physical fitness

Physical education course is compulsory in higher education system of Iran. The curriculum focuses on physical fitness tests and student marks are apparently based on them. Students are dissatisfied with marking system and think it is unfair and biased. This destroys incentive and reduces the probability of a student''s engaging in physical activity. This study aimed to modify the evaluation system of the course. During three subsequent semesters all participants were tested and marked by a new psychomotor test battery accompanied by new standards. The study included the whole population of 2651 female and 992 male subjects (age 18-24 years). Tests were administered by the same standards، but different administrators in every semester. Test Battery included Stork stand test، Sit-ups، 30 meter sprint، Sargent vertical jump، Sit and reach، Pull-ups، T-test، Trunk lift، Phantom chair، and PACER. Demographic data included age، weight، stature، and BMI. A new set of norms and standards were set for evaluation of the course. Distribution line-charts of new marks were compared to older ones. For females، distribution of marks became closer to ideals، whilst for boys it did not take place. Standardization of fitness testing and scoring neither resolved abnormal distribution of final marks nor eradicated dissatisfaction of students with their marks. It is likely that instructors had alternated final marks based on their subjective understanding of achievements of students in affective and cognitive domains. It seems likely if standardization of scores for affective and cognitive achievements is added to standardization of fitness scores، the marking system might improve.