's not getting a whole lot better, and now, over time last 25 years, it's resulting in a diabetes crisis amongst kids. And I think that partly was the result of video games and what I call indoor electronic entertainment,” Kelder said.  

Schools and states also worry about students' mental health with the increased use of technology, though the Trump administration recently cut $1 billion to mental health programs for schools due to concerns the money was going to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Leaders also stress the need for federal resources, especially if the presidential council creates awards and inventive structures for students in the revived test.  

“We would love to see some resources to come our way to help with the motivation, with the rewards," said Dennis Willingham, superintendent at the Walker County Board of Education in Alabama. "We do have creative people who work with our children."

"We're thankful for that, and we know that they provide rewards and motivation on their own, but to have resources to come from the national level and to make this a big deal for everyone nationwide, it makes it even bigger and even more appealing to our children,” he added.