Mapping the Health Disparities of California School Districts

The School-based Physical Fitness Testing Map spotlights health disparities of California School Districts. This interactive map visualizes 944 school districts across the state and displays Percentage of students in the Healthy Fitness Zone from the Physical Fitness Testing[1] results. This tool develops a data visualization platform and applies geospatial analysis to better understand factors that may affect a student’s physical fitness level and allows our communities to visually inspect and contrast the fitness testing results across school districts, grades, and time periods.

Physical Fitness Testing (PFT)

The physical fitness test (PFT) for students in California schools is the FITNESSGRAM®. The main goal of the test is to help students in starting life-long habits of regular physical activity. Students in grades five, seven, and nine take the fitness test. The FITNESSGRAM® has six parts, though California currently requires five parts be completed annually, that show a level of fitness that offer a degree of defense against diseases that come from inactivity. The test results can be used by students, teachers, and parents. [1]

PFT Statewide Research Files

The map is built on collected data by the California Department of Education which is made publicly accessible through a dataset known as the Physical Fitness Testing Statewide Research Files (PFTSRF). [2] PFTSRF encompasses the data collected from 1999 to 2019 with the exception of 2019-2021 when SB-PFT was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fitness test assesses six key areas:

(1)   Aerobic capacity

(2)   Body composition

(3)   Upper body strength

(4)   Abdominal strength

(5)   Flexibility

(6)   Trunk lift

The results are aggregated and reported at the school, school district, county, and state levels. Each record in the dataset contains the number and percentage of students who fall into discrete categories including the “Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ)”, “Needs Improvement”, and “Needs Improvement - High Risk”, categories developed by the Cooper Institute. [3]

References:

[1] “Physical Fitness Testing (PFT),” Physical Fitness Testing (PFT) - Testing (CA Dept of Education), https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/pf/ (accessed May 11, 2023).

[2] “PFT statewide research files,” PFT Statewide Research Files - Physical Fitness Testing (PFT) (CA Dept of Education), https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/pf/pftresearch.asp (accessed May 11, 2023).

[3] Plowman, S.A. & Meredith, M.D. (Eds.). (2013). Fitnessgram/Activitygram Reference Guide (4th Edition). Dallas, TX: The Cooper Institute.