Reporting fitness results when the data are imperfect
You have just finished a six-week block and must report pre- and post-test results for 40 Grade 7 students to the head teacher and parents. The tests were a 1-minute sit-up, sit-and-reach, 50 m sprint and 600 m run. Testing was done in two PE periods, on the school ground, with one stopwatch and one ruler. Three students were absent for the post-test, and one student, Meena, had fever for five days before testing. Meena's sit-ups improved from 12 to 18, but her 600 m time went from 3:10 to 3:25. A parent has already complained that the report 'labels' children. The head teacher wants a one-page summary with class averages and individual cards.
1. Interpret Meena's results and decide what appears on her report card.
Read the worked answer
- Sit-ups 12 → 18 is a 50% improvement and is larger than normal day-to-day variation. Report it as genuine progress.
- 600 m 3:10 → 3:25 is a 15-second regression, but she had five days of fever shortly before the post-test. Illness lowers aerobic capacity and hydration status, so the post-test is not a valid measure of her training.
- Report both numbers with a short note: 'post-test followed five days of fever; re-test recommended'.
- Do not write 'declined' or 'poor' without that context, and do not label her.
The reasoning is that a test score is a measurement, not a verdict. The facilitator's job is to make the measurement fair before interpreting it, and then to say what is uncertain.
2. What are the limitations of your data, and how will you handle absentees and test conditions?
Read the worked answer
- One stopwatch, one ruler, two sessions and an outdoor ground introduce timing, measurement and environmental error. Single trials are less reliable than the best of two.
- Report class averages only alongside the number actually tested, and state the conditions.
- For the three absentees, write 'not tested'. Never estimate or carry forward a pre-test score.
- Set a make-up testing window within two weeks and document it.
- Standardise instructions, warm-up and surface across both testing days.
- Postpone testing for anyone who is unwell or injured.
The judgement is that incomplete but honest data is more defensible than a complete-looking report built on guesses.
3. How will you write the one-page summary so it is honest without labelling children?
Read the worked answer
Use three columns: what was measured, what changed, and what to do next.
- Report individual scores as personal comparisons, never as class ranks.
- Add a plain-language note on measurement error, for example about ±0.2 s in a hand-timed 50 m, and say what size of change is meaningful.
- Give each parent one action, such as 10 minutes of skipping on non-PE days.
- Explain that a fitness test is a starting point, not a judgement of ability or character.
- State the testing limitations and the date for re-testing.
This meets the head teacher's request for averages and individual cards while answering the labelling complaint, because the report explains its own limits and points to action.