Introduction

Test and Measurement in Sports is the part of physical education that puts numbers to performance. Before a teacher can say whether a student is fit, whether training is working, or who needs extra support, there has to be a dependable way to test an ability and measure the result. This unit of the CBSE Class 12 Physical Education course introduces the standard fitness tests used in Indian schools and the formulae used to interpret them.

What this unit covers

The unit is built around five groups of tests and measurements:

• SAI Khelo India Fitness Test in school — the national school-fitness battery prescribed by the Sports Authority of India (SAI). It runs in two age bands. For ages 5–8 years (Class 1–3) the items are BMI, the Flamingo Balance Test and the Plate Tapping Test. For ages 9–18+ years (Class 4–12) the items are BMI, the 50 m Speed Test, the 600 m Run/Walk, the Sit and Reach flexibility test and a Strength Test (Abdominal Partial Curl-Up, with Push-Ups for boys and Modified Push-Ups for girls).
• Measurement of cardio-vascular fitness — the Harvard Step Test, whose Fitness Index is found from the duration of exercise and the recovery pulse count.
• Computing Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — the resting energy the body needs each day.
• Rikli and Jones Senior Citizen Fitness Test — a battery for older adults, covering the chair stand, arm curl, chair sit-and-reach, back scratch, eight-foot up-and-go and six-minute walk.
• Johnson–Metheny Test of Motor Educability — four motor stunts (front roll, back roll, jumping half-turns and jumping full-turns).

Three ideas the unit depends on

Test protocol — the correct, standardised procedure for carrying out a test. If a test is done incorrectly, the result cannot be trusted.

Validity — a test is valid only if it measures what it sets out to measure. A test of upper-body strength, for instance, should not end up measuring leg strength.

Motor fitness — the neuromuscular side of fitness that lets a person succeed at a particular motor skill, game or activity. Its components include agility, balance, coordination, power, reaction time and speed. Motor fitness is also called skill-related fitness.

Why schools test fitness

Through a CBSE circular issued in collaboration with SAI under the Fit India Mission, CBSE has adopted a "whole school approach to fitness" and the Khelo India National Fitness Assessment Programme. The Khelo India Fitness Assessment App and the School Dashboard let a school record every child's results and follow them across the years, so that fitness becomes a continuous habit rather than a one-time event. The tests that follow are chosen to be simple, safe, and possible to run for a whole class with very little equipment.