State Officials Say Only 31% Of California Students Are Physically Fit

In its "L.A. Now" blog, the Los Angeles Times (11/16, Castellanos) reports that "for the second year in a row, California students have tested relatively low in a series of statewide physical fitness tests, the state Department of Education announced Thursday." In a statement, State Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson indicated that approximately 31% of students got healthy scores in all six of the tested areas. He remarked, "When we can call fewer than one out of three of our kids physically fit, we know we have a tremendous public health challenge on our hands." Out of the roughly 1.3 million students in the fifth, seventh, and ninth grades that were tested, "only 31% were able to score in what state officials call a 'healthy fitness zone.'"