Objective Measures of PETE Student Achievement and Maintenance of Physical Activity and Fitness

Abstract

This study sought to determine whether using accelerometers would be an equitable substitution to fitness testing physical education teacher education students for program accreditation purposes. Participants were 25 undergraduate physical education students who completed a PACER test and wore an accelerometer for 14 days which collected total physical activity, steps taken per day, and how much activity was light, moderate, or vigorous. Participants took significantly more steps than 10,000 steps per day [t(49) = 7.48 p < .001) and completed on average 30.08 (SD = 59.98) minutes of moderate physical activity daily. There were non-significant relationships between moderate physical activity and PACER scores (p = .600, R = -.08), but participants with higher levels of moderate physical activity had a strong significant relationship to more steps per day (p < .01, R = .83). Findings indicate that the use of steps per day may serve as an equitable replacement to the PACER test, but further research is necessary. Steps per day may serve as a less embarrassing measure, may not be mediated by students’ level of motivation at test time, and would serve to limit some of the legal issues that might arise from fitness testing students.