Report: Most Murrieta Students More Fit Than County, State Peers

Fifth and seventh graders in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District scored higher than their peers in a statewide fitness test adminstered last year, while ninth graders scored lower.

The California Department of Education requires districts to administer the FITNESSGRAM® each year to fifth, seventh and ninth graders. For instance, to score in the HFZ® (healthy fitness zone), the test requires that a ninth grade male, who would be about 15 years old, run a mile within nine minutes and perform a minimum of 16 push-ups and 24 curl-ups, according to a news release.

In Murrieta, 45.8 percent of fifth graders met six of six criteria, which included aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength, trunk extensor strength, upper body strength and flexibility. Forty-nine percent of seventh graders met all critera, while 36.3 percent of ninth graders met all six.

Statewide, 29.2 percent of fifth graders, 34.2 of seventh graders and 37.9 percent of ninth graders met all criteria and were deemed in the Healthy Fitness Zone, according to results released Thursday by the California Department of Education.

Murrieta students scored higher than Riverside County averages, which showed 31.5 percent of fifth graders, 33.8 of seventh graders and 34.3 percent of ninth graders meeting six of six criteria.

A school district official said, however, that he bases his findings of how many students meet five of six criteria.

"When you look at it that way, I am seeing substantial increases in all areas," said Guy Romero, assistant superintendent of educational services.

Romero said he prefers to measure it that way because a few stellar athletes at each school could make the rest of their peers rate much lower.

Using Romero's method, 73.2 percent of fifth graders, 76 percent of seventh graders and 67.9 percent of ninth graders met five of six criteria. In 2008-2009, 73.5 percent of Murrieta's fifth graders met five of six criteria, along with 75.5 percent of seventh graders and 73.7 percent of ninth graders.

Upon examining the results by school, Romero said Vista Murrieta High School's performance in abdominal strength decreased from the previous year.

"The biggest question is what happened to ninth grade in sit-ups," Romero said. "It is just a tick down, it is not major, but we are still going to look into it."

Fifth graders at Lisa J. Mails Elementary School also scored lower this year--45.7 percent met five of six criteria. Most of the other elementary scores were up, though, he said.

"Normally, aerobics and sit-ups fall together. When a student is carrying a little extra weight, they may have problems running."

When comparing Murrieta to other districts in Riverside County, Romero said Murrieta Valley's ninth-graders were the fourth highest when meeting five of six criteria. Chaparral was at 89.3 percent, Temecula Valley High School was at 88.3 percent, Corona High School was 80.1 percent and Murrieta Valley was 79.9 percent.

"Southwest Riverside appears to have the highest fitness levels," he said.

But because the results were late this year--they usually come out in November--he said it could work toward the district's advantage. Schools are getting ready to begin the tests again, and the scores will be fresh in their minds.

"But remember, it is a whole new group of kids."

With the latest physical fitness tests showing that only one California student in three a posts a healthy score, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced plans for a statewide campaign to improve the health and fitness of the state's 6.2 million schoolchildren.

"Nothing is more important than the health of our children, and today's results show that many of them need a helping hand to get fit and stay in shape," Torlakson said in a news release. "The Team California for Healthy Kids campaign will help students adopt the healthy habits that will help them succeed in the classroom today--and help them stay healthy over a lifetime."

A high-school science teacher and long-time track and cross-country coach, Torlakson said the campaign would link schools with community leaders and athletes to foster new partnerships and put a spotlight on local efforts to encourage students to get more exercise--both at school and at home.

Second through sixth graders in Murrieta get 200 minutes of PE instuction time every 1o days, while students in seventh through 12th grades get 400 minutes of PE. High schoolers are required to take two years of PE, with ninth grade mandatory.

To see individual school rankings for Murrieta, click here.