The Responsible Use of Youth Fitness Testing to Enhance Student Motivation, Enjoyment, and Performance

Abstract

While physical fitness testing has the potential to invoke embarrassment and anxiety, strategies can be developed that can motivate students to exert maximal effort, provide positive feedback on skill improvement, and encourage students to set fitness goals that can be achieved through developmentally appropriate physical activities. The purpose of this article is to discuss relevant psychological theories that explain factors related to students' performance on fitness testing, as well as to provide instructional strategies that minimize adverse reactions to fitness testing and that maximize effort, enjoyment, and motivation. Throughout the article, we address the relationship of physical fitness testing to several psychological factors such as perceptions of competence, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, enjoyment, goal orientation, and physical activity promotion.

Key words:

• Children
• fitness
• motivation

Notes

Leal, F., & Agopian, E. V. (2005, November 5). O.C. kids get “F” for fitness. Orange County Register, pp. 1, 3.