Clovis students rank high in state’s Healthy Fitness Zone scores

Clovis Unified students seem to be more physically fit than students in nearby districts — and across the state — according to Healthy Fitness Zone scores recently released by the California Department of Education.

HFZ scores test six areas of physical fitness in grades five, seven and nine. The areas are aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength, trunk extension strength, upper body strength and flexibility.

The state average of fifth-graders who passed six out of six levels in the 2014-15 school year is 26.4 percent, compared to 57.6 percent of students who passed in Clovis Unified. For seventh grade, 32.5 percent passed six out of six in the state, with 62.6 percent for CUSD. For ninth grade, 37.6 passed six out of six in the state, with 57.7 percent for CUSD.

In an era of increasing obesity/overweight rates for children — the Centers for Disease Control’s most recent figures show approximately 32 percent of children fall in these categories compared to approximately 15 percent in the 1970s — health and fitness remain a high priority in Clovis Unified’s education curriculum, officials said in a news release.

Physical education classes continue to be a requirement for CUSD students from kindergarten through grade 12.

Complete results of the HFZ scores are available online at http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest.

This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Clovis students rank high in state’s Healthy Fitness Zone scores."