The Presidential Fitness Test was a national physical fitness testing program conducted in United States public middle and high schools from the late 1950s until 2013, when it was disbanded and replaced with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program.
Origins of the test (1940s1950s)
National interest in physical fitness testing existed in the United States since the late 1800s. Early testing generally focused on anthropometric measurement (such as lung capacity or strength assessment) and was facilitated by organizations that emerged at the time, such as the American Association for the Advancement of Physical Education (AAAPE), and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation (AAHPER). By the early 1900s, physical fitness testing had transitioned to focus more on the concept of "physical efficiency", a term used to describe the healthy function of bodily systems. During the early 1900s, the purpose of the fitness tests shifted more toward determining "motor ability", and consisted of climbing, running, and jumping exercises. During and after World War I, fitness testing and physical training for children increased in schools and garnered attention from governmental agencies, as they were linked to preparedness for combat. A similar process occurred during and after World War II, when military, public health, and education services held conferences and published manuals on the topic of youth fitness. In the 1950s, the American government agencies were re-assessing education in general, especially in regards to increasing the United States' ability to compete with the Soviet Union. For example, as a direct reaction to the Soviet Union's successful launch of the first Earth orbiting satellite, Sputnik, in 1957, congress passed the National Defense Education Act of 1958. The act allocated funding to American universities, specifically aimed at improving programs in science, mathematics, and foreign language. Physical education and fitness were also among the topics of reassessment during the 1950s. The AAPHER appointed a committee on physical education, which recommended that public schools shift their programs away from obstacle courses and boxing, the likes of which were popular during World War II, and toward a more balanced approach to recreation, including games, sports, and outdoor activities.
The Kraus–Weber test
The impetus for the style of physical testing that developed into the Presidential Fitness Test was a research study conducted by Dr. Hans Kraus and Dr. Sonya Weber in the early 1950s. The study, originally connected to their research in lower back pain, resulted in a diagnostic test for muscular fitness called the "Minimum Muscular Fitness Test", which would later come to be known as the "Kraus–Weber Fitness Test". As its original name implies, Drs. Kraus and Weber considered the test to determine minimum fitness levels; it consisted only of six basic exercises.
One of their experiments involved conducting the fitness test on 4,000 children on the East Coast, which showed that 56.6% of children between 6 and 16 failed the test. The high rate of failure alarmed the doctors, and spurred them to question whether the findings were dependent on location. Dr. Kraus enlarged the experiment, testing 3,000 rural, urban, and suburban children in Italy, Switzerland, and Austria with the help of fitness activist Bonnie Prudden. On average, they found that only 8.2 European children failed the test. From their results, Drs. Kraus and Weber concluded that, despite American children's high standard of living, they lacked "sufficient exercise to keep them at the minimum level of muscular fitness." The study had a sensational effect on American media, provoking alarm in parents, school administrators, and government officials. In 1955, government officials including John Kelly, the National Director of physical fitness during WWII, approached President Eisenhower with the findings of the study. Apparently moved by the seemingly alarming results, Eisenhower called a meeting of various sports and fitness authorities, and appointed Vice President Richard Nixon as the chair of a new presidential committee dedicated to developing a national fitness program.