President Donald Trump is resurrecting what he’s calling the “wonderful tradition” of the Presidential Fitness Test, through which a new generation of students will—if the new test resembles the old—compete in their schools and nationally to earn recognition for their prowess in pushups, pullups, and the mile run, among other athletic feats.
The test, which draws its lineage back to President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s but was phased out in 2013, is part of a broader focus from the president on athletics and fitness in recent months. It’s also part of a long history of presidential involvement in, and concern about, students’ fitness—with an eye on a strong, competitive nation.
“It’s going to be a very big thing,” Trump said at the signing of an executive order July 31 reviving the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition and the associated Presidential Fitness Test, surrounded by professional athletes. “This was a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back. … It’s turned out to be very popular to do.”
Whether the test was universally popular among the nation’s students isn’t such a sure thing, and some physical educators have concerns. But the notion of a fit nation certainly has been popular among presidents—extending back before Eisenhower, to Theodore Roosevelt, said Adam Burns, the head of politics at Brighton College in the United Kingdom and co-editor of Sports and the American Presidency: From Theodore Roosevelt to Donald Trump.
“It all leans back to these presidents, this idea of the nation falling behind. And obviously that’s a narrative Trump’s used quite a lot over the last few years, the idea that he’s got to make America great again,” Burns said. “It’s sort of nostalgic to the ‘50s and ‘60s, something that most Americans will remember taking part in.”
What’s the history of the presidential fitness test?
If you went to middle and high school before 2013, you probably remember the timed mile runs and the qualifying numbers of pushups or curlups.
The test began, in part, thanks to a 1953 article that warned of the poor state of youth fitness in America. In response to that report, Eisenhower convened the President’s Council on Youth Fitness to address students’ physical health. His successor, President John F. Kennedy—who himself took pains to have a fit persona despite health problems—likewise embraced it, appearing in a national advertising campaign promoting fitness through 50-mile hikes. President Lyndon B. Johnson formally established the Presidential Fitness Award in the 1960s.
But even before the council and test, the president has long served as an ambassador for the nation’s fitness, Burns said.
A rugged outdoorsman, the first Roosevelt, who became president shortly after the Spanish-American War amid a sense of America becoming a greater world power, was particularly invested in the concept, Burns said. As Roosevelt began directing more money toward bolstering a then-fairly small U.S. military, he viewed sports and athleticism as a way to feed into that.
The philosophy was, “America’s got to be able to be able to protect itself. If you speak softly and carry a big stick, you’ve got to have a big stick to carry. And who’s that going to be?” Burns said. “If this is just a load of people sat around in offices making money, etc., we also need some people to go out there and project a bit of physicality on the world.”
For generations since, presidents have vied for endorsements from athletes, they’ve attended football and baseball games, and they’ve sought to portray themselves as fit by jogging, golfing, playing tennis, and more.
The fitness test itself officially sets the tone, Burns said. It’s the president formally encouraging the nation’s future leaders to attain physical fitness as part of their education.
Memories of the fitness test are decidedly mixed
Some people remember the test fondly—or, at least, as harmless. Others recall it as humbling.
For many, though, it was a challenge. For a 14-year-old girl to qualify for the award, for instance, she’d have to run her mile in under eight minutes, complete 40 sit-and-reaches, shuttle-run in just about 10 seconds, and do 47 curlups. The qualifying students were honored with a patch.
The test was retired in 2013 during President Barack Obama’s administration and replaced by the Presidential Youth Fitness Program.
The change was a move away from measuring performance, instead focusing more holistically on students’ health with a more positive—and less competitive—spin. The award component was also scrapped, though certificates were offered. Health associations had applauded the changes at the time.
With the test now resurrected, Judy LoBianco, a longtime physical educator and 2018 EdWeek Leader to Learn From, believes physical education has evolved way beyond a competitive assessment like the Presidential Physical Fitness Test.
The test can embarrass kids who are less athletic, make them anxious, and discourage them from feeling empowered to undertake their own fitness journey, she said.
“If you ask kids, what makes a meaningful experience in P.E., it’s not testing. They’ll say, ‘Is it fun?’ They’ll say, ‘Is it enough of a challenge for me to be interested?’ They’ll say, ‘Do I get to socially interact with my peers? And does it bring me joy and delight?’” she said.
While assessments can be helpful benchmarks, it’s more important in P.E. classes to instill a feeling of joy of being physically active, along with skills like teamwork, communication, conflict resolution, and sportsmanship, said LoBianco, who worked in New Jersey’s Orange-Maplewood district for more than two decades.
The test also creates an unlevel playing field for kids in schools where they only have P.E. every two weeks versus those where they’re in gym classes almost every day, she said.
“At a time when, for decades, we’ve been talking about kids being obese, the Presidential Fitness Test is not going to reverse that,” she said. “It’s going to take an effort of schools, parents, educators, administrators, and a real commitment around the support for physical education.”
New order characterizes test as way to improve ‘economy, military readiness’
Trump has sharpened his focus on sports in his second term through a number of avenues.
His administration has doggedly pursued civil rights investigations into states, schools, and universities that allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. He also waded into college sports, seeking to limit student-athletes’ compensation and give federal agencies more authority over funding, rules, and guidance.
The presidential fitness order, signed at the end of July, says the administration “must address the threat to the vitality and longevity of our country that is posed by America’s declining health and physical fitness.”
“These trends weaken our economy, military readiness, academic performance, and national morale,” the order reads. “Now, we build further.”
He directed U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to administer the program, supported by Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
SHAPE America, which represents more than 200,000 health and physical education professionals nationally, said in a statement that it supports initiatives that prepare students for healthy, physically active lives.
“As the White House reestablishes the Presidential Fitness Test and the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, we are committed to sharing our expertise to ensure programs benefit all students through alignment with evidence-based practices and the National Physical Education Standards,” the statement says.
